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Author Archives: schooldog
Schools, Bureaucracy, and Politics: Parent Power and Teacher Professionalism
Summary: Restiveness by parents in Los Angeles and teachers in Seattle reflects the tendency of educational bureaucracies to ignore voices from the grass roots level. Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles is poster child to the desperate academic struggle in … Continue reading
Posted in School Bureaucracy, School Reform, Schools and Politics
Tagged administrative style, at risk students, communication in schools, Crenshaw High School, empowering teachers, Garfield High School teacher boycott, low-income students, MAP testing, parent power, school reform, teacher morale, teacher professionalism
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At Risk Students: The Case for Early Intervention
Summary: Though the case for early intervention, before kids reach school age, is persuasively cost effective, preciously little suggests the political culture is wise or mature enough to be so rational. Wouldn’t it be nice if wishing were to make … Continue reading
At Risk Students: Can Willpower Be Taught? Part B
Summary: A book by the New York Times journalist Charles Duhigg tells the story of one individual and numerous researchers that suggest that willpower can be taught. See also Part A, last week’s post. As life has it, a book … Continue reading
At Risk Students: Can Willpower Be Taught? Part A
Summary: Numerous studies suggest that “performance character traits”, such as perseverance and a willingness to work hard count for more in academic success than sheer intellectual capacity. Can such willpower be taught? The first of two posts on this topic. … Continue reading
At Risk Students: The Decline of Marriage and the Low Income Student
Summary: The well publicized increase in children borne out of wedlock arguably increases the percentage of low income students in our schools, and therefore students relatively poorly prepared for the middle class norms by which schools operate. Harry carried around … Continue reading
School Reform: “Finnish Lessons”
Summary: Some characteristics of Finnish school reform give perspective to similar American efforts to change, particularly in the autonomy granted to teachers, the trust of whom is grounded in rigorous preparation and a successful lure of top students into the … Continue reading
Schools: A Changed Perspective
Summary: On the cusp of the end of a career in schools and the onset of a blog infested retirement, some meditations on the changed perspective the shift in life imposes. And a plea for stories, please. This summer I … Continue reading
Charter Schools: A Closer Look at the Stanford CREDO Study — Part B
Summary: Last post I began a dive into the details of an inquiry by The Stanford Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO) into charter school progress in the United States. This post continues the same swim with more of … Continue reading
Charter Schools: A Closer Look at the Stanford CREDO Study (Part A)
Summary: The details of the Stanford CREDO study on Charter Schools flesh out the more widely reported summative findings. The Stanford CREDO study (Center for Research on Educational Outcomes) cited over my last couple of posts proves to be the … Continue reading
Charter Schools and Politics: Vote Yes on Washington State’s Initiative 1240
Summary: Arguments surround Washington’s proposed charter schools; in balance it is time for passage of I-1240. November 6, 2012 is Election Day. Or, these days, the last day to vote. On the ballot in the state of Washington is Initiative … Continue reading
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