ABC Blog

Love this video. Used it at a district-level MBI ...

2011-04-01T18:17:34.541-04:00

Love this video. Used it at a district-level MBI meeting.

Love this video... just used it at a district-leve...

2011-04-01T18:16:39.032-04:00

Love this video... just used it at a district-level MBI meeting.

Garnet, I totally agree. Competition motivates so...

2011-01-26T15:25:54.883-05:00

Garnet, I totally agree. Competition motivates some students and stresses out others. We need to find what works for each student. That starts by asking them.

Interesting thoughts. Different things work for d...

2011-01-26T08:47:02.625-05:00

Interesting thoughts. Different things work for different kids. When I was in school, it was the competition and the thrill of doing well on a test that kept me studying. When I was 10 or 11 years old the school I was in experimented with a 'non-graded' system, where students worked at their own pace. I didn't do very well with that.

Our re-entry was delayed. Oregon has the second le...

2011-01-04T07:45:35.543-05:00

Our re-entry was delayed. Oregon has the second least number of days in school in the county at 159 days a year (Hawaii has 158.) Yesterday a LOT of parents showed up at the schools only to discover it was another furlough day for the school system.

Hopefully though, re-entry won't be too bad. We've been doing a bit of Magic Treehouse, Snap Circuits and Palymobil Egypt playsets on break and yesterday, she was reading a reference book about leopards aloud to the dog :-/

Students are often sent to the schools closest to ...

2010-12-03T23:19:22.964-05:00

Students are often sent to the schools closest to their homes and so it's seems rather curious that teachers aren't granted the same benefit. I mean, wouldn't it be better for the teacher to be part of the community in which he or she teaches?

No, actually. :)

2009-12-07T20:56:59.744-05:00

No, actually. :)

I wonder . . . do I happen to know that history te...

2009-12-02T21:43:54.706-05:00

I wonder . . . do I happen to know that history teacher?

Thank you. It is good to hear some lucid thoughts...

2009-11-23T19:18:02.992-05:00

Thank you. It is good to hear some lucid thoughts on the subject. The idea of 'gifted and talented' has always puzzled me.

No where can I find it?

2009-11-12T12:34:09.815-05:00

No where can I find it?

Have you seen the K-12 version of this? I've u...

2009-11-10T21:37:35.786-05:00

Have you seen the K-12 version of this? I've used it in my courses and at PD workshops.

What a great article. I have worked with pay for ...

2009-11-10T06:57:11.987-05:00

What a great article. I have worked with pay for performance in other industries with overwhelming success. Keeping the elements simple and well defined are key to success. I hope clear simple ideas win out in the debate in the arena of pay for performance for teachers.

I'm definitely in favor of supporting people&#...

2009-11-05T10:08:24.241-05:00

I'm definitely in favor of supporting people's accomplishments. However, your argument is weakened by using the Yankees as an example. It's analogous to being excited for a guy when he wins the lottery who regularly steals candy from children and kicks dogs. Why would I be happy about that?

The best feedback I have ever gotten as a teacher ...

2009-11-03T20:25:35.639-05:00

The best feedback I have ever gotten as a teacher has been from my students.

Loved Outliers, and the chapter you cited was espe...

2009-11-03T20:24:32.497-05:00

Loved Outliers, and the chapter you cited was especially interesting. Great writer.

Testify, brother. One of the most hackneyed expre...

2009-10-25T16:18:38.400-04:00

Testify, brother.
One of the most hackneyed expressions that gets thrown around in education circles is that 'assessment drives instruction'. But when asked to explain what that means, how many educators can given a clear response? Too many bureaucratic edu-speak jingoists justify the over-emphasis in testing with catch-phrases that have no meaning.
OK, that's enough crankiness from me for one day.

The question is, how is student progress measured?...

2009-10-14T20:14:15.523-04:00

The question is, how is student progress measured? As a special educator currently involved in administration of the NECAP assessments, I would hope that this sort of assessment would not be used. My students make measurable progress each year. Some make well beyond one year's growth in certain areas. Nevertheless, they have disabilities and in many cases are still performing well below their current grade levels. Their gains are not and cannot be measured by these high stakes regional assessments. In fact, the results of these assessments, when administered to children functioning and performing well below grade level, are not valid indicators of their abilities and achievement levels. In addition, by being required to prep them for weeks in advance using release items and by assessing them at grade levels well beyond their current levels of functioning, we put them in demeaning and emotionally detrimental situations that often leave them devastated. How does this affect their aspirations?

I am not opposed to using student progress as part of a teacher's evaluation of success. However, proper measurement of student progress needs to be considered. If our students with disabilities that "adversely affect their abilities to access the general education curriculum" are to be assessed with any sense of validity, then they need to be assessed at their current functional levels. Their progress, or lack of progress, can be measured realistically and teachers' levels of success can and should be based, in part, on these realistic assessment measurements. I would hope that those individuals who are involved with determining whether or not teachers are successful teachers, based on student progress, would consider how they look at and assess student progress.

My school is going through the self-study this yea...

2009-10-08T22:21:53.971-04:00

My school is going through the self-study this year and as time-consuming as it is, I have to say the process is an extremely healthy one. Perhaps a hybrid of the once a decade version in the US combined with the occasional unexpected visit in the UK would blend the best of both.

Love the meatloaf analogy.

2009-10-02T13:49:05.525-04:00

Love the meatloaf analogy.

One thing to consider about a new training model f...

2009-09-21T11:49:21.408-04:00

One thing to consider about a new training model for principals is how it will be received by teachers - keeping front-line classroom teachers in the planning loop will be beneficial.

Well stated. Being able to take multiple perspecti...

2009-09-15T21:39:03.627-04:00

Well stated. Being able to take multiple perspectives will help create a more complete learning experience, provided we don't succumb to paralysis by analysis.

Great column. How do we get more student voice in...

2009-09-14T10:22:27.106-04:00

Great column. How do we get more student voice in national standards?