UPDATE – Tim points out in the comments that this video first went online back in April. Which is cool. I sometimes reuse my good work, too.
Over the weekend, I how he would be honoring the National Day on Writing. This morning, the ED.gov blog had a short video mentioning the Day on Writing. It was. Here it is:
So that’s good. I appreciate English teachers who work hard to ensure that writing happens in their classrooms.
I hope I’m not being too difficult, though, as I ask, again, gently, if the Secretary will take the time today to do any writing. What does his writing process look like, I wonder?
Because I still think students need to see our top educational official engaged in the work that we ask students to do every day.
You’re with me on that, right?
People should really watch this video; it’s a beautiful tribute to a professional— and according to the UC Lab School, it’s been posted since April 14, originally as part of a magazine series for Teacher Appreciation Month. It’s multitasking, this video.
Ever since I saw it, I’ve wanted to ask this wonderful teacher if she would ever work in a school that is compelled to do all of the testing that the Secretary is ratcheting up in his proposed Blueprint for Reform. I’ve wondered about her opinions on class size, poverty, professional development, and evaluation.
I’ve wondered if this particular school is going to adopt the Common Core Standards and its attendant assessments. I’ve also wondered if her school would ever give its middle school students the ISAT (the Illinois standardized tests) and then publish the scores and accept the resulting label.
We have excellent models of effective, progressive education; many of them are in schools that totally reject every notion that the Secretary recommends for public schools. It seems obvious to me that we should be trying to make our public schools more like this private school rather than moving in the opposite direction.
Thanks for posting the link.
I had a hunch that this wasn’t a fresh video. Thanks, Tim.
Arne Duncan and the Obama education plan are the wrong answer for education. They believe that teachers are the problem. They highlight The Harlem Children’s Zone as an example of “the answer.” They do amazing things for kids and families; however, their avergage class size hovers around fifteen and 3/4 of their funding is from private corporations and foundations. Obama himself sends his kids to Sidwell Friends School, a school that costs over $32,000 per student per year. Imagine if your local public school received $32,000 per kid.