Inquiry & Reflection for Better Learning
Twice in the last forty eight hours, the subjects of love and of teaching have been juxtaposed in conversation I’ve overheard. I’m pretty thick, but I feel like I should pay attention to the synchronicity. Here’s the first, from a video I was listening to Sunday ((I’m on a serious Mr. Rogers kick right now. […]
Read More The Podcast: On Love and TeachingEdWeek. Yesterday: The stopgap federal spending bill that President Barack Obama signed into law yesterday almost certainly spells the end of federal funding for more than a dozen education programs, at least for two weeks, quite possibly for good. The bill would scrap all federal funding for the current year for a number of programs […]
Read More What Do You Do with the Mad that You Feel?Yesterday, Colorado’s new governor made some announcements regarding his budget proposal to the state. Specifically, he announced about half a billion in proposed budget cuts for next year, which wasn’t a huge surprise. What was a surprise, at least to me, although I should’ve seen it coming, was that he directed most of those cuts […]
Read More You CAN Do More with Less. But Only for So Long.I’ll be presenting tomorrow at Educon 2.3 on why I find citation and references to be important and why I worry that many in education don’t. Joe Bires, meanwhile, will be presenting on why I am wrong. I thought you’d want to know. Maybe you’ll want to attend the presentation. Please do. ((As an aside, […]
Read More Presenting at Educon 2.3. From My Basement.“I’m From the Education Department and Am Here to Help” and other bedtime stories: A conversation about how to make and influence policy with some who do. When:Session One: Saturday 10:00am–11:30amWhere:Room Drama StudioWho:Jonathan Becker, Julia Fallon, Cathy Higgins, Doug Levin Affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University (Becker), Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, EdTech (Fallon), […]
Read More #EduConText Session 1: “I’m From the Education Department and Am Here to Help” and other bedtime stories: A conversation about how to make and influence policy with some who do.In this podcast, recorded on my last day at the NCTE Annual Convention, I share a recording of a listening session hosted by NCTE. In the session, the U.S. Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach, Peter Cunningham, represents the Department. He took questions for most of the session, and I found the […]
Read More The Podcast: USDoE Listening Session at NCTELately, I’ve found myself, quite by accident, thinking a great deal about what an “online school” might look like, were I to have the opportunity to be involved in the creation of one. I’m watching this process unfold in my school district, and it’s started some wheels a’turning. And this is thinking that, while I’ve […]
Read More It’s Blurry. But It’s Still a VisionTomorrow is the second annual , a day all about, in the words of NCTE: In light of the significance of writing in our national life, to draw attention to the remarkable variety of writing we engage in, and to help writers from all walks of life recognize how important writing is to their lives,October […]
Read More You Can Write If You Want ToDear Teachers College Press: I’m an awful big fan of your work. I mean a really, really big fan. Of the five or six books on my desk at work right now, three of them are yours. I made arrangements to order another of your titles just before I headed home for the weekend. ((And in […]
Read More An Open Letter to My Favorite Educational PublisherAn Open Letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan October 15th, 2010 Dear Secretary Duncan: I hope this communication finds you well. I know you’re a busy fellow, and certainly you’ve got much on your plate. I suspect that you might not even have time to read this short letter, but I do hope that […]
Read More Dear Secretary Duncan: How Will You Spend The National Day on Writing?