I wanted to take a moment to say thanks: thank you (that is, you, Reader) for supporting my work.  I’ve been spotty over the last few weeks with the birth of my son, Declan.  In the new year, I look forward to seeing how this new being in my life will jibe with the new [...]

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Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a town meeting in which he demonstrates the problems with words like “creative” and “innovation” in conversations about policy.  It always seems to stumble:
“We need to be much more creative and innovative in how we do things,” Duncan said. For instance, students today use cell phones and PDAs on [...]

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The New York State Board of Regents has proposed that they improve schools in the state by lifting the cap on charter schools.  They also suggest a serious effort to tie teacher pay to achievement. 
It’s not unfair to liken these proposals to a dance–a choreographed one set to the tune of the USDOE’s Race [...]

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I’m elated to say that my son, Declan, was born this past Saturday.  Only minutes after his birth, I started reciting the opening proem to Paradise Lost to him in the delivery room.  And he wailed!  I’m afraid we might have a staunch Shakespearean on our hands…
Here’s a pic from just this morning:

Thanks to Erick [...]

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On May 15, 2009, the New York City Chancellor of Education announced the launch of NYC21C (now called iZone), which is a research and development initiative intended to strategize a city-wide plan to make 21st century teaching and learning a reality in the city’s fourteen-hundred plus schools.  Several NYC Department of Education offices are collaborating [...]

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It is the gift-giving season and I have a treat for you: Paradise Lost in its entirety; right here, right now.  Even if you don’t have the time to read the whole thing, give Book 1 a read.  Happy Holidays! -TLL

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Rigor is a tragic word in education.  On the one hand, it has gravitas–it conveys a history of academic excellence and challenge.  On the other hand, it gets volleyed around in educational politics with the whim and witlessness of a group of school children playing hackysak during lunch. 
This is the word that is being [...]

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I came across this statistical overview of the US’s education system according to UNESCO.  Take a look:

Notice anything strange?  Look again, here:

I appeal to my teacher friends and colleagues here: Of the last ten distinct classrooms you’ve walked into (even counting your own), how often did you see fourteen students per single teacher?  [...]

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I was speaking with a teacher recently at a school where she has been using netbooks with students in class.  It was a planning meeting.  As we started to discuss the possibility of using Google Maps for part of the project, the teacher expressed that she’d love to–but she didn’t trust most of her students [...]

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This article explores reasons why education doesn’t get the press coverage it deserves. And when it does, it joined at the hip to political topics:

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Pearson Evaluation Systems has created a totally computer-based test to license teachers. 
I’m all for experimentation in new ways of teaching and learning.  I have a hard time buying the idea that Pearson “developed the NES program to help states make sure the educators they certify are prepared to teach effectively in 21-st century classrooms.”  [...]

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Is this what it comes down to: more time in school = better learning?  No, it isn’t.  Though supporters of longer school days and years would like to argue the prior, it is more accurate to say this: more time in school (preparing for exams) = better learning (preparing for exams).
I’m not saying I [...]

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There are few things better than a great speaker.  As my wife and I watch West Wing cover-to-cover I reminded of this: President Bartlet is now running for re-election and when he speaks (with or without a speech) he dazzles crowds.  Our current president isn’t so bad himself.
More than that, I’m struck by how [...]

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The Times reported on recent flair ups between public school advocates and charter school supporters.  Jenifer Medina writes:
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has made charter schools one of his third-term priorities, and that means that in New York, battles and resentment over space — already a way of life — will become even more common. [...]

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A new survey reports that online learning courses are growing quickly and does a state-by-state comparison.  Ed Week notes that
Most of the 26 states that have online programs have seen significant growth in enrollments in recent years, with a dozen of them reporting jumps of 25 percent or more since 2007.
The full report is more [...]

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The Institute of Education Sciences new director John Q. Easton.  It’s expected that there will be a shift in the kinds of educational research the government supports.  Education Week writes:

The shift “is kind of an interesting next step for IES,” said Gerald E. Sroufe, the director of government relations for the Washington-based American Educational [...]

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