I was talking in the physical world today about a discussion I had in the virtual world about AP College Board courses and their reliance on the memorization of facts in order to prepare for a test (presumably for college credit). Aaron, I don’t get how you can hate the College Board so much but [...]

So I am perusing through my Google Reader, and I come across this blog post from Tal Pinchevsky titled, “How The Ivy League Might Reshape Education”. He makes some interesting points about the newest numbers available on how Ivy League schools are seeing rising enrollments in programs like Teach For America (TFA) and the advent [...]

The clip below is from the ending of the movie The American President where Michael Douglas delivers a speech that discusses character and leadership. It’s, perhaps, one of my favorite speeches ever given in a movie (I actually use it in class for an activity as well). A lot of the issues that are discussed [...]

Here is the opportunity for all of you “21st Century Skills” advocates to sound off and defend your stance on what really is so special about the 21st century. Yesterday, I had to fill out a survey that was expected to “assess a teacher’s competencies in being aware and proficient in the use of 21st [...]

I am not really as fascinated with the fact that my GPS can get me from one location to another as I am with the way that people interact with their GPS device. It’s true that they can be unbelievably helpful on some levels, but they can also be a great distraction, hindrance, and cognitive [...]

There are some things that kids can only experience in high school, and it is important we afford these experiences to students as an option regardless of the small percentage that we believe it actually effects. Those of you that follow me regularly are aware that I am a big advocate for high schools that [...]

Warning: This post may come across rather brash if you use any of these sayings. It’s no problem. Just stop using them. Educators and the educational system are really good at using rhetoric to the point of where everyone starts to just tune it out. Still, some believe that they are being rather effective even [...]

Call me cynical, but there is something unbelievably funny to me about the fact that people scream about celebrating individual differences among kids yet we want every one of them to be in a specific grade by a specific year and pass the same test at the exact same time. Doesn’t this make you laugh [...]

I am currently reading The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein and, even though I find him to have faulty research (like using NAEP scores) and that he overstates his point (which means he knows no one is listening), I still consider where he is coming from. His second chapter discusses bibliophiles and the diminishing value of [...]

Considering the amount of frustration that parents, educators, and political pundits throw at our system of schooling, one can only wonder why there is minimal support for a complete overhaul of the structure. The reality is that the only way our educational system will experience a complete alteration is through a paradigm shift that looks [...]