Living Is Learning

From recycling programs to water conservation, from LEED certification to community gardens, and from recycled lunch trays to eco-friendly supplies, U.S. schools have made significant environmental improvements. Nearing the finish line, what’s left to close the gap on the "last green mile" within schools, offering the potential to save more than 4 million trees, nearly 2 billion gallons of water and 2.5 trillion BTUs of energy every year? Answer: Textbooks and instructional materials, which are currently printed on paper with little or no recycled fiber.  In this webinar, join education industry veteran Dave Long, environmental expert Susan Kinsella, and GreenSchools.org founder Robin Organ for a discussion on green schools, the potential impact of using high-recycled (>90%) paper, and how schools can begin to make this shift to stay on the leading edge of sustainability initiatives nationwide.

Teachers & parents - I just finished reading "Teaching the Restless - One School's Remarkable No-Ritalin Approach to Helping Kids Learn and Succeed." Our kids do not take Ritalin, actually, I currently do not know of any of my friends kids who do either. This book was written in 2003 by Chris Mercogliano the co-director of The Free School in Albany, NY. As someone with a rambunctious, imaginative boy who struggles with the structure of our current public education structured classroom/standardized test regimen, I found this book to be a beautiful, whole child approach to teaching children, especially distressed children. It is a must-read for educators and parents. If you are interested in developing self-motivated learners and socially well-adjusted children, I cannot speak highly enough about Mr. Mercogliano's approach. (Here is his blog - http://www.chrismercogliano.com/) and here is a link to his book (http://www.chrismercogliano.com/books/teaching-the-restless/). My copy is now overdue at the library. I would not let it go, as I relished every word.

Help students learn to focus their thoughts on the positive with teachable tools.

Congrats to public/private partnership to connect our students to the internet. Let's go technology!

I love this statement from Chris Mercogliano's book, "Teaching the Restless." " ... we began to see her repertoire of trying behaviors as a sort of code language, her only way of telling us where it hurt and why. We assumes it to be our responsibility (at the Free School in Albany, NY) as her professional caregivers to break the code - no her spirit."

Our students know how valuable their teachers are and the dangers of #HighStakesTesting and under-vetted #CommonCore Standards. Take a listen...

As we follow the initiatives that are tied to #CommonCore Standards and #HighStakesTesting, we are faced with some critical issues this year. Where do we put our resources reformers?

Lessons for public school advocates from a #Sudbury Valley School observer. I mirror Mr. Oppenheimer's sentiment. I am not fully on board with SVS, after having read a number of books written by Mr. Greenburg. I am however, on board with the idea of blended classrooms, extended day, free will democracy, and may other tenants of the SVS. Can we blend these concepts? Our current system with SVS constructs? Here lies the nexus I find myself in. #SudburyValley 

When I finish watching a #TED talk, I'm inspired. I want kids to have that same experience. #TED4KIDS 

What do you want to be when you grow up? Homeschooling at its finest = freedom. #hackschool

For Christmas, I was gifted Radical : Fighting to Put Students First by Michelle Rhee from a good friend of mine that knows my intense desire to create change in our public schools. (http://www.edradical.com/). The ubiquitous, DC public school challenges brought Ms. Rhee to national attention. I appreciated the opportunity to read the back story of the 2010 headlines in Ms. Rhee's own words. Her argument for bipartisan public school reform is centered on teacher accountability and reward, two areas our system is lacking. Her assertion is that every student can achieve their greatest learning potential with a great teacher in the classroom. I agree. She claims these great teachers should be rewarded as they bring their students reading and math scores up. I agree again. She proposed that measurement should be student testing. What I find challenging to ascertain is how teachers can do their teaching in conjunction with administering the myriad tests that will generate benchmarks and measure improvement or backsliding of each of their students. This arrangement feels like a Catch 22. Ms. Rhee states that student-lead teacher reviews should be a part of the teacher assessments tied to their compensation packages. She says that kids know when they have a great teacher. Why do we need to test, test, and test more if both kids and administrators 'know' a good teacher? What are we gaining by taking away what has become very precious instructional time? This again feels adult-centric and not student-centric. I want accountability for our public investment, but find the corporatization of our 'public' schools incredibly cumbersome and bureaucratic, creating an even more striated system of student ranking than the industrialized 'tracking' that is currently occurring. More tests create more data. Data creates more opportunities to ensure that your child 'fits' a test-driven mold and follows a prescribed pile of workbooks and worksheets to 'get their numbers up.' Teaching to the test is happening now. Teaching to the test is not learning. For a creative, innovative 21st century education, thinking outside the box, problem solving and communication will be key. Teaching to the test does not honor any of these strategies. It is time to rethink how we deliver our curriculum. Great teachers do deliver great results. I would argue we need both great teachers and great content driving creative thinking and problem solving. 

When looking for solutions to the achievement gap, is homeschooling the answer? NC is giving the option. Thoughts? #achievementgap #homeschool

It is time to get started. Hour of code!

As corporations continue to make their impact on public education reform, the issues of school segregation and inadequate delivery of high quality, well-rounded education prevail. 

Personalized Learning

The Future of Education Eliminates the #Classroom, Because the World Is Your Class. @redefineschool

"Minecraft is like a big bag of Legos & you never run out of pieces." http://connectedlearning.tv/minecraft-education-leveraging-game-based-learning-environment-connected-learning #minecrafteducation