I’ve been trying for a while now to draw out my thoughts on education reform in a relatively clear way. However, when I think about any subject, I like to think not just in terms of how things are, but rather how they are changing. So, what follows is a hypothesis (or really a series…

In the fall, I will begin a doctoral program in educational policy. I’m hoping to spend the next few months clarifying my thoughts on schools and education reform, and I think the best way to do that is to read a diverse and influential series of articles and books that challenge and expand my assumptions…

In response to the ever-vexing Joel Klein, a couple Atlantic authors released a solid critique of the new “teacher bar exam” movement. No doubt, teaching has definitely solidified for me the idea that “standard resume characteristics — level of education, certifications or licenses, and experience beyond the first few years of teaching — have essentially…

At a recent TFA professional Saturday, someone mentioned that they don’t like the term Achievement gap, using instead the term achievement deficit. I’ve never really thought of what’s implied by the term achievement gap, but hearing him say achievement deficit sparked a few thoughts, tied mainly to my understanding of our economic deficits. Deficits come…

I have a lot of mixed feelings about debates surrounding educational reform. On the one hand, I believe that Sweden–where educational achievement has plummeted since it implemented a universal and even egalitarian voucher system in the early 1990s–is the evidence all critics of school choice should point to that even in the best circumstances, school choice will…

I’ve never spent much time on this blog saying anything flattering about my teaching skill. That’s because, like most first/second year teachers, I don’t have much. I’m sure my principal (and coworkers after a few beers) would agree that especially in my first 2/3 of a year, management and organizational issues often prevented me from…

* My philosopher friend tells me psychology is the wrong word because there is absolutely no science in these posts, just discussion and extrapolation of first-person thought processes. The real word is phenomenology, apparently. Sorry. Quick thought: what is the most powerful incentive to teachers? Keeping their job? Getting a promotion? Getting a bonus? Not losing…

I think one of the most difficult jobs of a teacher is taking responsibility for everything they do. Since this may sound condescending, I’ll speak in the first person. As a teacher, it can be hard in the moment for me to realize every time my class seems “bad”, it is more likely a reflection…

Not yet finished with the article, which is equally dismissive of past democratic and republican efforts to improve schools over the past decades. So far though, I think this critique of RTTT gets at the heart of the  problem with Duncan’s innovative–but in the end still ineffective–attempt to implement federal reforms in a way that…

I happened to be CC’d on a thread where my team (10+ year veteran at the school) lead sent some things to the social studies coach at my school. In her response, the social studies coach advised the team lead “please be advised before administering a formative assessment I need a paper copy 3 weeks…

Very good article about how ed tech and privatization are becoming increasingly intertwined. This is a problem for those (like the author and myself) who are skeptical of educational privatization but optimistic about education technology. I believe vouchers go way too far, but it seems like many are thinking of an even more extreme view of…

I cannot recommend Paul Tough’s book How Children Succeed highly enough. It contains fascinating literature reviews on cognitive psychology and the impact of early childhood adversity on adolescents and adults, incredible stories to illustrate these points, and a lot of useful tips for teachers who are skeptical of whether or not mastery of a set…

In my very short life as an educational thinker and teacher, I have had just about every view on education reform. As a freshman in college, I immersed myself in Marxist critiques in our public school system, believing that NCLB was the culmination of a capitalist takeover of our schools to proletarianize students, prepping them…

Hey 2012 CMs! I’m a 2011 corps member. I’m not a particularly good teacher; maybe not even a good teacher at all, though I try really hard to get better.  But nevertheless, I think I have some important advice that you can benefit from. If someone uses your experience, which you so honestly and bravely share with…

The current educational debate can be very frustrating. On the one hand, I find most ecstatic ”reformers” ignorant of what it means to be a teacher, arrogant about power of their ideas, oblivious to the unintended consequences of their inherently limited proposals, and uninterested in the way their proposals get implemented, even though this is perhaps the…

In today’s NYT op-ed, David Brooks responds to growing literature by Charles Murray and Robert Putnam that the divergence in opportunities for high and low income students is stark and growing. In his usual attempt to straddle the political divide, Brooks writes: “Liberals are going to have to be willing to champion norms that say…

When I joined the 2011 corps I was slated to be a high school social studies teacher. At institute I was trained as such. However, once I arrived in Detroit, it turned out there were fifteen high school social studies and ELA teachers competing for many fewer jobs. By mid-September ten of us were still…

Just read a very interesting article about a new educational grad school called Relay School of Education that was started by many founders of the most successful charter schools (KIPP, Uncommon). It offers a two year masters degree program meant to help teachers succeed in their classrooms that very year. Interestingly, success in the program (and…

Gary Rubenstein points out that the attrition rate has not declined over the past twenty years, and uses this fact to conclude that institute has not really improved over time. I think framing our discussion of institute in this way misses some of the bigger goals and weaknesses of TFA.   As many CMA’s pointed…

Soo… anyone with opinions on the benefit (or total lack there of) of Teach For America should listen to this Tell me More episode interviewing Gary Rubenstein, TFA alum-turned critic, whose main argument is most TFA corps members only teach for a few years. Since it takes at least a year to get good, both…

In this blog, I will often play the part of the choice/competition “skeptic” mainly because I find that skeptics to a weaker job of making their arguments. I will come back to why I believe this, but I wanted to use this space to point out one grossly incorrect conclusion from an article in The…