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A Radical Proposal for Early Childhood Education
by David Elkind on May 7, 2009
"David Wilson offers a thoughtful review of yet another compilation of research demonstrating the values of developmentally appropriate educational practice. His article once again raises the question: Why do we as a society continue to ignore this research in favor of imposing academics on young children?"
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Improving Teaching and Learning through Instructional Rounds
by Lee Teitel on May 1, 2009
Principal Randall Lewis stood at the front of the school library, where members of his district’s instructional rounds network had gathered for coffee, muffins, and conversation before the official start of the day’s visit. “Welcome to Jefferson Middle School,” he said. “We’re excited to have you here today to help us with our problem of practice. We’re also a little nervous, but that’s okay. I’ve told the teachers that this is about my learning and the network’s learning, and that we’re going to get lots of good information from having so many eyes and ears in our classrooms.”
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Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Age of Testing: New reports outline key principles for preK–3rd grade
by David McKay Wilson on May 1, 2009
As the push to teach literacy and math skills reaches farther into preschool and kindergarten, educators are warning that teachers need to address young students’ social, emotional, and physical needs as well as their cognitive development.
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Talking with Parents about Adolescent Transitions
by Eric Toshalis on April 22, 2009
"I've noticed that when many educators speak about adolescents (the people) or adolescence (the developmental era), we often do so in terms and tones that suggest angst, despair, struggle, or volatility. We frame the era as a phase to get through. We look at teens and all we see is their "raging hormones" as if the transition from childhood to adulthood is always something to endure and never something to celebrate."
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The Differences Between Us: French and American Classrooms
by Colleen Gillard on April 10, 2009
"In one scene from the new French film, The Class, about an inner-city school outside Paris, the teacher has students conjugating verbs on the blackboard. After one student's mistakes generate jeers and catcalls, the teacher challenges the rest of the class to do better. When they too fail, he in turn ridicules them."
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Charters, Tests, and the Tiresome Achievement Debate
by Katherine Merseth on April 2, 2009
"The recently released RAND study, Charter Schools in Eight States, offers a strong contribution to the never-ending, sometimes tiresome debate about whether students in charter schools do better or worse academically than comparable students in traditional schools."
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Blending High School and College
by Nancy Hoffman on March 24, 2009
"I was delighted to see the recent New York Times article, A New High School, With College Mixed In (3/18/09) in which Javier Hernandez described the City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology as a school where 'graduating students would receive both a high school diploma and an associates degree within 5 years of beginning 9th grade.'"
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Motivating Achievement in Algebra
by David McKay Wilson on March 19, 2009
Educators in four school districts are piloting a program to improve ninth graders performance in algebra, based on Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck's research on motivation and University of Texas mathematician Uri Treisman's work with peer groups.
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No Principal Left Behind
by Gerald Leader on March 3, 2009
"The failure of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and the inability of schools to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements have prompted an avalanche of public commentary, but a significant population has escaped attention: principals have been ignored. Principals have not been adequately screened, prepared, coached or supported to lead schools which can continually achieve higher levels of student academic performance, the essential requirement for AYP."
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Pushing the Envelope on Teacher Pay
by Paul Teske on February 17, 2009
"President Obama is bringing change to Washington, D.C. Obama and his education secretary, Arne Duncan, support the idea of merit pay for teachers and have cited Denver's ProComp (Professional Compensation Plan) as a good example of working with the teachers unions, not imposing plans upon them. So, what lies ahead for innovative teacher compensation plans?"
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