Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

What Skills Will We Need in the Future Economy?

Five years from now, over one-third of skills (35%) that are considered important in today’s workforce will have changed. That’s according to a new Forum report, The Future of Jobs,that  looks at the employment, skills and workforce strategy for the future. How will these skills be developed? What are the implications for what happens in schools now? Not just what…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

On the Brink: The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it Means and What to Do

We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We do not yet know just how it will unfold, but one thing is clear: the response to it must be…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Be a Good Person: Get Admitted to College

Be a good person: Get into college. Well – it’s not quite a simple as that but it is true that the rules of the game of college admissions are changing. This week admissions deans and other leaders from the nation’s top colleges and universities joined together to announce the launch of Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and…

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Education, Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Racial Justice: Are we making any progress?

We celebrate  Martin Luther King’s birthday on Monday and that means a day off. It’s a recent habit to use a part of the weekend to read or re-read something he wrote and give it some thought. Seems the least thing to do. Last year it was Have Courage: The Letter from Birmingham Jail. This year it’s the speech he…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

In medicine and education: “The secret of quality is love”

“The secret of quality is love,” Avedis Donabedian, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, expert in the field of quality measurement. That’s a rather remarkable statement from a scientist whose expertise was accountability measures and quality control. It’s from a NYTimes article How Measurement Fails Doctors and Teachers by Robert M. Wachter *. The article is a…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Remembering Joe Bower

I never met Joe Bower but it seemed easy to imagine knowing him.  He was one of those people you meet online who exude warmth and seem larger than life. When Joe burst into the Twitterspere in 2009 it was like a blast of fresh air. He was ready to take on the world and he generated an energy and…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Finding the Heart of Progressive Education

Finding the Heart of a Progressive Education What follows is the text of the article recently published by Hudson Valley Magazine Q&A with Josie Holford​, Head of School, Poughkeepsie Day School How does the no testing/no grading philosophy work? The traditional assessment system is designed to rank and sort out winners and losers. At Poughkeepsie Day School, we think of…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The 100 Ways Children Learn and Why You Should Ignore Them

Learning styles – they used to be everywhere. You know – learning styles –  that notion that the way children learn is this way or that – visual, auditory or kinesthetic – or some other more complicated variation on a theme. There are three, there are four and sometimes many more styles or types of learners. There used to be…

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Education, Politics, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Keep Your School All-American

Here’s some good advice from Superman worth sharing in these political times of divisive politics and inflammatory anti-immigration rhetoric. “…and remember, boys and girls, your school – like our country – is made up of Americans of many different races, religions and national origins, so … If YOU hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion,…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

The One Sentence Employee Handbook

This is (only slightly) adapted from the original  (without the typo) that you can see here “All Poughkeepsie Day School employees use their common sense, have respect for others, grow professionally and personally, create value and treat our families’ children as if they were their own.” Kind of sums it up right? Good guide for what to do and how…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Everyone is a Maker: Resources for Educators

There’s a new book available it’s packed with practical ideas for teachers from teachers: Meaningful Making: Projects and Inspirations for FabLabs and Makerspaces. And even better it’s available as a free download. You can’t beat that for a bargain. The book is an initiative from the FabLearn Fellows who are part of a larger project sponsored by the National Science Foundation entitled “Infusing Learning Sciences Research…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

First they make you crazy. Then they sell you the cure: Be Mindful of Mindless Mindfulness

Coloring books for adults are apparently a big new craze. Amazon’s #1 bestseller in stress management/ self-help is a coloring book. And there are many to choose from with beguiling names like Calm and Balance and Enchanted Forest and Secret Garden. Now I have no problem with people of any age coloring inside or outside the lines, with doodling, drawing,…

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Education, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Everyone Can Be a Maker These Days

Common Sense Media announced a new report, based on a survey with 2600 tweens and teens, that they say depicts the current state of media usage in the United States. Among their findings are several which are likely troubling to one or another of us: “Low-income kids lack access. Children growing up in lower-income homes are far less likely to…

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