Loving Learning: Thank You Tom Little

Tom Little’s lifelong passion for progressive education emerged directly from his experience with its antithesis. I was six years old, and the youngest of six children, when I lost my father to cancer. On the day after his funeral, I raised my hand in class. I held my hand in the air for what seemed … Read more

Surprise! Deep Learning and Democracy

There’s solid evidence that American students do well when they are encouraged to think for themselves and expected to collaborate with one another. There’s a great Opinion piece by David L. Kirp* in the NY Times today: Make School a Democracy  The story begins in a one-room schoolhouse in Armenia, Columbia with a mixed-age (5-13) … Read more

Class size and classrooms: What’s best for learners?

What size should classes be? Anyone who has a definitive answer probably has probably bubbled in the answers to all life’s big questions. NAIS president Pat Bassett weighed in with good remarks – including the observation that what makes the real difference in terms of quality education and student outcomes is a combination of great … Read more