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 like a very long time…
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) group of students grouped at…
“So the children of a democracy learn to take their place in the world of tomorrow.” The British Council has made its film collection public. What a wonderful gift. Take for example Learning to Live. Made in 1941 it presents: A typical school day for the three children of the Brown family at Nursery, Junior, and Senior Schools, and the…
…and we’ll make winners out of them” There’s a good article in the latest edition of Independent School magazine that challenges some cherished notions of excellence and the hypocrisy of so many claims about diversity, equity and justice. It is starts with a question and a well-aimed slice at the euphemisms of so many school mission statements. What does it…
As always, lots of good stuff in the latest edition of Independent School, the quarterly magazine from NAIS. And those who hold rather outdated notions of independent schools as universal staunch defenders of tradition and the home of the status quo might be surprised by the theme: Evolution or Revolution: the Pace of Change in Schools. Evolution or revolution? –…
Interesting post from The Innovative Educator: 21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It! Read the post to hear what happened when she put out the word via Twitter and also to see her suggestions for making it happen in the classroom. Meanwhile – here is one of the slides from a presentation by C.K. Prahalad*…