Not-So-Strange Bedfellows

Eve Rifkin Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

As co-founder of a small charter high school, I decided to interview Mike Klonsky, Chicago-based leader in the modern small-schools movement. Mike and I have a lot in common: we agree that small schools offer a more humane and functional alternative to big schools. We also share the belief, as evidenced by research and our own experiences, that small schools have lower teacher turnover, experience less violence, and allow for greater teacher autonomy.

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Sorry, Superman.

Mike Lee Current Affairs, Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Life in the Classroom, Literacy, Mathematics, Parent Involvment, Social Issues

  You can keep waiting for Superman, but he’s not coming.  I find the title of a certain highly controversial documentary to be ironic, because it is problematic in its symbolism, alone.  To invoke such iconography during the debate over

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coffee-talk

Coffee Talk

Alaina Adams Books, Education, Education Policy, Life in the Classroom, Professional Development, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership

One of my favorite skits on Saturday Night Live was “Coffee Talk,” in which a Mike Meyers-inspired character, Linda Richman, praised the likes of Barbara Streisand, said everything “looked like butta,” and encouraged viewers to “talk amongst themselves” with a one-word command: “discuss.” Yes, the characters on this

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Svegli e L’odore del Caffé

Eve Rifkin Education, Life in the Classroom, Social Issues

At the end of this year, House Bill 2281 will likely be signed into law. This bill will effectively outlaw ethnic studies classes which have been especially meaningful for our Mexican-American, African-American and Native American students. These classes have provided an important setting for students who have not been able to see themselves or hear their stories in the traditional curriculum. We learn best when we can form a personal, relevant connection to what is being taught. And when we can’t, we shut down.

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Surf or Drown: Let’s Hunt TTWWADI’s!

Mike Lee Education, Education Policy, Elementary, Professional Development, Social Issues, Teacher Leadership, Web/Tech

I recently had the good fortune to hear Ian Jukes share his thoughts on education's struggle to keep pace with "Exponential Times."  I found his presentation particularly interesting because a book I recently read identified exponential growth as the most important

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