10 Best Education Posts of 2013 | Gatsby In L.A.

10 Best Education Posts of 2013 | Gatsby In L.A.:

10 Best Education Posts of 2013

 It’s been a crazy year in education!  If you’re taking time over winter break to reflect on 2013’s highs and lows, here are the education “hits” that have changed my thinking this year:

1. Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot, New York Times.  Anyone who talks about the achievement gap in this country needs to read this searing profile of a 11-year-old girl cycling in and out of homelessness in New York City.  If we are serious about addressing the needs low-income students of color in this country, we need to first understand the conditions in which many of our students are growing up.
2. Educating the Educators by Mike Rose, The Answer Sheet, Washington Post.  Cutting through the hysterical rhetoric of so much of the conversation in education these days, Rose, a professor at UCLA, sheds light on the meaning of teaching with his thoughtful, wise, complex and compassionate discussion of what it means to become a teacher and who ought to be one.  Part One is a re-examination of some of the terms we use to define teaching.  Part Two is a discussion of diversity and what we mean when we say “selectivity.
3. Teaching Isn’t Rocket Science.  It’s Harder by Ryan Fuller, Slate.  This post has gone viral for good reason.  Fuller, who became a teacher with TFA after several years as an engineer, is in his second year in the classroom. This piece brilliantly unpacks exactly why the job is so challenging.
4. Examine Yourself by Camika Royal, youTube.  A viral video from TFA’s convocation on the East Coast this year.  Whatever you think of TFA, Royal, a veteran teacher, rips into opportunistic newbies who plan to fluff their resumes and get out, reminding them—and us—of why the battle for educational equality matters