My Students Don’t Know How to Have a Conversation
By Paul Barnwell | The Atlantic . april 22, 2014
Recently I stood in front of my class, observing an all-too-familiar scene. Most of my students were covertly—or so they thought—pecking away at their smartphones under their desks, checking their Facebook feeds and texts.
As I called their attention, students’ heads slowly lifted, their eyes reluctantly glancing forward. I then cheerfully explained that their next project would practice a skill they all desperately needed: holding a conversation.
Several students looked perplexed. Others fidgeted in their seats, waiting for me to stop watching the class so they could return to their phones. Finally, one student raised his hand. “How is this going to work?” he asked.
My junior English class had spent time researching different education issues. We had held whole-class discussions surrounding school reform issues and also practiced one-on-one discussions. Next, they would create podcasts in small groups, demonstrating their ability to communicate about the topics—the project represented a culminating assessment of their ability to speak about the issues in real time.
Even with plenty of practice, the task proved daunting to students. I watched trial runs of their podcasts frequently fall silent. Unless the student facilitator asked a question, most kids were unable to converse effectively. Instead of chiming in or following up on comments, they conducted rigid interviews. They empathyeducates – My Students Don’t Know How to Have a Conversation:
My Students Don’t Know How to Have a Conversation
By Paul Barnwell | The Atlantic . april 22, 2014 Recently I stood in front of my class, observing an all-too-familiar scene. Most of my students were covertly—or so they thought—pecking away at their smartphones under their desks, checking their Facebook feeds and texts. As I called […]
Does the NRA Invite Suicide?
Police barred the Guardian entry from the room in which the NRA held gun-themed activities for children. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images Introductory Essay By Betsy L. Angert | Originally Published at EmpathyEducates. April 27, 2014 Surely, it will not happen to you. The telephone will not ring […]
Girls Do Better Than Boys in School at All Ages and Subjects, Study Finds
By Maggie Fox | Originally Published at NBCNews April 29, 2014 11:50 am It may come as no surprise to teachers, but girls do better than boys in school, a new study finds. What may be a surprise is that this holds true at all ages, in […]
APR 28
Separate and Unequal: The Charter School Pedestal the Public Can’t Reach
By Trymaine Lee | Originally Published at MSNBC News. April 25, 2014 06:53 AM—UPDATED April 25, 2014 12:07 PM There are two pathways for children at one of the largest school buildings in Harlem. One route, reserved for a select few, comes with new carpeting, bright paint […]
APR 27
A Walmart Fortune, Spreading Charter Schools
Mary Ann Carlson with pupils at a charter school in Washington run by KIPP, an organization aided by the Walton foundation. | Credit Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times By Motoko Rich | Originally Published at The New York Times. April 25, 2014 WASHINGTON — DC Prep operates […]
The Unbearable Whiteness of the American Left
(Reuters/Joshua Lott) By Gary Young | Originally Published at The Nation. April 23, 2014 At a panel titled “Grassroots Organizing” at the Network for Public Education conference in Austin in March, an audience member asked the all-white panel for its definition of “grassroots.” The conference had been […]
