WagTheDog
Every Picture Tells A Story
The Common Core “promises” to prepare our students for the 21st century but fails to deliver on this promise when the standards claim that students will learn more from close reading text rather than skyping or tweeting with a historian, researcher, writer, explorer, artist, poet, musician, etc. “In particular, if students cannot read complex expository text to gain information, they will likely t
YESTERDAY
A Close Look At Close Reading
Learning is not done to you, it is something you choose to do. ~ Seth Godin , “Stop Stealing Dreams” David Coleman and other proponents of close reading clearly don’t have respect for students or the learning process. Common Core’s emphasis on deep analysis of text and close reading is an inappropriate and misguided approach to reading instruction that will discourage and dispirit many students
JUL 03
Frankly My Dear…
Many people have commented on David Coleman’s infamous statement at a 4/28/11 Common Core conference in NY: “As you grow up in this world, you realize people really don’t give a sh#@ about what you feel or what you think.” Coleman’s dismissal and disapproval of personal reflections is also apparent in the Common Core teacher training video; “Preparing for Close Reading with Students” as evidence
Kids Need Art
An arts education helps build academic skills and increase academic performance, while also providing alternative opportunities to reward the skills of children who learn differently. ~ Gavin Newsom There is a dramatic “shift” underway with respect to longstanding beliefs in our nation regarding the role and purpose of a public education. During the BC ( Before Core / Before Coleman) era of pub
JUL 02
Experts often possess more data then judgment
Experts often possess more data than judgment. ~ Colin Powell “Software giant Microsoft is laying off one of its most controversial employees: Clippy…In Office XP, Microsoft plans to hide the Clippy character tool from view and help people in a less obtrusive manner. Office customers are wondering why the Redmond, Wash.-based company took so long to give Clippy the boot. “Not one person in my off
JUL 01
Data vs. Evidence
Many people mistakenly believe that the terms “data” and “evidence” are interchangeable, and they have the same meaning. Data is factual information such as numbers, percentages, and statistics. Evidence is data that is relevant and furnishes proof that supports a conclusion. There is a big difference between research and data collection efforts leading investigators to a conclusion, and cherry-p
JUN 30
Winning the Battle, Losing the War
“When somebody is doing actions you don’t like, the spiritual solution is to do what you can to stop them, but you do it in such a way that you do not reject the person. You reject the action, but not the person. That is a big one. You reject the action, but not the person… I can disagree with actions that are not compassionate. But I want to keep my heart open. If I don’t, I am part of the probl
JUN 29
Build Your Dream
The lessons the Common Core teaches our students about achieving success in school, work, and life are misleading, and the empty rhetoric about college and career readiness is misguided. The Common Core evaluates student competency and proficiency in regards to a very narrow and shallow set of learning standards. This test-centric and data-driven approach to learning is more about repeatedly meas
What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated?
My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. ~ Maya Angelou Education should provide countless opportunities for students to discover their talents and pursue their passions, instead of being an obligation and competition to be “ready” for college a
JUN 28
Leaders in Tech Industry; Computers and Schools Don’t Mix
“The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard. But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the scho
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
“All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry