The Daily Riff - BE SMARTER. ABOUT EDUCATION.

by C.J. Westerberg

Chris Lehmann, principal at Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in Philadelphia, shares his presentation which was given to an audience of non-educators at the recent TEDxPhilly conference. "High School Stinks"* is a gem and takes about a minute so check it out below.

When you have a bit more time, do check out Lehmann's TED talk, also below.  Video runs about twenty minutes but skip to the 1:45 where the talk actually begins.   In a hurry?  Do the flip - tune in at 17:42 mark and watch the last few minutes where the fireworks go off and check it out in full later.   
 
Lehmann doesn't just hit the education system hard, and then run, however.  SLA is featured as one of the "Apple in Education" profiles in this video giving an overview of how technology (okay, Apple) is used as a tool to transform learning and as an extension of the SLA  philosophy with some impressive results. 

For those unfamiliar with SLA, here is a descriptive from the site:

The Science Leadership Academy is a partnership high school between the School District of Philadelphia and The Franklin Institute. SLA is an inquiry-driven, project-based high school focused on 21st century learning that opened its doors on September 7, 2006.

SLA provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics and entrepreneurship. Students at SLA learn in a project-based environment where the core values of inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation and reflection are emphasized in all classes.