FACEBOOK Zuckerberg father: "Rather than impose upon your kids or try and steer their lives in a certain direction, to recognize what their strengths are and support their strengths and support the development of the things they're passionate about." Read more
"Creativity, he said, might be an even more valuable asset
that educators and parents should emphasize."
-WSJ quoting Larry Summers, former President of Harvard, President Obama and Clinton advisor Read more
"First, students have to jump through
ever-more demanding, preassigned academic hoops.
Instead of developing a passion for one subject,
they're rewarded for becoming professional students,
getting great grades across all subjects,
regardless of their intrinsic interests."
- David Brooks, The Creative Monopoly Read more
"People are living in the moment and want to share in the moment" Professore Sundar said."Two huge tech stories, Google Glass and Facebook's purchase of Instagram, that have wiped patent lawsuits news off the front page, for now at least. ... Read more
What Parents Can Do to Promote Learning. We know that children who are exposed to more real-life outside- the-class-wall activities guided by parents and schools, usually having to do with level of income in their household, tend to do better in school and in life. Read more
Lots of very smart people lack empathy. They're able to test their way through life and get A's. How about empathy, adaptability, initiative and responsibility? Read more
Video Interview- Eric Ries, "The Lean Start-up," and Mark Suster: . . . numerous take-aways for educators, parents and students, covering topics such as the necessity of failure; Steve Jobs; what the next middle class will look like; getting out of our silos (one of my favorite topics);
how software development is not just about creating another Facebook; and what's missing in education. Read more
"You have to empower teachers
and the only was is to have real authentic accountability."
"First of all,
the most important things cannot be measured objectively."
(referring to how a student speaks or writes) ". . . these types of things cannot be measured by a standardized test."
- both quotes by Deborah Kenny, CEO, Harlem Village Academies Read more
"And haven't we yet learned that any measure or reward
only works as an incentive in the short term, if at all?" Feedback is self-generated. An individual or system notices whatever they determine is important for them. They ignore everything else. Read more
"And if the point of education really is
the production of abstractly and measurably skillful people
who don't necessarily know anything in particular,
it's a vision (maybe a chilling one) that, at least,
should be articulated for parents - and voters -
to decide on." Read more
"The "articulated instruction module" or AIM program
would require teachers to evaluate each student on 100 different skills.
This means for a class with 30 students, the teacher would
need to assign 3000 separate grades every quarter." Read more
". . . we'd like you to come along for the ride. But if you choose not to, we won't hesitate to leave you behind . . ."
-John Gruber, Daring Fireball,
referring to his "guess" about Apple's strategy for the education textbook marketplace Read more
"Well, I'm going to follow up a little bit with the notion
that a parent is the child's first teacher.
Parents are also the most consistent teacher that a child will have over time. . . ." Read more
Colleges & Universities Jump On Board the "Test Optional" Movement: No SAT or ACT VIDEO: One Student's Journey + Lawrence University Shares Views Read more
Reporter Steve Kroft of CBS' "60 Minutes" reporter Steve Kroft interviews biographer Walter Isaacson in 2 prime time videos PLUS Jobs' relationship and views on Bill Gates, Larry Page of Google, and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. Read more
Global is not a test score. Two thought-leaders. Fred Wilson interviews Carlota Perez in this illuminating and inspiring video about our global future Read more
"But what is overlooked in all the shouting is that paradoxically, the people who have the most to gain from insuring some measure of economic equality and social justice are the wealthy."The Paradox of Wealthby Joseph Ganem, Ph.D."For the body... Read more
Colbert Interviews Harvard Professor In Amusing Video PLUS Death Threats, A Time Cover Story & "Morning Joe" Debate (w/Surprising Conclusions From Scarborough) Read more
Former CEO of Apple riffs about Steve Jobs, what makes the best innovators & the nature of genius in this essay tribute to mentor - his "Oxford Don" - Alan Kay Read more
"We need to revolutionize education to encourage creativity
and need to teach our kids to play, take a chance and create.
By not teaching our children
liberal arts we will hinder their capacity to innovate." Read more
People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. . . ." Read more
" . . . the cheating occurred at 44 schools and
involved at least 178 teachers and principals,
almost half of whom have confessed, the governor said."
Read more
State Governors have convened again to bring in a system of Common Core Standards across the country so that all children will be taught exactly the same thing in English and Math from kindergarten through high school... Dr. D. Rigour Is Baack! (Humor) Read more
"Not embracing the status quo and doing everything we can to push for re-invention and self-renewal in education." Howard Shultz, Randi Weingarten, Geoffrey Canada
Read more
"Trust Us" Won't Cut It Anymore: American higher education,' the researchers found,
'is characterized by limited or no learning
for a large proportion of students.' Read more
Guest Blogger Edward DeJesus Gets Real: " . . . More Youth Will Find More Successful, Productive Work In The Human Service System Than In The Green Industry . . ." Read more
"Practicing a piece of music for four hours
requires focused attention,
but it is nowhere near as cognitively demanding
as a sleepover with 14-year-old girls." Read more
"So much cranky clamoring lately: Three major movies. Joe Scarborough, Seth Godin, even Carl Bernstein getting into the act. Who gave these intruders the stage? Don't "turn over the tables in the temple" in education!" I like the status quo. Cheers!" Dr. D. Read more
Randi Weingarten, head of The American Federation of Teachers (AFT),
one of the largest teachers' union in the country, visits Stephen Colbert on
Comedy Central last night in this video Read more
Guest Post. What Is Effective Teaching? Is "learning to cope with failure" a parenting flaw or "the way we educate" outcome? Standardized Testing and Stuff We Really Don't Want to Talk About . . . Read more
" Disney's focus groups find that for Chinese parents,
'education means everything'.
English, in particular, is viewed as a ticket to the wider world ..." Read more
Hope we are imbuing our kids with the same sense of perseverance, tenacity, and sense of mission which were hallmarks of Holbrooke, as
Hillary so heart-warmingly conveys. Read more
"We hope we can get to a point, Governor Wise and myself,
where digital learning becomes . . . as nonpolitical issue . . .
becomes kind of the core way that we educate children." Read more
"Change is hard," Obama says. "If people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place."- "Obama in Command: The Rolling Stone Interview" by Jann Wenner"'Given how much stuff was... Read more
President Barack Obama was interviewed this morning by Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" program as a part of NBC's "Education Nation" special programming event. Full 30 minute interview is featured below.Beginning with several sobering statistics, the President and Lauer discussed... Read more
Watch: John Legend & Deborah Kenny Show How A School Can Get "Accountability" Right: Personalized Learning For Students, Autonomy for Teachers, Great Leadership & School Culture "Required". Video. Read more
If you missed yesterday's "Meet The Press", do check out the clips below from this kick-off program for NBC's intensive three day "Education Nation"with panelists Sec'y of Education Arne Duncan, AFT head Randi Weingarten, DC school chancellor Michelle Rhee and... Read more
"It's a moment ripe with ferment and possibility, but also rife with conflict, in which the kind of change that fills many hearts with hope fills others with mortal dread-
and which gives a movie like 'Superman' a rare chance to move the needle." Read more
Teachers, Charter Schools, Business, Testing, Unions In The Hot Seat on "Morning Joe"Richard Stengel, Time magazine's editor-in-chief, announced next week's cover story, "What Makes A School Great" which, if judged by the teacher-obsessed conversation on today's MSNBC's "Morning Joe", should... Read more
Check out Brian Williams and his "Teacher Town Hall", streaming live, which "will bring together teachers from across the country, both in-person and online, to brainstorm ideas, talk about what works . . . Read more
Reports The New York Times from GAO investigators ". . . an admissions officer told investigators posing as applicants that the college had the same accreditation as Harvard. . . " Read more
"Show us the tests and results on 8th grader problem-solving skills. Quid pro quo, baby - let's check your standards and performance to see how you measure up . . ." Read more
College Inc., a powerful special documentary aired last night on PBS's Frontline, covers the hot topics in higher education and is just too compelling to miss: for-profit schools like Phoenix University and DeVry, how on-line is impacting higher ed, the... Read more
White Hot Controversy: NYT's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Washington Post's Gene Robinson, Mike Barnicle, Dee Dee Myers Join Joe Scarborough Take On "The 1 1/2 % Solution"
Read more
* Read More About the Steve Wozniak Relationship (Rift?) With Steve Jobs, Fellow M.I.A. In This Fascinating Piece From Slate: "The iPad is Steve Jobs' Final Victory Over The Company's Co-founder Steve Wozniak." Read more
JOE & AL READY "TO TURN THE TABLES OVER IN THE TEMPLE" Joe Scarborough and the Rev. Al Sharpton shook up the education world during a recent segment of "Morning Joe", where they had a very direct exchange and agreed on key points in education reform. Read more
The chess pieces are starting to line up for the passing of a new education law which is morphing from the old No Child Left Behind into what is now called ESEA. Link here to overview from The New York... Read more
Newsweek breaks this week with terrific multi-article coverage of First Lady Michelle Obama's take-no-prisoners campaign to help bring our child obesity epidemic and our super-size-it mentality to a tipping point. Link to articles here. An excerpt of her much-needed "tough... Read more
By C.J. WesterbergThe scene was Randi Weingarten, head of the AFT (teachers union), with Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe, journalist Carl Bernstein, and Willie Geist, host of Way Too Early.You could sense the restraint used by everyone at the... Read more
"Showed Real Courage": Uses Firing Of Entire Faculty At Rhode Island's Central Falls High School As Example Of Strategy For A School That "Continues To Fail" Read more
Revisited Due To Popular Demand. Joe Scarborough and Carl Bernstein on MSNBC's Morning Joe with Teacher Union Head in Heated Exchange - See Video. Read more
Video Comparing The U.S. Vs. Other Countries: What They Do Right & What We Can Learn From Them. Is This The Book Of The Year By Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond? Read more
Tom Friedman: "We Need To Get Millions Of American Kids, Not Just The Geniuses, Excited About Innovation And Entrepreneurship Again. We Need To Make 2010 The Year Of 'Start-Up America'."
Read more
The Federal Stimulus and "Race to the Top" Grants - How Will It Affect Education?According to The Christian Science Monitor this month:"The federal stimulus money for education is prompting states, much more than before, to embrace reforms promoted by the... Read more
How a powerful philanthropist may be controlling our kids' future education behind the scenes. Should we be concerned or grateful? With a burgeoning global Microsoft Education division, questions of conflict of interest loom. Part 1. Read more