Monthly Archives: March 2012
In my earlier posts I suggested several ways that a computer could enhance teacher productivity and therefore, potentially, permit schools to get by with a few fewer (and potentially better paid) teachers. Computers can help disseminate lectures, streamline grading, drill … Continue reading
Today’s Deseret News ran an article about the education reform bill recently passed by the Utah legislature. In case you missed the lead paragraphs: Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday came to an elementary school to sign into law an education reform … Continue reading
Not long after I wrote my second “can a computer replace me” post, an ESchool News article on “flipped learning” showed up in my inbox. The “flip” comes when students listen to the teacher talk on their ipods or computers, … Continue reading
In my last posting I argued that computers, like so many technological innovations, can be “force multipliers” – that is, they can improve my productivity as a teacher. I wouldn’t really describe this as replacing me so much as enhancing … Continue reading
One of the pleasures of blogging is the excuse it gives me to free associate. This morning three strands of personal experience and reflection wove together in my mind. The first strand was a friendly jab from one of my … Continue reading
I’ve made no secret in this blog that I entered teaching through an alternative certification program (Utah’s), and that for the most part the education courses I took for this certification did not really help my performance in the classroom. … Continue reading
One of the regular commentators on this blog – and a heartfelt critic of standardized testing – sent me an Education Week article that highlights teacher skepticism about the value of such tests. As the article reports, Most teachers do … Continue reading
Diane Ravitch used to be my favorite educational historian (her 2000 book Left Back is still probably the best single account of a century of school reform run amok.) In recent years she’s undergone a conversion to the status quo, … Continue reading
Many educators who are frustrated by U.S. educational trends – including some commentators on this blog – point to Finland as a model we might considering following. Finnish students do not take standardized tests until graduation, yet they score very … Continue reading
I’ve commended the deal that New York state struck with its teacher’s union over teacher evaluations . . . maybe prematurely, as it turns out. As today’s Education Week update points out, the “end game” has yet to play out.