A Better Path to Learning

Category: Learnings

  • Building Around a Passion

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    Imagine a world of learning where everything started with this question: “What would you like to learn today?” And then, everything else filled in from there. Education Reimagined shared a story this week that encompasses that type of learning spirit: “Aboard a tall ship, learners step onto the bowsprit, suspended over the open ocean, trusting…

  • Lack of Imagination in DMPS

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    I write a lot about public schools in three states: Texas, Vermont, and Iowa. I worked in the Texas public school system for 35 years, and I’ve lived in Vermont and Iowa over the past seven years. All three systems are different when it comes to providing public education to their youth. Texas has one…

  • Research Out the Window

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    I’ve asked this question before: In public education, why don’t we do what we know is the right thing to do? The answer to this question points to the importance of research, and, more importantly, how we often ignore that research when it comes to best practices in teaching reading, writing, problem-solving, and character development.…

  • Conversation as Learning

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    Conversation is essential to learning. The Greek word for conversation is “dialogos,” meaning “through speech and reasoning.” The Greeks were fully committed to “dialogos” as a learning medium. Our one-room schoolhouse was full of conversation, as many 19th century adult learning leaders knew the importance of peer conversation. It wasn’t until America moved to the…

  • More Bad News for K-12 Continued

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    When it rains, it pours. We just spent the last two days lamenting over our country’s latest NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress or The Nation’s Report Card). And now there’s more bad news. Today, EducationWeek released a story that addresses American opinions about the quality of public education in the United States. Kevin…

  • More Bad News for K-12 Continued

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    We continue today exploring why reading and math scores from our traditional K-12 system continue to decline. Last week, EducationWeek reported that, “Reading and math scores on the nation’s report card show that students haven’t rebounded from the pandemic – and in some cases, achievement is still declining.” “The grim news from the National Assessment…

  • More Bad News for K-12

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    I’m afraid the next two days of ABPTL will be filled with bad news when it comes to our traditional K-12 public school system and the progress it’s made making the nation’s young learners smarter and stronger when it comes to their reading and problem-solving abilities. NAEP (the National Assessment of Education Progress) data, or…

  • Change is Coming

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    Parents are looking for additional options when it comes to educating their young learners. In an article published by The 74 last week, “Nearly two-thirds of parents considered switching their children to a different school last year, but less than half of them actually followed through, a new national survey finds.” “In January, the National…

  • Politics Versus Learning

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    Misinformation. Disinformation. It happens everywhere, and Iowa is no exception. No, you aren’t re-reading yesterday’s article, but the first two lines of both posts are the same – because providing reliable information to young learners and their families is under attack everywhere, including the Hawkeye State. The latest example of misinformation comes from the Iowa…

  • Who’s Behind the Curtain?

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    Misinformation. Disinformation. It happens everywhere, and Iowa is no exception. Recently the Iowa Department of Education announced that the Hawkeye State’s science standards would no longer refer to “climate change” and instead refer to the phenomenon as “climate trends.” At the same time “biological evolution” would become “biological evolution over time.” The Des Moines Register…