A Better Path to Learning

Category: Learnings

  • Is There Common Purpose Inside Schools?

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    I usually try to stay away from political landmines in my posts, but the latest updates on public vaccines, especially when it comes to children, caused me concern. According to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) report, “While most of the public continue to have confidence in the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps,…

  • AI Will be the Death of School As We Know It

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    The Van Beck family has a tradition of participating in “table talks” where anyone in the family can bring a topic to the table for discussion. Topics range from politics to climate change to cheating – yes, that’s right, cheating. Specifically cheating at school. Is group work cheating? Allowing a student to take an open…

  • Schools Either Want Parents or They Don’t

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    Parents and schools make for strange bed partners. Parents want the best for their children, and most entrust their most prized possessions to a public school system that says it is committed to making that young person into a strong and smart citizen. Schools say they want parent involvement, but most want parents to do…

  • Why Don’t We Do What We Know?

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    I’m back from my travels. I hope everyone enjoyed a peaceful and restful holiday season. And I hope all of us keep our new year’s resolutions – at least through the month of January. At the end of 2022, The 74 posted an article listing their most significant education studies of 2022. Let’s take a…

  • Looking Back at 2022

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    This will be my last column for 2022, so I thought it would be a good idea to review the year utilizing charts and studies most significant when it comes to telling this year’s public education story. Yesterday, The 74 published an article that shared 14 charts designed to help us better understand COVID’s impact…

  • Our Public Schools Are Struggling

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    Whenever systems struggle, human resources seem to be at the top of the list of problematic indicators associated with that struggle. Our public school  system is struggling. At the top of the human resources chain, The 74 reported this week that, “Half of the nation’s 500 largest school districts have changed superintendents or are in…

  • Big Rocks!

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    I spent all my professional career teaching and leading schools in Texas. When I first arrived to the Lone Star State in 1984 the public school system had a state curriculum known as “Essential Elements”. Later, the “Essential Elements” turned into the “Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills”, or “TEKS”. A big problem with the “Essential…

  • The Art of Questioning

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    I’m a big fan of feedback. And, let’s get one thing clear – standardized tests should no longer be considered effective forms of feedback, as we’ve come to use them over the years, if they ever were. Feedback is best used as a learning tool when it’s specific, personal, and inquiry-based. Today, we focus on…

  • Defenders of a Broken System Aren’t Helping

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    This week seems to be the week when I’ve been critical of those who continue to defend a broken public school system, hoping to fix it while some make money from it. We covered Rudy Crew and Pedro Noguera and their attempt to leave no child behind by emphasizing reduced class sizes, extended instructional days,…

  • Beware of the Defenders

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    In Monday’s column I wrote about Rudy Crew and Pedro Noguera’s recent article titled “What It Really Takes to Leave No Child Behind.” In the article, Crew and Noguera encourage the traditional public school system to change their ways so that all kids inside their system can receive an excellent education. Crew and Noguera use…