Category: Learnings

Education Reimagined is a Washington D.C.-based group committed to advancing learner-centered education for our nation’s young people. I’ve written about this group before, and they are all good people trying to do good things for kids. Recently, Education Reimagined released topics for their “Learning Out Loud” series, on-line meetings scheduled throughout the summer designed to…

I graduated from the University of Iowa a long time ago, so I receive Iowa’s alumni magazine periodically. In their Summer, 2022 issue, the magazine featured a one-page article on the university’s School of the Wild. According to the article, “School of the Wild teaches youth about the habitats of Iowa and the importance of…

Rod Paige hired me when I first became a middle school principal. At that time, Paige was superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. Later, Dr. Paige became U.S. Secretary of Education under President George W. Bush. I still remember what Paige told us during district-wide principal’s meetings – “Don’t tell me there is teaching…

I’m back from a week’s vacation. I hope everyone had a restful 4th of July. Now, let’s get to it. I’ve been meaning to write about an article I read a few weeks ago titled “How School Can Make Students (and Teachers) Feel Dumb.” The article appeared in EducationWeek and was authored by Patrick O’Connor,…

I enjoyed being a school principal. I was a middle school principal and opened a brand new high school as their first principal. I enjoyed playing the role of the school’s instructional leader, even though many of my counterparts delegated teaching and learning to others. But maybe it’s time to close the school principal position,…

I’m a big fan of Ira Glass and This American Life. It is one of the best radio shows/podcasts available these days. If you haven’t listened, I encourage you to do so. A few weeks ago, the show focused on fairness. I’ll spare you the details of the entire program. What I want to focus…

When I worked in public education, it was amazing to me how much all of us fell in love with the “70.” Under the Texas accountability at the time, if you got 70 percent of you kids to pass the state’s high-stakes test in either reading, writing, or math, you were considered a “recognized” campus.…

High school graduation season, for the most part, has come and gone. Graduates are getting ready to prepare for college or possibly the work force. Seniors have been recognized for their academic achievement by being named cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude. Valedictorians and salutatorians have given their speeches congratulating their fellow…

Here’s a Best of the Best article originally published for The Education Game back in 2021. What happens to the world if COVID-19 doesn’t disappear for the next 50 years? How does the human race survive climate change? What happens to America and the world if more governments become less democratic and more become autocratic?…