Tag: parents

In 1967 Kenneth B. Clark, a psychologist, professor at the City College of New York, and a social activist, presented a paper to the National Conference on Equal Educational Opportunity in America’s Cities. Clark asserted that American public education suffered from “pervasive and persistent” inefficiency, particularly in the schools provided for African-American and other underprivileged…

Recently, I was able to watch a webinar, hosted by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, focused on black families and their increased interest in creating and launching learning pods for their children instead of sending them to their neighborhood public schools. Before Thanksgiving, Linda Jacobson, a reporter for The 74, summarized the webinar by…

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so here is a smorgasbord of thoughts for you to enjoy with your turkey and pumpkin pie. It’s tradition in my family to start Thanksgiving morning with a delicious assortment of kolaches. We all have our favorites – sausage with cheese, fruit, or pumpkin. Kolaches are a delectable way…

I ran across an article written by Tanji Reed Marshall for the latest issue of Educational Leadership. The article is titled “The Power, Promise, and Practice of Student Agency.” In the article, Marshall writes, “’Kids today are different.’” “This statement has been said to me more times than I can count. I once thought it…

It’s Friday! Here’s your News Roundup. Post-Pandemic Survey Shows Parents Want Greater Control of Kids’ Education (The 74) According to a report last week by The 74, “More than half of the 3,115 parents who participated in a spring survey said they prefer to direct and curate their child’s education rather than rely entirely on…

ASCD’s Educational Leadership highlights “The Self-Directed Learner” this month. One article, written by veteran 5th grade teacher Kyle Redford, discussed the balance needed between independent and collaborative learning. Redford teaches at the Marin County Day School, and even though this particular school attracts young learners from high-income families, what she lays out here is informative…

What if young learners were able to become smarter and stronger by participating in projects that would build their reading, writing, problem-solving, and character skills over long periods of time? Could young learners demonstrate mastery in these skill areas without attending traditional school for the state-mandated 180 days, or whatever it is in your state?…

Whoops! I thought this article posted last evening, but I guess not. So here’s yesterday’s post, with today’s coming later. I’m a historian by training. Historians enjoy looking back to see what people have said in the past about what might happen in the future, which often times becomes our present. When the pandemic broke…

Could states sponsor learner-based enterprises? That’s the question Robin Lake, from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, and Kelly Young, from Education Reimagined, explore in a recently released white paper. Lake and Young write, “Imagine an education system where every young person could access any learning opportunity they wanted—in any school, museum, summer camp, or…

I recently ran across an article written by Dr. Tyler Thigpen, co-founder and head of The Forest School, The Forest School Online, and Institute for Self Directed Learning and instructor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. In his article “Differences Between Teacher-Led and Learner-Led Education – Practical Steps to Make Change Happen,”…