A Better Path to Learning

Tag: students

  • We’re Losing Quality Learning Leaders!

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    Former elementary teacher and current freelance write Paul Veracka writes in a recent EducationWeek article “It was these three major education forces – too much standardized testing, too much punitive discipline, and too little funding – that pushed me to leaving the profession, a profession I excelled in and even loved.” Veracka shares a story…

  • The Kids Know

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    When I was a middle school and high school principal, I paid more attention to the students than their parents or teachers when it came to school culture issues. I always told adults that they would be smarter if they convinced students to come speak with me about something they wanted changed than the adults…

  • Schools Just Can’t

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    Before I rode across Iowa on a bike last week, I had a chance to read an interesting article in EducationWeek. Written by Jeff Frank, an associate education professor at St. Lawrence University, the title of the article was “Want to Value Every Student? Stop Pretending Schools Don’t Pick Winners and Losers.” Frank writes “There…

  • The Short Order Cook and Her Two Daughters (and other commentary)

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    I’m back f,rom my great bike ride across Iowa. One week, 468 miles, several pulled pork sandwiches, slices of strawberry-rhubarb pie, too many biscuit and gravy breakfasts to mention, and a wonderful time with 18,000 other bike riders. For those of you unfamiliar, this ride is called RAGBRAI, an acronym for the Register’s (as in…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    It’s Friday, time for the news roundup. Despite Urgency, New National Tutoring Effort Could Take 6 Months to Ramp Up (The 74) The 74 recently reported: “With a third pandemic summer underway, the Biden administration’s new push to recruit 250,000 tutors and mentors is getting a late start in helping students recover from academic and…

  • Owning Your Data

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    A good friend of mine served as a school board member in Houston when I was a public school educator there. She used to say, “Scott, there is only one way to know if kids are learning or not – you have to test them. If you don’t test them, then how do you know?”…

  • Civics Education and Patriotism – Florida Style

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    I like to write about creating a new system of learning for kids, one that personalizes learning for each individual young learner. The current system was not built to individualize learning for every kid and doesn’t seem interested in learning how to do it now. Furthermore, the current system seems too occupied with what I…

  • Shortchanging K-12 Schools

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    A big reason why I think our traditional school system is broken and can’t be fixed deals with the equity issue, especially when it comes to black, brown, and poor young learners. A new report, focused on federal funding sources for K-12 campuses, supports my claim that schools have become highly inequitable places. The report,…

  • Radical Imagination and the End of School

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    I’ve been critical of Will Richardson in the past while writing this column, but I really like some of the issues he addresses in his on-line articles. Richardson, for those of you not familiar with him, is an author, teacher, and blogger. He focuses on what learning could and should look like for kids, so…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    Here’s your Friday News Roundup. FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Launches National Effort to Support Student Success (WH.GOV) According to this latest media release, “America’s students are on average two to four months behind in reading and math because of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden understands the pain and loss our nation’s students, families, and educators…