A Better Path to Learning

Tag: teachers

  • How Hard Is It to Change a High School?

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    I’ve written about the personalized learning lab school we launched while I served as the executive director of a Houston-based educational non-profit. In 2015, our lab school partnered with a Houston area school district to apply for a XQ Super School grant. The hope was to take what we were learning in our lab school…

  • What if The Smithsonian Ran Public Education?

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    A few weeks ago, I participated in an online conference hosted by The Smithsonian, their National Education Summit. It was two days of deep, exploratory learning for both young and adult learners. When I reviewed some of the session titles, it became apparent to me that these learning sessions were a bit different than most…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    It’s Friday! Time for the news roundup. Are There Better Ways Than Standardized Tests to Assess Students? Educators Think So (EducationWeek) EducationWeek writer Larry Ferlazzo recently shared a series of posts addressing assessment. Here’s a sampling of topics addressed in each of the posts: Let’s Take a Holistic Approach to Judging Schools Let’s Dump the…

  • The Problem with Ed Reform

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    I think the Aurora Institute (AI) tries to do good work. Previously the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, this organization believes it’s lifting up new ideas to shift mental models on public education. The Aurora Institute believes it’s drawing from the latest developments in education systems change nationally and globally to transform K-12 education…

  • We Need Innovation and We Need it Now

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    This past spring, Getting Smart, a Washington-based group committed to helping leaders, schools, and systems ideate, design, and implement innovations for equity, released a report titled Building an Innovation Index. The report was written by Nate McClennen, Getting Smart’s Vice-President for Strategy and Innovation. Nate earned a reputation as a learning leader when he served…

  • 100 Years to Thrive, Part 2

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    Yesterday I wrote about a Stanford University’s Center on Longevity report titled The New Map for Life: 100 Years to Thrive. A copy of yesterday’s article can be found here. Today, let’s discuss the implications this report might have for our country’s public education system and the probable need for a new system of learning.…

  • 100 Years to Thrive

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    Back in November of 2021, Stanford University’s Center on Longevity issued a report that caught my eye. The report, titled The New Map of Life: 100 Years to Thrive, details what we can expect moving forward as our human longevity continues to increase. The report begins with a startling statement: “In the United States, demographers…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    It’s August! Time for back to school shopping and maybe a quick vacation with the family. Even though school starts here in Iowa August 23rd, the educational news the past few weeks has been rather slow. But there’s a few items to share today, so let’s get to it. Ed Dept. Announces New Push to…

  • 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…