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marybethhertz

marybethhertz has written 10 posts for Cooperative Catalyst

Change from Within vs Change from Without

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This is cross-posted from my Philly Teacher blog. I can’t wait to hear my fellow co-opers thoughts! Until recently I counted myself among those change-minded folks who believed that true change could be enacted (and must be at some level) enacted from within ‘the system.’ Amid the discussions of many homeschoolers and unschoolers, who believe that it is … Continue reading »

My Visit To #occupyphilly

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Today I stopped at City Hall on my way home to meet some of the protesters at #occupyphilly and to spread the word about #occupyedu. What I found was a small city, a microcosm of a community. Tents filled up the grounds outside City Hall, and scattered around the edges were an Information Booth, a … Continue reading »

Why I Want to Listen and Not Just Hear

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After reading John’s honest and powerful post, Nine Reasons I Quit Listening, I wanted to respond with a cross-post from my Philly Teacher blog in which I contemplate the difference between listening and hearing. If you haven’t read John’s post, go read it and come back to read mine. I’m hoping to build a conversation … Continue reading »

What is School Choice, Really?

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This is cross-posted from my Philly Teacher blog. I wanted to extend the conversation to this community of forward-thinking and innovative educators, so I have added it to the Co-op. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Pennsylvania’s new Governor, Tom Corbett, ran on a platform of school vouchers. He and his neighbor, New Jersey … Continue reading »

Social Media: Creating Insular Communities

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Just recently I got into a discussion on Facebook with some of my mother’s friends about the goings on in Wisconsin. To make a long story short, we disagreed about a lot of things including tax cuts and unions.  I ventured to my mom’s page to see some of the other discussions between her friends … Continue reading »

What is My Grading Philosophy?

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Today I had an important conversation with my instructional director. My professional focus for growth this year has been to really hone my assessment skills. I have begun to use more techniques to check for understanding, I have begun to break down my teaching into manageable goals and I have really begun to take seriously … Continue reading »

Why Scale It?

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This is cross-posted from my Philly Teacher blog. I felt that it should be part of the conversation here, too. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– I recently read an article entitled, “Education’s Status Quo to Parents: How Dare You Use the Parent Trigger and Make Decisions!” on the blog Dropout Nation.  I won’t get into the details of the … Continue reading »

Is it Time to Say Goodbye to the Dept of Ed?

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This article on The Answer Sheet by principal George Wood recently crossed my Twitter stream. It makes the argument that it may be time for the Department of Education to ‘go away.’ I was, of course, intrigued and prepared to be highly critical of such a suggestion. To my surprise, I found myself nodding in … Continue reading »

Who’s the Boss?

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This past Friday, my school attended a mini-conference at another school. When I arrived, I was amazed to find out that my two sessions had been pre-selected for me. I didn’t quite know what to think. As a co-organizer of edcamp Philly, an unconference, it was mind-blowing to have no choice in what I was … Continue reading »

What (Really) Works

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This is my first official post on the Cooperative Catalyst and I really wanted it to be something mindblowing. You know, the newbie’s gotta make a big entrance. Yet, as I sat down to hash out what I wanted to write I realized that my thoughts were scattered all over the place. Originally, I wanted … Continue reading »

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