Blog Campaign

Letters to Michelle Obama (Guest Post by Christopher Chase)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ April 2, 2013 ⋅ Leave a Comment

If you’re a teacher, student or parent with children in American public schools then you probably have some first hand knowledge of the problems that have been caused by well-meaning but inflexible “No child left behind” policies and the new emphasis on “one-size-fits-all” common core standards. It’s not that all aspects of these initiatives are … Continue reading »

Taking Time to Practice Democracy #yearatMH

Posted by Sabrina ⋅ February 12, 2013 ⋅ Leave a Comment

originally posted at the IDEA Blog. Are we ‘school-year’ wise, but lifetime foolish? Immediately after finishing the first video chapter of “A Year at Mission Hill,” I went over to the school’s website and read their mission statement. I was first struck by just how beautiful it is; their care and dedication to “helping parents … Continue reading »

Why Not Teach For America

Posted by robinclane ⋅ December 13, 2012 ⋅ 7 Comments

Well, it’s about that time of year — when seniors start frantically applying for fellowships and internships and jobs, the socially conscious among them aching for a career that will allow them to change the world, others looking for something they can put on their application for law school. Then comes along the recruiting powerhouse … Continue reading »

Occupy Education: Student Protests Of 2012 (Guest Post by Stephanie Rivera)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ June 25, 2012 ⋅ 3 Comments

“When students awaken, the national conversation will change.”- Diane Ravitch, “When Students Awaken“ After a week of googling, and searching around Facebook, I think I’ve finally got most them. I have found that over 150 student protests have been held in the United States thus far in 2012. For some reason, I thought this would take … Continue reading »

A Celebration of Edith Abbott (Guest Post by Kim Wilkens)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ May 29, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments

Originally Posted at Kim’s Blog I had an assignment this past semester to research 5 educational leaders and besides the very well-known like Montessori, there wasn’t a lot of source material for women. As a women in tech, I’m used to the being in the minority and my gender underrepresented in the media, but I … Continue reading »

School Starters Who Write: Another Crowdsourced Celebration

Posted by Paul Freedman ⋅ May 28, 2012 ⋅ 9 Comments

Many educators dream of starting or leading a school or educational alternative. How often do we teachers fantasize about the utopian school we would create if given the opportunity? All the things that don’t work in the contemporary industrialized model of schooling, and the myriad ways in which mainstream education places itself somewhere on the … Continue reading »

Women Educators and Philosophers: A Crowdsourced Celebration

Posted by dloitz ⋅ May 26, 2012 ⋅ 78 Comments

The majority of teachers in this country are women, their impact on the history of education is vast, but only a few are covered in textbooks on education or talked about among the major thinkers in the history of education. Their wisdom, experience and action research in and out of the classroom has helped shape … Continue reading »

Let Our Voices be Heard (Guest Post by SWDFS student Raychel Gafford)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ May 1, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments

Reposted with permission from Southwest Detroit Freedom School. Originally posted at Let Our Voices Be Heard! Originally recited by Raychel Gafford during a walk out and protest at Western International School in Detroit Wednesday April 25, 2012. See video of the speech below! Her speech starts at 3:46! Hi my name is Raychel Gafford. I’m … Continue reading »

MAY DAY of Action for Education! #OccupyEDU

Posted by coopcatalyst ⋅ May 1, 2012 ⋅ 6 Comments

Today all over the country students, educators, parents and community members are taking part in the May Day of Action. There are many ways to support this day of action. One way is to make your voice heard online. Today we will be collecting blog posts and twitter/facebook status message and pictures and posters in … Continue reading »

Tending Our Gardens

Posted by Tara S ⋅ April 16, 2012 ⋅ 6 Comments

Ah, Spring. Now is the time where my family and I roll up our sleeves and dig into the dirt, preparing the soil for herbs, vegetables and flowers– up-rooting weeds, churning through the sun hardened soil and squishing our feet through the newly watered beds. We all have different approaches to accomplishing the same tasks. … Continue reading »

Necessity Play is the Mother of Invention

Posted by Jen Lilienstein - Founder, Kidzmet.com ⋅ March 23, 2012 ⋅ 4 Comments

I stumbled across our Monsters, Inc DVD last night and one of the key themes replayed in my mind…the realization at the end of the movie that joy/laughter creates significantly more power than fear. I think we need to revisit this theme with respect to learning and school. So many of our policy decisions right … Continue reading »

Work and Play, Play and Work

Posted by Paul Oh ⋅ March 18, 2012 ⋅ 3 Comments

“Play is the child’s work” is a line made famous by the early childhood educator, Maria Montessori. I interpret that to mean many things. But perhaps most importantly I believe it to mean that through play, children – and I would say youth and adults, too – make meaning of their world. This idea is … Continue reading »

Recess…for teachers

Posted by Elisa Waingort ⋅ March 18, 2012 ⋅ 11 Comments

I distributed report cards to my students on Friday. And although I didn’t keep track of how long it took me to write report cards, it wasn’t a quick and dirty activity. In fact, writing report cards begins weeks before they are actually due. And, I’m referring to the act of writing comments and/or determining … Continue reading »

Creating a Powerful Education for Our Children (Guest post by Beth Kimberly @Playworks)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ March 15, 2012 ⋅ 1 Comment

originally posted on bkimberly’s Playworks blog Although we probably didn’t think of it this way at the time, our childhoods were full of informal education outside of school. This is where we were taught social norms, empathy, teamwork, problem solving and leadership by playing and learning from other, older kids. Unfortunately, it seems that many … Continue reading »

Bring Back Recess #letkidsplay #bringbackrecess

Posted by John T. Spencer ⋅ March 13, 2012 ⋅ 7 Comments

My son is a perpetual powder keg of passion. You wouldn’t know that at school. He’s quiet, but not shy. He walks in straight lines and listens closely. He doesn’t look like the type of kid who needs recess. After all, he behaves. He doesn’t fidget too much. However, the minute he gets home, he … Continue reading »

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