critical thinking

Commercialism is Kidnapping Our Brains Without Our Consent

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ February 25, 2013 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Every February the Banff Festival of Mountain Films World Tour comes to Ellsworth, Maine, near where I live; it’s a highlight of the winter for us. We love watching the best films of the several hundred submissions in Mountain Sports and Mountain Culture, and without fail, unless I am traveling for work, I attend all … Continue reading »

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics

Posted by robinclane ⋅ January 29, 2013 ⋅ 2 Comments

Recently, I attend a meeting of the Austin Social Justice Teachers Inquiry Group, during which we talked about… politics. A scary word in a school. Big “P” Politics referred to ways teachers can be involved politically beyond the walls of their classroom; little “p” politics meant bringing current events and social justice into lessons and … Continue reading »

Real Reform: What we DO want (?)

Posted by iteach4change ⋅ June 10, 2012 ⋅ 9 Comments

Easy way to get a new post – paste your treatise from another blog… Yesterday (Sat. 6/9) this was posted on BlueJersey: “There’s a lot written here about what we don’t like about the right wing education “reform” agenda – the attack on unions, privatization, etc. I’m at an education panel at Netroots Nation, and … Continue reading »

A Standardized Composition Test

Posted by Brent Snavely ⋅ May 22, 2012 ⋅ 5 Comments

We know bubble sheets are unrelated to “real life”. I think we made the “education thing” up by constructing much nonsense about the written word being the supreme method of sharing ideas and information. I think we have forgotten that sharing experiences and doing things together are matters that (1) allow us to learn and … Continue reading »

50 Words You Should NOT Say on a Standardized Test

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ April 16, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

I wanted to share a recent post I wrote for Common Dreams, a progressive news site. Here’s an excerpt from “50 Words You Should NOT Say on a Standardized Test”: “… when I first read about the New York City’s department of education effort to ban 50 words from city-wide tests, I thought that I’d … Continue reading »

Teaching for Revolution

Posted by educatedtodeath ⋅ April 5, 2012 ⋅ 4 Comments

Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com Why teach critical thinking if not for revolution? Revolution is change, transformation, innovation. It’s a concept that is inevitable if people learn to think, learn to learn, learn that they are the creators of culture. Critical thinking embraces the individual power to create, collaborate, question, reinvent, and so forth. When we … Continue reading »

Creating a Generation of Solutionaries

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ April 4, 2012 ⋅ 7 Comments

For my blog post, I wanted to share a recent article I wrote for Educational Horizons Magazine. Here’s an excerpt from “Creating a Generation of Solutionaries”: “In June, approximately three million students will graduate from public U.S. high schools, and even though they will have all passed their No Child Left Behind tests year after … Continue reading »

Is society incompatible with imagination?

Posted by kima ⋅ December 29, 2011 ⋅ 6 Comments

It’s been a while since I last blogged here — part of the reason is that I didn’t feel I can contribute as much in the efforts to change education as the rest of my Coop friends, but part was my feeling I need to focus on my family and my own health after the … Continue reading »

Cooperative Catalyst Presents: Kirsten Olson

Posted by daretheschool ⋅ November 8, 2011 ⋅ 2 Comments

Kirsten Olson is a leading writer in the U.S. describing education from a student’s point of view. Her recent book Wounded By School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up To Old School Culture(2009) was one of the ten bestselling books at Teachers College Press this past year, and was nominated for Book of the Year … Continue reading »

Cooperative Catalyst Presents: Dream School Commons

Posted by daretheschool ⋅ November 7, 2011 ⋅ 3 Comments

Jaime R. Wood is founder of Dream School Commons, a nonprofit organization with the mission of starting innovative low-cost or no-cost schools that serve populations in need. She is also the author of Living Voices: Multicultural Poetry in the Middle School Classroom (NCTE 2006). She started her teaching career working with middle school students in an alternative charter school … Continue reading »

Don’t Wait for Supermen: Foster Solutionaries

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ November 2, 2011 ⋅ 2 Comments

I wanted to share a recent post I wrote for Common Dreams, a progressive news site. Here’s an excerpt from Don’t Wait for Supermen: Foster Solutionaries: “Three things happened this year in the world of education reform. The controversial documentary films Waiting for Superman and Race to Nowhere came out and became widely viewed and … Continue reading »

Occupy Wall Street: The Education Edition (Part 1)

Posted by daretheschool ⋅ October 10, 2011 ⋅ 17 Comments

I am very happy to say that I spent my weekend occupying Wall Street. During this time, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with people who are not only angry, but hopeful. They are individuals who protest our country’s economic policies not out of hatred, but out of love for our country. They see … Continue reading »

An Open Letter to “Teachers” Everywhere (from a ‘non-teacher’)

Posted by Brent Snavely ⋅ September 16, 2011 ⋅ 6 Comments

Paula White’s description of the pain she experiences in the mad, mad, mad, mad world of education has prompted me to make a single point (albeit in a rather longwinded, round-about way). Whether you follow the yellow brick road purported to lead to the City of Oz (material “success” in the U.S. or the “global … Continue reading »

Coincidences, Patterns, Beliefs and Baloney-Detection: A Call for Humane Education

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ September 14, 2011 ⋅ 5 Comments

As readers of my blog posts know, I’m a skeptic. To the best of my ability I base my beliefs on scientific, rather than anecdotal evidence, and I am fairly demanding of substantiation when people make unvalidated claims and assumptions or present belief systems as facts. I’m particularly uncomfortable with some of the overarching generalizations … Continue reading »

Returning to School: Education for a Livable Planet

Posted by zoeweil ⋅ September 5, 2011 ⋅ 5 Comments

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent post I wrote for Common Dreams, a progressive news site. Here’s an excerpt from “Returning to School: Education for a Livable Planet”: “Students and teachers are returning to school. I know few in either group who are genuinely excited at the prospect. This is a travesty … Continue reading »

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