Leadership and Activism

Drop That “Busy Work” Like It’s Hot

Posted by Michael Meechin ⋅ September 28, 2014 ⋅ Leave a comment

This is a cross post from Pondering Education. I have worked with a lot of educators over the years. Each faculty and each school that I have visited they are different in so many ways. Now, this is not necessarily something to look down upon. However, there is one area that is consistently (wildly) inconsistent … Continue reading →

To Quit or Not To Quit: That is the Question

Posted by robinclane ⋅ February 24, 2014 ⋅ 3 Comments

In recent news, there has been a barrage of videos, letters, and articles from educators around the country – explaining in no uncertain terms why they are walking away from the teaching profession. Excessive testing, an administration that isn’t supportive, difficulties with classroom management, a lack of autonomy – the reasons continue and continue. These teachers have gotten much attention for their … Continue reading →

To Hope, New Teachers, and Re-awakenings

Posted by educatedtodeath ⋅ January 13, 2014 ⋅ Leave a comment

Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com Request: I’d like to send the teachers in my care your way to learn like I did. I started this blog a little more than two years ago to voice what I was experiencing in my classroom and the systems I had worked in and was working in at the time. … Continue reading →

Leadership Should Permeate Everything You Do

Posted by Paula White ⋅ December 19, 2013 ⋅ Leave a comment

Today I got my annual “Happy Holidays” email from my Superintendent. It never ceases to amaze me how she turns everything into something to make us think. Leadership does permeate everything she does. Here’s the latest from our Coop Catalyst friend and author, Pam Moran (and I post this with her permission.): Dear Colleagues: … Continue reading →

Economics 101: Dark Times on Wall Street (and Chemical Alleys)

Posted by Brent Snavely ⋅ May 31, 2013 ⋅ 1 Comment

Through various history lessons we know of the effects that Wall Street has upon our lives. The Black Tuesday that heralded The Great Depression, Wall Street’s Black Monday of 1986 and the Flash Crash of 2010, make it seem that economic circumstances are entirely dependent upon what takes place on a street in New York … Continue reading →

A Thin Line Between Silence and Voice

Posted by charles kouns ⋅ May 19, 2013 ⋅ 2 Comments

A few days ago, David Loitz, Imagining Learning’s Seed Steward, posted a rough cut of a new film he is making about the Voices of the young people (and some of the adults) who have been involved in Listening Sessions. In watching it, in listening to those familiar faces and voices that I met just … Continue reading →

Positive Spaces for Engaging Young People’s Voice.

Posted by dloitz ⋅ May 10, 2013 ⋅ 15 Comments

Today a video of student Jeff Bliss, a sophomore at Duncanville High School in Texas, went viral fast. In the video below we are privy to Bliss passionately speaking his truth. He knows that learning is more than packets to fill out, more than passively fulfilling simple and mindless tasks. You want kids to come … Continue reading →

Teachers accountable to teachers: busting bureaucracy organically

Posted by educatedtodeath ⋅ May 1, 2013 ⋅ Leave a comment

Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com Suppose we looked at teacher accountability in a new way? I propose we trust teachers—a little laissez-faire education if you will. This might require higher pay and a serious look at teacher education and quality, but it’ll balance itself out. With less money thrown at testing and corporate remediation materials plus … Continue reading →

Yes Men say “No”. An accreditor tells the truth

Posted by educatedtodeath ⋅ April 30, 2013 ⋅ 1 Comment

Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com I was asked to sit on a panel of teachers to represent my school district during the accreditation process. I assume I was chosen because I am eager to speak in meetings and apparently speak well. This makes me think my administration has only enjoyed the sound of my voice and … Continue reading →

The Alternatives to Compulsory Education

Posted by patfarenga ⋅ April 23, 2013 ⋅ Leave a comment

I’ve been meeting with people over the past two years trying to find ways to connect and expand our different points of view about learning without compulsory institutions. Kirsten Olson, one of the founders of Cooperative Catalyst, was one of the people I reached out to, which is how I became part of this group. … Continue reading →

Introducing IncitED: The Crowdfunding Community for Education

Posted by JaimeRWood ⋅ April 21, 2013 ⋅ 2 Comments

IncitED is the crowdfunding community for education where teachers and education supporters can fund, share, and replicate important education initiatives worldwide. Visit IncitED at http://www.incited.org. Like us on Facebook to get regular updates about how we’re supporting the work of educators: https://www.facebook.com/IncitEDTheCrowdfundingCommunityForEducation. During the last week of April, we’ll be launching two exciting campaigns: Open … Continue reading →

Teach for America: A Terrific Model for Expansion!

Posted by robinclane ⋅ April 14, 2013 ⋅ 4 Comments

Since Teach for America has been so successful at solving the problems of education in our country, I’m proposing we take their model and apply it to other failing systems and issues at hand. If the biggest problem in education is a lack of quality teachers, and we can provide those teachers and thus solve … Continue reading →

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 →

Changing Education (Guest Post by Youth Leader Arooj Ahmad)

Posted by dloitz ⋅ March 24, 2013 ⋅ 3 Comments

The need for a change in education is evident. But what’s the practical solution? It is easy to point out the flaws of the current system, but it is much more difficult to come up with relevant, applicable solutions. And it is even more difficult for policy makers to bring about change. But it has … Continue reading →

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 →