Coloring books for adults are apparently a big new craze. Amazon’s #1 bestseller in stress management/ self-help is a coloring book. And there are many to choose from with beguiling names like Calm and Balance and Enchanted Forest and Secret Garden. Now I have no problem with people of any age coloring inside or outside the lines, with doodling, drawing,…
There’s solid evidence that American students do well when they are encouraged to think for themselves and expected to collaborate with one another. There’s a great Opinion piece by David L. Kirp* in the NY Times today: Make School a Democracy The story begins in a one-room schoolhouse in Armenia, Columbia with a mixed-age (5-13) group of students grouped at…
The latest Program for International Assessment (Pisa) results are out and that means another round of handwringing, lamentation, self-flagellation, finger pointing and all that other good stuff. Basic summary: Shanghai tops the overall ranking with Singapore and Hong Kong coming in at second and third place. Since 2000, the OECD has benn trying to evaluate the skills and knowledge of…
Did you see the film Race to Nowhere? The film challenged the obsession with competition and evaluation in our education system. It looked at the damage done by valuing children and their learning on the basis of test scores, grades, GPAs and college acceptance letters. It was released in 2010 and was shown to groups of concerned and interested parents, students and…
…and we’ll make winners out of them” There’s a good article in the latest edition of Independent School magazine that challenges some cherished notions of excellence and the hypocrisy of so many claims about diversity, equity and justice. It is starts with a question and a well-aimed slice at the euphemisms of so many school mission statements. What does it…
As always, lots of good stuff in the latest edition of Independent School, the quarterly magazine from NAIS. And those who hold rather outdated notions of independent schools as universal staunch defenders of tradition and the home of the status quo might be surprised by the theme: Evolution or Revolution: the Pace of Change in Schools. Evolution or revolution? –…
In a recent post at Raining Acorns, a Pennsylvania parent records what happens in March school testing season. She outlines the impact on the school schedule and the disruption to learning. Is it all worth it? Why all this time on test? Yong Zhao argues that this imposition of high stakes testing is more than a waste of time and…
The NYSAIS heads conference is always valuable and 2010 was no exception. I usually hear NAIS president Pat Bassett in a mega ballroom with all the flashing lights and hoopla of the annual conference. It was good to hear him in the more intimate setting of the dining room at Mohonk. His talk – top trends to look out for…
We need a broader vision of success. We believe that real success results from attention to the basic developmental needs of children and a valuing of different types of skills and abilities. We support parents and schools who are willing to set the bar high for children, and who understand that real success encompasses: Character Health Independence Connection Creativity Enthusiasm…
It was Dean Kamen – the inventor of the Segway and a version of the artificial heart – who established F.I.R.S.T.* His vision was: “To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.” Last year we introduced lego robotics to 5th and 6th grade…
There’s a slow food movement so why not a slow mind movement? Some years ago Guy Claxton wrote Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less. It made a compelling argument that the mind works best when we trust the unconscious – our “undermind” tortoise mind. The hare brain is the deliberative, logical, conscious thinking we all…