I recently passed the five-year anniversary of when I started writing my blog. What has changed? In this post, I analyze some of the issues I’ve written about over the years. Then, I thank you for your support. Change or lack of change in education can seem dark and foreboding, but there’s a great deal […]
The Power of Invented Spelling: Giving Children Control
What we’ve found over the years is there seemed to be something with kids who are doing invented spelling on their own that’s really helping them learn how to read. ~ Gene Ouellette, Associate Professor of Psychology at Mount Allison University It looks like it’s best to hand young children paper and pencil instead of […]
DeVos and False Claims of Failed Schools: How School Reform Hurts Children
The conviction that the best way to prepare children for a harsh, rapidly changing world is to introduce formal instruction at an early age is wrong. There is simply no evidence to support it, and considerable evidence against it. Starting children early academically has not worked in the past and is not working now. —David […]
Finland’s School Reforms are Troubling: 4 Reasons Why
Finland’s new curriculum means that schoolchildren will no longer need to sit down quietly in classrooms, since they will instead be able to choose where and how they study. In future there will not necessarily be any traditional enclosed classrooms. —“The Truth About Finnish Schools” This is Finland Finland’s schools have been admired for years. […]
When P.E. and 12 Other Activities Masquerade as Recess
As state legislatures make mandates claiming to secure recess in schools, it is important to nail down what they mean when they define recess. There are a lot of canned activities and commercialized gimmicks parading as recess. It is important not to be duped into thinking your child is getting recess when they aren’t. Look […]
Concerns about the New ESEA Reauthorization
Arne Duncan and others are bragging that both political parties get along when it comes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization. It is one big happy family when it comes to education. There was bipartisan agreement over No Child Left Behind too, and look what a colossal disaster that was. Now, with […]
My Dream About EDUCATION and the Democratic (or Republican) Debate
I fell asleep last night during the democratic debate and I dreamt this is how it all unfolded. The scary part was there were no answers to the questions about education when I woke up. In my dream Anderson Cooper said: America’s democratic public schools, how we treat and instruct the next generation, our children, […]
Aristotle in Kindergarten—What Do Children Miss?
When I read in The New York Times about Matthew Levey, a Columbia alum and former McKinsey consultant, who is setting up the International Charter School of New York, I was stunned! The school is starting out with 70 kindergartners and first graders and will eventually go up to fifth grade. Mr. Levey starting a […]
Are Today’s Children Developmentally Different from Children in the Past?
Does research show us that young children have evolved to where they can learn faster? Are they smarter than they used to be? No! There is no research to indicate that a child’s brain has evolved over the years to where they need a learning environment that is more difficult from the past. What has […]
Investing in Early Childhood Education for Children, Not to Fix the Economy
Today, it is unusual to hear anything said about early childhood education that doesn’t end with remarks about the good of the nation’s economy. This involves pushing young children to do better in school. I have written about this, in regard to other issues, even most recently in discussing the push to extend the school […]