Since Friday is here, time for some lighter fare… maybe as in having a lighter body weight? You don’t see me writing a lot about physical education — maybe because you typically can’t get P.E. credit for blogging or Legos. But maybe I could get credit for all the times I go crazy running around in my (fenced in) backyard when my mom can’t stand me being in the house anymore.

As Marci Kanstoroom reports at Education Next, traditional P.E. courses aren’t doing much at all to curb the problem of childhood obesity. But some schools are experimenting with innovative new ways to offer P.E.: Continue Reading »

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You’ve got to hand it to the teachers unions. They have so many people conditioned to call for more teachers and smaller class sizes as the leading remedy for what ails public schools. The tide slowly is turning to a greater realization of what the abundance of research shows us: namely, that the quality of the individual teacher is far more important than small differences in class sizes.

But what can policy makers do about it? Are great teachers just born that way, and we need to do more to import their natural gifts into the education system? Or are there practical skills and mechanics that teachers can learn from their peers who have achieved remarkable success in the classroom?

With plenty of teaching experience between them, authors Doug Lemov (Teach Like a Champion) and Steven Farr (Teaching as Leadership) make a strong case for the latter. The 12 minutes it takes to listen to the two authors’ new Education Next podcast interview with Michael Petrilli is a worthwhile investment of time for anyone truly concerned about how to make our schools better. Continue Reading »

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Looking for something a little different than the traditional schooling model, maybe even cutting edge and innovative? After all, exposing Colorado families to more choices and educational options is a big part of what the “glimpse at new schools” series is all about.

You might be interested in this: Aurora Public Schools opens the doors of Vista PEAK Exploratory in August. The school was highlighted a few months back in a story for the Aurora Sentinel:

It’s an approach that will offer students a new way of planning their education from an early age, one that will give children access to specialized programs in science, math, visual arts, business and other areas. This new “pathways” method will play a central role in the Vista PEAK Exploratory School on East 6th Avenue and Harvest Road that’s set to open later this year, the first part of a campus that’s eventually slated to include a high school and a satellite college campus.

Continue Reading »

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Not too long ago I wrote about my Education Policy Center friends’ visit to Adams School District 50 for the Standards-Based Education tour. Some seem to have taken the posting as an unqualified enthusiastic endorsement of the district’s SBS program, or maybe they thought I was being too one-sided and generous with praise.

The intent was to provide a descriptive summary of what my friends saw from the official tour. Okay, though, I own up for not making it clearer, and maybe I gave the district too much benefit of the doubt. But that’s also what happens when my friends let a 5-year-old do their blogging for them. (Not that I don’t like doing it, I’m just saying….)

Anyway, a few facts are plain: 1) Adams 50’s SBS system is new and untested. 2) Buy-in from schools and teachers certainly isn’t universal across the district, and implementation has been rough — at least at times. 3) Test results so far haven’t been encouraging. Continue Reading »

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Back in April, I told you about the Balanced Education for Everyone campaign to empower parents to ensure their child’s school provides a balanced presentation of global warming and environmental issues.

Well, it’s more than just an idea here in Colorado. Out in the Grand Junction area, local attorney and former school board candidate Rose Pugliese took note of some unbalanced classroom presentations in her local schools. Instead of just complaining about it, she started circulating petitions and has garnered hundreds of signatures that she plans to present to the school board this evening.

Click the play button below (or follow this link) to listen to Rose discuss her grassroots effort with my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow on an iVoices podcast: Continue Reading »

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On Friday my Education Policy Center friends took in the presentation and tour of new Standards-Based Education (SBE) system in the local Adams School District 50 (Westminster). It’s the largest school district in the nation to have taken such a bold departure from the traditional system of age-based grade levels and familiar letter grades.

Under the leadership of Superintendent Roberta Selleck, District 50 decided to move outside the box in addressing the challenges of a long-term decline in student enrollment coupled with growing rates of student poverty and limited English proficiency. The district is just completing its first full year using the SBE system, and there’s definitely something exciting and innovative going on. The system is about so much more than can be squeezed into a blog post, but here’s 16summary thoughts about SBE: Continue Reading »

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People in Iowa, avert your eyes for a moment. The shame might hurt too much. Did you see this story? Thanks to Mike Antonucci, I learned today about the “teacher who Un Des-Moines her own protest.” For all you Cleveland Indians fans out there, that’s what we call a pun.

The Iowa State Daily tells us more about the protest:

Earlier that week, students arranged a gathering outside of Merrill Middle School in Des Moines to protest the cuts before the school day started March 8. The rally was organized by Theresa Hoffman’s language arts students while Hoffman got an OK with Merrill’s principal.

“They were very upset that we lost shop and drama [last year], and then when they heard we were going to lose vocal music and that I am retiring and a math teacher is retiring, and they’re not replacing us, they’re concerned with the size of classes,” Hoffman explained

Continue Reading »

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Happy Earth Day. Remember a couple weeks ago when I told you how parents here in Colorado and elsewhere could help put Earth Day education back into balance? The nice lady Carrie Lukas explained it all on an iVoices podcast.

Well, since we posted the information, a couple Colorado parents have chimed in with their stories on the Balanced Education for Everyone website. Here’s what a dad named Kevin from Denver had to say:

It’s about time this topic is approached in our schools. My kids come home and I usually have to reeducate them about what they have learned in school that day. The liberal attention global warming attracts in schools needs to change. As a father of three, I am rallying for a balanced education in the classroom.

Also, a Littleton parent spoke out: Continue Reading »

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My friends at the Education Policy Center recently ordered a couple of new books by big names in the field: Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System and Paul Peterson’s Saving Schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual Learning.

If you want to whet your appetite for one or both books, or just to get a flavor of what their argument is, you need to check out the authors debating on the Eduwonk blog. I’ll boil down their arguments for you with excerpted quotes (or you can read Marci Kanstoroom’s summary at Education Next): Continue Reading »

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Easter is just over, and I’m still working on all that candy. So it’s hard to think about another holiday coming up soon. But in two weeks it will be Earth Day (April 22). What does that have to do with education? Well, a nice smart lady from the Independent Women’s Forum named Carrie Lukas wants you parents out there to be alert to what will take place in your child’s classroom for Earth Day.

Click the play button below (or follow this link) to hear Carrie explain why our public school classrooms need to bring Earth Day education into balance and what parents can help to do about it, in a 9-minute iVoices podcast with my Education Policy Center friend Pam Benigno:

How much does the scare tactic approach to environmentalism go on in Colorado schools? I don’t know for sure, but I’d be naive to believe it doesn’t happen.

Colorado parents, what are you waiting for? Do you need some more information, resources or inspiration from kids and parents who are already standing up for balanced learning over one-sided alarmism? Then I urge you to visit the special website Balanced Education for Everyone.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for more students to see the movie Not Evil, Just Wrong in addition to An Inconvenient Truth. Call me a dreamer….

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