So the debate on the purpose of play in early childhood simmers on. It popped up on my Facebook page yesterday with this from the ASCD: Play is problem solving
That then led me to the The Playtime’s the Thing from the Washington Post.
The pressure is on to raise achievement scores and this puts the [...]
The site of the Head of School at Poughkeepsie Day School
State of play
Publish! And democratize learning
Interesting post from The Innovative Educator: 21st Century Educators Don’t Say, “Hand It In.” They say, “Publish It!
Read the post to hear what happened when she put out the word via Twitter and also to see her suggestions for making it happen in the classroom.
Meanwhile – here is one of the slides from a presentation [...]
Dangerous praise
Good reminder about how not to praise from Stephen Currie in a recent post to the PDS Math Guy Blog.
It’s all to do with the effort effect and how to talk to kids about their work. Researcher Carol Dweck’s work has shown that praise for being smart is a great demotivator. Here are the researcher’s [...]
"We wish all children could be glad and safe"
“War is not here”
“No sirens are warning us of air raids”
and the last line
“We wish all children could be glad and safe.”
In all-school activity groups on Tuesday students wrote what they are thankful for on strips of colored paper – now displayed in the lobby. (Family, friends and pets feature strongly.)
As reported by the [...]
Testing Madness on the Race to Nowhere
A colleague at a nearby school sent me this link to the NYTimes – just the latest bulletin from a world gone mad with narrow definitions of achievement and success. Test prep for pre-school no less. And a real moneymaker for the lucrative (and unregulated) test prep industry.
Tips for the Admissions test – to Kindergarten
“Kayla [...]
How to effect change
Education is all about change. And fun makes it so much more effective. Here’s a great example from Stockholm – sent to me by a parent.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6]
That was then: Are we "betraying most of our children"?
From: We are the people movie people
This landmark independent documentary … explores the education system … and asks whether the current system provides young people with the opportunity to develop their talents. High-profile figures sharing their personal experiences and views include Sir Richard Branson, Germaine Greer, Henry Winkler, Bill Bryson, Sir Ken Robinson and a [...]
The new literacy ladder. What rung are you on?
The world is moving at a tremendous rate. Going no one knows where. We must prepare our children, not for the world of the past. Not for our world. But for their world. The world of the future. – John Dewey
PDS graduates students who…
possess a rich academic knowledge base and know how to think as [...]
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Bridging Differences
- Leading and Learning
- Harvard Education Review Blog
- BLOGPOST: “Platooning” and the Industrial Model of Schooling“Platooning” is another example of the intensification of the factory model of schooling which ignores most of what we’ve learned from scientific psychology about how human beings learn and grow (see “‘Platooning’ Instruction”). Platooning says that subject matter knowledge is more important than the relationship that teachers develop with children and the l […]
- BLOGPOST: "Platooning" Touches a NerveReaction to my story on efforts to departmentalize elementary education around the country has come fast and furious since it was published in this month’s Harvard Education Letter (see “Platooning Instruction”). In particular, a flurry of emails and calls have come from Palm Beach County, one of the districts implementing departmentalization. As it turns ou […]
- NEWS: Merseth Honored by the National Association of Charter School AuthorizersInside Urban Charter Schools: Promising Practices and Strategies in Five High-Performing Schools by Katherine Merseth and cowritten with Kristy Cooper, John Roberts, Mara Casey Tieken, Jon Valant, and Chris Wynne was honored this week for Excellence in Advancing Knowledge from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). The NACSA Awards f […]
- BLOGPOST: “Platooning” and the Industrial Model of Schooling
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Poughkeepsie Day School's 2009 YTD Mix photoset -
