What do you do when you’ve invested a lot of time and money in an educational reform, and it doesn’t work? If you’re the Los Angeles school district, and you spent $1.3 billion on iPads and educational software that doesn’t transform student learning, you sue to recoup some of your money. But what if your…
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NeverBore starts with teacher training
If you had one full day to spend with brand new pre-service teachers just starting their masters’ program, what would you do? How would you prepare them for the challenges ahead? Some teachers I know — frustrated by the low status, low pay and increasing pressure for standardized test performance — would tell them “get…
Read MoreWhat is your purpose?
Over the weekend, I bumped into the same three words – “sense of purpose” — everywhere I went. I read about new research showing that people with a sense of purpose are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, even if their brains develop all of the signatures tangles and plaques. A sense of purpose is also…
Read MoreSpending our way to greater inequality
According to a massive research study described in last week’s Education Week (May 11), the wealthiest school districts in our country have the worst inequality. The Berkeleys, the Evanstons, and the Chapel Hills have the largest achievement gaps, while poor districts have the smallest. There are many causes — including student tracking, intra-district spending disparities, racism, family…
Read MoreBored? Yes, it’s a problem
There’s a running joke in my family about a niece who, as a young child, complained that she was “bored” whenever she was tired, hungry, angry, or dissatisfied for any reason. On one memorable car ride, when she forgot to wear her hat and wasn’t allowed to go back and get it, she whined loudly…
Read MoreFail fast… or not at all?
It’s been a few years since I have failed a student. Usually, the extensive scaffolding, phone calls home, opportunities for retakes and frequent attention/harassment I provide are enough to keep everyone on track, at least enough to earn an honest D. In the few cases where they are not — the student who rarely comes…
Read MoreNew teachers need help, not hurdles
When I started teaching at Mounds View High School in 1997, I was about as well prepared as a new teacher can be. I was already eight years out of undergrad, with five years experience in journalism, three years in other schools and a little life experience. I was idealistic, organized, self-confident and willing to…
Read MoreWe need to create independent learners
One of the major changes I’ve seen in 20 years of teaching is the subtle shift toward more scaffolding, step-by-step instructions and detailed scoring rubrics. Today every major assignment — like a paper, presentation or debate — requires an almost legalistic explanation of what is expected and how students will be evaluated, point by point.…
Read MoreEven a great lecture isn’t good enough
What’s one thing you could do tomorrow that would definitely engage more students? That’s easy. Inject your lesson with more opportunities to participate. It sounds too simple to be true — how could asking a question, giving a formative quiz, or allowing five minutes to think/pair/share really make any difference? And doesn’t everyone already do…
Read MoreNew teachers need real feedback
There’s always a lot of talk about teacher evaluation, but not so much about feedback, which is the heart of our enterprise. What is the point of evaluation if not to provide meaningful information about an individual’s strengths, weaknesses and growth? Unless you just want a reason to fire someone. We would never assign students a…
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MARTHA RUSH 