The Common Core State Standards are an admirable effort to give our students a firm foundation of knowledge, and teachers guidance about content. I’m an advocate of a rich, content-based (rather than skills-based) curriculum, and I sincerely hope that the Common Core is a big step towards that. E.D. Hirsch seems hopeful here (in 2010), and…
Over the weekend I witnessed several seemingly unrelated conversations that held a common thread. On the surface, these might seem to be shallow conversations about logos, style of language, or word usage. However for many having strong feelings about these apparently shallow issues, investigating these issues are not scratching the surface, but rather using them…
In what is becoming an annual tradition, I spent a day at elementary school last week, as part of the WATCH Dogs program. I thought I’d share some reflections. I learn something new every time I go. If you are interested in education reform, there really is no substitute for actually spending a whole day…
Like many progressive Obama supporters, I was moved by his tears as he thanked his Chicago staff and volunteers this past week. Whether or not you believe he is a great president, it is pretty clear he is a good man and genuinely grateful for his audience’s service to his cause. This rare crack in…
I have followed with morbid fascination the downfall of Jonah Lehrer. I’ll admit to really enjoying Proust was a Neuroscientist, as well as How We Decide. I still see value in each of these books, and I will continue to assign the chapter on vision and Paul Cezanne, because it is a wonderful introduction to…
German pastor Martin Niemoller is quoted as saying First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I…
>David Brooks recent column on education reform is not as immediately awful as many of his other columns. It does not make me want to throw it down in disgust (but in the bestest, smirking-est, Taibbi-est way possible). It does not make me want to mumble die yuppie scum (ok, maybe just a little bit). It has that…
