Education

My opinions as an educator.

  • Singa-Score

    When I think about Singapore, I think of the curious accents of its citizens (speaking Cantonese and English). I think of school children in white button-down short sleeve shirts with starched collars because it is perpetually summer. But I can only imagine it being perpetually summer. I have never been there. As a teacher and

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  • Tween Life and Death

    A coworker told me the saddest thing last week. There was a story in the Post with the headline: “Bullies Killed My Daughter.” A 12-year old girl was bullied into committing suicide. I did not know Maria Herrera but I have known bullying and felt the desperation that might cause someone to take their own

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  • Glad in Utah

    I am in Salt Lake City, Utah for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference. One of the things that drew me out here was an announcement that Malcolm Gladwell would be speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony. I was not disappointed. I have read (or read most of) his books, The Tipping

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  • The Meaning of School

    It is important to me that my son value and see meaning in going to school. Regardless of how much my wife and I work with him academically at home, it is “school” as an institution – both physically and conceptually – that I want him to value and respect. So I was very concerned

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  • This year’s PBS Teaching and Learning Celebration featured a session presented by Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch. Their blog, Bridging Differences, has become a favorite resource of mine for thoughts on education. I enjoy their insights and the somewhat intimate tone of the letter writing format they have adopted. At the conference, in what was

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  • I Not Stupid Also

    The movie, I Not Stupid Too, dramatically presents the academic and emotional stress students in Singapore schools face from their parents, teachers, and themselves. As a nation that claims its only natural resource is its population, the situations presented in the movie feed some rich questions regarding the role of education in different cultures. I

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  • Bottom of the Barrel

    Using a stereotype to judge people is like using a standardized test to gauge intelligence. A stereotype does not capture the complexities of a people and a test does not reveal the full body of knowledge. There is an article in the latest issue of Rethinking Schools written by two Asian teachers addressing a book

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