This piece was first published at Mindshift KQED and was written by Katrina Schwartz. It is reposted here with permission of Mindshift. More schools are starting to question whether traditional age-based classrooms are the best way to go, and to change the dynamic of teaching to the middle, they’re experimenting withcompetency-based learning, a system that moves kids along at different paces once they’ve … Read More
America’s Promissory Note . . . Still Outstanding
In a startling article in the New York Times, columnist Charles M. Blow lays out some statistics published in a recent UNICEF report that should equally appall and inspire us. He writes, According to the report, the United States has the second highest share of children living under the relative poverty line, defined as 50 percent of each country’s median … Read More
Year At Mission Hill – Chapter 6: Like a Family
The idea of living “like a family” is explored, like other topics within the school, as a community — among faculty, students, parents, and every combination thereof. Faculty see parents as partners, and talk about trust, cooperation, and communication as building blocks of that key relationship. The footage shows interactions between parents, teachers, and students — the kind of interactions … Read More
How to Increase Group IQ
The following is a guest post by Annie Paul Murphy – book author, magazine journalist, consultant and speaker who helps people understand how we learn and how we can do it better. This post was originally published on her site, The Brilliant Blog. What makes a group intelligent? That is: what enables a team of people to effectively solve problems … Read More
Stop Deficit-Model Thinking
This is a guest post by Chris Lehmann, the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, PA. This post was originally published on Chris’s site, Practical Theory. A few years ago, a vendor for one of the many online tutorial companies was giving a presentation at a principals’ meeting. The vendor was talking about how … Read More
Year at Mission Hill, Chapter 5: The Eye of the Dragon
So much of the language that we know to be valuable in education comes alive at Mission Hill. Art. Empowerment. Choice. Voice. Inspiration. Creativity. Student experts. Student teachers. Community. Every year they employ a school wide theme that aims for depth and breadth throughout the school. This year’s, “Long Ago and Far Away,” and the students share a seam of … Read More
Narrowing the Digital Divide Between High and Low Income Students
In a recent post at KQED/Mindshift, Tina Barseghian reports on the work of Michael Mills, a professor of Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Arkansas, who advocates for closing the digital divide between high and low income students. He argues that increasing access to digital devices can play a role in empowering low income students by opening pathways … Read More
Year at Mission Hill, Chapter 4 Love and Limits
Working and playing — essential components of learning and keystones for establishing both the love and limits that create a safe space for each student. The question of how to best set appropriate boundaries within a loving context became all the more important because Mission Hill is a full inclusion school, meaning students with exceptionalities are not pulled out and … Read More
Year at Mission Hill, Chapter 3 Making It Real
This chapter opens with the question, “What makes a mind come alive?” It is an apropos question that is all to often left out of discussions about education and education reform. At Mission Hill it is central to the development of educational experiences for students. Check out this chapter that explores the idea of creating opportunities for students to create, … Read More
5 Steps to Overhaul Teaching
Once again, Columbia University professor, Christopher Emdin, puts forth a rapid fire and common sense proposal for rethinking urban — and really ANY — education to ensure it is student focused, relevant, and purposefully engaging. The basis of this video: Reality pedagogy which is, “Teaching based on the reality of the student’s experience.” 5 C’s of Reality Pedagogy: The Cypher … Read More
