Racing to the Top and Leaving the Impoverished at the Bottom

Tyler IzuagieCommunity, Education, Equity, Learning, Policy, Student, Whole Child

Poverty cripples societal advancement. When prevalent in the richest nation in the world, it becomes mindboggling. Why are so many individuals struggling under the weight of poverty in America? Why is nearly 1 in every 4 children considered impoverished in this land of Race to the Top? Are we racing to the top of the wrong metric?  My hat goes … Read More

18 Myths of Education (Infographic)

Jason FlomCommunity, Education, Learning, Policy, Student, Teaching

Below is a provocative infographic from Open Colleges, an online university in Australia. What do you think about these? Agree? Disagree? Little bit of both? Share your thoughts in the comments. <img alt="" src="http://informed.s3.amazonaws.com/informed/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/600px_final the original source.jpg” /> An Infographic by Open Colleges

To Break the Mold, Is Competency Learning the Key?

Jason FlomCommunity, Education, Learning, Policy, Teaching, Whole Child

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

Stop Deficit-Model Thinking

Jason FlomEducation, Leadership, Learning, Policy, Science of Learning, Teaching

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

Narrowing the Digital Divide Between High and Low Income Students

Jason FlomEducation, Equity, Learning, Policy

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

5 Steps to Overhaul Teaching

Jason FlomEducation, Equity, Learning, Policy, Student, Teaching, Whole Child

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

10 Steps to Equity in Education

Jason FlomCommunity, Education, Equity, Learning, Policy, Whole Child

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which works to “promote the policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world,” published a Policy Briefing titled, “Ten Steps to Equity in Education.” The briefing (which you can read in its entirety here) lays out some of the basic policies necessary for achieving equity in … Read More

Schoolhouse vs Jailhouse Infographic

Jason FlomCommunity, Policy

The schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline continues to plague our society. The causes for the criminalization of our youth are many, complex, and solvable. Whether we are transforming norms in our schools or implementing larger social justice policies, we must engage students in ways that build their strengths, confidence, and overall well-being. A good place to start is by dialoguing about … Read More

The Power of Outrospection

Jason FlomLeadership, Learning, Policy

Roman Krznaric’s website describes him as “a cultural thinker and writer.” He speaks on a range of topics including “empathy, the history of love, the future of work, and the art of living.” His 15-minute talk outlining elements of his book, “How to Find Fulfilling Work,” offers this bit of Aristotle wisdom: Where the needs of the world and your talents … Read More

What We Want To Interrupt

Jason FlomLearning, Policy, Student, Whole Child

In an excerpt from an interview with a “young adolescent in jail for selling drugs,” author Thomas J. Cottle lays bare the nuanced complexity of educating youth who have a fragile, if any, grip on hope. Two moments pulled from his post illustrate, at a minimum, problems with the lesson our system implicitly teaches students: “Smart” is defined by traditional … Read More