SBE Weekly Reader Oct. 1, 2009
Marshmallows and student success revisited. Below is a TED talk given earlier this year. More details on the study are here.
Effective Leaders
The NEA is encouraging local affiliates to waive any contractual language that would prevent teachers from moving to hard to staff schools. They note, however, that unless there are good principals in those schools, teachers are unlikely to move (arguably regardless of monetary incentives).
Effective Teachers
“The Zip Code Test”: Illinois tries to grow its own teachers, even those lacking a college degree. They may be given up to five years to complete the required degree. Here are the criteria:
Do you have a high school diploma or equivalent?
Do you have less than a bachelors degree?
Do you have a relationship with a public school or schools in a low-income community as: an employee; an active parent or community member; or a volunteer?
Are you prepared to spend 3-5 years in part-time college classes?
Are you willing to commit to five years of teaching in an eligible school serving a low-income community after you graduate?
What down is it?NFL chains, testing and teacher compensation.
Rigorous, Relevant Curriculum
A new way to teach science? Or is it just a new iteration of the Socratic method in the hard sciences (which used to be part of Socrates’ domain)?
Do our expectations for wealthy kids’ education begin where what we provide to poor kids ends?
Reading is not a skill: “The mainspring of comprehension is prior knowledge—the stuff readers already know that enables them to create understanding as they read.”
Sufficient Resources
Too few Americans connect education to personal and societal success: “Visiting classrooms is like peering into the nation’s future. Right now the view is somewhat frightening.”
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