Ever since I first saw him on YouTube giving a Common Core message to teachers in New York State, I’ve had a real problem with David Coleman. Coleman announced to the teachers that our message to students should essentially be that nobody gives a $#!+ about your personal story or your opinion (to use the Read More >>
My first post about The War on Thinking focused on standards. I’m leaving standards behind now, but not completely. Because standards become the fuel that runs the weapons of mass instruction that keep The War on Thinking going. Those weapons against thinking? Textbooks, instructional programs, and curriculum maps. The companies that create textbooks and instructional Read More >>
School should be a place for thought. That seems obvious. Thinking should be the main thing going on in schools. As Daniel Willingham points out in his book, Why Don’t Students Like School?, students learn about what they think about, so we should be trying to get them to engage in thinking as often as possible. Read More >>
I once had a visitor to my classroom–someone I wanted to send a message to about the standardization of teachers. I had my class read the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, I’m not “subtle” but I am “effective.” Effective, that is, at making a point. Not Read More >>
Do not stay in the four corners of this text. Do not be boxed in. This text wants to ask you questions that take you outside itself. Think about the best books you ever read. THE best book you ever read. Do you remember where you were when you read it? What the cover looked Read More >>
When school is in session in buildings, our students go to physical classes and… do what exactly? They often sit. They sometimes talk to the teacher and to each other. They do work of varying sorts. We call this learning. But what are they really learning? Are we really investing in their intellects, or has Read More >>
The allure of the Pro-Standardized Testing Narrative is that on the surface, it seems to make sense. If you want to improve something, you measure it, work to make it better, and then measure it again to see if you improved. Right? Well, maybe if you are working with inanimate objects or factory-like processes. But Read More >>
Mr. Fitz’s new motto is “Teach Happy, Teach Right, Speak Up.” We need to Teach Happy because positive energy is at the heart of learning that stays with us. We need to Teach Right, because testing measures students, but doesn’t really investing in them. Teaching Right means investing in their Intellectual Bank Accounts, inspring their Read More >>
I hated gym class. I had a couple of good coaches early on, but by middle and high school gym had become a terrible, terrible experience for me. I lacked confidence, was kind of a klutz, and was absolutely terrible at team sports. When they did “choose up sides,” I was often the last one Read More >>
I ended my recent post about depression with this comic strip. Perhaps it seems simplistic, but I maintain that teaching happy is not just a good idea for teachers and their well-being. The idea of teaching happy is good for kids, too. To take it a step further, the converse is true, too. Teaching unhappy is Read More >>