One book leads to another. That’s the way it goes. Since I was a child, I allowed myself no gaps between the end of one book and the beginning of another. In many cases, there would be direct causal connections to the choices. Sometimes there would be jumps and starts, but overall, themes would build [...]
Jamming Cell Phones in the Classroom
August 16, 2009 By 1 Comment
Cell phones. As a tech-geek teacher, I strongly believe that using cell phones as teaching devices is a perfectly acceptable use of technology in the classroom. But, the reality is that cell phones have become more of a distraction in the classroom under the existing school policy than something that could benefit teachers. This is [...]
Freeing Mynamar
August 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Today, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months of home imprisonment. She is the leader of a non-violent, democracy movement in one of the most brutal dictatorships still left on the planet in Mynamar (formerly Burma). You can read about the her personal history here and visit her webpage here for [...]
Change Leadership & Managing Fundamentals (Wagner & Mullin)
August 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment
In a phone conversation with a principal in NJ, the book Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Transforming Our Schools by Tony Wagner was recommended strongly to me. I picked it up an was immediately impressed once I began reading about the intentions and methods used to strategically build capacity and prevent institutional inertia. It [...]
English Learners in Boston Public Schools
August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
These reports are related to the research behind our work on designing a Leadership Academy as a part of the DESE’s Readiness Advantage Schools project. These reports were recommended by members of our team to facilitate discussion in the design phase of our work in the summer of 2009. Please add comments below. All members [...]
NBEA Response to Readiness Schools
August 8, 2009 By 1 Comment
This is a copy of an email I received on Thursday, August 6th, 2009. There is some very strong language in here, but also sides to the story that I don’t personally know. If anyone can help fill in some blanks, that would be appreciated. What is specifically in the bill? What was the Sec’s [...]
RAFT Assignments
August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Week 1 – First Settlements You are an Aztec warrior. Write a prayer song to your gods concerning the Spanish invasion. You are a Spanish Conquistador. Confess your role in an Incan slaughter to a Spanish priest. You are English newspaper editor. Write an obituary for your readers about Pocahontas after her death in England. [...]
AP Reading List & Dates
August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Here’s the PDF file for this year’s textbook reading list. Basically, I’ve divided the entire textbook into sections that fit evenly into weeks by chapters. Within each week, I’ve divided the sections by five day segments. We’ll cover the entire textbook in the year before April vacation. After that, we’ll review for the AP exam. [...]
Debate Primer #1
August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Welcome to the beginning of the debate season! Yes, I know it officially hasn’t started yet, but many of you who are extra-ambitious have already begun your work preparing for this season. Are you ready for the resolution? Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase social services for persons living in poverty in the [...]
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
August 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson, is an incredible book. It examines an alternate world in which two societies have developed coexisting, but apart from, one another. In one society – the Saecular – politics and culture is very similar to our own. In the other – the Avout – live in seclusion and division from the [...]
