A quick Google search for “to-do list” pulls 6,430,000,000 results in .45 seconds. I didn’t realize there was so much to say about a concept so simple that it’s literally defined by its title. But I guess gettin‘er done is the name of the game. In contrast, the word “idea” pulls 2,100,000,000 search results in .94 seconds, less than 3 … Read More
Common Sense Standard (CSS) #5
Knowing what is best for kids requires knowing kids, each kid. There are varying opinions about the purpose of education, but simply to set a foundation, let’s go with something along the lines of “to develop thriving human beings in society.” That’s a pretty monumental undertaking–but achievable. Essentially, our hope is to help kids grow up to be the best … Read More
Common Sense Standard (CSS) #4
Kids’ emotional wellbeing matters in their education. If we are serious about education, we must be serious about kids’ emotional and mental health. Maybe it goes without saying that people at any age simply can’t learn or thrive if they are plagued by persistent anxiety or other negative emotions. Or maybe it doesn’t — because we have huge industries built … Read More
Common Sense Standard (CSS) #3
Education should be shaped around the students, not the other way around. When I taught in a public high school, my colleagues and I were often given opportunities to write curriculum for our respective departments for a fee. Not only did it seem like the curricula were continually being written and rewritten, but this task almost always felt like a … Read More
Common Sense Standard (CSS) #2
(See the first post in this series – Common Sense Learning.) Children want more autonomy as they grow…and that’s a good thing. One of the greatest struggles I felt as a public high school teacher was working with kids who didn’t want to do what I was asking them to do. Often times, I couldn’t justify why my task list for … Read More
Common Sense Standard (CSS) #1
Education is training; not a performance, game or race to the top. It shouldn’t make or break anyone, but it should shape and build everyone. The way I see it, no one passes or fails in training. They simply get more or less out of it. Training equips, but it doesn’t prove anything. Education is Yoda training Luke how to … Read More
Common Sense Learning
“Common Core-aligned” has become the quality control test by which we measure a legitimate education. A quick Google search will reveal droves of businesses selling academic resources and programs on the basis of their “alignment.” Teachers are feeling constant pressure to “hit the standards,” standards that are meant to get everyone on the same page. And yet, I think the … Read More
Pure and Simple
You ever have one of those days when nothing seems to satisfy? Like you’re walking around wearing shades on a cloudy day? I was having a day like that about a week ago and was hungry for something pure and good, something free from the spoils of the modern world. So I headed east. Nothing, I thought, is more boundless … Read More
Move Over, Rigor
Years ago, a good friend of mine said something that just stuck with me. “I could care less about rigor”—surprising words from an honors-level high school teacher. “What I care about is vigor.” I realized that she had assumed a completely new intention for challenging students in their learning. Rather than trying to get them to work hard at hard … Read More
Teaching Character vs. Compliance
Educating children can look and feel a lot like raising them. It is certainly not the same as parenting—I say that as an educator and a parent. However, the purpose of parenting and educating are very much aligned. The word “educate” means “to lead out”—to lead out into the world, into adulthood, into a future. I think it’s important that … Read More