After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Category: Braindroppings
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Baton Rouge. Minneapolis. Dallas. If there is any doubt that this is a messed up world, the last 2 days should clear that up. It is undeniable that we live at a crossroads of how we, all of us, mean to treat each other. My childhood straddled the Civil Rights movement. In 1963 when Martin…
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Yesterday’s New York Times carried the story of America’s failure to educate students. Detroit’s schools are a glimpse into an education future that should never be allowed to happen. When educators warn about creating a two-tier or caste system of schools, the glaring example of this has to be Detroit’s schools. Detroit has created education choice, but the rush…
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WBZ’s I-Team recently broadcast a story of a 22-year-old college student’s experience with medical insurance that should be a cautionary tale for all. Reading Eitan Kling-Levine’s story and the subsequent price he paid with his personal health should shock you. And in case you think this would never happen to you, let me share a…
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Make no mistake about it. The new and improved testing that is coming at Massachusetts schools starting next spring is a debacle in the making. Thanks to Tracy Novick for making some of the details more apparent to those interested in trying to stay informed about the new requirements. Read her latest post (link in previous…
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In theory, I enjoy the idea of travel. In reality, I miss my “stuff”. And knowing precisely where everything is. There is nothing like 24 hours in airports and planes and a 6-hour time zone change to turn even the most Pollyanna-ish of us into raging maniacs of intolerance for humanity. And that is especially true…
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I was in the seventh grade when Miss Parker told me, “Donovan, we could put all your excess energy to good use.” And she introduced me to the sound of my own voice. In five minutes, Donovan Livingston the Student speaker at Harvard Graduate School of Education 2016 Convocation and Ed.M. candidate uses his voice…
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Play – real, unstructured brain break time – is as important to a child’s learning as academic time. So why are school leaders and decision-makers so reluctant to let go and allow more recess? I cringe whenever I hear a school leader lecture that there isn’t enough time in a school day to increase play…
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Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, was the Commencement Speaker at U Cal Berkeley this past week. Ms. Sandberg also wrote the book Lean In which generated lots of controversy among women. (Full disclosure, I have not read it). Sheryl Sandberg has endured what is understandably the worst year of her life after her husband Dave Goldberg had…
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How would you like it if your employer said “you absolutely have done the work, but I’m not going to be able to be able to finish paying you?” Basically, that is what is happening to teachers in the Detroit Public Schools this week. And to emphasize and publicize this ridiculous predicament, the teachers in…
After An Educator's Journey 