Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss how the push for grit and growth mindset in schools could lead to deficit thinking in teachers and communities. We reference the article: "Grit and Growth Mindset: Deficit Thinking? Examining the cultural narrative around these ideologies" by Rick Wormeli: http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/DiversityandSocialEquity/DivDet/TabId/185/ArtMID/791/ArticleID/937/Grit-and-Growth-Mindset-Deficit-Thinking.aspx#.W2r3jf644kp.twitter And during our first ever Teach...
Aug 31, 2018•42 min
Show Notes: During the first part of our final episode of season 1, we interview Dr. Johann Neem, author of the new book "Democracy's Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America." Dr. Neem is a senior fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and a professor of history at Western Washington University. He is the author of Creating a Nation of Joiners: Democracy and Civil Society in Early National Massachusetts, and the book that we will be discussing t...
May 15, 2018•57 min
Show Notes: During Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson, we discuss the following: How does one implement differentiated instruction? Where to start? What does differentiation look like when implemented with fidelity? Are there limits to differentiation?
May 01, 2018•17 min
Show Notes: During today's show (a two-parter!), we talk with the legendary, the one and only, Dr. Carol Ann Tomlinson about all things differentiation. During Part 1, we focus on the "big picture" of differentiated instruction: Inspiration for beginning research on differentiation... Maintaining high expectations for all... Improving belief systems in teachers...
Apr 30, 2018•13 min
Show Notes: During Part 2 of the MD PTA Diversity Conference, we feature the most important voices in our line of work: student advocates! With each of our student-guests, we discuss the gun control debate, the grassroots advocacy they are working on, and their future plans! Matt Post (@mattlpost) - Sherwood HS; 2017-2018 MCPS Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) Nate Tinbite (@MCRSGA and @Natetinebite) - Kennedy HS; 2018-2019 Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association ...
Apr 25, 2018•32 min
Show Notes: During Part 1 of the MD PTA Diversity Conference, we feature a number of amazing guests to discuss how to engage more diverse viewpoints and families within a school's Parent-Teacher Association. What is the vision for the MD PTA Diversity Conference? How do we address the issues of racially, linguistically diverse children and their needs - how do we talk about those issues and make it a part of what we do? How do we raise those parent voices up in the PTA? Frances Frost (@FFEngageF...
Apr 25, 2018•29 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following: Restructuring middle and high schools as they currently stand (departmentalization; interdisciplinary teams) How has departmentalization impacted student achievement in secondary schools? We end the episode with another outstanding, engaging and rigorous quiz administered by Casey - awards given to all! What do you know about the history of education in the US? Resources Mentioned/Referenced: Maryland PTSA Diversity Conference Semi Self-...
Apr 23, 2018•37 min
During this super special episode extra of Ed's (Not) Dead, we endeavor upon an excellent interview with the principal and assistant principal of Minnetonka High School; Mr. Jeffrey Erickson and Mr. Robb Virgin (respectively). Jeffrey and Robb have developed an effective and proactive way to support students throughout the school year, known as "Minnetonka Academic Success Time" or "MAST." During our interview, we discuss what MAST is all about, what kind of results they have seen from their int...
Apr 10, 2018•19 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss a number of education stories from the news of the past two weeks. Nationwide Teacher Walkouts The deaths of two major figures in education history: Linda Brown Thompson (of Brown v. Board) and Johan van Hulst, a principal in Amsterdam who saved the lives of over 600 children from the Nazis. We end this episode with another outstanding, engaging and rigorous quiz administered by Casey - awards given to all! What do you know about the history of teacher...
Apr 09, 2018•37 min
Welcome to a very special Ed's (Not) Dead short, where we will be focusing on the March 14th "MARCH FOR OUR LIVES" protest. We felt that it was an important enough event and potentially a watershed moment in not only addressing school shootings but also in student activism, that we wanted to hear what participants had to say about it, without adult commentary or interference. We were fortunate enough to have a correspondent on the National Mall who asked students “why are you here” and “what do ...
Mar 21, 2018•4 min
How do you implement standards based grading within the constraints of the performance / letter-grade system? "Become totally evidentiary..." "Spend...time determining, what is excellent, almost excellent?" "Am I going to separate out behavior, from mastery?"
Mar 20, 2018•7 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we debrief Betsy DeVos' terribly embarrassing interview on 60 Minutes during our first segment. What are the impacts of having an education secretary with such little experience and investment in and around public schools? In our second segment , we have Tara García Mathewson from The Hechinger Report about the lack of physics teachers in schools with high poverty levels and schools that are composed largely of students of color. Tara García Mathewson is a staff ...
Mar 19, 2018•53 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS shooting during our first segment. Despite all the noise on this issue, as educators, how do you think we should improve what we do to keep students and staff safe in our schools? We discuss the major points in the case, who is on each side, and the implications for teacher unions moving forward. In our second segment , we discuss the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court Case . Public employees in Illinois did not want to pay m...
Mar 05, 2018•58 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment : From The Denver Post, we discuss the pros and cons of shortening the school week: "The four-day week, once a tool of rural districts, is coming to a Denver metro school district." Funding issues are causing school districts across the country to cut days from the school week. Achievement levels seem to stay at similar levels (in spite of the loss of an instructional day). In our second segment , we interv...
Feb 19, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment : From EducationNext , we discuss Chester Finn's piece entitled: Emphasis on Thinking Skills over Facts in Schools Contributes to Truth Decay . Are teachers teaching thinking skills devoid of facts? What is the difference between math/science facts and social studies facts? Is there room for interpretation? What does Finn mean when he talks about "curricular squeamishness"? In our second segment , we interv...
Feb 05, 2018•59 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment : From the Washington Post, we discuss the previously lauded Ballou High School where it was just discovered that many students who received a diploma missed an extensive amount of school (so much so that they probably shouldn't have graduated by traditional metrics). More than 1 of every 10 students receiving a diploma from a D.C. public high school last year missed most of the academic year, according to ...
Jan 22, 2018•57 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment : From the New York Times (linked below), the way schools are evaluated may be changing. We discuss how a new study shifts how we look at "underperforming" schools. This study suggests that policy makers and education leaders may be thinking about student outcomes in all the wrong ways! In our second segment , we have two very special guests to discuss Social Emotional Learning and a program they created ca...
Dec 18, 2017•57 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment : From the Washington Post piece on private school enrollment (below), how are private schools contributing to school segregation? To what extent are private schools necessary for a high-functioning education system? In our second segment , we have THE Zaretta Hammond on our show, author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. Zaretta Hammond joins us from the beautiful state of California, right a...
Dec 04, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss the following topics during our first segment: Clandestine meeting between Randi Weingarten (President of TFA) and Steve Bannon, former top advisor to President Trump. Reed College, a private liberal arts school in Oregon, is experiencing ongoing and persistent student protests over a required humanities course : "Lectures for one of Reed College’s signature learning experiences, a humanities course on the ancient Mediterranean, were canceled after pro...
Nov 13, 2017•56 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss what some Kansas education policy makers are planning on doing with their public schools (hint: it's probably not a good idea). From the Lawrence Journal-World, we discuss the idea of no longer adhering to age-level grading, the impacts it may have, and why it actually might be a decent idea (to some degree). In our second segment, we have a very special guest on from our friends over at Education Excellence - Ardith Wieworka is our guest tonight. Reso...
Oct 30, 2017•51 min
Show Notes: During today's show, we discuss how Florida is in the process of "resegregating" their schools and what that means for closing the opportunity gaps across the nation. Using Moriah Balingit's article from the Washington Post (linked here) we discuss why it is happening, and what we should be thinking about in regard to its impact across the country. Then, we have the absolute pleasure in having THE Curtis Linton on the show with us for Part 1 of our series on equity in schools. During...
Oct 16, 2017•52 min
During this episode of Ed’s (Not) Dead, we welcome Dr. T.J. Vari and Dr. Joseph Jones on the show. Dr. Vari and Dr. Jones cofounded TheSchoolHouse302 blog, which is a leadership development institute startup firm. Both Joe and T.J. are well-versed in topics of school leadership and we are so glad to have them on the show for episode 5. Today, we discuss TJ’s and Joe’s framework on hiring and retaining high quality teachers.They have structured their BDA framework after a very well known approach...
Oct 02, 2017•55 min
During today's episode, the Ed's (Not) Dead hosts talk about teacher autonomy and what are and what to do about failing schools. Episode 4 ends with an incredibly mundane discussion about Betsy Devos's "uplifting" speech to...children. Our driving questions: * How much autonomy should teachers have between their instruction and their classroom routines? * What defines a failing school and what should be done about it? Enjoy!
Sep 20, 2017•52 min
In Episode 3 we are Back to School! Back to School also means that it’s time for principals to start the all important job of instructional leadership: providing teachers with support and feedback for improvement. But why does it happen that when some teachers struggle, they are not evaluated accurately? We examine a recent article by esteemed education writer, Jay Matthews of the Washington Post that reveals a very interesting, and possibly troubling reason, for why principals don’t fulfill thi...
Sep 05, 2017•58 min
During this episode, we will be talking about vouchers, algebra requirements, and Betsy Devos' love of bears. Vouchers have become an incredible dicey topic within education circles, and indeed are the "new, new thing" especially with our current department of education secretary at the helm. We will be talking about why this might not be the best way for our students and their education. In California, a decision was recently announced that students will no longer have to pass algebra in order ...
Jul 31, 2017•1 hr 3 min
It’s summertime and for principals that means staffing and for teachers, it’s time to switch schools, take on a new challenge in a new position, or find that first teaching position. During this episode, we’re going to discuss how to hire the best teachers which is an inexact science but crucial to school improvement. Also, we’re going to dive into Rahm Emmanuel’s new and controversial educational mandate in Chicago Public Schools that requires students to have a college acceptance, apprenticesh...
Jul 16, 2017•55 min
