realedreform.com

What Realedreform is all about.

This blog is a collection of articles, other writing, and links to education-related information and resources. The focus is on education and education reform: what it has been, what it should be, and what is actually needed. There are also some personal essays, sentimental reflections, and self-righteous rages.

The links on the right side of this page list my posts, more recent ones on top, back-in-time down below. Moving forward I’m looking to organize this so that categories are easy to navigate. For example, posting on policy awareness or chime-in-to-decision-makers opportunities in one “menu” area, opinion pieces in another, how some of my insanity turns into practice in yet another, and finally my silly-ass shit in yet another. I may not call that category “silly-ass-shit”, but then again maybe I will.

I started a while ago. Is 2016 my first post? I think so. I’m doing a little editing here on 4/22/2024 as I think about trying to do some of that organization thing. I was motivated by how education policymakers and regulators have negatively influenced the endeavor to educate. What was called “education reform” has been more about blaming schools and blaming teachers than being honest about what has to be done better. There is a whole world swirling around our classrooms and our schools. If success or even survival in the world that actually exists is the goal then educators and those on the ground and in that world need to get assertive and even aggressive about what learners need. More than anyone, teachers need to be among the leaders in this effort, not patsies being blamed for all that has gone wrong as they are being told what to do and how to do it. Teachers are the professionals, they have the knowledge and the experience and are there on the front lines ready to do it.

I half-started a podcast. I want to go more serious with it and even do some collaboration and interview. I’ll have an area here where that stuff will go.

From the shelf:

Here is where I will try to organize.

My Picks for Your Pleasure 

I’ll drop some of my personal favorites here.

1) Building Brainpower

In this article I describe why and how I use Hide-n-Seek to get that brain-ball rolling.

2) Dear Lane, 

Lane Wright, Director of Policy Analysis at Education Post, was confused and called for the help of teachers. Who better to ask for help when you’re confused, right?

3) Student Activists Lead the Way 

Will it be student activists who force political action regarding gun violence in America? Maybe that’s exactly what this country needs.

Some from the oldies bin

Classroom Engagement: Signals That Work  June 2016

It’s my favorite lesson to plug into the start of the school year. Before I start I want to say that, in the tradition of great teachers and great teaching, I totally stole this and adapted it to suit my needs.

Being a Teacher (but first, just being “Dad”)  Jan. 2017

About four years ago my wife called me at school and told me that our oldest daughter had gotten off the school bus crying. Walking up our 100 feet of driveway between the road and our door, she had her report card in one hand and was clearly trying to gather herself… 

Teaching: Taking on the Moral Imperatives (Part I)  Jan. 2018

I’ve never assumed the power to teach to “change the world,” but I do understand that world. I see what it does close up. I know that other teachers do too. It imposes some horrible burdens on children, and those burdens become imperatives for teachers. It also means that teachers do more than “education reformers” care to admit.

Other Noteworthy Articles 

For information, support, advice and front-line opinions/voices from actual educators who support public education, I love The Educators Room. Below are a few articles that I have found particularly interesting. I have a few articles at TER, but I’ll let you find them if you want. Here, I’ll share the writing of some others.