Giving thanks
With this being the season of giving thanks, I have been thinking a great deal about what I am grateful for, both personally and professionally. In my last post, I described my wonderful experience at the Coalition of Essential Schools’ Fall Forum. The Coalition is an...
Demanding Education that Matters: Notes from the CES Fall Forum
The 25th anniversary of the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) Fall Forum opened with words from Nancy Sizer, Ted Sizer’s widow. Nancy spoke eloquently of Ted’s vision–the importance of conversations amongst friends and detractors from the ten common principles....
Milwaukee musings
What a whirlwind two-day trip to Milwaukee! I hadn't been there since 1977, when I studied at UW Madison and forgot how friendly people are in the Midwest. I visited Milwaukee at the invitation of Christina Ratatori, who is a dance teacher in the public schools and...
Making my way to Milwaukee
This afternoon I am off to visit Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sung-Joon Pai (founding BAA faculty member, friend, and school leader) recently introduced me to a lovely person named Christina Ratatori. Christina leads an organization called Artists Rallying Together (a.r.t.) ...
Beautiful Brandeis
Last week I did a book talk at Brandeis University’s beautiful Rose Art Museum. The faculty from the education department invited me to speak with both their graduate (MAT) students and education undergraduates. Brandeis included the book talk on their list of...
I ♥ Librarians
I recently had the privilege of being a featured author and key note presenter at a conference for the Massachusetts School Librarians Association (MSLA). I happen to admire librarians as much as I admire teachers. We are VERY fortunate at BAA to have a world-class,...
Waiting for Superman?
An outspoken public school principal has a few things to say about the new Waiting for Superman documentary…
Bringing it on Home…
The end of the school year is a time for closure for most schools. At BAA it is also time to kick off the seventh annual Summer Institute for Arts in Education, an amazing week-long professional development experience for folks interested in school change. Teachers...
Join the EdWeek Bookclub!
The Education Week's Teacher magazine has started a new interactive online book club and I am so proud that the first book to be discussed will be The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test! In order to participate, you must be registered to the edweek.org website,...
A visit to the oldest public high school in the country!
I was recently invited to The English High School to give a talk to the faculty and staff about the themes from my book. English High School is the oldest public high school in America and is also the place I worked while I was with Fenway High School in the 1980s. I...