School Leader

Video interview series with "Montessori Madness" author Trevor Eissler

In observance of Montessori Education Week in Bowling Green, I'll be posting video clips of an interview with Trevor Eissler, author of Montessori Madness: A Parent-to-Parent Argument for Montessori Education, which I'll also be reviewing here in coming weeks.  Check back to this post throughout the week to see the whole series.

Here's Part I, where Eissler discusses his reasons for writing the book:

 

In Part II, Eissler explains how he went from being an airline pilot to writing this, his first book, which is presented from a parent's perspective and aimed toward other parents:

 

In Part III, Eissler discusses how writing Montessori Madness has affected his life:

 

In Part IV of the series, Eissler shares an example of how differently child-centered Montessori education really is:

 

Watch for my complete review of Eissler's book in coming weeks.

Discover the "Teaching Channel"

At a GRREC event last week I was introduced to a really great website called The Teaching Channel, which features tons of material, including lots of videos of great teaching practices, a social networking site for teachers to share ideas and resources, and an online workspace for developing and trading lesson plans and more.

This could be a great resource for individual teachers, but also could provide a terrific resource for teacher professional development sessions and Professional Learning Community activities.

Check out this video, "My Favorite No," which features an 8th grade math teacher's warm up activity, which also serves as an excellent formative assessment and an opportunity to promote a trusting, risk-taking classroom environment.

KASA-Josten's Summer Scholarships available for aspiring school administrators

The Kentucky Association of School Administrators, in collaboration with Jostens, is offering two generous scholarships for graduate students in educational administration for Summer 2012.

The KASA/Josten's Tomorrow's Leader Scholarship is for KASA members (join here) who are currently enrolled in a Kentucky university administrator preparation program.  Tomorrow's Leader pays for two three-hour summer courses, textbook reimbursement, and a $3,000 travel stipend.  Applicants must submit two letters of recommendation and a  300-500 word essay. Winners must agree to remain an active or associate member for at least one year after receiving the scholarship. Application due May 2.  Click here to obtain more information and application materials. 

KASA also offers a 2012 Aspiring Administrators Summer Scholarship covering one three-hour course for any aspiring administrator (KASA membership not required).  Three letters of recommendation are required. Application deadline April 18.  Follow this link for more details and to apply.

KASA is the premier professional organizational for school leaders in Kentucky.  Visit their website here.

Weapons of Mass Instruction, Part II

A few weeks ago I posted Part I of a two-part review of John Taylor Gatto's book, Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling.  In that first post, I gave an overview of Gatto's core thesis that the factory model of schooling that has dominated American education for 100 years is strangling the creativity and critical thinking of generations of children.  Here in Part II I'll offer some reactions to Gatto's argument, focusing on the instructional implications of this critically important book.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Weapons of Mass Instruction is long on diagnosis, but short on meaningful solutions.  Gatto, a former New York State Teacher of the Year, lays out a devastating critique of American schooling, describing a kind of institutionalized, often soul-killing learning environment that will be instantly recognizable to any honest and self-aware educator. 

Montessori Education Week in Bowling Green: February 26-March 3

Mayor Bruce Wilkerson has proclaimed February 26-March 3 Montessori Education Week in Bowling Green.  The proclamation is part of an international celebration of Montessori schools and their famous, child-centered "Montessori method."

Bowling Green is home to three outstanding Montessori programs: Children's House Montessori, Plum Tree Montessori, and The Montessori School of Bowling Green.  All three schools provide Montessori preschool programs, and some provide nursey, toddler, and kindergarten options as well.  This fall  the Montessori Elementary School of Bowling Green will open its doors, serving children ages 6-12.  An open house for the Montessori Elementary School will be held March 23.

In celebration of Montessori Education Week, Children's House and Plum Tree Montessori will host a tree planting, dove release, and peace walk Saturday, March 3, 2:00 p.m. at Preston Miller Park.  Mayor Wilkerson will help officiate the event.

 Learn more about Montessori education here.  I wrote about using the Montessori method in public schools last week.  Look for my review of Trevor Eissler's book, Montessori Madness: A Parent-to-Parent Argument for Montessori Education, coming in the next few weeks.  Watch this great video with Eissler explaining the basics of the Montessori philosophy:

 

Schmoker's blind spot?

As I predicted, Mike Schmoker's visit to WKU last week ruffled a few feathers and raised a few eyebrows.  I had warned my own education administration students that usually before Schmoker has completed a talk he offends everyone in the room at least once.  This visit was no exception.

Schmoker, author of the book-I-recommend-more-than-any-0ther Focus, made comments during both of his presentations disparaging differentiated learning as having no "research base."

Last year, just after the publication of Focus, Schmoker got into a public debate with differentiation guru Carol Ann Tomlinson for making the same assertion.  Read Schmoker's Education Week commentary calling differentiation "a fad," and Tomlinson's response (subscribers only, but email me if you want the full text version).

It appears that Schmoker defines (and still defines) differentiation by the bad examples that pass for it in schools around the country.  "Grouping," acting out skits, coloring, doing dioramas and other "fun" strategies based on some vague notion of "learning styles" abound in many schools, watering down an otherwise rigorous curriculum in the name of differentation.  Schmoker rejects all this as unproven junk that does more harm than good.

Charter schools get "A's: Autonomy and accountability

See my op-ed in today's Lexington Herald-Leader, arguing that charter schools are worth a shot because they have two things in abundance that traditional schools don't: autonomy and accountability.  Read it here.

Watch me and CEBS Dean Sam Evans discuss charter schools and more on WKYU-PBS "Outlook" program

This week's episode of the WKYU-PBS television program "Outlook" with Barbara Deeb features me and Dr. Sam Evans, Dean of the the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, discussing charter schools, Kentucky's recent NCLB waiver, and future directions for education in general.

The program will air on Thursday, February 16 at 9:30 p.m. Central time, and on Sunday, February 19, at 8:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Central time.

Our conversation was recorded just a day after the Kentucky House of Representatives Education Committee hosted a two-hour "information session" on the topic of charter schools, featuring speakers who both support and oppose the concept.  No vote was taken on House Bill 77, sponsored by Rep. Brad Montell (R-Shelbyville), which would have made charter schools legal in Kentucky (the state is one of only nine that currently forbid them), but Montell indicated after the session that the content of HB 77 might still come up before this year's General Assembly in a different format.

Schmoker: Stop innovating. Just "focus."

Mike Schmoker, author of Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, spoke at Western Kentucky University's Ransdell Hall Auditorium last night and again this morning at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on WKU's South Campus.

Schmoker outlined key ideas laid out in Focus, including his conviction that we already know what it takes to make sizable gains in student learning, and it's not technology or fancy instructional or assessment techniques.  In fact, Schmoker called for a moratorium on all new educational "innovations."  Instead, Schmoker argues that the key to better schools is a relentless focus on a handful of tried-and-true strategies:

• A tight, focused curriuculum, based on power standards (whittling the current curriuclum down by about 50%), and guaranteed to be delivered in every classroom, every day.
• Madeline Hunter-style lesson designs, with a clear learning target, gradual release of responsibility, and regular checks for understanding (formative assessment) that lead to immediate instructional adjustments.
• Deeply embedded, authentic literacy in every subject and grade level.

 If you didn't get to hear Schmoker speak, or if you haven't read Focus, I strongly encourage you to do so.  His ideas are challenging and compelling, but I recommend you keep an open mind and consider the real possibilities he describes.  In the classrooms and schools Schmoker highlights in Focus, teachers and administrators are getting vivid results from this kind of devotion to the "first things."

JCPS launches first middle school Montessori program

I've come to believe that if schools are to provide the rich education students need for the 21st century, educators must move beyond the 18th century industrial model of schooling that predominates.  That's why I was most encouraged to read about Jefferson County's Westport Middle School, which has adopted a Montessori magnet program serving about 50 students.  Read more in today's Courier-Journal.

Montessori education, named after its founder, Italian Maria Montessori, emphasizes an extremly student-centered, self-directed approach to learning.  Despite my training and experience as an educator, I knew little about the Montessori method until my own daughter began attending a Montessori daycare.   I've become convinced that the Montessori philosophy holds real promise for a radically improved approach to student learning, but I have questioned how it might work in a traditional public school setting.  I'm pleased JCPS is giving it a go (Westport Middle joins Coleridge-Taylor and Kennedy Elementary Schools, which already feature Montessori programs), and I hope the district will consider expanding its availability, providing a wider range of educational choices for parents.

Read more about Montessori education here.