Why "El Sistema" Needs A Strong National Voice
Music is very important to K-12 education. So are any of the performing arts as well as athletics. Students need development in not only the mind, but the body and spirit as well. Time and time...
View ArticleLet Public Charter Schools Help Reinvent U.S. Public Education
Why are public charters looked at as though they are the evil empire? And why do people believe that because you support public charters, you are anti-public schools? The state of Georgia in one...
View ArticlePublic Education Must Embrace Online Learning To Remain Relevant
The major media outlets are writing a great deal of misleading articles about online learning. The foolhardy would be unwise to follow the advice of NY Times writer Mark Edmunson. His article, "The...
View ArticleThe Declaration of Independence As It Relates To Education Reform
I came across this incredible whitepaper from GSV Advisors titled "American Revolution 2.0" and I fell in love with it. I hope they won't mind me redacting a page from the free whitepaper which is an...
View ArticleTo Reinvent Public Education, We Need To Change Our Frame Of Reference
This will be one of my shorter posts. I had a small epiphany last week. What do all of these headlines have in common? "The Charter School Threat To American Society" "Online Learning: Before We...
View ArticleGeorgia's Charter School Amendment: Is The Status Quo Really Acceptable?
On November 6th, voters in the state of Georgia will have a very important decision to make: whether or not to approve an amendment to its state constitution allowing the state to play a role in the...
View ArticleGeorgia Takes a Bold Step in Reinventing Public Education
Hopefully, November 6, 2012 will be one of the most memorable days in the history of public education in the state of Georgia. By an overwhelmingly favorable margin, 58 percent of voters approved the...
View ArticleGeorgia's Graduation Rate is a Wakeup Call for New Approaches to Public...
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education released graduation rates for all states under a common formula, which should allow more accurate comparisons on academic performance in the United States....
View ArticleMy WIsh List For Public Education In 2013
As we approach the end of 2012, I look back on a year that was challenging for public education reform, particularly as it relates to the state of Georgia, my state of residence. Across the nation,...
View ArticleAre Politics Overshadowing Sound Policy On Education Reform in Georgia?
My first post of 2013 has been slow to emerge because I have been doing a lot of reading and listening. The Georgia General Assembly kicked off its 2013 legislative session with a bang. Legislators...
View ArticleIt's Time To Reinvent Public School Governance
I've been holding off on writing this post as I wanted to let a situation happening in Georgia's third largest school system come to closure, or at least get past a big chunk of the "drama." While...
View ArticleTo Reform Public Education, Combine Optimism With Focus On Learning Outcomes
As I write today's post, I am saddened by the recent events in my adopted state of Georgia - my adopted city of Atlanta in particular. In Metro Atlanta, two of the largest school districts (a...
View Article"A Prayer in the Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing"
Credits given to Rabbi Joe Black for writing such a beautiful prayer. Our God who dwells in the highest heights and in the souls of our feet: We find You in the passion of those who delight in...
View ArticleHow Self Interest Groups, Conflicts of Interest Sabotage the Education Reform...
Lesson #1: don't believe everything you read online as valid research on education policy. There has been a great deal of heated rhetoric around charter schools and high stakes tests. I have learned...
View ArticleConcerns About "Tiger Mom" Parenting Approach Supported By Data
Let me start out by saying I am very sensitive to Asian cultures. I have spent a considerable amount of time in Japan, Korea and China and I speak conversational Japanese. I know that these cultures...
View ArticleDisruptive Innovation is NOT a Myth - Understand How and When to Apply it
I have studied, leveraged and lectured about disruptive innovation theory for more than a decade. When we launched GameTap at Turner Broadcasting, our internal strategic pitches illustrated how the...
View ArticleThe Rigidity of Public Education and its Unintended Societal Effects
What is happening to our society? It is clear we have become hypersensitive and have lost our light-hearted nature. While the proliferation of social media has made the world feel "smaller," it...
View ArticlePolitics Will Continue To Undermine Public Education Reform
I haven't posted in a few weeks because I have been in a period of frustration. Reading the lies that continue to published to unravel the Common Core has caused me to reflect on the state of...
View ArticleRavitch on the "Perils" of Ed Tech: Is This Journalism or Propaganda?
"DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER"....... For those of you who remember the 1960s television sci-fi series: Lost in Space, this was the famous catch phrase that the robot, acting as a surrogate guardian,...
View ArticleA Moment of Truth for Atlanta Public Schools
The nation has been looking at Georgia's education system recently, and not through a favorable lens. Why is that? GA received the lowest grade in the United States on the strength of its proficiency...
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