Syndicated from NPR.org,
National Public Radio

  • Pennsylvania School District Goes Broke - The Chester Upland School District — a small, mostly minority district outside Philadelphia — is on the verge of going broke. State budget cuts have put the district in such financial straits that teachers and some other employees agreed last month to work without pay for the rest of the school year. A judge ordered the state to advance Chester Upland $3 million, but that will only keep the schools open for a few weeks.
  • Worshippers Kicked Out Of N.Y. School On Principle - For years, small churches have been meeting in New York City's public schools. One church, Grace Fellowship, has been gathering at PS-150 in Queens since 2006. In one week, though, they will be evicted. "Freedom for a church to take over a school and convert it to a house of worship is not what our Constitution stands for," says a civil liberties proponent.
  • Fallout Continues In L.A. School's Lewd Photo Scandal - A second teacher has been removed from Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles as part of an investigation into lewd photos. One teacher has already been charged with lewd conduct with 23 students.
  • Prison Meal Deal: Where The Staff Serves Lunch ... And Time - At the Fife and Drum Restaurant, located in a Massachusetts minimum-security prison, inmates learn to cook and wait tables. Regulars praise the tasty lunches served up at bargain prices. Prison officials say such job training reduces the chances prisoners will re-offend.
  • Las Vegas Principal Hopes To Beat The Odds - Nevada has the lowest high school graduation rate in the country. But now a multi-million dollar federal grant is helping one district turn its schools around. Host Michel Martin speaks with a principal who spent last Saturday knocking on the doors of students who dropped out, encouraging them to come back to school.
  • Getting America's Dropouts Back On Track - Nearly a quarter of U.S. public high school students fail to graduate on time, or at all. The president wants a rule requiring students to stay in school until age 18. But even with the requirement, Washington, D.C. has one of the lowest graduation rates. Host Michel Martin speaks with WAMU's Kavitha Cardoza and former dropout, Rashida Harris.
  • College Administrator Resigns Over Fake SAT Scores - An administrator at Claremont McKenna College resigned after acknowledging that he falsified entrance exam scores for years to publications responsible for ranking the small school among universities, an official said. The name of the administrator was not released.
  • Claremont McKenna Admits Inflating SAT Scores - Officials at Claremont McKenna College announced Wednesday that the school submitted inflated SAT scores for several years to publications such U.S. News and World Report to boost its rankings. Claremont McKenna is ranked among the top 10 liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and has recently seen an upswing in popularity among applicants.
  • Dropout Has Thanks, Not Blame, For Teacher - Roger Alvarez dropped out of high school despite the efforts of his English teacher, Antero Garcia. "You were determined to help me, but what was I willing to give? I could have actually tried," Alvarez says.
  • Higher Dropout Age May Not Lead To More Diplomas - In his State of the Union address, President Obama called on every state to require students to stay in school until they graduate or turn 18. But unimpressive results in states that already have that requirement raise questions about how effective the initiative would really be.

Syndicated from Edutopia.org,
The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Syndicated from Weblogg-ed.com,
Learning with the Read/Write Web

  • 10 Years of Blogging: Time for a Change and a Book - So last week it marked 10 years since my first blog post, a full decade of writing and sharing online. As I’ve said many times before, it’s been an amazing journey. I don’t think I could have imagined the many ways that blogging was going to change my life, in a learning sense, in a [...]
  • The UnCommon Core - (Warning: Elitist, preachy, liberal, rantish stuff ahead.) Lately, I can’t seem to get out from under the feeling that a) this country has pretty much lost its way and that b) at the end of the day, our education system carries much of the blame. No question, my parenting lens is coloring some of this; I’ve [...]
  • A Different Path - So it’s been about five years now since I wrote this to my kids: Dear Tess and Tucker, For most of your young lives, you’ve heard your mom and I occasionally talk about your futures by saying that someday you’ll travel off to college and get this thing called a degree that will show everyone that you [...]
  • “There are Some People Who Don’t Wait” - This quote from Robert Krulwich of NPR caught my eye yesterday: But there are some people, who don’t wait. I don’t know exactly what going on inside them; but they have this… hunger. It’s almost like an ache. Something inside you says I can’t wait to be asked I just have to jump in and do it. He was [...]
  • What We’ve Always Known About Education - So this morning it’s David Weinberger that’s got me thinking. No doubt, David has been one of my favorite Web philosophers for a long time, someone who almost always seems to open the window just a bit more for me. Today, it’s this: …we knew all along that atoms were never up to the job. We [...]
  • Have Schools Reached Their Limits? - (Cross posted to Huffington Post) The last couple of days I’ve been soaking in a new white paper “Right to Learn: Identifying Precedents for Sustainable Change,” a document that I think nudges the serious conversation about real change in learning down the road a few steps if not more. The paper, written by Bruce Dixon and [...]
  • The “New” Normal - Tim Stahmer’s post “There’s No Normal to Return To” has me thinking this morning. He writes: At the same time we in education are also doubling down on the “back to basics” and on teaching kids how to follow someone else’s instructions. Our leaders, both political and business, want us to think that if we just [...]
  • And What Do YOU Mean by Learning? - So, the biggest learning news coming from the Richardson household last week has, as is more often the case than not, little to do with the classroom and everything to do with doing. Two quick stories, both involving my 13-year old daughter Tess: Story 1 Three weeks ago, Tess decided (on her own) to go out for [...]
  • What We Need is a “Prep” Rally - (Cross-posted at Huffington Post) First, let me say that I’m not specifically picking on the teachers and kids at Emerson Elementary in Pennsylvania, who put together this 12-plus minute video of their Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) pep rally for the state standardized tests, and posted it to TeacherTube a couple of weeks ago. Do [...]
  • TEDxNYEd Talk - From the Shameless Self-Promotion Dept. comes my TEDxNYEd Talk that I gave a few weeks ago. It was a real honor to be asked to do this talk, and I hope I did it justice. I found it incredibly difficult to say everything that I wanted to say in 15 minutes or less, and as I [...]

Syndicated from The Innovative Educator,
Sharing ideas about educating innovatively.

  • Innovative Educators Enable Students to Break Free From the Classroom and Connect with The World -
    If you read this month’s Education Week, you may have noticed I was quoted in article U.S. Schools Forge Foreign Connections Via Web which explains how American students are teaming up with classrooms around the world to learn valuable lessons. The piece features anecdotes of young people connecting and learning with others like the American students who videoconferenced with students in Egypt when President Hosni Mubarak stepped down. Americans and Egyptians both were in awe, clapping and laughing and sharing in a moment of global importance. Donna Rose, the director of the American school’s program explained that they had a real-life lessons in “what freedom is, what a democracy means, how fortunate they are to be where they are, and how people have to struggle to get to that level.” She shared that “In a heartbeat, they changed their view of humanity” and asked, “How could I have done that on my own?”

    The reality is that not only is it true that Ms. Rose couldn’t have done that on her own, she shouldn’t have. In the age of the internet the world is indeed flat. We no longer need to depend on politicians, agenda-backed textbooks, or the media to tell us about other peoples and cultures.  We can connect ourselves easily with tools like Skype, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Hangout and with the advent of Google Translate it has become even easier to understand people from around the world.

    In the article I shared how I thought this would affect children and our society explaining that it’s really easy to hate what you don’t know. However, I believe social media will help break down barriers and help build tolerance in our word. In fact, in the future, I think there are going to be big changes in the way countries are defined, because people around the world are going to be connecting and bonding with each other in a way that doesn’t involve places, but rather their ideas and passions.

    It is no longer acceptable for educators to keep children confined to a classroom. Even with just one computer and the internet, any classroom can, and should, be transformed into a global communication center. Read about how teachers across America like Suzie Nestico and The Flatclassroom Project, are doing just that in this month’s Education Week.
  • Creating a plan with students to use cell phones for learning -
    Visit this link to see how these students
    are using cell phones as learning tools.


    Cross posted at the Teaching Generation Text. The blog dedicated to using mobile devices for learning.


    Want to integrate cell phones into learning? You can involve your students with this planning lesson where students will focus on cell phones as learning tools. With an overview of the educational uses of cell phones (the Gr8 8, below), students will determine how they will choose to use their cell phones for educational purposes.  Contracts for tools will be developed by students and the result will be a plan for educational uses of cell phones.
    Lesson Title: Plans for Phones or Plnz 4 fonz
    Tools Used:  Poll Everywhere
    Lesson Description:
    • Start with a class discussion about tools, and their purpose, for learning.
    • Multiple choice poll:  Ask students to text into a poll everywhere free text poll examples of tools and their uses: pencil-communicating/taking notes, calculator-do math, dictionary-learn meanings of words, notes, books, websites, teacher instruction.
    • Free text poll: Ask students to share the tools available on their phone. This captures all of the available, educational, free cell phone tools that are in students’ pockets.
    • Teacher shares the "Gr8 8 Top Educational Uses of Cell Phones" to get students thinking about some ways that cell phones can be used for learning.
    • Teacher asks how are you already using your phone for learning? What are you already doing that works?
    • Multiple choice poll: Which of the "Great 8" would you like most to use for learning.  Note: The teacher may want to share these poll results with parents, administrators, and other teachers.
    • Students personalize this, by creating plans explaining how they will use cell phone tools for learning.  
    Here is a sample plan template:
    When at school or at home, I will use my cell phone appropriately for learning in following ways:
    I will use my cell phone to:The tool I will use is:This will help me learn better because:How will you know your plan is working?Did your plan work?
    (To be completed at the end of a lesson or unit of study)
    Example 1:   do research
    		Cha Cha

    		when I don’t have access to the internet, I still have information and experts available to me. I will turn in assignments more often because I will get stuck less.
    Example2:  reach out to an expert when I am stuck on my work.text messaging or voiceI will start thinking about and collecting experts to connect with. This way I will learn more and have a lot of resources.The quality of my work improve because I will have a bank of expert resources to turn to.  I will also use more references in my wwork.

    Planning Worksheet, questions adapted from The Educator’s Guide to Solutioning.

    These planning worksheets provide great evidence to make a case about the benefits of cell phones.
    At the end of each unit, teachers and students can share and learn new ways for using cells to learn.

    Here’s How:  
    Using Poll Everywhere is simple.  You can watch a demonstration here or follow these steps:
    • Register at Poll Everywhere with your email and password.
    • Select “Create your first poll.”
    • Select a “Multiple Choice” or “Free Text” poll.
    • Type your question/answer choices in the text box. Select “Save new poll.”
    • You will be taken to a screen that shows your poll question and results along with how to respond via text.
    • For multiple choice polls, your audience will text Poll Everywhere (at 99503) and type in the code displayed to share their answer and send the text.
    • Once the answer is submitted the results are instantly displayed on the Poll Everywhere page in your web browser.
    • Have students put the number 99503 into their phone. Project the poll.
    • Students text Poll Everywhere at 99503 and enter the code that corresponds to their answer.
    • The answers instantly appear on the poll being projected.
    Useful resources:
    Gr8 8 - Top Educational Uses of Cell Phones
    1.  engagement-audience response-polls, wiffitis, 100% participation, can be anonymous
    2.  communication-group texting, group projects, cooperative learning
    3.  home-school connection-group texts to parents, parents text teacher/student
    4.  homework-phone never lost, answer questions on phone, review notes, etc on the go
    6.  research-googlesms/chacha/text an expert
    6.  organization-calendar/alarm/reminders/calculator/notes
    7.  varied sensory instruction-googlevoice,voki, pictures
    8.  visual-camera/video

    Explain how the use of cell phones enriches this lesson: By using cell phones for the introduction to the lesson, teachers are modeling what they are presenting.  The poll encourages all students to participate.  Responses are collected instantly saving time that can be devoted to learning.

    Special Notes/ Additional comments: If cell phones are not yet allowed in the classroom, this sharing session could be done by having students complete this on post its that they place on the board or chart paper and it could be saved by the teacher taking a picture on his/her phone.

    NETS Standards for Students Met:
    • Creativity and Innovation - Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
    • Communication and Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
    • Research and Information Fluency - Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
    • Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making - Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
    NETS Standards Addressed - Teachers:
    • Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
    • Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
    • Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
    Research-based instructional strategies:
    Summarizing and note taking
    Homework and practice
    Nonlinguistic representations
    Setting objectives and providing feedback

    For more ideas about effective ways to use cell phones for learning, including research-based strategies, lessons, and more order     Teaching Generation Text. 
  • The Hottest Posts This Week! - Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog this week. Below you’ll see the top weekly posts along with the number of pageviews. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired, share it with others and/or leave a comment.

    10 Reasons Cell Phones Should Be Allowed In School...
    Aug 24, 2010, 21 comments                      2553 Pageviews
    Cell Phones Optimize Learning Time
    Jan 29, 2012, 2 comments                          1996 Pageviews
    What should every citizen know? My Answer.
    Jan 30, 2012, 8 comments                          1951 Pageviews

    Think prepping kids for the 21C means buying a Smartboard...
    Feb 3, 2012                                                   1911 Pageviews

    5 things before turning to ADD/ADHD Meds...
    Feb 2, 2012, 1 comment                            1898 Pageviews
    Cure ADHD without Drugs with These Resources...
    Feb 5, 2011, 22 comments                          1852 Pageviews
    The 10 No Nos of Teaching with a Smartboard...
    May 10, 2010, 37 comments                        1801 Pageviews
    10 Reasons To Be In Love with Unschooling ...
    Feb 1, 2012, 3 comments                           1745 Pageviews
    Conversations in the hall...better than a workshop...
    Jan 29, 2012, 4 comments                          1623 Pageviews
    Free-Range Media = Free-Range Learning Innovation
    Jan 31, 2012                                               1570 Pageviews
  • Think prepping kids for the 21st century means buying a Smartboard & computers? Think again. -
  • Live Tonight! 2/2 - Panel on Personal Learning Profiles -
    Join me tonight, Thursday, February 2nd, for a live and interactive FutureofEducation.com panel discussion on "Personal Learning Profiles," also referred to as "personal success plans," "learner profiles," or "personalized learning paths."  The discussion will be hosted by Steven Hargadon. Joining me on the panel are Barbara Bray, Kathleen McClaskey, and Shannon Miller.

    We'll discuss be discussing topics, issues and questions such as:

    • With a growing sense of the value of personalized, customized, and student-driven learning, what is the best way to capture and communicate students' learning plans and goals?
    • Who should "own" these profiles/plans, both in terms of responsibility and ultimate control?
    • How can and should personal learning profiles interact with student portfolios?
    • And Steve Hargadon's perennial question...In a vision of teachers as lead-learners, what provisions are being made to bring personal learning profiles to the profession itself?

    Session details:
    Date: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
    Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 1am (next day) GMT (international times here)
    Duration: 1 hour
    Location: Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate).
    Log in: Go to http://futureofed.info.
    The Blackboard Collaborate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Blackboard Collaborate, please visit the support and configuration page. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.
    Recordings:
    The full Blackboard Collaborate recording and a portable .mp3 recording will be available soon after the show athttp://www.futureofeducation.com.

    Panelists (listed alphabetically):

    Barbara Bray is a Creative Learning Strategist who believes that anyone at any age can learn. She has worked with schools, districts, individuals, businesses, and non-profit agencies around the world. Her dream has been to create an online place that was safe and secure with all the tools and resources all in one place. She did it with My eCoach as early as 1999 — way before there were blogs, wikis, Twitter or Facebook. Barbara is what you call a “Digital Pioneer.”

    Barbara is a teacher, writer, change agent, risk-taker, instructional designer, connector, and visionary. Whenever anyone told Barbara she couldn’t do something, she took it more like a challenge. Barbara knows that teachers need support with the shift to 21st Century Skills. New and veteran teachers are overwhelmed with day-to-day tasks plus being asked to teach and integrate technology. The big question even today is “how do you fit everything in that is expected of you and meet the needs of all students?”

    Barbara writes a regular column on professional development for OnCUE (Computer Using Educators) as well as regularly posts helpful materials and resources on her blog. She works tirelessly to find and research new tools and methods that help educators. Now with multiple opportunities to network using social media and join various online communities, teachers and learners are confused. Barbara makes it her job to determine what is authentic, valid, cost-effective, safe, user-friendly, and relevant for her clients.

    Kathleen H. McClaskey, resident of Ed Tech Associates, is a recognized UDL and Digital Learning Consultant with 28 years experience in using technology in the classroom. Kathleen is a frequent international, national and regional workshop presenter on topics that include Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Technology for Diverse Learners, Math and Technology: Bringing Research to Practice, Built in Moodle: The Universally Designed Digital Learning Environment and most recently, Personalized Learning Toolkit with Barbara Bray. In the last decade, she directed and designed the professional development in technology-based projects in math, science, literacy and autism. She currently curates four topics in Scoop.it:  Personalized Learning, Universal Design for Learning, Leveling the Playing Field with Apps and Math, Technology and UDL:  Closing the Achievement Gap.  Twitter: @khmmc

    Shannon McClintock Miller is the district teacher librarian and technology specialist at Van Meter Community School in Van Meter, Iowa. She encourages her students to have a voice while learning, creating, collaborating, and connecting to others within their school and around the world. Shannon is the author of the award winning Van Meter Library Voice blog and enjoys writing for ISTE's Leading & Learning journal, various blogs, and in other forums. She has had the opportunity to speak in Iowa and around the country about advocacy, technology, social media, and making a difference in education and the lives of others. She is a member of ISTE, SIGMS, ALA, AASL, and ILA (Iowa Library Association). Shannon serves as the advocacy chair on the Iowa Association of School Librarians and on the Iowa Center for the Book Advisory Council as the public school students and libraries representation. Shannon also serves on the School Library Month advisory board. She is a StudyBlue Teacher Advocate and FableVision Learning Ambassador. In 2010, she was also chosen to be part of the Cengage Learning/School Library Journal New Leaders Program. In March 2011, Shannon was awarded the Connecting People Shorty Award. Shannon can be found at @shannonmmiller on Twitter and online atshannonmmiller.com.

    Lisa Nielsen writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about learning innovatively and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, and using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. Ms. Nielsen has worked for more than a decade in various capacities to support learning in real and innovative ways that will prepare students for success. In addition to her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator, Ms. Nielsen’s writing is featured in places such as Huffington Post, Tech and Learning, ISTE Connects, ASCD Wholechild, MindShift, Leading and Learning, The Unplugged Mom, and is the author the book Teaching Generation Text.
  • 5 things you can do now before turning to ADD / ADHD drugs - Guest post by Heather Jones DeGorge

    Editor’s note: I’m often disheartened to find that in many cases educators and parents are quick to unquestioningly trust pharma industry influenced doctors about best treatments for children’s mental and health issues without considering or researching other options. Before taking the advice to drug children it is helpful to get insights from health and wellness coaches like Heather Jones DeGeorge and  parenting coaches / counseling experts like Laurie A. Couture who have had great success with helping families find mental and physical health and wellness naturally. I asked DeGeorge to share the top five things families can do for children who have symptoms associated with ADD / ADHD. Here they are.

    It’s a familiar scenario: Johnny or Jane (but statistically more frequently, Johnny) can’t sit still in class.  Add whatever other “disruptive to the learning environment” things you can think up.  Now add the at-home tensions.  Nobody needs me to paint a picture of what the world calls ADHD these days.  We may all have different pictures in our mind, but remarkably, they are likely to all qualify.  

    The teachers and/or the doctors might tell you to remove sugar and food dyes.  MIGHT.  But at the end of the day, as recently exposed in a New York Times opinion piece by psychology professor L. Alan Sroufe     most doctors are going to offer you a medication.  Some schools will bully you into believing that they will not evaluate your child for IEP/504 accommodations without a diagnosis—possibly without first trying medications (both of which are illegal—at a Federal level that overrides the state).

    There are some that believe that if you simply remove the child from a classroom, the problem will be resolved—that ADHD doesn’t exist.  If you’re someone for whom that hasn’t worked, you’re thinking “No, because they’re not in the classroom on the weekends or in the summer and it’s still there!”  Admittedly, you only have it half right.  Seeing a child outside of the classroom isn’t akin to what they would be like if they were learning outside of school for a variety of reasons.
    For one, they need several months of decompression once removed from the school environment just to change their behaviors and mindsets.  So even if environment is suspected and the school refuses to modify, after being pulled from the school and homeschooled, there is a period of adjustment where you will not see the final (better behavior) although many kids with serious problems “behaving” in school MAY show SOME immediate improvement just from the tension being removed all around.

    But I digress…

    Drugs.  Aaaaahhhh drugs.  The quick, easy fix, right?  That’s easier than trying to tolerate your kid by homeschooling, isn’t it?  Sure it is!  If you don’t care what it does to your kid internally and emotionally, it’s great!  If you don’t mind that it may not actually work, was never tested for it’s effects on children, the known side effects that may not show up for several years, the propensity it may cause for addiction and the variety of other emotional disorders that may follow because of the body being disrupted by that medication—game on!  Better yet, let’s think of the drugs you will inadvertently add for the late-day inability to focus when the full-day drug wears off and/or the evening dose of a “downer” to offset the ADHD meds (which are stimulants) so the kid can sleep.  EASY!

    Here’s a secret:  Western (American) medicine has a nasty habit of 1) treating symptoms instead of root causes of problems; 2) having a medical community that is usually not fully informed about options outside of drugs; and 3) not educating their patients if they happen to HAVE the information.

    On the flip side, our culture is not really willing to listen to alternatives that are more work than popping a pill.  They are short-sighted and all about what’s easy today.  They’ll deal with that other bridge when they get to it (or so they think).

    But let’s assume that you’re ready to step out of that vicious scenario.  You want to do it different and simply have no clue where to start.  This is the bulk of my client base—facing all manner of health (mental and physical) challenge and just NOT happy with what they’re doing or being told to do.  What now?

    When it comes to ADHD, there are some very well-known things to try before medication.  Some of them are pretty painless, and have a good chance of helping.  This is not an exhaustive list of things you can do for ADHD before turning to drugs, but these are the things that EVERYONE should do before even considering it.
    1. Get a vision test that specifically screens for “convergence insufficiency”.  Any regular eye doctor can do this and the problem is easily correctable.  But the problem, believe it or not, presents as ADHD.
    2. Have a full audiogram hearing test done.  Auditory processing problems can also make a child appear to have ADHD (or other behavior problems)
    3. Have a chiropractor take x-rays of your child’s spine, hips and neck to review them for subluxations (compressions of the spinal bones) that are most known to present as ADHD because the crunching of these bones on the spinal nerves disrupts the communication network.  There is a high correlation between the the first vertebrae in the neck (the Atlas) and ADHD but other disruptions in the communication network can also cause ADHD symptoms.  The stress of daily living is enough to cause these bones to be out of alignment—there doesn’t need to have been an accident or fall, and you don’t need to be in pain to see a chiropractor.  The health benefit of chiropractic care is now well-enough documented that almost all health insurance covers at least some level of treatment.
    4. Remove all of the food dyes from the child’s diet.  All of them.  This can be hard to do if they’re in school and you can’t supervise them; but if they’re having trouble in school—the school should work with you on this.  You could see results sooner than later (as in a month or less).
    5. Last, give your child a daily dose of Omega-3 fish oil.  This may take up to 2 weeks to see some reaction to.  I happen to like Nordic Naturals brand because they are pharmaceutical grade (filtered of impurities very well) and lemon flavored—which is easy to hide.  You don’t need the child version (which is a smaller bottle giving half a dose of the same thing as the regular bottle—for the same price).  Since the American diet is extremely overloaded with Omega-6, definitely get an Omega-3.  When the two are out of balance, there are plenty of problems.
    If you CAN remove your child from the school environment, try that. This can be beneficial for a number of reasons in domains that go well beyond their physical health and into their emotional health, self-esteem, ability to learn critical thinking skills, and opportunity to learn superior social skills.

    As a former teacher, my experience makes it evident that a diligent, thinking, loving and supportive parent can provide a good education to their own child.  At minimum, you are not allowing that child’s problems to compound and negatively affect their learning because they cannot conform to the learning environment.

    There is more to try before drugs.  Lots more.  It’s not as quick and easy as a pill, but the side effects are nowhere near as dangerous.  Consider it.

    If you’ve already resorted to the pills, know that there is hope for getting them out of your family’s life.  Even if your child stays in school.  There is help.  There is support.  There are families that have been where you are.  Mine was one of them.

    Heather DeGeorge is a holistic health & wellness coach.  In addition to general health and weight loss, she specializes in dietary intervention for behavior and development problems of children; and helping people adjust to specialized or restricted diets based on medical diagnoses like diabetes or gluten intolerance with the end-goal of being able to heal the body and eat a healthy, less restrictive diet.  For more information, see her website at http://www.heatherdegeorge.com

  • 10 Reasons Why The Innovative Educator Is In Love with Unschooling -

    Why would someone with a career vested in the school system be in love with unschooling? Well, frankly it’s because I know a LOT about learning and from what I’ve seen, read, observed and experienced, unschooling is a terrific way to learn. What’s more, unlike schooling, you grow up more prepared for life and the passion, creativity, and the love of learning doesn’t get sucked right out of you.

    Here are ten reasons why I love how unschoolers learn:
    1. You can be driven by passion, rather than data.
    2. Learning is customized not standardized
    3. You can learn with those you enjoy being with (or no one at all) rather than those who share your birth year
    4. You have the freedom to learn with the tools you choose because they’re not banned like they are for school children.
    5. You have the opportunity to socialize and make global connections with those who share your passions not just your zip code or date of birth.
    6. Getting to achieve real-life success is better than being measured by bubble tests.
    7. You don’t just read about doing stuff. You do stuff!
    8. You get to be more than a number on a report card, transcript, or data report.
    9. You are able to do work you value.
    10. You are given the freedom to know what you are good at without being forced to take tests, do worksheets or reports.
    Parents who unschool realize that the industrial model school’s of today are preparing their children for a world that no longer exists. I love that unschooling parents have escaped from the status quo to provide their children with the best opportunities for satisfaction and success in life and career. Unschooling parents realize that when confined in a traditional school, their children no longer have the freedom to learn.  It is because students are empowered to learn and live in the ways they chose, that I have come to love unschooling.
  • Free-Range Media = Free-Range Learning Innovation - At this year's Educon I had the opportunity to collaborate with some wonderful librarians (Michelle Luhtala, Joyce Valenza, and Shannon Miller) and a fantastic student (Michael DeMattia) to share our experiences and have a conversation about teaching and learning in a no ban and no filter zone. The conversation is important because around the nation there are schools that are making the choice to do what is most convenient rather than what is right for kids. Rather than thinking outside the ban and empowering children to use the devices they own and access the internet they encounter outside of school, students are being banned and blocked. 


    During the conversation we shared ideas, experiences, and looked at questions such as the following: 
    What is the difference between students in schools that filter aggressively and ban and schools that dont? What evidence do we have to demonstrate that there is a difference at all? If there is, is that difference relevant? Meaningful? Important? What do students have to say about it? Do they care?


    Below is a presentation outlining what we shared.
  • What should every citizen know? My Answer. -
    What should every citizen know? That was the topic of a conversation that passionate educators were grappling with at this year’s Educon. Educators got to work quickly to make their case for what they felt must absolutely, positively be included (visit this link to see some of the thinking). Some educators went as far as to outline when each person should acquire the knowledge they believed was most important.

    A math educator shared…
    math students would need to know to think critically. They need this math just to function in the world and do things like balance their checkbook, cook, and tell time.
    ·         A history teacher shared…
    what every citizen should know is American history and how it relates to that of other countries as well as have an understanding of the political system and how issues become law.
    ·         The English teachers explained…
    why their subject was the most important if citizens wanted to be able to understand, communicate, and share ideas.
    ·         There  were science teachers who told us…
    science was of utmost importance because we would never know how our world and universe works without an understanding of science
    ·         There was also discussion around topics like empathy and compassion…
    because we need to ensure there was a good dose of that mixed in too. But how since it’s not a subject? Maybe modeling.
    ·         That prompted a conversation about the importance of knowing religion and the bible…
    which is the foundation of much of what made America the country it is today. 
    ·         Then, was an educator who shared that we shouldn’t be teaching the subjects in isolation…
    We need to teach thematically!

    There was a lot of head nodding in response.

    This moment reaffirmed for me that my beliefs about learning often make me feel like I’m in a foreign land.

    How is it that other people should have the right to decide what everyone should know? Why does everyoneneed to know all the same things? Do people really think we need to know all these things to be successful? When we have so many (too many) things is it any wonder we've forced teachers to teach to the test? Do we really believe a free and democratic society has the right to tell others what they need to know or should such a society provide the “opportunity to choose to learn?”

    It came as no surprise to those who know me (thank you to the wonderful conversation orchestrator, Dan Callahan) that I was given the go ahead to blurt out: 

    “’WE’ don’t all need to know all these things and anyone could be perfectly fine, and even successful, without them.”

    “Not true!” someone said and he explained why he thought a citizen must know each of these things. 

    It was at that point I shared something that many educators are afraid to reveal…

    I KNOW VERY LITTLE OF WHAT THE EXPERTS (AND THESE EDUCATORS) SAY I NEED TO KNOW.

    I expected the response I got when I revealed this.  While there were some that understood, and even agreed with where I was coming from, there were others whose answers, understandably, helped justify their existence and their jobs.

    I was told, “No! That’s not true.  You know things. You just don’t realize you know them.” I appreciate their belief in me, but the truth is… I do not. I used to be embarrassed by this. I mean, I spent more than a dozen years in the school system and I excelled! I was an honors student who started college at age 15, while I was in high school, and graduated college at the top of my class when I was 19…but the truth is, during that time, I learned nothing that was important for success in my life. Wasted years lost to a system that could have been spent with more meaningful pursuits.

    Instead, I was forced to take classes from teachers who used the "sit n git," "memorize n regurgitate (onto a test or into an essay or project meant for the class, not the world)" method of learning. As a result I don’t know the science, math, history, or the religious foundation everyone said was necessary for an informed citizenry.  In fact, I have no doubt I would fail the standardized high school tests given in my state on each of those topics today. I do happen to be a proficient reader, writer, and user of technology, but that is despite, not because of, school.

    I pushed further asking, “What about all the people who, like me, don’t learn from teachers talking, textbooks, or tests?   

    Some of the responses to that were predictable. We need to expose students to these things or they will never know about them. My response: “Schools don’t expose. They impose.” It is one thing to expose people to a variety of wonderful possible choices. But that is not what we’re really doing. Instead, there is a curriculum that students are forced complete in a standard and often boring way at a time that doesn’t honor the student’s readiness, interests or include any of the elements that lead to effective learning for many of us. What’s more, there is often little to no explicit connection made to their real worlds. 

     Ugh.

    I realized I was sort of derailing the conversation and felt thankful that I was in an environment where this was okay and even welcomed. Sadly, though when we discuss what an informed citizenry should know, even innovative educators often revert to the familiar content areas and carry on about why the one they are responsible for (or passionate about) is of utmost importance. This mindset is supported in our current climate.

    We have Common Core
    with the not so secret agenda to federalize education with a national curriculum
    with the not so secret reality that political interests drive the Core
    with the not so secret agenda of being pushed by corporate greed to produce compliant workers and dutiful consumers created
    with the not so secret agenda of publishersand testing companies who are positioned to make a bundle off what we make teachers force these kids to do.

    We have become a society that is quick to follow orders of a government that imposes their agenda into families dictating how all our children must be raised. Teachers and parents are going along with this, even though many realize what they do is hurting children.  The government imposes force in the form of "do what we say (such as teach to and take the tests) or we’ll cut off funding" and the sheep are forced to follow.  We’ve become a top down nation where our president wants to force young people tostay in school until they’re 18. This makes a nice sound bite for the naïve, but the informed know that he is not addressing the problem. Most young people leave school because it has little to no relevance to their lives. Students are seen as numbers and data, not human beings . If school is so wonderful, why make it compulsory? Why must we force people to go there rather than ensure it is a wonderful place that people want to attend? 

    We now have the common core standards designed to push EVERY child down the same narrow path to college, even though it is necessary only for few, and the mentality has cost us to lose due respect for many. This decision however will result in huge profits to the government via the student loan scheme (our next bubble to burst). It’s ironic when many of our nation’s founding fathers, our nation’s leaders, and our most successful businessmen never graduated college themselves.

    The conversation came to an end with the usual, well, there’s a lot more to figure out and discuss and we won’t be able to come up with all the answers in one workshop.

    I disagree. This is not a new conversation. The answers are right in front of us. It’s just that many of us are not ready or willing to see them.

    People are not widgets and no one should try to coerce individuals to become part of a Stepford citizenry. Our students are rebelling with dropout rates at 33% nationally and around 50% in large cities like Las Vegas, New York and Chicago.  Our teachers are sick and tired of being forced to engage in a test-based curriculum that lines the pockets of publishers while killing the passion and creativity of students. Many of the good ones have left or are leaving.

    An informed citizenry is made up of many people. Every person does not have to hold all the knowledge that a group of strangers thinks is important for their success in moving through the conveyor belt at the same rate and exiting on the same date.





    We need to stop with the force, coercion and imposition of knowledge upon others. We must give people the freedom and trust to pursue the learning that “they” value as important. We need to spend some time learning more from the unschooling community and Democratic schooling environments where we’ll find out that when given choice and provided with necessary resources, along with a supportive and caring environment, people will discover and learn what they need to know for "their personal success."  This all comes without force, coercion or even traditional teachers, tests, textbooks or classrooms.

    We need to stop trying to figure out what everyone needs to know and let our nation’s young people take ownership and make decisions about what they want to know. 

    We must move away from the industrial model of testing for the standardization of students when they get off the end of the school conveyor belt and move toward customization of what each individual chooses for their own personal success.

    The role of the educators in a building must move from imposing knowledge to inviting curiosity, discovery, and providing support in helping young people determine an individualized plan for success.

    Personal success does not mean participating in a system that creates a bunch of standardized cogs who meet the manufacturer’s specs.   

    It means we must realize one-size-fits-all really only fits some and strips the uniqueness and creativity from most. We want more than turning our children into processed and manufactured cogs in a system that sees them simply as uniform producers of data to be analyzed and tested in ways that reap huge profits for those providing and measuring a one-size-fits few solution to an informed citizenry.   

    It means providing environments where the mechanics, farmers, game designers, home builders, stunt people, Olympic snowboarders, artists, adventure travel operators, soldiers, football coaches, television directors, winemakers, talk show hosts, poets, firemen, chefs, restaurant owners, wildlife conservationists and more (note college degree not required for any of the aforementioned) can have the freedom to discover and explore a customized learning experience that honors and respects them as the successful individuals that they have the potential to become. It’s time we stop trying to produce graduates that all look the same and are prepared to follow the herd and start empowering young people to discover, choose, and pursue their own paths.
  • Conversations in the hall...better than a workshop or keynote? -
    I was surprised when my best friend said that unlike me she loved highschool. Really? Why? Everything she went on to explain about her love of high school had NOTHING to do with classes or teachers. It was all about the fun she had in the halls, passing between classes, laughing with friends, checking out what people were wearing and gossiping about who thought who was cute. In other words, what she valued wasn’t what was happening in the classrooms, but rather the relationships she developed in the halls. It was this part of her high school experience that led her to the successful career she has today.

    As I reflected upon my time at Educon this year I realized that sometimes we don’t give enough value to our time in the hall. In fact, my buddy   even apologized to me for it as she encountered some friendly detours as we were moving together in the hall from one thing to the next. 

    In our rush to get to the next session, workshop, or activity, sometimes we don’t stop and savor the smell those discussions that might be the roses that help our learning and personal growth bloom.  Instead of rushing off to sessions, what if instead we rushed over to people who had ideas we loved and wanted to explore further?

    As I was hurrying off to a session on Saturday I saw   camped out at a table in the hall. He seemed to be holding court as his fans passed by and shared ideas. I did the same and said, I was surprised to see he was not leading any conversations this year.  Instead, it looked like he had found quite a satisfying way to spend his time, though he told me he did indeed plan on attending sessions. I happened to notice a few tweets between Will and another Tweep who was critical of conferences and conference goers. Will shared that what he valued at conferences wasn't necessarily the sessions, and certainly not the vendors (Educon has no vendor floor), but rather connecting with new and old friends, face-to-face. Where does that happen best?  While it can happen in a session whispering in the back of the room, sometimes this leads to others sending a sneer your way.  The reality is it often happens in the halls.

    My Educon "halllights" included my chat with Will Richardson to catch up on what is new and glean any new ideas from the cool things he was doing, a few moments with the host of the conference Chris Lehmann where he shared that he felt this year's conversations were the deepest so far, and a couple serendipitous conversations with David Ginsburg @CoachGinsburg who had some insightful advice and ideas about supporting learners outside a school environment.

    I'm thinking at my next conference instead of sessions or workshops I might just plant myself in the hall and put out a shingle that says, “Come talk to me about…” If I do, I hope you’ll reconsider rushing off to that next session or event, and giving me a chance to be your conference "halllight."