This week our school hosted its first Expo Night of the year. Last year we ran a single Expo Night, but this year we’ve planned two. I’m completely thrilled that we’re having more of these events this year – Expo Nights are my favorite nights of the school year. Our kids stay after school and [...]
Transforming our schools will take a groundswell of local action rather than a downpour of educational-industrial reforms.
Moreover, transforming our schools will take teachers. However, this transformation isn’t one that comes from job security or better standards or blended learning. This transformation will come from one decision at a time made by one teacher at a [...]
I just started a reading, writing, making club at school based on the idea of shifting from a writer’s workshop to a maker’s workshop. Two students attended our first meeting – they represent 1/18 of our school. At a school of 1800 kids, I would have had 100 attend, right? I’m confident attendance will increase [...]
My brain itches.
I’m hitting the wall separating what I saw and what I see. I need to pull an Inception and start dreaming the wall and walking on it instead of familiar ground.
I’m looping with our school’s inaugural class for the third straight year. I feel a desperate need to get it right. I [...]
To help formalize a process for negotiating curriculum I am going to pitch project-based units to students.
Each pitch will have four pieces.
The Vision: The first part of the pitch will be a presentation of my vision for a unit, including its goals and an overview of the steps or activities involved in the unit. Each [...]
Scary Thoughts
Schools wound kids and adults. Our answer: more of the same.
Executive power over schools is expanding without checks and balances from teachers, parents, or students. Democracy is virtually extinct within schools outside of civics and government standards. It’s not impossible that scripted instruction and instructional designs from virtual and F2F content providers will [...]
Chad teaches humanities at a charter school and blogs on reforming classroom practice and democratic education.
