If you are interested in what might really work in education, here is a link to a video that is exceptional!

A Broader Bolder Approach to Education

Connie,
Thanks. I'll watch the video and follow all the links. I'm very interested in gathering as many different approaches to improving public education. I hope other readers will send me links to things they find interesting.

I agree with Dr. Noguera that attempts to "reform" education focus on symptoms rather than causes.

Connie,
I just watched the entire lecture. I was shouting Amen all the way through. Much of what he says I've been saying for years. Dr. Noguera and the Broader, Bolder Approach will be appearing in future articles on the School Reform site.

Thank you so much for introducing me to him.

Maeve, I am a frustrated teacher, because I know how to teach to help kids be successful. Many times I can do that, but others I can't due to pacing guides and curriculum decisions.

Connie,
That's the great problem, isn't it? Teachers who understand how to help children learn are blocked in their efforts by administrators who must please powers outside the school. Before education became big business with a hierarchy of power and laws for every possible aspect of the school experience, "principal" was short for "principal teacher." That kind of principal taught at least one class during the day and understood exactly what the other teachers in the school were trying to accomplish. As long as teachers remain in their present despised and disempowered state, schools will continue to decline and conscientious teachers like you will either continue to do the best they can, or give up.