The Educator's Notebook

How To Not Give Grades, Complete With Alternate Assessments
Jesse Stommel - 3/11/18

“I haven't put grades on student work since I started teaching as instructor of record in 2001… none of the institutions where I've worked (including R1s, community colleges, liberal arts colleges) has entirely dictated how I had to approach assessment—at every single one there was sufficient wiggle room for experimentation.”
UK Schools Are Intentionally Building “Risk-Enhanced” Playgrounds
New York Times - 3/10/18

"Out went the plastic playhouses and in came the dicey stuff: stacks of two-by-fours, crates and loose bricks. The schoolyard got a mud pit, a tire swing, log stumps and workbenches with hammers and saws… Now, Ms. Morris says proudly, “we have fires, we use knives, saws, different tools,” all used under adult supervision.”

More On The Rise In Sexting Among Teenagers
New York Times - 3/12/18

"And experts say that rather than being shocked to find that kids are sexting, we should instead be talking about it from an early age, just as we should about other aspects of their developing sense of their sexual identities.”
A Town Wrestles With Teen Vaping (See: Great Infographics, Too)
East Aurora Advertiser - 3/7/18

Exercise Into Older Age Keeps Muscles and Immune System Young
New York Times - 5/14/18

"Older cyclists are not like most of the rest of us. They are healthier. They are, biologically, younger. Their muscles generally retained their size, fiber composition and other markers of good health across the decades, with those riders who covered the most mileage each month displaying the healthiest muscles, whatever their age. The impacts on riders’ immune system also were marked.”

University Changes More Than Academics, It Changes Character
Pacific Standard - 3/13/18

“That's the takeaway from new Australian research, which finds a university education has a positive impact on two key personality traits—extroversion and agreeableness.”
On The Value Of Focus And Unfocus
Harvard Business Review - 5/12/17

A Growing Sense That Trees Communicate, But Is It Intelligence?
Smithsonian - 3/1/18

“For young saplings in a deeply shaded part of the forest, the network is literally a lifeline. Lacking the sunlight to photosynthesize, they survive because big trees, including their parents, pump sugar into their roots through the network… To communicate through the network, trees send chemical, hormonal and slow-pulsing electrical signals, which scientists are just beginning to decipher.”

How Performance Reviews Can Make Or Break Organizations
Gallup - 3/15/18

“Today's top talent does not want a boss, they want a coach. Managers should establish expectations, coach, and create accountability”
On The Importance Of Leadership For Systemic Change
New York Times - 3/12/18

“Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the University of Toronto studied 180 schools across nine states and concluded, “We have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.””
How An Organization Reinvented Itself Through Hiring (Volvo)
Harvard Business Review - 3/12/18
You Can't Be Busy All The Time And Be A Great Leader
Know Your Company - 3/9/18

8 Lessons From Visiting Over 200 Schools In 50 States
Washington Post - 3/15/18

“Sixth, I was encouraged to visit districts, and even states, that are transforming their schools — all of their schools. Their leaders bring a compelling message about the urgency of change and lay out aspirational possibilities. They prioritize essential competencies, not state-mandated tests and obsolete curriculum. They trust teachers to lead the way, both in managing classrooms and designing next-generation assessments.”
Why Schools Should Encourage Civil Disobedience, And Also Punish It
The 74 Million - 3/13/18
Is Political Activism (Read: Campus Walkouts) Good For Kids?
New York Times - 3/12/18
What Students Believe About Free Speech
Knight Foundation - 3/12/18
Key Words Used By People With Depression
The Conversation - 2/2/18

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