What we do, our behavior, is an overt manifestation of what goes on below the surface–our thinking, values, beliefs, attitudes and mindsets. It is that invisible aspect that drives our behavior. It is our OS, our operating system.
Archive for the ‘Mindset’ Category
Mindsets: Success and Failure
April 14th, 2012
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“In this school the teachers won’t let you fail. They never give up on you.” – Anonymous Student There has been a lot of chatter lately about how we should embrace failure. I have previously talked about Why Do Some People Learn Faster? Wired Magazine writer, Jonah Lehrer explained “people learn how to get it [...]
The Wrong Message
January 25th, 2012
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Raising the age to 18 sent the right message to our students. Education is critically important!
Learning: Bought or Sold?
January 16th, 2012
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The mindsets of our teachers must support the belief that our students are capable of achieving mastery.
Poverty: There is a big difference between a reason and an excuse!
December 21st, 2011
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Those of us who have worked in high-poverty schools know all too well about the corrosive effect poverty has on children and learning.
PLN: Your Customized Learning Plan
September 8th, 2011
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Create your own Personal Learning Network (PLN) by tapping into the collective intelligence of hundreds or even thousands of your fellow educators through Twitter and other technologies. Find out how to establish a PLN that’s made up of the right people to guide your learning and to whom you contribute your knowledge and expertise. (Read [...]
Grade Inflation by Intimidation
March 20th, 2011
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by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader The teacher’s lament was plaintive. He had just been informed that the principal wanted to meet with him about an undisclosed topic. “I know exactly what he wants to talk about. It’s my grades—too many “F”s. I am working harder than I ever have. I have created a dozen [...]
Should $125K buy better scores?
March 14th, 2011
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I received this message from a former colleague in an email this morning. "Did you see 60 minutes last night? A school is paying teachers $125,000 per year and their student score are NOT going up!" The title of the 60 minutes segment was "NYC charter school’s $125,000 experiment: Does a non-unionized school that pays [...]
An Education Obsession
February 24th, 2011
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This week I am blogging from the NASSP Conference in San Francisco. I used to say, "show me the data." However, it has gotten to the point that I no longer need to look at a school’s data to know that a school is thriving or struggling. I can simply listen to what the staff [...]
PISA: It’s Poverty Not Stupid
December 15th, 2010
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"There are three kinds of lies; lies, damn lies, and statistics."–Mark Twain The release of the 2009 PISA results this past week has created quite a stir and has provided ample fodder for public school bashers and doomsayers who further their own philosophical and profit-motivated agendas by painting all public schools as failing. For whatever [...]
