Category Archives: School Reform

Immediate Intervention

Posted on October 12, 2011 by sutterlearn

Schools are data rich and information poor in a lot of cases.  Thoughtfully, systematically analyzing data to inform instruction is time-consuming, then acting on those decisions and collecting more data to continue that process is tiring, but necessary in any … Continue reading →

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RT3 Winners and Losers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by sutterlearn

I was recently reading an article about how states who won Race To The Top (RT3) funding awards from the federal government are now struggling to create appropriate models that evaluate teachers using 40% student achievement data and 60% observation … Continue reading →

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Give Me A Lever…

Posted on April 20, 2011 by sutterlearn

I am halfway through a week-long teaching experience at a local nature center.  My teaching partner and I have 42 of our kids outside, experiencing learning through experiencing nature up close.  As expected, it snowed on the first day, rained … Continue reading →

Posted in School Reform, Students, Teachers | 1 Comment

Self-Organized Learning Environment (SOLE)

Posted on April 17, 2011 by sutterlearn

I don’t typically watch something again and again, unless it’s involves the Three Stooges or the first season of Scrubs.  However, I have watched this video from the 2010 TED Conference, repeatedly over the past year.  If you’re interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in School Reform, Students, Teachers, Technology | 2 Comments

I Get Merit Pay!

Posted on April 1, 2011 by sutterlearn

For a while I’ve been in limbo about merit pay for teachers, or providing bonuses to enhance teacher salaries based on their professional performance or students’ achievement.  I thought I was leaning toward this being a good thing, given my … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Politics, School Reform, Students, Teachers | 1 Comment

Higher-Order Thinking

Posted on March 28, 2011 by sutterlearn

Stick with me on this, as it may be a little complicated and long, but one of the more profound realizations I’ve had since becoming enmeshed in public education! Around 1956 psychologist Benjamin Bloom unleashed his “taxonomy” of escalating thought-process … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership, Politics, School Reform, Teachers | 1 Comment

Super-Boogeyman: Still Scary, But Nothing New

Posted on March 13, 2011 by sutterlearn

A few months ago, I wrote a piece for a different blog about the documentary “Waiting for Superman” in which I forecasted how educators should see this movie upon its release to be part of the conversation that I felt … Continue reading →

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Inputs to Outputs = Process

Posted on March 6, 2011 by sutterlearn

It is probably frivolous to create any extra ink about teachers’ rights or the plight this profession faces politically right now.  You would think there can’t be a rock large enough that someone living beneath still believes teachers make too … Continue reading →

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A Balanced Calendar

Posted on March 6, 2011 by sutterlearn

I’ve been ruminating for a while on the questionable value of a balanced Pk-12 academic calendar (in other words, year-round school).  There are good arguments on both sides of that debate, some more perfunctory than others.  FYI – The “outdated, … Continue reading →

Posted in School Reform, Students, Teachers | 8 Comments

Schooling VS Learning?

Posted on February 4, 2011 by sutterlearn

I think a lot about the difference in schooling and learning:  schooling being the traditional structures and formats we’ve come to expect as “proper” indoctrination of our children; learning being the actual transformation of all that formality, curriculum, and good-intentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in School Reform | 3 Comments