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Stories from School: Practice meets Policy

National Board Certified teacher leaders tell stories of how policy decisions impact learning and teaching in their classrooms in order to spark constructive dialogue across the education community.

URL: http://www.storiesfromschool.org/

Updated: 19 min 53 sec ago

Whose Profession Are We Developing?

Fri, 07/23/2010 - 08:39

By Tom I heard a sad story the other evening. It was during the annual NSDC conference here in Seattle, and a bunch of us were gathered for dinner downtown after the first day. A colleague began to describe the...

Standards: Do I Need Them?

Thu, 07/22/2010 - 04:28

By Mark There are many dirty little secrets we teachers would prefer not to discuss. Maybe it's that stack of papers which never got graded so you just gave everyone points. Maybe it's the mastery with which you pretend to...

Turnaround is Fair Play

Sat, 07/17/2010 - 03:58

By Tom Sometimes when I’m riding my bike I have imaginary conversations with real people. This morning I spoke with the Seattle Times editor who wrote this piece. Here’s a transcript of our discussion: Me: So I’m still waiting to...

I hope I'm wrong about Annapolis High School.

Thu, 07/08/2010 - 07:12

By Tom There's a motto that I like to think by: "Doubt what you know." It's a comfortable, if somewhat ambiguous way to go through life. Take sports, for example. I knew the Mariners were going to be competitive this...

A Good Teacher in Every Classroom

Sun, 07/04/2010 - 18:33

By Tom It seems to me that the whole point of every school reform measure that’s come along within the past 25 years can be distilled into these six words: A Good Teacher in Every Classroom. It’s a simple mandate,...

The Value of Dialogue

Wed, 06/30/2010 - 18:23

By Tracey In the last two week of school, a decision from higher up was made to test all the students, grades four through six, on their reading fluency. Someone would show up in my room, armed with their beeping...

Should the Worst Schools Get the Best Teachers?

Sat, 06/26/2010 - 17:00

By Tom It's technically a stupid question, with an answer that ends up eating itself. That's because the tools we use to measure teachers are the same tools we use to measure schools: test scores. So a bad teacher, by...

Deadline?

Tue, 06/22/2010 - 19:05

by Brian Our last student day was last Thursday. After the final test in my first period Algebra class I asked B if he thought he should receive a passing grade. He had been suspended for 10 days for a...

Retention: The Schoolyard Rumor

Tue, 06/22/2010 - 06:00

By Tracey I’m supposed to write on Jordan’s report card that he is promoted to sixth grade. He shouldn’t be promoted to sixth grade. He hasn’t done the work at fifth grade. He reads at a third grade level. He’s...

And How Did I Do?

Sun, 06/20/2010 - 02:27

By Mark To steal from Tom's post a few days ago, I too wonder "How I did" this school year. Since my evaluation was likewise "satisfactory," I thought I'd consider the question how a state government might: through test scores....

My "Paid Vacation"

Sat, 06/19/2010 - 18:49

By Mark I'm going to lay all the cards on the table: summer was about 95% of the reason I decided to pursue a job in teaching. The other 5% was that I was earning a BA degree in English...

Freebird

Fri, 06/18/2010 - 17:00

By Tom We were driving home down I-5 a few weeks ago when Freebird came on the radio. So I turned it up, since that's what you're supposed to do, and began to sing. There I was, a middle-aged, suburban...

Sufficient versus Proficient

Wed, 06/16/2010 - 05:34

By Mark For my English 9 Final exam, my freshmen were to write a literary analysis essay which compares the stages of the archetypal hero's journey in Homer's Odyssey with the corresponding stages in a recent film of their choice....

How'd I do?

Mon, 06/14/2010 - 07:13

By Tom Last week I had my end-of-the-year evaluation. I walked into my principal's office, closed the door and discussed my progress on the goals we had set forth back in September. And when all was said and done, I...

The Small Successes

Fri, 06/11/2010 - 00:54

By Kristin This picture is my classroom on the day before school started. It seems like a lifetime ago. Today I had my students write letters to me, as I'm sure many of you do. The children who wrote letters...

More on "Accountability"

Thu, 06/10/2010 - 03:45

By Mark I absolutely hate the phrase "teacher accountability." Don't get me wrong--I'm not in favor of protecting bad teachers. What I am in favor of is systems which make teachers better. That, to me, is what people think they...

Apparently, It’s Time to Draw the Line

Sun, 06/06/2010 - 20:01

By Tom I’ve been following Congress’ “passive decision” to draw the line on deficit spending just when there was a $23 billion education bill in the works, designed to bridge the gap between the $100 billion given to education last...

My Message to the Class of 2010

Fri, 06/04/2010 - 08:03

By Mark This time of year is filled with platitudes and pats on the back. Many scholarship dollars have been awarded, certificates of achievement handed out, and now that June is here, cute little embossed diplomas in little padded booklets...

The Importance of Tone

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 23:30

By Kristin I've been conducting interviews with both successful and struggling students, asking the same set of questions over and over to look for attributes each group has in common. My research isn't scientific; I'm simply using what I know...

17 Million Dollar Tool

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 00:52

By Rena Last week I received a phone call from the local reporter. She wanted my reaction to the grant that Washington state was going to receive that teachers statewide would benefit from. I hadn't heard anything about this, so...