In case you didn’t notice, last week we, the incredibly awesome, burgeoning community at Teaching the Core officially dominated the Common Core anchor standards. And then, tragically, the almost daily, always magical posting stopped. So what happened? I wrote about all 32 anchor standards, for crying out loud! I was spent. I needed some time […]
common core
Is the Common Core all about Technology?
At a recent gathering of educators, I heard an individual bragging about his district’s move toward aligning curriculum with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This is what the educator said (roughly): Our elementary classrooms are all getting iPads. This kind of thinking isn’t unique. I frequently see the CCSS being synonymized with classroom tech. […]
5 Ways to Make Rigorous Arguments Fun
“Argument,” mentions Appendix A of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), “is the soul of an education” (p. 24). Why? According to Neil Postman, argument forces the arguer to consider the strengths and weaknesses of multiple perspectives (p. 24, CCSS Appendix A). In other words, arguing helps you see the complex nature of things; it […]
Why Gerald Graff’s Clueless in Academe is Worth Reading
In the summer of 2011, I spent some time with Gerald Graff’s Clueless in Academe. This beautiful book (which, by the way, is mentioned in Appendix A of the CCSS!) takes a serious look at postsecondary schooling, finds it disjointed and its students disoriented, and concludes that the only way for students to find sanity in academia is […]