Education & Public Policy
Moving Education From Time to Competency
An interview with Fred Bramante
Fred Bramante, co-author of the new book, Off the Clock: Moving Education from Time to Competency, joins us this month. Fred is a past chairman and a long standing member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education, where he has led a full-scale redesign of public education. In this system, student achievement is based on mastering competencies not “seat time," and learning is not restricted to a school building or the traditional school calendar. Continue
Best Practices Are Stupid
An interview with Stephen Shapiro
School leaders face many challenges, of course, and responding to them with innovative solutions is essential to keeping our schools moving forward. But what if most conventional ideas about innovation are misguided or simply don’t work? That is the contention … Continue
What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation & Mastery
An interview with Kathleen Cushman
Every young person has activities that get him or her excited. Not just excited, but motivated to achieve real mastery and excellence. Kids excel at all sorts of things, especially outside of school. But what does it take for kids … Continue
Raising High School Graduation Rates
Ben Levin, former Deputy Minister for Education in Ontario and author of the new book, More High School Graduates, joins us to talk about what it will take to raise our extremely low high school graduation rates and save more kids from dropping out. Only 72% of American students who enter high school currently graduate — a huge problem for the kids and for our economy. But the problem is not limited to the so-called dropout factories. Even in the best schools in the U.S. there are kids who should graduate, but don't. During Ben Levin's tenure as Deputy Minister for Education over the last decade, high schools in Ontario raised their graduation rate from 68% to 81%. It can be done in the U.S. as well and Ben Levin talks about what it will take in this fascinating interview. Continue
Surpassing Shanghai
Marc Tucker, president of the National Center on Education and the Economy in Washington, DC and the editor of the new book, Surpassing Shanghai, joins us to talk about what the world's best education systems look like and how they compare with the U.S. The top education systems in the world – Shanghai in China, Singapore, Japan, Finland and Ontario, Canada – don't use any of the methods that are widespread in the U.S. such as high-stakes testing, charter schools, or evaluating teachers based on test scores, yet they consistently score at the top of the international exams. What can we learn from these countries and can their methods work here? Continue
Finding and Scaling Excellence in Schools
Alan Blankstein, the award-winning and bestselling author of Failure is Not An Option, joins us to talk about finding and scaling excellent practice in all schools and why he believes we are wasting valuable time and resources in education focusing on the negative, rather than finding the positives and building upon those ideas and practices. Continue
21st Century Fluencies for the Digital Age
An interview with Lee Crockett
Lee Crockett joins us this month to talk about digital learning and what schools must do to change their approach to instruction. The traditional school classroom is still locked in the past and we’re teaching as if it were fifty … Continue
Change Leader: Understanding the Core Practices of Effective Leadership
An interview with Michael Fullan
In his previous best-selling books, Michael Fullan, the internationally acclaimed expert on organizational change, has examined the concepts and processes of change. This month, Fullan joins us to talk about the core practices of leadership that are so critical in … Continue
Why Don’t Students Like School?
Dr. Daniel Willingham, author of the bestseller Why Don’t Students Like School? and a cognitive scientist at the University of Virgina, joins us to explain the universal roots of effective teaching and learning. Did you know that our brains are … Continue
The Manufactured Crisis Revisited
An interview with David Berliner
David Berliner, Regents Professor of Education at Arizona State University and author of the bestseller, The Manufactured Crisis, joins us this month for a provocative interview in which he reviews the latest test score data and challenges the common beliefs that student test scores are falling, American students do very poorly in international comparisons, charter schools are the answer to improving academic achievement, and high stakes testing is necessary for accountability. Continue
Deliverology 101: How to Implement School Reform
An interview with Michael Barber
Sir Michael Barber, a former senior education advisor to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and now head of McKinsey’s Global Education practice, joins us this month to discuss his new book, Deliverology 101. Knighted for his success in bringing positive change to the English school system, Barber says that most school reform efforts are unsuccessful for one primary reason: failed implementation. His book focuses on the steps needed for education leaders to successfully carry out their plans and to accomplish meaningful results, whether it’s on the state or local level. Continue
Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers and Principals
An interview with Harry Wong and Rosemary Wong
As schools struggle to raise student achievement while walking a budget tightrope, Dr. Harry Wong and his wife, Rosemary, join us and remind school leaders that teacher effectiveness is the single most important variable in determining student achievement. A district does not need Race to the Top funds to develop effective teachers and principals, either, the Wongs insist in this interview. Continue
Electronic Communications Devices and School Policies
An interview with Frank Kemerer
As the use of cell phones, computers and other electronic communications devices (ECDs) have become ubiquitous, educators are faced with the enormous challenge of incorporate these devices into teaching and communicating while, at the same time, developing policies to respond to cases where ECDs are used for cyber bullying and other abuses. How can school administrators impose discipline while respecting students' rights to free speech? To find out, this month we speak with Dr. Frank Kemerer, a national authority on educational policy and the law, and an expert on school district policies governing the use of ECDs. Continue
Forget, Borrow and Learn: How to Make Innovation Happen in Schools
An interview with Chris Trimble
Chris Trimble is one of the nation's foremost experts helping large organizations to make innovation happen. In this interview, he brings his experience to bear on the challenges facing school leaders, identifying the three keys to success that he believes school administrators must follow as they attempt to innovate. Continue
Bullying, Cyberbullying and the Schools
An interview with Susan Swearer
Bullying and how schools respond to it have become hot-button issues for administrators. To understand the realities of bullying and cyberbullying and to discuss what types of programs work to help schools reduce bullying and aggressive behavior, we speak with Dr. Susan Swearer, a leading authority on school bullying and intervention programs and a co-author of the best-selling reference book, Bullying Prevention and Intervention. Continue
Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work
An interview with Dr. Richard DuFour
Dr. Richard DuFour brings many years of professional experience to bear in advocating that learning communities are the best way to improve student achievement. DuFour, co-author of the best-seller, Professional Learning Communities at Work, explains how a sense of shared purpose, a shared vision, collective commitments and true teamwork foster a culture of pride, engagement and lasting school improvement. Says Dufour, “This isn’t about just feeling good, or having better relationships with colleagues, it’s all about getting better results.” Continue
Why I Changed My Mind About No Child Left Behind
An interview with Diane Ravitch
Long one of the most forceful supporters of No Child Left Behind, Diane Ravitch began to have second thoughts when, at a conference in 2006, she heard speaker after speaker admit that the legislation just wasn’t working as intended. She began to look more carefully at the data. The more she saw, the more convinced she was that the NCLB was a well-intentioned failure. In our September 2010 Main Interview, Ravitch sounds the alarm about the mania for standardized testing, “data,” and school choice; about the undervaluation of teachers; and about charter schools, pointing to evidence that they just aren’t producing the results we want. Sign In or Subscribe to read more and listen to the interview. Continue
21st Century Skills: The Role of Technology in Education Today
An interview with Ian Jukes and Lee Crockett
Because of their exposure to digital technology, kids today really are different. “This generation has developed what we like to call a ‘digital cultural brain,’ a brain that has been profoundly, and I do mean profoundly, affected by the digital culture into which they were born,” says technology expert Ian Jukes. In this interview, he and colleague Lee Crockett call for a change in the way schools think about engaging students and using technology. Continue
Resiliency: Helping At-Risk Students
An interview with Horacio Sanchez
Horacio Sanchez, one of the foremost authorities on child and adolescent behavioral disorders and resiliency practice, explains how to successfully educate and respond to “at risk” students. Sanchez explains why low academic performance, destructive behaviors, and habitual negative patterns occur, … Continue
Effective School Administration: A School Is Only As Good As Its Teachers
“A school is only as good as its teachers. You cannot have a better school if you don’t have better teachers,” says Harry Wong. In this interview, Dr. Wong offers his blunt assessment of the mistakes schools are making in their efforts to improve and explains why the key to success for school districts is to invest in their teachers and their effectiveness, and to develop a culture where everyone knows what the goals, missions and beliefs of the school are and everybody is working towards those. Continue