Principal Troy LaRaviere dramatically improved the quality of a Chicago elementary school, using empirical evidence about effective school practices. In other words, he used what had worked elsewhere and it quite naturally worked in Chicago, too. Nevertheless, the school board wanted to fire him. His successful ideas conflicted with the politics of the Chicago Mayor […]
Sep 12 2016
Why did the Principal of Chicago’s Top School Resign?
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Sep 07 2014
Is Your Child in Love with Learning?
1. Does your child say he or she hates school? If so, something is probably wrong with the school. Children are natural learners, and when they’re young, you can hardly stop them from learning. If your child says they hate school, listen to them. That is the first of "The Ten Signs You Need to […]
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Feb 17 2013
The Rope over the Abyss
Most news about education these days seems to focus on subject-area content or else on violence in the schools, with little said about how people learn and develop optimally. It is as if all that really matters can be determined apart from who we are as human beings and boiled down to a combination of […]
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Apr 27 2012
Learning without Perks or Punishments
As humans, we are intrinsically motivated to learn. (Animals are, too, but their interests and priorities tend to be vastly different.) I am not saying that people necessarily want to learn what other people want to teach them but rather what they themselves find interesting or valuable. If you have ever been interested in dance […]
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Apr 09 2012
Family Life Expo & Camp Fair
This is the first in what will be a series of articles about science and math education for children, activities, learning philosophy and psychology, and a few summaries and comments about interesting education-related stories from other sources. My assistant Stan Jackson and I enjoyed the March 2012 Family Life Expo & Camp Fair, our first […]
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