The same competencies neglected in the implementation of the Common Core are those that ultimately most help students become what the author calls college-ready, career-ready, and contribution-ready. These include communication, meta-cognition, resilient mindset, responsible character, and social-emotional learning, intertwined with academic…

Today's accountability paradigm has led many teachers to take on too much work in the push to raise test scores. Teachers don't need to do more; rather, they need to approach instruction differently. To improve results, teachers must require that students assume more responsibility for their own learning. Three key ways in which students and…

In this article, the author outlines briefly what he calls the three C's--a set of tools that can be used to improve urban science education. The author then describes ways that these tools can support students who have traditionally been marginalized. These three aligned and closely connected tools provide practical ways to engage students in…

Five characteristics of schools that effectively teach self-discipline are discussed in this article. These schools do not rely on power or punitive models to enforce discipline but share decision making and maintain a positive school climate. (MD)

Critics and many educators blame the media for public perceptions that schools are failing, due to growing social problems, declining discipline, and falling standards. A Kettering study shows that people's disenchantment with public schools is based on their personal experience. Journalists are responsible for writing objectively about…

Argues for more responsible education accountability system. Builds on earlier work and presents alternative concepts that are more responsive to the purposes and functions of public schooling in a democratic society. Proposes ideas about good teaching and learning and the educational needs of students and their families, particularly in…

Too many researchers have built careers on the quantitative/qualitative research debate. Social scientists have largely abandoned their responsibility for popular education, focusing primarily on schooling's limitations, rather than its potential for furthering social progress. Standard-setting is highly politicized; research is becoming too…