The Academy: Essential Questions

This week, instead of a specific topic, I will provide some questions that I scripted after reading many of the articles from the sidebar. Many teachers provide their students with so-called "Essential Questions" that guide deeper thinking around the subject at hand. A good "Essential Question" should be a question that two or more people require three or more beers in order to get to the heart of the issue. So, if you are in search of a talking point or two for your date, or are just tired of watching "Arrested Development" reruns, I hope you will consider the following questions around school reform:

a) Can a white teacher in a Black/Latino school be as effective as a Black or Latino teacher?

b) Is there room in the school day for community organizing for social change in the age of NCLB?

c) Are the benefits of pushing the higher kids greater than the risk of inequality in a school?

d) What are the teacher’s responsibilities with respect to interaction between students regarding each other's skill level?

e) Is the promise of success for children at the expense of teacher liberty an effective way to recruit promising new teachers? In other words, are scripted curricula acceptable?

f) If education gets so good that people leave, should the education level be lowered to ensure parity in potentially drained communities?

g) Whose responsibility is it to ensure that brain-drains don’t become epidemic?

h) You are the leader of a new high-performing charter school. In the second year of operation, a group of 4 children are caught selling drugs at school. You know that if you kick them out, they will go back to their low-performing public school. The culture of your school may be strong enough to keep them, but you aren't sure. What would you do? Kick them out, or let them stay? Is that different than if you were the leader of a public school?

What is the Academy?

The Academy is an attempt to address ALL concerns about public schooling, find the best solutions, and incorporate them into a blueprint for an actual school. One of us may pick up the ideas, create this school and set an example for what a school can be.

For a more complete description, see the posting entitled "What is the Academy?" at the bottom of the page. A good first post to consider is: "What is the Purpose of Schooling?" below. Thanks for your thoughts.

Special thanks to Dr. Katherine Merseth for supplying the impetus for this and also for the list of recommended readings :).

Highly Recommended Readings

Anyon, J. (1981). Social class and school knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry, 11(1), 3-41.
Anyon, J. (2005). Putting education at the center. Chapter 10 in Radical Possibilities (pp. 177-201). New York: Routledge.
Au, W. (2007). High-Stakes testing and curricular control: A qualitative metasynthesis. Educational Researcher, 36(5), 258–267.
Berry, B., Montgomery, D., Curtis, R., Hernandez, M., Wurtzel, J. & Snyder, J. (2008). Urban teacher residencies: A new way to recruit, prepare, develop, and retain effective teachers in high-Needs Districts. Human Capital: Voices of Urban Education, 20, Summer 2008, 13-23. http://www.annenberginstitute.org/VUE/pdf/VUE20_Berry.pdf
Bersin, A. (2006) A theory of action for high school reform. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Chidress, S. Elmore, R. & Grossman, A. (2006).How to manage urban school districts. Harvard Business Review, 84(11), 55-68.
Childress, S. & Marietta, G. (2008). A Problem-Solving Approach to Designing and Implementing a Strategy to Improve Performance Harvard Business School 9-PEL-056.
Christensen, C. & Stevenson, H. (2001). The tools of agreement. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. N9-399-080.
Cohen, D. (1988). Teaching practice: Plus que ça change. In P.W. Jackson (Ed.), Contributing to educational change (pp. 27-84). Berkeley, CA: McCrutcham Publishing Corporation.
Cohen, D. (1990). A revolution in one classroom: The case of Mrs. Oublier. Chapter 28 (pp. 440-469) in The Jossey-Bass reader on school reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Committee on Science Education K-12 and Mathematical Sciences Education Board, National Research Council. Global Perspectives for Local Action: Using TIMSS to Improve U.S. Mathematics and Science Education (1999) What does TIMMS say about Instructional Practice? Chapter 4. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education (CSMEE) http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9605&page=44
Crawford, J. (2004). Educating English learners: Language diversity in the classroom. (5th Ed). Los Angeles: BES. Chapter 2: Options for English Learners.
Cuban, L. (2003). Why is it so hard to get good schools? New York: Teachers College Press.
Datnow, A. & Castellano, M. (2000). Teachers’ responses to Success for All: How beliefs, experiences, and adaptations shape implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 37(3), 775-799.
Delpit, L. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people’s children. Harvard Educational Review, 48(3), 280-298.
Elmore, R. (1992). Why restructuring alone won’t improve teaching. Educational Leadership. 49(7), 44- 48.
Elmore, R. (2004). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development in education. Chapter 3 in School reform from the inside out: Policy practice and performance (pp. 89-132). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Elmore, R. (2004). Doing the right thing, knowing the right thing to do: The problem of failing schools and performance-based accountability. Chapter 7 in School Reform from the Inside Out: Policy Practice and Performance (pp. 227-259). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Evans, R. (2001). The culture of resistance (pp. 510-521) in The Jossey-Bass reader on school reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Feiman-Nemser (2001). From preparation to practice: A continuum of learning to teach. Teachers College Record. 103 (6) 1013-1055.
Fullan, M. (1999). The complexity of transferability, and Intellectual, political and spiritual fusion. Chapters 5 and 6 in Change forces: The sequel (pp. 63-76 and 77-84). Philadelphia: Palmer Press.
Garcia, V. & Colleagues. (2006). High school Students’ perspectives on the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act’s definition of a Highly Qualified Teacher. Harvard Educational Review 76(4), 698-724.
Goldenberg, C. (2008) Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does—and Does Not—Say. American Educator Summer 2008, 8-43. http://www.aft.org/pubs- reports/american_educator/issues/summer08/goldenberg.pdf
Graham, P. (1984). Schools: Cacophony about practice, silence about purpose. Dædalus, 113(4), 27-57.
Greene, M. (1992). Diversity and inclusion: Toward a curriculum for human beings. Teachers College Record, 95(2), 211-221.
Hamilton, P. (1992). Have you done your best? In C. Christensen (Ed.), Teaching and the Case Method:. (pp. 254-255). Boston, MA; Harvard Business School.
Hannaway, J. and Stanislawski, M. (2006). Flip-flops in school reform: An evolutionary theory of decentralization. Chapter 3 (pp.53-70) in Hess, Frederick M. (Ed.), Urban school reform: Lessons from San Diego. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Heifetz, R. & Laurie, D. (1997). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, January-February, 1997. HBS Reprint 97106.
Heifitz, R & Linsky, M. (2002) Introduction, The heart of danger, and The faces of danger. Chapters 1 and 2 in Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of leading (pp. 1-51). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Hess, F & Petrilli, M. (2006). Chapter 3 in No child left behind primer (pp. 63-92). New York: Peter Lang.
Hess, F. & Petrilli, M. (2006). Chapters 1 & 2 in No child left behind primer (pp. 3-61). New York: Peter Lang
Hill, H. (2007). Learning in the Teaching Workforce. Future of Children, Spring 2007, 17(1), 111-127. http://www.futureofchildren.org/pubs-info2825/pubs-info_show.htm?doc_id=468970
Kaufman, D., et al. (2002). “Lost at Sea”: New teachers’ experiences with curriculum and assessment. Teachers College Record, 104(2).
Kilgore, S. (2005). Comprehensive solutions for urban reform.. Educational Leadership. 62(6), 44-47.
Klein, A., (2008). Candidates' K-12 Views Take Shape: McCain and Obama Tussle On Choice, Teacher Issues. Education Week, 27(44), 20-21. (Published online, July 25, 2008, Published in print, July 30, 2008. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/07/30/44candidates.h27.html
Klein, J. (2006). Changing the culture of urban education. A speech to the Academy of Management, Atlanta, GA, August 13, 2006. http://www.eduwonk.com/Klein3.pdf
Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change. Harvard Business Review, March-April 1995. HBR reprint 95204.
Lake, R, (2007). Hopes, Fears, and Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2007. Overview, Chapter 1 pp.vi-xi, 1-15. Seattle, WA: National Charter School Research Project http://www.crpe.org/cs/crpe/view/csr_pubs/17
Little, J. (2001). Professional development in the pursuit of school reform. Chapter 3 (pp. 23-44) in Lieberman, A. and Miller, L. (Eds.). Teachers Caught in the Action. New York: Teachers College Press.
McCormick, D. & Kahn, M. (1982). Barn raising: Collaborative group process in seminars. Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal, 7(4), 16-20.
Merseth, K., Schorr, L. & Elmore, R. (1999). Schools, community-based interventions and children’s learning and development: What’s the connect? Temple University Conference on Improving Results for Children and Families. Philadelphia: Temple University.
MetLife, Inc. (2006). The MetLife survey of the American teacher: Expectations and experiences. Chapter 2, Training, Chapter 3, Career and Job Satisfaction and Chapter 4, Career Paths of the American teacher pp. 18-74. New York: Metropolitan Life.
Murnane, R. & Levy, F. (1996). Preparing to meet the future, Skills for middle-class wage, and Five principles for managing frontline workers. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 (pp. 1-10, 19-51, and 62-79) in Teaching the new basic skills. New York: The Free Press.
Neufeld, B. & Roper, D. (2003). Coaching: A strategy for developing instructional capacity (pp. 1-43). Cambridge, MA: Education Matters.
Paige, R. (2006). No Child Left Behind: The ongoing movement for public education reform. Harvard Educational Review 76(4), 461-473.
Porter, A. Linn, R. & Trimble, C. (2005) Effects of State Decisions on NCLB AYP Progress Targets. Education Measurement: Issues & Practice, 24(4), Winter 2006, 32-39. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745- 3992.2005.00021.x
Public Agenda Online. (2006). On Thin Ice: How public Advocates and Opponents could Misread the Public’s Views on Charters and Vouchers. New York: Public Agenda Foundation http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/vouchers/voucherhome.htm
Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers in Rural Areas David H. Monk http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=470115
Rossell, C. (2003). The near end of bilingual education. Education Next, 2003 (4) 44-52. http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/3398406.html
Sarason, S. (1996). What are schools for? Chapter 13 (pp. 261-282) in Revisiting the culture of schools and the problem of change. New York: Teachers College Press.
Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills. Living a Living: A Blueprint for High Performance – A SCANS report for American 2000. Executive Summary. Chapter 10 (pp. 171- 183) in The Jossey-Bass reader on school reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sleeter, C. (2005). Standards, multicultural education and central curriculum questions and Multicultural curriculum, democracy and visionary pragmatism. Chapters 1and 9 in Un-Standardizing curriculum: Multicultural teaching in the standards-based classroom (pp. 5-21 and 167-182). New York: Teachers College Press.
Stigler, J. & Hiebert, J. (1999). Teaching is a cultural activity. Chapter 5 (pp. 85-101) in The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: The Free Press.
Stigler, J. & Hiebert, J. (1999). Beyond reform: Japan’s approach to the improvement of classroom teachers and Setting the stage for continuous improvement. Chapter 7 and 8 in The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in the classroom (pp. 103-127). New York: The Free Press.
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. (1999). The teachers we need and how to get more of them: A manifesto (pp. 1-18). In Kanstoroom, M. & Finn, C., Jr. (Eds.). Better teachers, better schools Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
Thomas, D. (1985) The Torpedo’s touch. Harvard Educational Review. 55(2),220-222.
Tyack, D. & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia: A century of school reform. Progress or regress. Chapter 2 (pp. 5-42) in The Jossey-Bass reader on school reform. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

The Academy

Essential Questions

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What is the Academy?

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Table of Topics

Highly Recommended Readings