“But removing all strings isn’t sufficient to get you excellence, either. You can’t just empower anyone—you have to empower a team of people who actually know what they are doing. And these people, collectively, must have the capacity to run a great school. They need to have a coherent pedagogical vision, know how to build a curriculum, know how to create a positive school culture, know how to build and follow a sensible budget, know how to put reasonable “internal controls” in place, know how to recruit a great staff, and on and on.”

Bad to Good and Good to Great
Most math being taught in kindergarten is old news to students Kindergarten teachers report spending much of their math instructional time teaching students basic counting skills and how to recognize geometric shapes—skills the students have already mastered before ever setting foot in the kindergarten classroom, new research finds. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.“This study is one of the first to raise the question: Is the content that teachers report teaching in kindergarten meeting the needs of the majority of their students?” Mimi Engel, assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College and lead author of the study, said. High-res

Most math being taught in kindergarten is old news to students

Kindergarten teachers report spending much of their math instructional time teaching students basic counting skills and how to recognize geometric shapes—skills the students have already mastered before ever setting foot in the kindergarten classroom, new research finds. The findings reveal a misalignment between what the students are being taught and what they already know.

“This study is one of the first to raise the question: Is the content that teachers report teaching in kindergarten meeting the needs of the majority of their students?” Mimi Engel, assistant professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College and lead author of the study, said.

Educator Resuscitation 101: A Prerequisite for Summer Learning As I embark on a two-month hiatus from classrooms teeming with thirty-to-fifty energetic teenagers, I am completely awake to the preparation needed to be the solid educator of my dreams. Yep. It appears I need to take a crash course. It’s called Educator Resuscitation 101, and it just happens to be a prerequisite for summer learning. Let’s take a look at the syllabus…

Educator Resuscitation 101: A Prerequisite for Summer Learning

As I embark on a two-month hiatus from classrooms teeming with thirty-to-fifty energetic teenagers, I am completely awake to the preparation needed to be the solid educator of my dreams. Yep. It appears I need to take a crash course.

It’s called Educator Resuscitation 101, and it just happens to be a prerequisite for summer learning. Let’s take a look at the syllabus…

rollingstone: We spoke with Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie a.k.a. Brienne of Tarth who talks Jamie, beauty, and fighting for the outsiders. Best quote from Gwendoline Christie: “I am still a person with a sense of superficiality that I’m trying to challenge. I hope that it makes us examine exactly what “unattractive” is. Perhaps it’s not the conventions that we have or the blueprint in our minds. And if it makes people question for a minute what unattractive is, and the way in which we may respond as people to what we think unattractive is, then it’s worthwhile.”

rollingstone:

We spoke with Game of Thrones actress Gwendoline Christie a.k.a. Brienne of Tarth who talks Jamie, beauty, and fighting for the outsiders.

Best quote from Gwendoline Christie: “I am still a person with a sense of superficiality that I’m trying to challenge. I hope that it makes us examine exactly what “unattractive” is. Perhaps it’s not the conventions that we have or the blueprint in our minds. And if it makes people question for a minute what unattractive is, and the way in which we may respond as people to what we think unattractive is, then it’s worthwhile.”

Study: Free Computers Don’t Close The Rich-Poor Education Gap According to a new study, we really don’t have to worry too much about the nearly 1 in 4 children without access to FarmVille at home. “Our results indicate that computer ownership alone is unlikely to have much of an impact on short-term schooling outcomes for low-income children,” report Robert W. Fairlie and Jonathan Robinson in a new study of a large-scale randomized computer give-away experiment in California. On the one hand, it’s good news that doomsday predictions for computer-less children have been exaggerated. However, giving out computers was one of the easier solutions to closing the poverty educational outcome gap, and now we have to go back to the drawing board. image via flickr:CC | Free Press Pics

Study: Free Computers Don’t Close The Rich-Poor Education Gap

According to a new study, we really don’t have to worry too much about the nearly 1 in 4 children without access to FarmVille at home.

“Our results indicate that computer ownership alone is unlikely to have much of an impact on short-term schooling outcomes for low-income children,” report Robert W. Fairlie and Jonathan Robinson in a new study of a large-scale randomized computer give-away experiment in California. On the one hand, it’s good news that doomsday predictions for computer-less children have been exaggerated. However, giving out computers was one of the easier solutions to closing the poverty educational outcome gap, and now we have to go back to the drawing board.

image via flickr:CC | Free Press Pics

fastcompany:

A recent Girls in Tech/Facebook meetup about learning from your career mistakes was full of actionable pieces of advice, particularly on finding and keeping good mentors. Here are some of the best quotes of the night:

On the importance of having mentors:

“Build a network of women. You don’t have to be on your own.” -AT&T’s Amanda Stent

“Have a strong network both at work and outside of work. Talking about work issues helps you get through them.” -Catherine Hui 

 On choosing your mentors:
“Do your homework in approaching a mentor - don’t ask someone just based on reputation” -Tweeted by @AmyVernon

“If you don’t feel comfortable with your mentor, maybe that person isn’t the right mentor. “ -Bloomberg’s Catherine Hui 

On being mentored:

“If you go to therapy, you don’t lie to your shrink. Same philosophy applies to mentors. Be honest with them.” - Nikki Stevens (@drnikki)

Who are your mentors? How did you find them? How important is it to you to have a mentor?

(Photos by M. Cecelia Bittner and Jessica Hullinger)

What My Connected Students Taught Me about Motivation There are many books on the topic “learning in the 21st century,” and I think I have read most of them. The authors are educators and educational experts I know and admire. Many write about what students want and how students learn. What occurred to me was that there are no books about this topic written by students. Who are more important in students’ learning than the students themselves?

What My Connected Students Taught Me about Motivation

There are many books on the topic “learning in the 21st century,” and I think I have read most of them. The authors are educators and educational experts I know and admire. Many write about what students want and how students learn. What occurred to me was that there are no books about this topic written by students.

Who are more important in students’ learning than the students themselves?

Helping Workaholics to Help Employers — And Themselves Workaholics tend to live in extremes, with great job satisfaction and creativity on the one hand and high levels of frustration and exhaustion on the other hand. A new Florida State University study provides insight to managers on how to help these employees stay healthy and effective on the job. They found about 60 percent of these workers identified themselves as workaholics who characteristically “feel guilty when taking time off.” These self-identified workaholics reported positive and negative career consequences. “We discovered that workaholics really struggle when they feel that they are alone or swimming upstream without a paddle,” Hochwarter said. Workaholics who said they had access to resources reported: 40 percent higher rate of job satisfaction; 33 percent lower rate of burnout; 30 percent higher rate of perceived job importance; 30 percent lower rate of exclusion from others; 25 percent higher rate of career fulfillment; 20 percent lower rate of work frustration. Takeaway: REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS image via flickr:CC | jehgasperotto High-res

Helping Workaholics to Help Employers — And Themselves

Workaholics tend to live in extremes, with great job satisfaction and creativity on the one hand and high levels of frustration and exhaustion on the other hand. A new Florida State University study provides insight to managers on how to help these employees stay healthy and effective on the job.

They found about 60 percent of these workers identified themselves as workaholics who characteristically “feel guilty when taking time off.” These self-identified workaholics reported positive and negative career consequences.

“We discovered that workaholics really struggle when they feel that they are alone or swimming upstream without a paddle,” Hochwarter said.

Workaholics who said they had access to resources reported:

  • 40 percent higher rate of job satisfaction;
  • 33 percent lower rate of burnout;
  • 30 percent higher rate of perceived job importance;
  • 30 percent lower rate of exclusion from others;
  • 25 percent higher rate of career fulfillment;
  • 20 percent lower rate of work frustration.

Takeaway: REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

image via flickr:CC | jehgasperotto