By Beckett Age 6, First Grade Awesome teacher Teachers teach Caring Loving Helping me learn Hoping I feel happy Can I learn? Yes!

This is the first in a series of blogs to explore personalized learning.  In the first installment, I share my own journey as a parent to understand why personalized learning should be a goal of PK-12 systems and how I came to believe that.  The “evidence” for my parental belief…

 “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding  will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with…

No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. –John Donne, No Man is an Island   We are all parts of communities where we engage daily – with family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues; face-to-face, online, and on…

My children’s elementary school recently celebrated our 60th birthday.  We gathered at the school, listened to alumni who are now junior high and high school students play orchestral music, ate cookies, picked a few remaining vegetables from the school garden, and spent time with our friends and neighbors.  Retired teachers,…

Are you picturing several people sitting cross-legged on big floor pillows, drinking herbal tea, and reading poetry aloud between gentle yoga stretches? While that sounds appealing (and before I had kids you might have hit the nail on the head with that image), that is not what I mean. For…

Yesterday during our elementary school’s annual “Chalk the Walk” to thank our teachers, my nine year-old son drew this picture near the school entrance. I must admit I was a little nervous when he started drawing the man with the funny teeth. I know he loves his teachers, but he…

April 7-11, 2014, is National Youth Violence Protection Week.  The National Association of Students Against Violence (SAVE) has partnered with five other groups to host a full week of activities aimed at supporting and empowering youth to make their communities safer.  More details and suggested activities are available HERE. Each…

   To get straight to the point:  I am not an avid or successful Twitter user.  The mere thought of saying something that matters in 140 characters makes me want to hide under my desk. But recently I have become increasingly aware of the potential for Twitter to support my…

This week I will ask my kids to tell me what they are thankful for.  I will most likely get the usual responses – my dog, my video games, my doll, my Transformers.  And when I ask them to reflect a little more I’ll get some answers I like better…