From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raylawni_Branch What drives me crazy about conversations about the achievement gap between minorities and whites is that we don’t talk about the causes. Before we get to solutions we should look to why the achievement gap exists. The thing is, that conversation is uncomfortable. I see three main historical reasons that are intertwined racism, poverty, and segregation. Everyone knows that during the Jim Crow era, blacks were forced into separate schools that were inferior in every way to white schools: resources, buildings, money, teacher training, etc. Segregated schools were definitely not equal and put blacks at huge disadvantages. Segregated schools contributed to huge income gaps (along with institutional racism such as redlined housing and unfair hiring practices). So today we have a legacy where many blacks live in poverty and still attend defacto segregated schools in urban areas due to white flight to either the suburbs or private schools. So how should we proceed based on these historical causes of the achievement gap? Well there actually is evidence (and here) of some successful ideas to close the achievement gap through integrating schools by busing minority students to white suburb schools or other ways of desegregation. Unfortunately there is about ZERO support for this type of program. Why? Partly because of the costs of the busing, but mostly the vocal complaints of white parents who don’t like it. Researchers know that integration leads to all kinds of positive effects for blacks and also does not "harm" white achievement (I would add that it would have many benefits for white students being more understanding and empathetic of blacks). The other thing that we could do as a society is address the wealth gap and actually do something to help people make a living wage and get out of poverty as we know that socio-economic status is the most important factor in measuring student achievement. Of course, blacks are disproportionately poor due to the same historical factors of segregation and discrimination. Why don’t we address integration of schools and poverty? Well for one they would require the government to actually do something and many whites would oppose these actions with thinly veiled racism. These problems are outside of the control of local school districts and would require state or federal involvement. If we really want to leave No Child Left Behind, we could start by fixing the causes of the achievement gap instead of blaming urban schools, teachers, students, and their parents. Instead we punish failing schools and closing them we could integrate schools and address the problem of poverty.

By McQuinn https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcquinn/2302823476/in/gallery-38392447@N05-72157623450240233/ My friend Russ tweeted this quote (questioning it): "Every spare moment in our classrooms should be packed full of engaging, learning opportunities." from The Edvocate. I replied that I’m ok with students being off task sometimes. You see no one is always "on." We all get distracted sometimes and we also need brain breaks. This may not have been the point of the post, but I often hear people talk about students like they need to make sure that they are working hard on what they are "supposed to be doing" every second of the day. I think that there are a couple of dangers with this attitude. For one the teacher can become a taskmaster that is always policing the room. The teacher then is seen as an adversary by students, rather than someone to learn with. I think this kind of teacher often rarely reflects on the types of activities in their class and whether boredom is the cause of the off task behavior. Secondly we miss the opportunities to teach students self management. Rather than worrying about whether students are on task we should focus on teaching students to set deadlines and meet them in regards to their projects and work. Successful students already so this and are viewed as "good" students by many. I wonder how many of our "struggling" students are really just students lacking organizational and time management skills? In the past I have not done enough to seek out the reasons why students are not meeting deadlines. This year I will conference more with students who fall behind and facilitate a conversation to help them figure out how to keep up in class. I will support them in organizational skills as needed. Finally, sometimes it is ok to just have fun in class for no specific reason. As Dean Shareski always says we need more joy in schools. Sometimes that does not look like a learning experience, and that is ok. Humor, joy, and relationships are the building blocks of trust that will allow deeper learning later. Humans were not designed to always be working. We need to remember our students’ humanity.

Last spring my students did a project studying local Civil Rights history and comparing it to the more "famous" national Civil Rights Movement. They made podcasts telling the local stories and then we put it into a tour. Check out the blogpost that Experience GR wrote about the project…

Mobile learning continues to expand as applications are developed for use in corporate training, K-12 activities, research and field work, and general education. Welcome to an interview with Massood Zarrabian, CEO and President of OutStart. OutStart has created a solution is that supports all mobile platforms, 500 devices, and works in connected and disconnected formWhat is your name and your

A recent set of articles in New York Times Sunday edition (Jan 3, 2010) highlighted how master's degrees are bellwethers of new directions. Because master's degrees generally do not require a large number of hours, many colleges and universities have used the flexibility of interdisciplinary master's degrees to tailor student studies to individual goals, interests, and career opportunities. The

Is mobile learning really doing what it’s supposed to be doing? The core allure of mobile learning is that you can engage in substantive, meaningful learning any time and any place. Ideally, mobile content and instructional strategies effectively create conditions for learning - you’re engaged, the content is relevant, you’re able to connect it to applications and real-life settings that mean

Podcast: http://www.beyondutopia.net/podcasts/snowbound.mp3In honor of the amazing weather most of the country has experienced over the last week, I thought I'd post something a bit different -- a mystery, of sorts. Enjoy! (from Gizmo, the Corgi)Last week, they found a woman’s body buried in a neighbor’s backyard. Granted, it was not a next-door neighbor, and it’s true I did not know her. Yet,

Upstream? Midstream? Downstream? Petroleum Industry Processes » Create quiz software

The proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and the broad expansion of access have led to major changes in mobile learning. Two of the most significant are:             ·         Relevant, multi-user, location-specific  interaction ·         Gamified learning environment (learning activities & assessments) Mobile learning tends to be the moving target of distance education. It is not just

A solution to drought and water scarcity is sitting before our eyes in much of the U.S., but most people have no idea that it exists. Those who do have no idea that the puzzle pieces necessary to make it happen are right here, right now. They just have not been put together yet.  But, they can be, and the benefits to people, the environment, the economy, and sustainable life in general could be