Tuesday Open Thread
Common sense writing on teachers, testing and public education from an unlikely source in the New Yorker - noted film critic, David Denby . (Yes, the ed reform blogs have not been happy.) Another of-note writer on education is Erika Christakis whose new book, The Importance of Being Little , asks for more play for younger students. This via NPR: That's because, she writes, "the distinction between early education and official school seems to be disappearing." If kindergarten is the new first grade , Christakis argues, preschool is quickly becoming the new kindergarten. And that is "a real threat to our society's future." Chronic absenteeism is an issue in many districts and it was just announced that Seattle would be one of 10 districts under a new effort by the White House and the Department of Ed to address this problem. Nationwide, between 5-7 million kids a year are chronically absent each school year. The Times reports that in Washington S...