Parents ‘n Schools

(GLO — March 2009 — I can’t watch this movie without thinking of this analogy. Heavy sigh. I like watching this movie… Most parents volunteering at work in schooling are the “Mathew Broderick” character. They know and like and respect both sides… both characters… both parents and schools… and are bewildered as to why they […]

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In the world of government schooling, labour costs eat up about 90 to 95 cents of every operating dollar. That leaves only 5 to 10% for other costs. If you’re wondering why kids perpetually have more technology available to them at home and in the community, it’s because there are just pennies left over in […]

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Twenty-seven years ago this spring I graduated from civil engineering, taking home a prize for highest mark in Highway Design. I went on to law school and never actually got to design any highways in my life, but I’ve never stopped being a student of them. No surprise, really, that I would be drawn to […]

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(GLO — March 2009 — You’re gonna think me lazy and slothful in sending this out to the world again, but since my kids are on their spring break this week and in mostly my care and not the care of their government learning facilities, please cut me some slack, OK? I saw this book […]

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At www.ted.com can be found the recent presentation by Bill Gates at this year’s TED conference. Part of his talk focussed on ways to help and improve teaching. When last I visited, there were nearly 200 comments submitted online. Here are some excerpts:
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“Education systems develop in response to major social change, such as the industrial […]

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(GLO — March 2009 — Teachers and lawyers (and other professionals, I expect) suffer similarly from “burnout” and discontent with their lot in life. While doing what they’re doing can be all they ever wanted, they can find themselves wondering how they got there. There is an inherent risk in doing all you’ve ever wanted […]

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The logistics of schooling are daunting. Transportation. Accommodation. Labour. Scheduling. Contracts. Funding.
600,000 children in Alberta. 6,000,000 across Canada. 60,000,000 in the U.S. On the move every schoolday. Needing shelter. Needing teachers. Needing to fit into calendars and statutory holidays and labour contracts and legislated terms.
In Alberta this coming fall (and particularly in Calgary) the “World […]

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In the constrained world of government schooling administration, it is one painful “Sophie’s Choice” after another. Choices are made between what programming lives and what dies seemingly on a daily basis as the shifting sands of resources and costs and politics and data and demographics and logistics blow ceaselessly on.
It is not like the choices […]

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(GLO — March 2009 — Schoolers, as a rule, do not test their students on stuff they don’t teach them. Generally speaking, they do not deride them or criticize children for not knowing stuff that was not taught or not assigned. In government schooling, such treatment is reserved for their parents.
In government schooling, parents are […]

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Here in Alberta… for no particular reason given the excellent work of the Learning Commission a short few years ago… the government’s education department has announced a schedule for widespread community discussion about the future of government schooling hereabouts.
Entitled “Inspiring Education: A Dialogue With Albertans”, the work was introduced as follows:
“The Inspiring Education dialogue is […]

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