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News and Commentary

Here are some articles and essays whose messages seem to us important.

  • Why I Will Not Teach to the Test - "It's Time to Focus on In-Depth Learning, Not Shallow Answers", says Kelly Gallagher of Magnolia High School in Anaheim, Calif. Read the original article on Education Week, and the response by Jonathan Groves at this link.
  • Mathematics, the Makeover - Sums, it seems, are hot. Arithmatic rocks. A sexy band of number crunchers is taking maths away from the geeks and frumps. Read the full article written by Susie Mesure for the Education column of The Independent.
  • Breaking the Cycle: An International Comparison of U.S. Mathematics Teacher Preparation - TEDS-M, an international study focusing on the preparation of teachers of mathematics, released its initial findings, which concluded that mathematics teachers in US need better training if the nation's K-12 students are going to compete globally.
  • The New York Times' Mathematics Series - Steven Strogatz, professor of applied mathematics at Cornell University, manages his weekly column on explaining mathematical concepts to a lay audience in Sunday's issue of The New York Times. Follow the blog for the articles in this series to date, and keep visiting often to stay updated with the new ones.
  • An interaction with Arne Duncan - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan participated in an education Town Hall meeting in Atlanta, GA, fielding questions ranging from standardized testing to the cost of college from parents, teachers, and students. Here is the CNN transcript.
  • An Open Letter to Arne Duncan - In his blog named Walt Gardner's Reality Check, Mr. Gardner posts an open letter to Arne Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education, reminding him of his responsibilities regarding boosting the morale of teachers, as opposed to squandering them.
  • In New Book, Ravitch Recants Long-Held Beliefs - Debra Viadero posts an article in Education Week about the new book by New York University scholar Diane Ravitch - "The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education", where, like any other good historian, Ms. Ravitch tries to set the records straight.
  • Success adds up for D.C. schools' math program - Washington Post publishes an article about the math curriculum that is yielding promising results for D.C. public school children. The road to mastery no longer runs strictly through rote memorization and drilling, District educators say. It requires deeper conceptual understanding.
  • Playing to Learn - Through this article in the New York Times, Susan Engel, a senior lecturer in psychology and the director of the teaching program at Williams College, talks about her opinion about the educational reform suggested by the Obama Government.

 

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