tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post566775698317943775..comments2024-02-14T06:30:27.643-05:00Comments on A Teacher on Teaching: Arne Duncan Discovers the Obvious!John J. Viallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-12180623045024107242014-01-26T23:31:07.439-05:002014-01-26T23:31:07.439-05:00Thanks. I agree about there being no silver bullet...Thanks. I agree about there being no silver bullet--and also the triangular cooperation. I've compared it to a stool, with any one leg being broken, making education harder by far. I may steal your phrase, sir.John J. Viallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-84969770318587968402014-01-26T16:58:17.093-05:002014-01-26T16:58:17.093-05:00Great post. Thanks for taking the time to write th...Great post. Thanks for taking the time to write this. I am wondering when those in the "reform" movement will realize that it takes a partnership between teachers, parents, and the students for students to become successful. If there is a silver bullet in education, it would be this triangular cooperation. Seems that the powers that be are too interested in dismantling the public education system and turning it into a market-based entity. It is scary to think that our educational system is becoming privatized... Dale Lidickerhttp://www.wheelspressbooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-87772144492867026742014-01-25T08:56:33.964-05:002014-01-25T08:56:33.964-05:00I was going through old notes this morning when I ...I was going through old notes this morning when I found a second example, also from the 70s, that might interest Secretary Duncan. In my class, when students missed work, I used to insist that they stay after school and make it up. To my surprise (and to the surprise of several of my friends who were using the same approach), it soon came down from the principal’s office that we could not keep students after school to make up work. <br /><br />Parents had complained. How many? It didn’t matter. The boss just wasn’t going to deal with it. <br /> <br />We could call parents and offer “extra help,” he said. Or we could give “extra credit.” We couldn’t make kids stay to do missing work.<br /><br />I was horrified; but trying to reason with my principal was like arguing with a marble bust. So I began telling students who missed work that I was requiring them to stay for “extra help.” I simply made them do the assignments they had missed.<br /><br />(I used to give full credit, by the way, because I thought the penalty of staying after was enough; and I also wanted students to succeed.)<br /><br />At any rate, I was willing to do whatever was necessary to get grades up. I just wasn't going to lower standards or allow a boy or girl to receive a poor education if I could manage otherwise.John J. Viallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-27776826126565497622014-01-24T19:48:49.752-05:002014-01-24T19:48:49.752-05:00Glad to be of service; pass the link along to your...Glad to be of service; pass the link along to your friends if you will.John J. Viallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05355223708051895485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1997519179796849230.post-66387419422021299232014-01-24T19:26:25.810-05:002014-01-24T19:26:25.810-05:00Thank you for writing this!Thank you for writing this!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com