Puerto Vallarta Rocks
I recently received an email from a former student (Class of 1965) whom I stay in touch with on an occasional basis. She and her husband own and operate a B&B in the Yucatan, The Flycatcher Inn. Kris is a former high school art teacher and very successful professional jewelry designer. The following represents what I believe teaching is all about. It has very little to do with test scores and a whole lot with the development of an inquisitive spirit that may not surface for many years. Here is the exchange. Note that it continues beyond this post. Not bad for 45 years later!
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Dr. Bob Valiant Articles
An article in Atlantic (online) caught our eye regarding a different way to go in education. Instead of test ‘em till they drop, the piece advocates “making things” as a driver of curriculum. Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE Magazine, laid out a recipe for redesigning education through what he calls the “hands-on imperative” at a recent conference in the Bay Area. When you build something to solve a problem, knowledge and skill from multiple disciplines must come into play. Dougherty believes this provides a more authentic entry into curriculum development for the 21st Century world than the current test-based, basic academic skill driven programs now in vogue. Interestingly, Jim Hendricks, former Desert Hills and Southridge teacher now working at Delta High, has been doing this with Kennewick kids for twenty years! To read the article click here.
Dr. Bob Valiant Uncategorized
We found an interesting piece in the New York Times that features a debate of the merits of National Core Standards. Twenty-seven states have already agreed to adopt the standards in order to qualify for Race to the Top (RttT) funds. The Obama administration argues that the uniform norms will boost achievement of the neediest children but opponents claim that the new system will promote mediocrity.
You can read the debate here. Other arguments for and against national standards have been proposed elsewhere. We will try to provide them as we verify the sources.
Dr. Bob Valiant Opinion
The governors and CSSO’s of 46 states have joined Arne Duncan and formed a compact to develop national standards for the K-12 schools. All of this was done in secret and announced recently at a national conference. There are many reasons to be concerned about this development. A new website has been created to help provide information on the project and to disseminate resources for those who share our belief, No National Standards.
Dr. Bob Valiant News Reform, Standards
Our purpose in writing this article is to set the stage for a series of activities that you can use personally or with your students to practice the strategies of the skilled thinker. There are many ways to conceptualize the organization of these skills. We have chosen to group them into the categories of gathering, assessing or considering, and applying.
Gathering skills can be thought of as discrete skills that are used to recall or collect bits of data that are thought to be useful in the pursuit of the solution to some sort of problematic situation. As the data begins to accumulate, the skilled thinker considers and assesses what has been gathered and begins to sketch out potential solutions. Often, additional gathering steps are required to fill in gaps. Application skills blend all of the pieces into a strategic attack on the problem at hand. Read more…
Dr. Bob Valiant Articles Thinking
Pete McGrail, PNNL scientist, sent us a copy of his Powerpoint for a Pasco-Kennewick Rotary presentation and some references to other links on the Internet. The following article is based on these resources.
One of the great energy sources of the US is coal. We have vast supplies of the stuff, but there is a problem. When you burn coal to produce heat, generate electricity, or drive machinery, huge amounts of carbon dioxide are produced. Whether one believes that global warming is man made or not, there can be no doubt that dumping megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere cannot be a good thing. A solution is needed if we are to take advantage of our coal reserves in the future.
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Dr. Bob Valiant News Science
Delta High School, a school with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math, is big news in Washington State’s Tri-Cities area. To be jointly operated by the three school districts in the region and with support from Battelle and Washington State University, Delta High plans to open with 100 freshmen in September, 2009. I support the development of the school, but not for the reasons cited by the vast majority of its proponents.
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Dr. Bob Valiant News STEM
