- Folks, we have ourselves a debate. Alfie Kohn’s recent piece on the “pedagogy of poverty” has caused quite a stir among Fordham and its friends. Read our initial take on the piece, follow-ups from Mike Petrilli, Kathleen Porter-Magee, and Peter Meyer—and a rebuttal by Diane Ravitch. Where do you weigh in on the “pedagogy of poverty”? Leave your comments on Flypaper.
- Behemoths Unite! Gates and Pearson have joined forces to create online curricula aligned to the Common Core standards. (Just in case you were curious, Texas almost certainly won’t be partaking; members of the Longhorn House just introduced a bill barring adoption of the Common Core standards—never mind the curricula associated with them.)
- Forget apples, Arne Duncan lays out his love for educators in an “open letter to the American teacher” this week (in honor of teacher-appreciation week). Alas for Mr. Secretary, American teachers are having none of his compliments.
- Cami Anderson—formerly of Teach For America, New Leaders for New Schools, and Gotham’s District 79 program—heads from the Big Apple to the Brick City, as Newark’s newly appointed superintendent. For more on Anderson, her credentials, and what her appointment might mean for Newark, we turn to Peter Meyer.
- And more on the district-leader-appointment front: Roy Roberts (a former GM Corp. executive) will replace Robert Bobb as the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools.
- Ready to have some of your preconceived notions shaken? Check out Paul Peterson’s recent Education Next piece “Eighth Grade Students Learn More through Direct Instruction.” (The title is a bit of a spoiler alert.)
- If education reformers came in action heroes, Gadfly might just ask for a Mitch Daniels doll for his birthday. Governor Daniels delivered a dynamite speech at AEI yesterday, articulating his support for national standards and some smart thoughts on the federal role in education (sounding a lot like a reform realist!).
