Spoiler alert! A commonly held myth is exposed in an article found on the front page of the Albany Times Union last Sunday.
You don't have to look very far for a newspaper or website splashing the latest criticism of schools and their poor performance. Everyone knows that our public schools are inadequate. Oops! Here's an interesting article (click on the link below) highlighting the rather significant progress made in Kindergarten education over the last couple of decades. How can that be? How can we simultaneously publicize that present day Kindergarten learners routinely leave their first year of schooling with the ability to read books while also holding onto contentions that schools are not preparing learners for success. Huh???
http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=16192624
While we're talking about Kindergarten (I must admit a bias - I am married to a long time Kindergarten teacher) let's look at a recent article from the New York Times for a research based perspective on the tremendous value of early intervention programs designed to close the achievement gap that is typically discovered in later years within schools that lack the resources and supportive programs (click on the link below)
r=2&hphttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/opinion/occupy-the-classroom.html?_r=2&hp
Maybe we need to think again about that old adage - "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."
Alchemy was the process studied during the Middle-Ages that combined chemistry, magic, and philosophy in an attempt to convert cheaper metals into gold or silver. What does this have to do with school improvement? Many schools have unsuccessfully attempted similar transformations on an educational level. Follow this Blog and find out how to improve schools, as I share 40 years worth of school leadership experience.
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