Table of Contents | April 2008
Up Front: Well-Chosen Words
The emphasis on standardized testing is muzzling the teaching of self-expression.
Feedback: Technology as a Tool
Seeing tech as enhancer, not replacer.
Dispatches: Children Have to Grow Up Too Fast
Something is lost when little red wagons and mud pies make way for worksheets and tests.
Sage Advice: Living the Teaching Dream
What is your dream teaching assignment?
Ask Ellen: Can Common Tests Assess Uncommon Kids?
Standardized assessments can't evaluate all kinds of learners.
Pop Quiz: Jack Prelutsky
The first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate reflects on his school years.
Features
Reinventing the Big Test: The Challenge of Authentic Assessment
Problem: Old-school accountability tests are crude measurements of student learning.
Solution: Build a better test.
The Daring Dozen 2008: Our Heroes
Twelve who are reshaping the future of education.
Cool Schools
Treasured Island: Giving Students Real Skills and Real Responsibilities
A tiny offshore Maine school's self-sufficiency makes it an inspirational island apart.
How to Raise the Educational Stakes with Project Learning
Beef up the real-world consequences of student projects in every grade.
Design
Forward Thinking: 2007 DesignShare Awards Honor the Best in School Design
Three exemplary schools reveal the shape of things to come.
Heart and Soul
Serious Fun: A New Twist on a Touchy Subject -- Sex
A hip and homespun podcast about sex education is a hit with teens.
Head of Class
Copy Wrongs: Teachers Looking Online for Material, Be Warned
Know what you can -- and can't -- download for the classroom.
By the Numbers: Teen Ethics
An alarming number of teens surveyed condone violence.
Bag Lunch: An American Institution
Oven-fried chicken, orzo salad, and power bars.
Fashionable Feasts: Lunch Box 2.0
Bye-bye, brown bag. Hello, hot lunch.
Hot Stuff: Media for Educators
Chicken soup for the classroom soul, world peace through film, strategies for struggling readers, and creating your own online comics.
Field Trips: Events For Educators
Conferences on ed-tech, charter schools, developmental and learning disabilities, phys ed, new media, summer learning, IRA, and a math conference featuring Malcolm Gladwell.
