How to Go Global in Your Classroom
By Bob Lenz
6/30/09
Given the level of technical sophistication of today's students, why not use technology to extend the classroom and collaborate globally?
What Parents Think About Student Achievement
By Bob Lenz
6/4/09When I talk about student achievement in the academic community, the first thing that usually comes to mind is test scores: How well does this school perform relative to others? Are students on track for college? How prepared are they for the SAT?
Surprisingly, the discussion shifts when I talk to parents.
Balancing Life Skills with Academics
By Bob Lenz
5/8/09In my last Edutopia.org blog entry, I talked about project learning at Envision Schools, and the ways kids are motivated to master difficult subjects by interacting with peers in an interdisciplinary environment and tackling real-world issues.
Project Learning Creates a Win-Win Situation
By Bob Lenz
4/9/09The mere mention of 21st-century skills always seems to elicit lively debate among people who are either for the concept or against it. The conversation about it is a good one to have, but we should move beyond this particular debate and toward an inclusive discussion that helps students win on all sides.
Using Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences to Build Relationships
By Bob Lenz
2/24/09Quite a few readers responded to my blog entry "In the Loop: The Payoff for Parent-Teacher Conferences." As spring approaches, the next round of conferences is just around the corner.
College Readiness, Part Two: Turning Thoughts into Action
By Bob Lenz
12/12/08This is the second part of a two-part blog entry. Read part one.
In his article cited in part one of this blog entry, Tony Wagner describes visiting some of most highly regarded suburban schools and "interviewing leaders in settings from Apple to Unilever to the U.S. Army and reviewing research on workplace skills." In response to his findings, he calls for students to master seven skills to be successful in the twenty-first century.
College Readiness, Part One: Redefining Rigor at Envision Schools
By Bob Lenz
12/9/08I have been thinking a lot about Envision Schools's impact recently and what we hope will be different because of our schools.
In the Loop: The Payoff for Parent-Teacher Conferences
By Bob Lenz
10/14/08My children are in the fifth and seventh grades. At least twice a year, my wife and I meet with their teachers to set goals, to review their progress towards these goals, and to agree about how we can all best support our children's learning at home and at school. Why is it that after elementary school, this important practice often comes to an end?
Sessions for Success: Preparing Students for Life After School
By Bob Lenz
10/2/08One of Envision Schools's four principles is about building relationships. Often, the difference between a student graduating and going to college and a student not finishing school or going on to college is the relationship that student has with just one adult at school who knows him or her well, believes in the student's ability to succeed, and will not let him or her fail.
The Four R's: Relationships in Twenty-First-Century Schools
By Bob Lenz
7/14/08What structures and systems does Envision Schools use to prepare students for success in college and their futures in the twenty-first century? We focus on four guiding principles, and the second concerns relationships and how we build them among students and educators. Read a previous post of mine that defines the principles and reflects on the first one, rigor.
