Hi all! And Happy 4th of July weekend! I hope you are finding time to relax and enjoy the hot weather! And, if you head to the County Fair….enjoy! I think I now qualify for mother of the century for venturing to the County Fair (where I bumped into DREAMer Jamie from Rincon All Tribes!) with my daughter and her friend to see the Big Time Rush concert with thousands and thousands of screaming tweens! But enough about me!!! If you have a moment – check this out: The New York Times published an op ed piece by David Brooks reflecting on Diane Ravitch and a talk she gave at the Aspen Ideas festival. It’s an interesting op ed both highlighting Ravitch and criticizing her. It’s a short read and I think you will identify with the main ideas which focus on the role of leadership and passion in schooling….and this line, which ends the piece is terrific: “If your school teaches to the test, it’s not the test’s fault. It’s the leaders of your school.” Here’s a link to the piece itself:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/opinion/01brooks.html
Please feel free to reply with your opinion!
DREAM Institute 
A very interesting article, and provocative. The writer is speaking of the importance of having passion and a mission, school by school. Yes, that does help students succeed, and aids teachers’ striving. Top down heavy-handed tactics from districts that disseminate a blanket of fear for teachers, as regards teaching to the standards and testing. do not really work. Some teachers are able to march to their own drummer despite these tactics. The writer does not address this altogether too common climate of fear.
The writer illumines where Ravitch is dead-center right on the problem. This was a carefully crafted article, however, I don’t believe the writer has visited many schools. The charter schools who test with rigor and provide other educational/cultural riches are succeeding. Often Waldorf
schools who downplay standardized testing achieve wondrous results, as well, along with providing
a wholistic education incorporating the arts.
The article offers food for thought, as does Ravitch!
Mindy