blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: Rosetta
http://blog.qisa.org/2014/11/rosetta.html
Thursday, November 13, 2014. Whenever something like this happens, I am mindful of educators I have met who do not think Fun and Excitement has a role to play in academic pursuits. That somehow intellectual seriousness and emotional engagement are incompatible. That you can either be learning or having fun, but not both. Dare I say, love. Here's to the men and women who dreamed of landing a space probe on a planet and made it happen. Here's to dreaming and doing. Posted by Michael Corso. Is an independen...
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: October 2013
http://blog.qisa.org/2013_10_01_archive.html
Wednesday, October 30, 2013. Is being given the freedom to be creative and innovative. And so a result of schools being time-starved is diminished creativity. Not only in the form of cutting art and music to make more time for literacy and numeracy instruction, but also in lessons being rushed to cover material. There is little breathing space to engage material in a way that is creative and so engaging. Posted by Michael Corso. Wednesday, October 23, 2013. Fixing Odds Against Idleness. The coalition als...
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: I Get No Respect
http://blog.qisa.org/2015/04/i-get-no-respect.html
Thursday, April 9, 2015. I Get No Respect. Those of us of a certain generation remember the signature line of the stand-up comedian Rodney Dangerfield: "I tell ya, I get no respect." He would tell story after story of how he got no respect from anyone. My favorite was when he explained that his parents tied a pork chop around his neck so the dog would play with him. No respect. I have written about this previously, but it is worth repeating because it keeps repeating itself. Posted by Michael Corso.
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: Election Day
http://blog.qisa.org/2014/11/election-day.html
Tuesday, November 4, 2014. One of my favorite outcomes of Aspirations work is the following. The staff in this middle school had worked on student voice for a few years and wanted to put something systemic/structural in place. Moreover, they knew they needed to address "Old Guard" concerns about giving students too much say. In essence, they needed checks and balances in their system. Where better to look for a model than the U.S. Constitution. Posted by Michael Corso. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom).
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: @DrRussQ
http://blog.qisa.org/2014/04/drrussq.html
Friday, April 18, 2014. I have heard Dr. Russell Quaglia. Speak any number of times. He is always motivational and inspirational whether one-on-one or with our QISA. Staff or in a hall filled with thousands of people. His closing keynote at ASCD 2014. Was no exception. His passion for student voice and for trying to make schools a better place for all kids is fueled by a deeply held conviction that students are the potential, not the problem, in education. Their. And the Aspirations Academies Trust.
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: January 2014
http://blog.qisa.org/2014_01_01_archive.html
Wednesday, January 29, 2014. We are just 8 days away from the Winter Olympics. Which is why it is perfect learning material for your classroom in February. Need numbers to crunch? There will be plenty: From averaging skating scores to calculating the engineering in the bobsled run or the trajectory of a ski jump. Need stuff to read? We have been reading about the political situation in Russia daily and are hoping for a safe winter games, but what is going on that there is this level of concern? A friend ...
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: Rewards
http://blog.qisa.org/2014/11/rewards.html
Monday, November 3, 2014. Last week I was interviewing students in focus groups. The first group were 3rd graders, then 4th, then 5th, ending with 6th. Maybe it was because they came at me in such neat developmental order, but I noticed something interesting I hadn't noticed before. Do you see it? There has been a lot written about extrinsic vs. intrinsic rewards. For now let's agree that those 6th graders are on their way to becoming lifelong learners. Posted by Michael Corso. November 3, 2014 at 1:08 PM.
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: August 2013
http://blog.qisa.org/2013_08_01_archive.html
Thursday, August 29, 2013. A twelve year old is just not mature enough.". We're the experts, what would the students add to what I already know? They won't take it seriously.". They don't understand.". I can only assume they have not seen the TED talk by Adora Svitak. Or the uplifting Ellen segment on Alanna Wall's Polish Girlz. Efforts or read Nikhil Goyal's One Size Does Not Fit All. Over the course of the school year. Posted by Michael Corso. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom). Literacy, Learning and Life.
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: December 2013
http://blog.qisa.org/2013_12_01_archive.html
Wednesday, December 18, 2013. Another question we asked in that middle school last week was: What is the connection between your effort in middle school and going to college? We asked the question because the adults at the school didn't think students understood or saw that there was a connection. So we asked. I kid you not, those were the kid's exact words. The same exact words I recall hearing in 1974, when pocket calculators were the latest in classroom technology. Posted by Michael Corso. Today was a...
blog.qisa.org
ACTION Blog: September 2013
http://blog.qisa.org/2013_09_01_archive.html
Wednesday, September 25, 2013. Last week Ray McNulty. Helped QISA inaugurate a series of ACTION Center webinars, which we will be hosting about once a month on a wide range of educational topics. In his presentation, " The New Normal in Education: Vision for a New Learner. Which you can view by clicking on the link), he made many excellent points. However, one thing Ray said really stuck with me, perhaps because I was fresh from example of it. I had just come from a meeting with a principal in one of our...
