This is a video of an updated 60 Minutes broadcast done by Bob Simon on Venezuela's groundbreaking musical education program. (A four-page transcript of the show segment can be found here.)… Continue

I am inviting you to read my latest blog post "Kindergarten and the molding of a community" on http://or-tal.com/?p=58.

June, 2008's The Atlantic published yet another historical perspective changing article titled "The Sky Is Falling". Here's a short video by the article's author, Greg Easterbrook, speaking about what he's written:… Continue

Below is an article released by our state concerning State Test Scores. http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/208408.html I thought it would be interesting to play with an analysis of this kind of information. Some questions come to mind:… Continue

In a previous post I inserted a link to a Library of Congress "Web Guide" for the new U.S. poet laureate Kay Ryan. Today's post is aimed at highlighting the LoC's Virtual Programs & Services, which is a great place to begin an online search for information on a variety of subjects of interest to both teachers and students. I have just begun to search this valuable LoC reference stash in any initial gathering of source materials for fur… Continue

Ok, this is the week of techno. Just bought a new Mac, and along with it got a free iPod touch. (Educators get this bennie along with the discount until September 7th, I believe.) Oh yeah, a new scanner/printer... Big deal changes. Beyond that (and quite necessary) new glasses. Bifocals! Graduated bifocals. I can't get used to anything. Just taking baby steps before the big immersion. Today, fire-wiring the two computers together, getting all the old stuff onto the new computer (music, documen… Continue

It's been a while. Honestly, after school let out I just needed a break from anything and everything to do with education. I've had a great month of vacationing, visiting and being visited, et cetera, and now I'm hopefully refreshed enough for the next round. When I was still a student, mid-July would still be early summer break. I would still feel like I had all the time in the world until I had to think about school again. Instead, my summer break is about to come to an end. On Monday, I star… Continue

This map shows areas of high poverty in Chicago along with locations of poorly performing schools. It also shows locations of universities. I encourage you to read the blogs… Continue

I'm currently watching on PBS tonight Charlie Rose's conversation with Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools. This video of the broadcast conversation, like others of Rose's I've posted, seems to me to be very informative and encouraging, in this instance about the turnaround of a previously failing, urban school system… Continue

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