By Christine Mason When will the evil of racism, white supremacy, and neo-nazism end? How have the extremists groups supporting such bigotry and hate operated in the U.S. historically? How are these topics handled in classrooms in America? Are we having adequate discussions with our students? The Rev. William Gardner wrote about these issues in 2009, saying,[…]
By Nicole Colchete, CEI Intern What Is PeaceJam? Over 1.25 million students have participated in PeaceJam clubs since it began in 1996. During that time 14 Nobel Peace prize winners have facilitated 31 million peace projects in 39 countries. PeaceJam is a program that reduces bullying without directly discussing bullying. Rather, Peacejam uses compassion training[…]
By Adriana Jarquin, CEI Intern As the transition period for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) comes to an end, states are beginning to prepare for the 2017-2018 school year by submitting their new education plans to the U.S. Department of Education. All states are required to submit new accountability plans to be peer reviewed[…]
By Christine Mason, CEI Executive Director Mindfulness: Healing Trauma with the School Compassionate Culture Analytic Tool in Heart Centered Learning Communities Tuesday, July 11, 7:30-8:45 am, Room 103B at the National Principals Conference in Philadelphia, PA Participants engage in exercises to learn about trauma, mindfulness and S-CCATE (School Compassionate Cultural Analytic Tool for Educators) as[…]
By Rachel Kelly, CEI Intern Where are we headed with ESSA (the Every Student Succeeds Act) with the Trump Administration? Will ESSA bring about the much needed relief that will help teachers and students find balanced lives again? Or will the pressure to achieve continue? At a time when Finland is easing up on its[…]
By Rachel Kelly, CEI Intern While the education system in the United States has created more competitive standardized tests and strict guidelines to ensure that American students keep up with the rest of the world, Finland is taking the opposite approach. Finland has eased up on expectations and standards, with less emphasis on testing and[…]
By Christine Mason and Maud Schaafsma On Inauguration Day 2017, we pause for a moment to ask our colleagues about their hopes and dreams for schools. In 2017 and the years to come. Peter Senge, the brilliant systems thinker from MIT and author of Schools that Learn, observed: “Aspiration does not come easily in most[…]
By Jordan Gilliard, CEI Intern This is the first of a series of articles on inequities in education. In this article Jordan Gilliard addresses funding concerns in one school district in VA. As Ms. Gilliard says in her closing paragraph, “across the country, students of color are receiving a poorer quality than their white counterparts.[…]