Connecting Minds to Learning

WestEd’s SchoolsMovingUp website will feature a free webinar entitled “Reducing School Dropout Rates” on Wednesday, October 14, from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. CET).

This webinar, will offer research-based recommendations for reducing school dropout rates. Marlene Darwin, Senior Research Analyst at the American Institutes for Research, and Nikola Filby, Director of WestEd’s Innovation Studies Program, will showcase the recommended practices in the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide, which includes strategies for identifying and advocating for at-risk students, implementing programs to improve behavior and social skills, and keeping students engaged in the school environment. The webinar will also provide a brief introduction to the resources from the Doing What Works website illustrating how these recommendations have been carried out.

See the webinars page on SchoolsMovingUp for further information, including specific topics to be addressed by this webinar, at http://www.schoolsmovingup.net/webinars.

6:30 Monday morning

One Size Is Gonna Fit All: A Play in One Act

(Curtain rises on a fitting room. However, rather than in a department store, it is located in a school district central office building.)

Sales person: Good morning, teachers. Can I help you?

Customer: Oh, I really don’t need anything today. I’m just here to look. I have a Master’s Degree in clothing design and I’ve been taking the advanced professional seamstress refresher workshops for five years. Actually, I make my own clothes, based on the season and the occasion.

Sales person: Well, that’s not going to be possible. We want to have a consistent, professional look. How would it look if you are wearing designer clothes and the new teachers at Achievement Academy get their clothes from the sale rack at Mervyn’s?

Customer: O.K., you have a point. I’ll take the skirt and the shirt in size 12, please.

Sales person: Sorry, we decided that the entire lot should be size 6. That will represent us in the best light.

Customer: Oh, that will never fit!

Sales person: Well, this is what’s available to you. Maybe it’s time to lose a few pounds, hmm? [turning away] Sir, are you ready?

Customer: But wait! I need something that will fit…

Beep, beep, beep. Heart pounding, Eliza Carey reached for the off button on her alarm first anxiety dream she had had, but one of the more memorable ones. That day, she would be launching the [new] unit she had tailor made for her class.

 - Susan Gold (2008) in Making The Case.  Page 27 & 28.

In what ways are you modifying your instruction to meet the needs of all learners in your classroom? What are some the issues that make this a complex and difficult thing to do?  How do you overcome these barriers?

Some of my regular readers and colleagues on the 31 Days Challenge have been gently suggesting for a little while that I give some consideration to changing the title of this blog.  As I have mentioned elsewhere, when I first started the blog I was trying to think of a name that was creative and made people curious. So, I searched around and decided upon the name eruditio pro totus which is a rough translation in latin for Learning For All. However this title often confused people and it does not clearly express what this space is about. 

After some reflection and consultation, I have decided to change the name to Connecting Minds to Learning.  I feel this title best communicates the objectives of this blog (which you will soon be able to read more about here).

So keep your eyes open!  The next post that comes into you inbox or on your RSS reader from me will be entitled Connecting Minds to Learning.