The U.S. faces a critical shortage of skilled software developers. Employers cannot find enough talented practitioners despite offering high salaries and generous benefits. I believe this is due to the outmoded, off-putting way we expose students to computer programming techniques, and I propose that Baltimore become the world leader for a new educational approach. Baltimore […]
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A democratic vision of educational justice
Monday, August 15, 2011Whether you live in Baltimore or across the country in Seattle, you probably believe that every child deserves a high-quality education. But what does that mean? What does that look like? How do we know whether that is happening? As it turns out, these simple questions are quite difficult to answer. A big part of […]
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Expand learning opportunities for Baltimore’s students
Monday, August 08, 2011I never had illusions of becoming a rocket scientist, but as a child I loved classroom experiments that brought topics in science alive. What happened to two lima beans, planted separately, one placed in a dark closet and one on the windowsill? Or why does mixing baking soda and vinegar form that science fair staple, […]
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Teaching kids through mobile media
Monday, June 20, 2011Most educators will tell you, teens have mobile phones, but they cannot make mobile apps. They access Web sites often, but few know how to use HTML code to design their own. In Baltimore, we can address this dearth of media literacy easily, to ensure the city will have its share of well-qualified workers for […]
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Suspending judgment in favor of possibility
Monday, June 13, 2011When I first met Ruth, she told me, “I was 16 and did a wrong thing and my parents put me out.” I never learned the wrong thing she did, but Ruth was now 27 and had been living in her car with her two children for almost six months. And she expected to be […]
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Investing our resources in summer
Monday, June 06, 2011Editor’s note: Brenda McLaughlin will be at OSI-Baltimore for the first forum in our Learning about Learning series, Expanding Learning Beyond the School Year, on Tuesday, June 7th. Friday, June 17 is the last day of school for students in Baltimore City. Here in the suburbs of Philadelphia, my sons share the same last day. […]
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Using what works in education
Monday, May 23, 2011Baltimore City Schools have struggled for years to raise student achievement. There have been multiple strategies, any number of new textbooks and instructional approaches, and lots and lots of money invested in attempts to move students toward proficiency, particularly in math and reading. Though recently students have been achieving at higher levels, city students are […]
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Bringing poetry to life to make confident readers
Monday, May 09, 2011Last April, the 7th grade writing workshop I teach at Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School studied an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem. Today, the group struts around the school, reciting lines from the poem: “We were very tired, we were very merry–, We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.” Writers in Baltimore […]
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Supporting foster care youth
Monday, May 02, 2011May is Foster Care month. It is our hope that during this month, as a community we will be thinking of innovative ways to give our foster youth the tools they need to become contributing and successful members of society. The difficult issues that youth transitioning from the foster care system face is something we […]
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A day of silence
Monday, April 11, 2011Imagine visiting your doctor’s office because you are ill, but not being able to receive a diagnosis. Going to court, but your lawyer on this day will not defend you. Why are they silent, you ask? It’s an act of protest. The Day of Silence (this year on Friday, April 15th) is a day of […]
