Tag Archives: breakthrough learning forum

This post originally appeared on the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog.   I vividly remember a physician friend of mine, Dr. Karen Hein, saying that, for AIDS, asthma and other health problems, geography was destiny. She meant that poverty and the problems associated with it were key determinants of health. Poor people got the short end of the stick: less access to preventive care, more diseases, and fewer resources to help them recover. Now a new report sponsored…

This post originally appeared on the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog.   Recently, at a conference on education reform, I heard a state superintendent from one of the country’s highest performing states share a comment I found concerning. He said he believed there would be a tension between meeting more rigorous common core standardsand personalizing learning for students to make schools relevant and engaging to learners. While I have a lot of personal respect for this man, I think…

This post originally appeared on the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog. A new high school is being built near my office. The old high school had served its function well over time, but in recent years the level of maintenance necessary to keep the school functioning translated into diminishing returns. School committees, planning committees, state and city officials, community members, and advisory groups came together to define a new future for the students of this city. Their passionate…

This post originally appeared in the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog.   A young girl, age 5, sits down at her family’s computer and logs into Webkinz with some help from her mother. She’s got a plush toy on her lap. It’s a Clydesdale horse named Mirabelle who, seconds later, appears reincarnated as a pixilated horse on the screen. The little girl grabs the computer mouse, points to the screen, and shouts, “look Mom!” A three-dimensional room is…

This post originally appeared on the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age blog.   “Grit” is required for success today in the United States. “Grit” is passion plus persistence. Jobs that require basic or even higher, but standard, skills will often be low paying, done overseas, or automated. Success will more and more require high-level mastery and the ability to innovate. And that, in turn, requires grit. There are no short cuts. There is no persistence without passion. How do…

An article ran in the New York Times the morning after the 61st Primetime Emmy awards titled “Television Thanks You for Watching.” The article punctuates a theme throughout the broadcast of comments alluding to the shift of notable programming to cable networks and other media platforms. The television community is clearly seeing a movement to where viewers are seeking quality programming, but not on standard broadcast television anymore. When Sesame Street started out, public television was pretty much the only choice for us. It was…