Education Commons^™

Teaching, Samara Gunter

Colby Magazine

I love the moment when a new metaphor makes a hard concept suddenly clear. For me, teaching economics, the search for the perfect example is like the hunt for a perfect seashell on a beach with rough waves. Most shells are flawed, but I choose a handful of the best and carry those with me. Still, I'm watching, ready to cast aside a former favorite to make room for something closer to perfection.

Bro Reflects: Adams Reveals His Private Thoughts On His Presidency

Colby Magazine

Retiring President William D. Adams speaks with candor on topics ranging from stresses of the job to the future of the liberal arts.

Charting Success: James Verrilli '83 Fashions A School For Inner-City Newark, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

James Verrilli '83 has heard it many times before. The suggestion is that students at North Star Academy in Newark N.J., do so well on assessment tests because they've been "creamed," skimmed from the top of the pool of thousands of kids in the city's conventional- and troubled- public schools. When the suggestion was made yet again during a recent interview, Verrilli tried not to bristle.

An Education Ceo: Robert Furek '64 Brings Accountability To Hartford Public Schools, Rick Green

Colby Magazine

Armed state troopers standing by his side, an ashen-faced Robert Furek '64 waded carefully through the jeering crowd lining the hallway of the ornate Hartford city hall.

"Racists and fascists!" some yelled. Furek, chairman of the board of trustees running the Hartford, Conn., public schools, quickly left the building, the taunts and finger-pointing. Furek and his colleagues had just voted to remove the district's superintendent of schools, an African-American woman some in this downtrodden community saw as a source of hope and inspiration.

A Ray Of Hope: Brittany Ray '93 Inspires Where She Found Inspiration, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

High school English teacher Brittany Ray '93 grew up in the tiny Down East town of Milbridge, a fishing community perched at the mouth of the Narraguagus River. Ray's father, Gary Ray '72, helped run the family business, a sardine cannery, and he made sure his daughter worked there, too, packing sardines beginning when she was 11. "He wanted me to know I needed to get out of Milbridge," Ray said. "He really questioned, 'Is teaching what you really want to do? And coming back [to Washington County]?' But I convinced him that that really was what I wanted."

Small Triumphs: Alex Quigley '99 Finds Hope And Despair In The Mississippi Delta, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

It was an hour into the school day and Alex Quigley '99 was standing in front of a room full of kindergarten students. The students were sitting on a carpet, each child assigned to a colored square. Quigley, motioning with a pointer tipped by a yellow star, looked like he was waving a magic wand.

"Who knows a word like bat?" he said. "Bat. Bah-tuh."

"Cat," a boy named Tony said.

"Good," said Quigley.

"Fat," said a little girl named Quintina.

"What letter makes the 'fuh, fuh' sound?" Quigley asked.

Quintina looked stumped.

"Fuh, fuh," Quigley said, his pointer at …

How Should We Teach

Colby Magazine

Education reform is a top priority in America. Public opinion polls rank it as the country's most pressing issue, and debates rage over Bush administration initiatives on school vouchers and standardized testing. Public education and how to improve it are at center stage.

But the cacophonous debate about public education can drown voices that have been speaking on education reform for decades. The political hue and cry about problems can cause us to overlook the crucial work now being done in schools across the country. Many of those voices belong to Colbians and much of that work is being done …

Paging Parents, Stephen Collins

Colby Magazine

Just what does it take to be a dean?

In Their Footsteps, In Their Words: Special Section, 1964-2013

Colby Magazine

Civil rights, the Vietnam War, end of fraternities—Colby explores the past 50 years.