Education Commons^™

Taking Flight: Giving Up The Things That Weigh Me Down, Karina Malik

Occasional Paper Series

From the perspective of a Latinx, dual-language, special education, public school teacher, I explore and detail what an equitable and just education could look like in our future. I begin by envisioning a future that:

• Values collaboration in teaching and learning

• Allows for spaces of ongoing teacher learning where we teachers decide where we want to grow and how we want to learn.

• Invests in our growth and development as educators.

• Consists of a solid understanding that there is more expertise across communities than in any one person.

I continue by explaining that in order for this to be a …

Principles For Responding To Children In A Traumatic Time, Sal Vascellaro

Occasional Paper Series

A list of principles that aim to help educators in their struggle to respond to the range of traumatic experiences many children have to live with—the death of a loved one, serious illness, violence, drug addiction, homelessness. This list offers something tangible to use as they respond to the children in their care.

Stayers, Leavers, Lovers, And Dreamers: Why People Teach And Why They Stay - 2004 Barbara Biber Lecture, Marilyn Cochran-Smith

Occasional Paper Series

Marilyn Cochran-Smith delivers the Barbara Biber Lecture at Bank Street College in memorial of her legacy as a researcher, scholar, and leader in progressive education. Cochran-Smith focuses on what lies at the heart of teaching and learning on an individual level as well as what it will take to improve the current state of urban schools. Her main points address teacher retention and differences among generations of teachers.

Introduction: Teacher Leaders - Transforming Schools From The Inside, Gil Schmerler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the issue's purpose, which is a "modest attempt to restore the issue of teacher leadership to the prominence it deserves and requires" -- author.

Creating Conversations, Changing Cultures: Case Study Of A Professional Development Plan, Alexis Goldberg

Graduate Student Independent Studies

There's a lot working against authentic demonstrations of thinking, and legitimate avenues of collaboration in our school cultures. We force-feed students high-stakes tests that promote a single "right answer" instead of multiple solution paths. Despite research that suggests teachers learn best from each other, we promote the ideal of the teacher-as-­maverick. Many of our systems endorse closed-set, closed-door thinking that leaves room for neither independent student thinking nor the collaborative generation of ideas.

Breaking cultures this strong, this endemic, is a weighty task. In a yearlong case study, Alexis Goldberg creates and executes a professional development plan that engages with …