Author Archive

Hard times at Harvard

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

If you have tightened your belt due to the economy lately, you are not alone. According to the October 9, 2009 New York Times, a decrease in its endowment has caused Harvard to make the following cuts. No more hot breakfasts in most dorms. No more pastries at the Widener Library. Varsity athletes no longer can count on free sweat suits and professors will have to go without cookies at faculty meetings. It has always been difficult for the rest of us to feel sorry for those at the richest university in the world, but now we have some rational for such feelings. I haven’t posted the article, as I am certain all of my readers have better things to do. I hope you find some humor in this as I did.

Share this:

Posted in Lighter Fare | Comments Off on Hard times at Harvard

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

This book by Malcolm Gladwell is still a best seller after 260 weeks. This summary explains how connectors, mavens, and salemen impact all phases of our lives and how these concepts can be used by educators. Also included are other interesting stories including how New York City reduced crime in the 1990’s.

Click here to download the summary of this book.

Share this:

Posted in Education Books | Comments Off on The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

Is Obama Bush III on Education?

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Nick Anderson of the Washington Post reports on September 25, 2009 that Teacher Unions are not happy with what they are seeing from the Obama administration as they approach the reauthorization of NCLB.
“It looks like the only strategies they have are charter schools and measurement,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “That’s Bush III.”
Standardized testing, school accountability, performance pay, charter schools — all are integral to President Obama’s $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” grant competition to spur innovation. None is a typical Democratic crowd-pleaser.
Click here to download the entire article.

Share this:

Posted in News that matters | Comments Off on Is Obama Bush III on Education?

What if colleges had to meet NCLB standards

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Its a good thing that many public universities don’t have to worry about graduation rates like high schools do. A recent study of 68 colleges show many have graduation rates below 50%. The best schools have the highest rates and poor student don’t do as well. Freshmen are less expensive to educate than seniors due to class size which gives schools a financial incentive to produce drop outs. Graduates make 54% more than those with some college but too many see no reason to finish in four years.

Click here to download the article in the New York Times from 9/9/2009.

Share this:

Posted in News that matters | Comments Off on What if colleges had to meet NCLB standards

Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division – Anthony Muhammed

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

This book by Anthony Muhammad gives administrators advice on how to deal with four types of teachers who he broadly defines as believers, fundamentalists, survivors, and tweeners. This book came to my attention as it was assigned as summer reading for all of the teachers and administrators in the Binghamton City School District (New York) for summer reading.

Click here to download the summary of Transforming School Culture.
Click here to download Dr. Doug’s take on the book..

Share this:

Posted in Leadership Books | Comments Off on Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division – Anthony Muhammed

Author Archive

Hard times at Harvard

The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

Is Obama Bush III on Education?

What if colleges had to meet NCLB standards

Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division – Anthony Muhammed

Book Summaries