Education Next – Frederick Hess
“This feels relevant because it brings to mind some of the common tensions underlying school reform. Case in point: Last week, I visited Vanderbilt University in order to chat about Letters to a Young Education Reformer. In a seminar with some graduate students, I mentioned my conviction that reading and math scores (even on terrific assessments) only capture maybe 30 to 35% of what I want students to learn in the course of K-12 schooling. That prompted one thoughtful student to ask what else I thought good schools should do, then. In other words, what’s the other 65 to 70%? This is a question that’s come up a lot when I talk about the book. I said what I usually say: cultivate character, nurture good citizens, and teach mastery of content and skills—all while striving to spark imagination and develop each child’s distinctive gifts.”(more)