Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

"Turn and face the strange... Just gonna have to be a different man"

Since "Changes" (1971), David Bowie extended his thought in "Sunday" (2002), saying "nothing has changed and everything has changed."  Perhaps the same can be said in the realm of education?

I am humored when I hear that school isn't what it used to be. I reflect back to days before word processing programs and how, comparatively, students write quite a bit more today. Two-page essays are the minimum now and are common assignments. To a comparative point, here's a 1979 1st Grade Readiness checklist, as posted by Christine Whitley on the chicagonow.com blog (10 of 12 yesses = ready):

1. Will your child be six years, six months or older when he begins first grade and starts receiving reading instruction?
2. Does your child have two to five permanent or second teeth?
3. Can your child tell, in such a way that his speech is understood by a school crossing guard or policeman, where he lives?
4. Can he draw and color and stay within the lines of the design being colored?
5. Can he stand on one foot with eyes closed for five to ten seconds?
6. Can he ride a small two-wheeled bicycle without helper wheels?
7. Can he tell left hand from right?
8. Can he travel alone in the neighborhood (four to eight blocks) to store, school, playground, or to a friend's home?
9. Can he be away from you all day without being upset?
10. Can he repeat an eight- to ten-word sentence, if you say it once, as "The boy ran all the way home from the store"?
11. Can he count eight to ten pennies correctly?
12. Does your child try to write or copy letters or numbers?

Other than being 6, I'm certain my kids had these mastered before kindergarten, a tip of the hat to pre-school. The times, they are a-changin'. 

So change it is, and here are a few contemporary perspectives to consider:

1.   CLASSROOM & CRAFT

from George Couros

• "5 Highly Effective Teaching Practices" by edutopia's Rebecca Alber

• The New Teacher Survival Guide (Teaching Channel)

2.   HOMEWORK

• "The Science of Homework" (from theguardian.com's Teacher Network)

• Is Homework Helpful? The 5 Questions Every Teacher Should Ask (Sztabnik, edutopia.org)

3.   LEARNING (from Teaching Channel)

Reading Like a Historian: Corroboration

Document-Based Questions: Warm and Cool Feedback