Rethinking Learning

Rethinking Learning

conversations about the future of teaching and learning

Barbara Bray

be creative, innovate, take risks, unlearn to learn

Oakland, CA

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Death of the Credit Card Economy
By Barbara Bray September 1, 2008 -- 09:31 AM
I read this article on Slate after finding a link to it on Twitter. Maybe this article is a little disheartening but I am finding that I am and others in my family are spending less. I�m relearning all the things I learned when I was a little girl (long ago) that "a penny saved is a penny earned." Credit made life too easy. See an outfit you need, buy it. So what if you don�t have any money, charge it. Want to go on a trip? Charge it. Pay for it later over several years. It got too easy for all of us and now it�s coming to back to us. We became too greedy and wanted stuff. The best cars. A bigger ... more...

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Are schools ready?
By Barbara Bray September 1, 2008 -- 08:03 AM
Scott McLeod in his post Dangerously Irrelevant responded to Jeff Utecht�s post on preparing our students for the 21st century to be global citizens. Postman & Weingartner�s quote McLeod shared from Teaching as a Subversive Activity is as applicable now as it was in 1969: What students do in the classroom is what they learn (as Dewey would say) . . . Now, what is it that students do in the classroom? Well, mostly, they sit and listen to the teacher. . . . Mostly, they are required to remember. . . . It is practically unheard of for students to play any role in determining what problems are worth studying or what ... more...

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How about Zenovating?
By Barbara Bray August 20, 2008 -- 10:46 AM
I haven't been keeping up with my blog. Guess you would say I have taken time to enjoy the summer. Yep! But now it's time to get back and start sharing again. I tried to figure out what innovation means in today's world so I've been doing lots of research and thinking. Learning is different today than what many of us as teachers thought it was all about. We defined learning as how we teach, what a classroom is supposed to be like, but we didn't define it from the learner's perspective. All of us are learners. The world is changing and so should what we define as "School". Especially now with information ... more...

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State of Schools around the US
By Barbara Bray July 17, 2008 -- 07:23 AM
I live in California and work around the country. I am appalled about the state of education and how we are leaving more children behind then we ever have before. The focus of "No Child Left Behind" was framed so people thought that we were going to fight for all children. Actually, what has happened is that "Every poor, disadvantaged, learning disabled, at-risk, and minority child is left behind." What kind of country is this that we do this to our future. In today�s SF Chronicle, the headline is 24% of high school students will dropout. Where are they? What are these dropouts doing now? How ... more...

Comments: 2 Last Comment By Mrs. Shannon Riek July 24, 2008 -- 04:56 PM

Fun on the 4th of July
By Barbara Bray July 6, 2008 -- 12:06 AM
I did something different this 4th of July. I joined my sister in a lead car in a 4th of July parade in Orinda, CA. It was so much fun. The convertible was decorated. I practiced my wave and smile. So along the route, I smiled larger than I thought I could. A few times I took pictures. I even caught a picture of me in the side mirror. After the parade, everyone went to the park for picnics, music, and lots of tents with art and more. At night we sat on a golf course with thousands of others to watch a fantastic fireworks show. Fireworks more...

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Arriving at NECC day after Edubloggercon
By Barbara Bray June 29, 2008 -- 08:49 AM
Being at NECC in San Antonio is what I need right now; gathering ideas, meeting new and old friends, learning, and more learning. I am sitting in the Blogger's Cafe reviewing the comments from yesterday's Edubloggercon. While I was waiting in the airport I watched Vicki Davis UStream from her session. What is Edubloggercon? An international all-day "meetup" of educational bloggers and those using collaborative technologies will take place on Saturday, June 28th, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio just before the start of NECC. All are invited--whether you yourself ... more...

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Women in Film
By Barbara Bray May 23, 2008 -- 03:51 PM
Some time ago I added a post on Women in Art. Cheryl Vitali sent me this link and thought it would be a fun morphing video to watch if you have nothing else to do. I see lots of my favorite actresses - some missing. See if you see any of your favorites. glumbert - Women in Film more...

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No Significant Impact of Reading First Program
By Barbara Bray May 4, 2008 -- 08:32 AM
President Bush�s Reading First program has had problems from the beginning. There are charges of conflicts of interest, budget fights, and now the Department of Education finds that it doesn�t work any better than approaches already in place. There was no difference in comprehension scores between students who participated in Reading First and those who did not. "There was no statistically significant impact on reading comprehension scores in grades one, two or three," Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the Education Department�s research arm, ... more...

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What does understanding mean to you?
By Barbara Bray April 26, 2008 -- 08:51 AM
In redefining what learning in the 21st century means, I reflected on what learning means to me. I see each day and moment as a learning opportunity. I just came back from a long walk in a beautiful park where the birds were chirping. It was so peaceful and a great place to reflect. I stopped at a bridge over a lake and stood quiet for ten minutes just looking around and taking everything in. I saw a colorful male mallard duck with his mate. Some questions popped into my head (even though I already knew some of the answers): Why are male birds more colorful than ... more...

Comments: 2 Last Comment By Roxanne Clement April 29, 2008 -- 05:26 PM

What does assessment look like to you?
By Barbara Bray April 12, 2008 -- 07:07 AM
Just read Accountability, Yes. Teaching to the Test, No by Patricia Deubel and have some thoughts. Deubel wrote that before NCLB, many teachers closed their doors and taught what they wanted. There was little accountability on what was taught. However, with NCLB, the pendulum swung way to teach what is taught on the test. She also mentioned teaching to the state standards. Since I work in multiple states and have most of the standards, I see many inconsistencies between states where some are more rigorous. All have too many standards that touch on content that may or may not be relevant. Historical ... more...

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