Since Joshua Starr arrived in Stamford (Conn.) as the new superintendent, education conversations have been productive and pro-active, he writes in the School Administrator. He sees his role as more of a teacher than a dictator, focusing on asking the right questions that will inspire others to seek the appropriate solutions.

Starr has accomplished this by holding monthly community forums and neighborhood chats with parents. As the superintendent, Starr knows he has the mandate to impose his will, yet he has shied away from doing so. He believes that if a group is engaged and asking the right questions about the issues they face, then they will find the right answers collectively (hey, it worked for Socrates, well for a little while at least).

This approach can be truly rewarding because over time, it builds collective will and capacity and challenges people to learn and grow together. While superintendents come and go, communities have traditions, cultures and histories that can evolve and strengthen, but at the same time resist radical change. To transform the practices in Stamford, Starr knows he must engage all aspects of a school.

READ MORE HERE >>

The Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education specializes in calculating the long- and short-term costs, along with probable payoffs, of different educational strategies, reports Debbie Viadero for Education Week.

So far, the center has looked into the costs and benefits of preschool and dropout-prevention programs, while also investigating the public savings (about $4 billion a year) that could result from strategies that bring the high school graduation rate for black males up to that of white males.

While cost-benefit analyses have long been a staple of business, health care, environmental studies and national defense, such studies are undertaken far less often in education. The center has found that if educators were inclined to pay more attention to costs, the savings could be considerable.

For example, when the center looked at an experiment on computer-aided instruction from the 1960s, they found that the research results prompted scholars to urge educators to buy more computers and software programs, an expense that increased the annual budget by 25 percent. However, the researchers failed to notice that one of the control schools got the same results by hiring more teachers' aides and using worksheets, which only increased the budget by 6 percent.

With dwindling budgets nationwide, savings like these could provide great flexibility to districts. In addition, when looking nationwide, any effort that could halve the number of dropouts would provide save a potential $45 billion a year in lost revenues and opportunities.

READ MORE HERE >>

Rolling downhill in a bus filled with screaming classmates and no driver, a fast-acting 11-year-old in Cleveland jumped behind the wheel and stopped the school bus from careening out of control, reports M.R. Kropko for the Associated Press. As the bus began on its own accord, the boy saw a semi approaching and knew he had to act. After successfully dodging the semi, he aimed for the last pillar on the bridge to avoid going down a steep hill because "there was nothing good down there," reports Joe Milicia for the Associated Press (second link). According to police, if the bus had kept going, it would have picked up speed and possibly flipped where the street makes a sharp turn. Meanwhile, only 15 children suffered minor injuries. The boy now has quite an item for show and tell -- his interview on "Good Morning America."

READ MORE HERE >>

Niccolo Machiavelli may have missed his intended audience. In fact, his audience should have been the teachers of the young, writes Regina Barreca for Education World. While Machiavelli doesn't project the warm and fuzzy image everyone has of quality teachers, he does understand the nature of authority. Most people can agree that some form of authority is necessary for the effective management of a classroom. So, according to Machiavelli, a teacher assumes authority by either being given authority or outright taking it. It is great to ask students for this authority, but only if one knows they will give it. If the answer is in doubt, the ability to compel/force is much cleaner than relying on persuading, coercing or manipulating students because these tricks are underhanded and unspoken, i.e., best left to politics. Further, it is undoubtedly easier for a teacher to count to 10 and let a challenge pass, but rarely is the easiest path the best choice (that whole road less traveled thing). Instead, teachers should exercise their position's authority in a responsible, effective and clear fashion.

READ MORE HERE >>