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Why We Celebrate — the (Religious) Origins of the Separation of Church & State

Posted on | by Sam

When New Amsterdam refused entry to a shipload of Quakers in 1657, the clergy of the Dutch Reformed Church were happy to be rid of them. In a letter to Holland, two church leaders speculated the Quakers had sailed to Rhode Island — “for that is the receptacle of all sorts of riff-raff people, and is nothing less than the sewer of New England. All the cranks of New England retire thither. They are not tolerated in any other place.”

Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island would probably have taken that as a compliment. He envisioned Rhode Island as a haven for the cause of conscience, and the colony was the first place in America with no established faith, where every person had full religious liberty. It came as no surprise to him that dissenters, non-conformists, and “cranks” ended up in his colony. Where else could they go?

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Education Innovation in the Slums of Rio

Posted on | by Sam

Charles Leadbeater, a researcher at the UK firm Demos, spoke recently at TED about his search for radical new forms of education. What he found was remarkable innovation in the slums of Rio and Kibera, where some of the world’s poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn. Among Leadbeater’s chief insights? Focus on […]

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Spies in Suburbia

Posted on | by Sam

In case you missed it, the New York Times today reported the arrest of 11 people accused of participating in a Russian espionage ring. Ten of the accused appeared to their neighbors to be “ordinary couples,” leading to this all-time quotable: “They couldn’t have been spies,” said one neighbor. “Look what she did with the […]

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More Tests on the Way in DC?

Posted on | by Sam | 1 Comment on More Tests on the Way in DC?

In yesterday’s Washington Post, reporter Bill Turque wrote that Michelle Rhee is seeking an outside contractor to help dramatically expand DCPS’ use of standardized tests, so that every grade from K through 12 will have some form of assessment to measure student progress and teacher effectiveness. Is this what happens when we pray too long […]

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Tribal Leadership, Chicago & Organizational Culture

Posted on | by Sam | 3 Comments on Tribal Leadership, Chicago & Organizational Culture

I’m in Chicago this week attending the National Charter Schools Conference, and on the plane this morning I continued reading a book that was recommended to me last week by Zappos’ Tony Hsieh, called Tribal Leadership. It’s a fascinating book to be reading as we prepare to start a completely new school. And as someone […]

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Democracy in the Workplace

Posted on | by Sam | 2 Comments on Democracy in the Workplace

I’m in Las Vegas this week, attending Worldblu’s 2010 conference, at which Worldblu CEO Traci Fenton will honor the world’s most democratic workplaces. It’s an eclectic group of people and industries, and although there will be a few other educators at the event, it’s primarily an opportunity to learn what some forward-thinking folks in the […]

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Best Questions — Starting a School, Part II

Posted on | by Sam | 6 Comments on Best Questions — Starting a School, Part II

I’ve volunteered to take the lead at putting together a plan for recruiting, interviewing and evaluating prospective principals for our new elementary school here in DC (scheduled opening, August 2011), and thus far it’s been a really useful process of trying to surface the “best questions” one should ask to get the fullest sense of […]

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Name the Book Competition — We May Have a Winner!

Posted on | by Sam | 3 Comments on Name the Book Competition — We May Have a Winner!

First off, thanks are in order to everyone who has weighed in — either here or on Facebook — to offer such useful feedback on our ongoing search for a title to the forthcoming book of 50 learning stories. Yesterday, I had a long meeting with the publisher’s marketing folks, and when I explained to […]

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