Stevemiranda

LATEST ARTICLES ( 270 )

• “Why Are People Encouraging Me to Borrow Thousands of Dollars to Attend an...

  High school students hear, relentlessly, “You have to go to college!” But when underrepresented students look at the graduation rates, they might wonder, “Why... Read more

  Posted on 24 April 2017 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• We Need to Stop Fighting Racism

  A few years ago, I was teaching a unit on the $15 minimum wage issue. This was before it had become law in Seattle, back when it was still a hotly debated issue. Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2016 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• What If Seattle Became the National Leader in High School Graduation Rates for...

  The Schott Foundation released a report earlier this year that identified the graduation rates for black males across the country. The national average in 2013... Read more

  Posted on 30 August 2015 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• How to Teach Students to Kickstart New Ideas

  I was hanging out with a friend, a scientist who thinks a lot about teaching and learning. He has taught in the Honors college at a nearby university, and has... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2014 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• As Teachers, Are We Having an Impact? Or Are We Merely Bearing Witness?

  I’m reading Paul Tough’s book “Whatever It Takes,” which documents Geoffrey Canada’s amazing work building the Harlem Children’s Zone. Read more

  Posted on 01 January 2014 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• High School Senior Says, “We as Students Must Dismiss the Idea That We Are...

  A senior at a nearby high school wrote a terrific opinion column in the Seattle Times recently. The headline for the print edition of the paper is, “Students... Read more

  Posted on 25 December 2013 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Judgement

  After I graduated from college, I needed some space to clear my head. I had reflected on my 17 years of schooling and seen one year blend into another, all... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2013 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Difference Between Power and Authority

  Here’s one of my favorite passages from Parker Palmer’s book A Hidden Wholeness:The authority such a leader needs is not power. Power comes to anyone who... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2013 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Infinite Schools

  When people ask me for book recommendations, the first one I always suggest is Finite and Infinite Games, a little philosophy book by NYU professor emeritus... Read more

  Posted on 16 July 2012 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• When Does Now Matter?

  My 5-year-old son has homework. Since he’s going to have homework in first grade, it’s good to establish the habit now. That’s the theory, anyway. Read more

  Posted on 16 July 2012 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Why I Don’t Like the Poem That Everyone Else Loves

  There’s a spoken word poem by a teacher named Taylor Mali that has been viewed by millions on YouTube. In the poem, Mali calls out a dinner guest who utters... Read more

  Posted on 16 July 2012 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Hustle (from the Archives)

  I recently read Doug Merlino’s brilliant book The Hustle, a social history of race and class in Seattle. It’s told through a memoir of the author’s experience o... Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Difference Between Power and Authority

  Last week I wrote a couple posts inspired by my reading of Parker Palmer’s book A Hidden Wholeness. I’m still reading it, and last night came across this... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Send Us Winners and We’ll Make Winners out of Them

  There’s an old saying in the world of private school admissions: “Send us winners and we’ll make winners out of them.”It’s meant sardonically, and the point is... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• James Brown as School Principal (from the Archives)

  I caught up with a former student, and we reminisced about the old days.She attended high school in a time when the school had gone through four or five... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Pedagogy of Poverty (from the Archives)

  My friend Rachel sent me a link to an essay by the always feisty Alfie Kohn in which he condemns “the pedagogy of poverty.” That’s when schools serving... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• A Hidden Wholeness, Part 2

  Yesterday I wrote that, when thinking about transforming our schools, we need to change our perspective: instead of viewing school as being primarily about... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• A Hidden Wholeness

  I often write that we can begin addressing the problems of our education system by changing our perspective: instead of viewing school as being primarily about... Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• High School Senior Says “We as Students Must Dismiss the Idea That We Are...

  A senior at a nearby high school wrote a terrific opinion column in the Seattle Times today. The headline for the print edition of the paper is, “Students shoul... Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• A New Metaphor (from the Archives)

  The old metaphor for thinking about school is the factory. Kids show up, move along a conveyor belt, everything is standardized.Everyone knows we need a new... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2011 DEBATE, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY