Stevemiranda

LATEST ARTICLES ( 270 )

• How to Deal with Poverty in Schools

  

  While teaching in a big urban high school, I had a conversation with students one day about the “voluntary simplicity” movement, which consists of people who... Read more

  Posted on 16 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Playful Fearlessness

  Here’s an excerpt from an essay by author and consultant Matthew May:And if you think about it, our most intensive learning period, from birth to about five... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2011 SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• When Does Now Matter? (from the Archives)

  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,... Read more

  Posted on 14 April 2011 FAMILY, SCHOOLING

• The Higher Education Bubble

  I read an interesting exchange of ideas on education that started with an essay about PayPal founder Peter Thiel. He claims that now that the housing bubble... Read more

  Posted on 13 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Something for You

  For several years I taught a class called “Philosophy as Literature.” It was called that because a course with that title had already been approved by the... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2011 SCHOOLING

• Opportunity

  For several years I taught a class called “Philosophy as Literature.” It was called that because a course with that title had already been approved by the... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2011 SCHOOLING

• The Rehnquist Revolution

  A colleague of mine at PSCS called in sick today and left his lesson plans with me. For his Constitutional Law class, he wanted students to watch a video titled... Read more

  Posted on 07 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Problem with Standards (from the Archives)

  The problem with standards is that by imposing a minimum, you are at the same time imposing a maximum. If you say to your 10th grade English class, “Write a... Read more

  Posted on 06 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Today’s Word: Queejuss

  A student approached me one day during lunch and said, “Mr. Miranda, I’m wondering if you can do me a favor.”“Maybe. What is it?”“My friend just called and... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Community Service

  I once sat on a committee, with a team of seven or eight colleagues, to assess the senior projects of a group of students who were on the verge of graduating... Read more

  Posted on 04 April 2011 SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Myth of Objectivity

  I recently had a conversation with colleagues about objectivity in schools. At one point, my friend said, “Look, I don’t present both sides of every situation. Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Playing Catch

  I’ve always been a big sports fan.When I was a teenager, I remember watching a post-game interview with New York Yankees pitcher Jimmy Key, who had just tossed ... Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• School Sucks Because Everything is Managed (from the Archives)

  My father likes to tell the story of growing up in Manhattan, and how he and the other boys on his block used to gather to play stickball in the streets. Read more

  Posted on 31 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Michelle Rhee’s Miracle

  The D.C. school system and former chancellor Michelle Rhee have come under fire after a USA Today report revealed suspicious data related to significant gains i... Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The YouTube Generation (from the Archives)

  Earlier this week, someone asked me where I get my news. “Twitter,” I told him. “I have a few people that I trust that I follow, they give me the headlines.... Read more

  Posted on 28 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Story of Oceanography 101

  My undergraduate college had all the usual academic requirements, but the most loathed one on campus was the science requirement. Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2011 DEBATE, SOCIETY

• The Big Idea

  Here’s the story of the moment that changed my life.It was the fall of 2009, and I had recently started working at PSCS after 10 years teaching in the public... Read more

  Posted on 26 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• The Market Rewards Genius

  I saw this comment (I edited it slightly) on this website’s Facebook page, and loved it. My response is below.I’m really inspired by everything you write, but... Read more

  Posted on 25 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Mistakes

  If this was the early 20th century and we lived in a factory economy, our current model of education might be fine. If following directions and avoiding mistake... Read more

  Posted on 24 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY

• Why School Shouldn’t Be Like School

  Researchers at UC-Berkeley and MIT recently generated a fascinating set of data. Here’s an excerpt from an article in Slate written by one of the researchers,... Read more

  Posted on 23 March 2011 DEBATE, FAMILY, SCHOOLING, SOCIETY