Weekend reads: What happens when teacher training doesn't evolve with teaching?

  • Parents of “twice-exceptional” students, who are gifted and have special needs, face an extraordinary predicament when looking for the right school. (Quartz)
  • Onetime workshops and presenter-led sessions are still the most common form of teacher training—even when they are meant to teach the Common Core standards and innovative instructional methods. (Hechinger Report)
  • Chalkbeat’s Elizabeth Green and “The Smartest Kids in the World” author Amanda Ripley talk about Japanese recess and the failings of “Dead Poets Society.” They also say some provocative words. (Medium)
  • A psychology professor sees three clear ways to improve high school, starting with more exercise for everyone. (Vox)
  • An occupational therapist’s fundraising crusade for a student with cerebral palsy who is working on creative projects earned her a suspension. (New York Times)
  • Three cogent arguments for a two-tiered high school diploma system. (EducationNext)
  • A devastating story of how a 16-year-old boy ended up on Rikers Island for three years, much of that time being educated by worksheets in isolation, before his case was dismissed. (New Yorker)
  • The high school dropout rate is at its lowest point ever, a trend being driven by Hispanic students. (Vox)
  • A post by Uber, the app-enabled cab service, celebrating the teachers who serve as drivers —presumably to make ends meet—didn’t go over well. (Huffington Post)
  • The headline says it best: “Students Thankful Standardized Curriculum Sparing Them From Free-Spirited Teacher’s Antics.” (The Onion)