At Kidzmet, we believe that just as a pre-packaged product is not the ONLY way to cook a dish, nor the ONLY dish we should consume, we cannot continue to think about a pre-packaged standard of intelligence to which we
On intrinsically motivating students
In late February 2012, EdWeek’s Susan Sandler wrote about Personalization 3.0, or “a hybrid approach of humanity and technology…that uses technology to enhance teacher-student relationships, not replace them.” Sandler references Theodore R. Sizer’s work (late founder of the Coalition of Essential
think different – RIP Steve Jobs
Five years later…
In 2011, I started Kidzmet in the hopes that, as parents and educators, we start celebrating and embracing the strengths that our kids were born with rather than trying to school them into molds that society deems optimal at the
3 Easy Steps to Help Your Students Avoid Summer Slide
Article originally written by Jen Lilienstein and published on LessonPlanet. As we round the bend into summer, visions of holiday fun occupy the daydreams of pupils, parents, and teachers. While summer can be a great time for your students to
Have U.S. Students Fallen Victim to Self-Fulfilling Prophecies?
This is a reprint of an article originally published on Cooperative Catalyst I was reminded of an interesting tidbit about the Finnish school system in one of the education news emails I receive the other day. This information has been
Smart Reasons to Keep Kids Learning Over the Summer
article originally written by Jen Lilienstein for FamilyShare. For many kids, their mid-July mantra is “lazy”— not “learning.” While summer fun is on the daily agenda, some conceptual calisthenics also needs to make it onto the calendar during July and
Appreciating Teachers All Year ‘Round
original article by Jen Lilienstein appeared on LessonPlanet So often, we hear media reports about the negative aspects of teaching and forget that teachers are the people who have made our children’s collective future their life’s work. The next time
#occupyedu: challenge schools to change
#occupyedu: challenge schools to change. One of my fellow bloggers on Cooperative Catalyst, Chad Sansing, has started a group with a mission of giving EACH child a personally meaningful education and a community of learning that includes, involves and inspires
YOUR favorite (or least favorite) teacher story
It seems like very few days go by when I don’t hear one story or another about the positive impact a teacher that “got” them made on someone’s life. I also hear lots of stories about unbearable school years where