Saturday, June 10, 2006

I'm listening to Mary Poplin at veritas.org--the topic is "Mother Theresa: The difference beteween religious work and social work." She has some great things to say about Mother Theresa, whose work was only to serve Jesus, not people--that's the difference between religious work and social work. And it's all about prayer. Poplin speaks of her own experience as a volunteer in Calcutta.

She starts to address more issues related to education in her q and a's... and I look forward to listening to her talk on that subject next.

MORE: I'm listening to the education talk--some really good stuff--probably the most sound and reasonable educational reform ideas that I've heard. A few good bytes:

  • Regarding the top-performing teachers at schools she studied: the top people on the list have been resisted by their principal; but they're not fighting the particular programs being perscribed by NCLB stuff--they're using it; there is a lot of accountable talk in their classrooms; there is a lot of academic talk; there is not wasted time.

  • "...we must address social justice and accountability together--they're separated now...Both the left and the right are completely committed to their particular ideologies--behaviorism (the right) and constructivism (the left) must be combined."

  • The biggest predictor of reading level is how many books have been read to the child when they're young. (Thanks, parents, for reading to us so much.)

  • "It is not easy to teach children who have missed being read to...or who are growing up in dangerous situations. It can be done, but it takes serious, hard work."
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