Check-In: How Was Your First Week? General by Joel Wagner - August 28, 20104 So this week that just passed was my first week of the new school year. It was pretty much amazing. I have a new completely positive approach. I am a brand new Joel this year. There are two things that are paramount in my mind as I stand in front of the class every day. I want the band to have:A culture of encouragementAn expectation of excellenceIf I can model those two things, I am convinced that I can ensure the rest of the students follow suit. We don't criticize other students, we encourage them. We don't laugh at mistakes, we learn from them. We don't point out problems, we provide possible solutions. As I've said before, when things settle
No Child Left Behind Doomed To Fail? General by Joel Wagner - June 11, 2008June 19, 20168 A reader recently emailed me and pointed me to a recent article on Time.com regarding No Child Left Behind. She wanted my take on the article, so here goes... To begin with, I notice that the article is written by Claudia Wallis, a writer of incredible credentials. This is a great start. The article begins: There was always something slightly insane about No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the ambitious education law often described as the Bush Administration's signature domestic achievement. I understand this view, but to me it comes across as sounding much like every single faculty meeting I have ever been in that discussed NCLB and its "ridiculous expectations for the students." Every time I hear this, I laugh to myself. I