What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?
What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?

Author: Alfie Kohn

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2004-05-15

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9780807032671

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Few writers ask us to question our fundamental assumptions about education as provocatively as Alfie Kohn. Time magazine has called him'perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of education's fixation on grades [and] test scores.' And the Washington Post says he is 'the most energetic and charismatic figure standing in the way of a major federal effort to make standardized curriculums and tests a fact of life in every U.S. school.' In this new collection of essays, Kohn takes on some of the most important and controversial topics in education of the last few years. His central focus is on the real goals of education-a topic, he argues, that we systematically ignore while lavishing attention on misguided models of learning and counterproductive techniques of motivation. The shift to talking about goals yields radical conclusions and wonderfully pungent essays that only Alfie Kohn could have written. From the title essay's challenge to conventional, conservative definitions of a good education to essays on standards and testing and grades that tally the severe educational costs of overemphasizing a narrow conception of achievement, Kohn boldly builds on his earlier work and writes for a wide audience. Kohn's new book will be greeted with enthusiasm by his many readers and by any teacher or parent looking for a refreshing perspective on today's debates about schools.

National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education
National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education

Author: SHAPE America - Society of Health and Physical Educators

Publisher: Human Kinetics

Published: 2014-03-13

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 1492584789

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Focused on physical literacy and measurable outcomes, empowering physical educators to help students meet the Common Core standards, and coming from a recently renamed but longstanding organization intent on shaping a standard of excellence in physical education, National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education is all that and much more. Created by SHAPE America — Society of Health and Physical Educators (formerly AAHPERD) — this text unveils the new National Standards for K-12 Physical Education. The standards and text have been retooled to support students’ holistic development. This is the third iteration of the National Standards for K-12 Physical Education, and this latest version features two prominent changes: •The term physical literacy underpins the standards. It encompasses the three domains of physical education (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective) and considers not only physical competence and knowledge but also attitudes, motivation, and the social and psychological skills needed for participation. • Grade-level outcomes support the national physical education standards. These measurable outcomes are organized by level (elementary, middle, and high school) and by standard. They provide a bridge between the new standards and K-12 physical education curriculum development and make it easy for teachers to assess and track student progress across grades, resulting in physically literate students. In developing the grade-level outcomes, the authors focus on motor skill competency, student engagement and intrinsic motivation, instructional climate, gender differences, lifetime activity approach, and physical activity. All outcomes are written to align with the standards and with the intent of fostering lifelong physical activity. National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education presents the standards and outcomes in ways that will help preservice teachers and current practitioners plan curricula, units, lessons, and tasks. The text also • empowers physical educators to help students meet the Common Core standards; • allows teachers to see the new standards and the scope and sequence for outcomes for all grade levels at a glance in a colorful, easy-to-read format; and • provides administrators, parents, and policy makers with a framework for understanding what students should know and be able to do as a result of their physical education instruction. The result is a text that teachers can confidently use in creating and enhancing high-quality programs that prepare students to be physically literate and active their whole lives.

Higher Education Accountability
Higher Education Accountability

Author: Robert Kelchen

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2018-02-27

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1421424746

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The first comprehensive overview charting the accountability of higher education. As the price tag of higher education continues to rise, colleges and universities across the country are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their value. Graded on numerous metrics, including cost and ability to prepare students for the job market, colleges must satisfy requirements from multiple stakeholders. State and federal governments demand greater accountability. Foundations and private donors, as well as today's parents and students, approach education with a consumer sensibility. How can colleges navigate these pressures while trying to stay true to their missions and values? In Higher Education Accountability, Robert Kelchen delivers the first comprehensive overview of how colleges in the United States came to face such overwhelming scrutiny. Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, Kelchen reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival. With so many diverse and conflicting entities holding colleges responsible for their performance, the variety of accountability systems in play can have both intended and unintended consequences. Immersed as they are in current debates about how best to respond to these pressures, faculty and administrators will welcome this up-to-date and timely account, which offers not only a look at current practices but also an examination of the future of accountability in American higher education.