With over 20 years experience in public school innovation and reform, Tony Habit began his education career as a middle and high school counselor for special needs students. Dr. Habit was tapped to head the NC New Schools Project in November 2003. Previously, he was president of Wake Education Partnership in Raleigh and was the founding executive director of the Durham Public Education Network.
There’s a lot of talk these days about 21st Century Skills. At nearly every confab on education, the latest just-released report is cited calling for an urgent rethinking of our education system to produce graduates who possess not just mastery of content, but also the skills considered highly prized for a rapidly restructuring economy. The mantra-like calls for graduates ...
Today began with a visit to Töölö Special Upper Secondary School that enrolls students 16 to 18 years of age. Language teacher Ann Edstrom was preparing her 11 students for a quiz the next day by reviewing a worksheet that was projected on the board. When asked why the class was all female, she responded, “Our boy is not ...
Delegates on the trip are becoming restless, or perhaps agitated provides a better descriptor. Decisions made in Finland in the 1970s and in the years following resulted in vast changes in the country’s public schools. My fellow travelers sense that partisanship and the politicization of public education in North Carolina have frustrated attempts to move from successful pilots of ...
I am blogging this week from Finland where I am traveling with a group of leaders from North Carolina to learn more about this country’s success in its public schools.
One theme that has already emerged is the prevalence of trust that schools and their faculties will do what is in the best interest of students. Dr. Kristina Volmari, Head ...
The delegation arrived in Helsinki after an overnight flight from the Triangle. Some of us took a brief walk along the waterfront and later joined Pasi Sahlberg, Finnish author of the newly released book Finnish Lessons, for dinner. He cautioned about generalizing observations of Helsinki to all of Finland as most of the country is ...