Copyright 2013 Frederick M. Hess Sat, 18 May 2013 10:40:03 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Frederick M. Hess :: Writings http://www.frederickhess.org RHess@AEI.org (Frederick M. Hess) webmaster@pundicity.com en-us http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/newark-cami-anderson-speaks-some-simple-truths Fri, 17 May 2013 07:47:00 EST I spent yesterday out in Las Vegas at the Southern Nevada Leadership Summit, where the Clark County Public Education Foundation was hosting school, system, and business leaders. (Full disclosure: I'm a senior fellow for the Foundation.) One of the... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/the-irs-doj-wiretaps-benghazi-alms-for-sebelius Wed, 15 May 2013 09:05:00 EST Second terms are notoriously brutal. Clinton and Lewinsky. Reagan and Iran-Contra. Nixon and Watergate. Bush 43 and New Orleans, the Iraqi insurgency, financial meltdown, and everything else.It didn't take long for Obama to join the club. His Attorney... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/why-the-schools-v-poverty-debate-feels-aimless Mon, 13 May 2013 09:17:54 EST I finally joined Twitter the other day. (I'm at "rickhess99," if you care.) I haven't yet actually penned any tweets, and don't know that I will. But I thought I'd practice my tweeting a bit (just in case), by taking a crack at boiling down last week's... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/common-core-turbulence-inevitable-or-preventable Fri, 10 May 2013 09:11:00 EST It's been a turbulent few months for the Common Core, raising real questions about its future. Opposition on the right has stretched well beyond the fringe has now been voiced by the Republican National Committee, with several Republican U.S. Senators... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/in-which-i-interview-an-insincere-reformer Wed, 8 May 2013 09:05:00 EST I recently had a fascinating exchange with a smart journalist. He wrote, "I'm looking into the major donors from across the country who tried to influence school board races. Critics have questioned the[ir] motives...To what extent are they sincere in... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/05/back-with-a-full-dose-of-distemper Mon, 6 May 2013 09:02:00 EST Hidy all. Well, I'm back. I'd like to offer a big thanks to all the terrific folks who stepped in while I was off sabbaticalizing. (Not that it involved many thrills--mostly lots of talks about cage-busting, a big dose of AERA and the NewSchools Venture... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/three-years-a-sabbatical-and-a-guest-star Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:27:17 EST So, it's been three years since I started writing RHSU. Other than some of the bizarrely ad hominem commentary, it's been terrific. But it's also a bit wearying, and I'm in need of a bit of a break (especially as I do the requisite road show and writing... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/more-pd-the-easy-but-ineffectual-answer Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:02:39 EST As I argue in Cage-Busting Leadership, it is tempting for most school and system leaders to emphasize culture, coaching, and consensus above all else. It's what they were taught in education leadership prep programs, what the ed leadership gurus advise,... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/cage-busting-leadership-the-halfway-school-reform Wed, 13 Feb 2013 09:48:26 EST I've little to say on the President's SOTU last night, or on Sen. Rubio's response. I found Obama's remarks predictable and less than compelling (spend more on pre-K, dream up yet another iteration of Race to the Top, blah blah), and thought the same of... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/straight-up-conversation-sap-honcho-jason-zimba Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:04:00 EST You didn't think the ferment around Common Core could keep building? Hah! Prepare for several more years of increasing wackiness. In the middle of it all is Jazon Zimba, founding principal of Student Achievement Partners (SAP) and the man who continued... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/data-a-tool-not-a-talisman Fri, 8 Feb 2013 07:12:39 EST Have been out at Stanford the past couple days. Gave a talk yesterday at the Ed School about Cage-Busting Leadership, where local heavyweights (Terry Moe, Mike Kirst, Bill Evers, Rick Hanushek, et al.) pushed me to explain how far you can really get with... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/four-traps-for-leaders-to-avoid Wed, 6 Feb 2013 06:39:13 EST So, we're well into Cage-Busting Leadership mode. It's on my mind a lot. As I noted last week, "cage-busting" leadership is nothing more (or less) than thinking ambitiously about how to create great schools and then doing what it takes to make them real.... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/optimizing-rethinking Mon, 4 Feb 2013 06:36:48 EST With sequestration looming, state leaders besieged by claimants eager to restore funds cut during the recession, and large new state outlays for Medicaid about to kick in under the Affordable Care Act, it's safe to say there won't be a lot of new dollars... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/02/four-tics-that-stifle-smart-edu-discussion Fri, 1 Feb 2013 10:01:32 EST I've started hopscotching around the country to talk about Cage-Busting Leadership (which officially appears in about two weeks). Over the last week or so, have been talking about it with educators, policymakers, and business leaders in places like Las... http://www.frederickhess.org/2013/01/cage-busting-leadership-1 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:55:53 EST I believe that two things are true. It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead....