As a teacher, I loved to focus on the processes of learning. In other words, the habits of mind and the reasoning and logic skills that students need to develop. As a parent, I bemoan the focus of content over process in many of our schools. A high school in California is a shining example [...]

In these days of high-stakes achievement testing, it is all too common for schools to focus on the “basics” of knowledge – the “who/what/when/where” in place of the harder-to-evaluate “how” and “why.” Asking higher level questions leads to higher level thinking. As parents, we can transcend the “lowest common denominator” standards and focus on the [...]