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This study on the effect teacher and peer relationships have on academic achievement is rather wordy and full of citations, but it has interesting implications about the learning environment. It connects a student's social life to the classroom by considering students of different ages and how they interact with others.

While we are trying so hard to have Chinese test scores and mimic hard core education, highly standardized test curriculum--they are trying to mimic ours.

This article, written by Eric Sheninger (a high school principle), discusses the wide-spread standardization of our education system and how it is steadily destroying it. It talks about how the system of standardization is based off the century-old model focused on industrialization, which produces students that lack creativity, fear failure, and work to do only as they are told. The focus is on test scores, viewed as the only determinant of success. Students are leaving school unprepared for the world awaiting them. The solution according to Sheninger lies in intrinsical motivation. If students and teachers are motivated not by test scores or pay raises, but by creativity and innovation, students will find relevancy and meaning in their education.

A Montessori school is a type of school that implements the idea of alternative learning. This type of learning is embraced on 6 continents and all over the United States. The ideology behind this system encourages an environment with more freedom and individuality.

Alfie Kohn provides an intriguing perspective on the benefits (and lack thereof) of homework. He reveals that there is no strong correlation between excessive amounts of homework and good grades and questions the need for homework at all. Educators tend to not question the premise of homework, but Kohn provides his opinions- backed with evidence- on why they should. It's definitely something to think about.

This is a great piece for anyone interested in the controversy surrounding standardized tests. The article discusses a topic that is very sensitive to parents; testing their preschool year-old children with standardized tests in order to provide information that ranks their preschool among others in the D.C. area. The article includes quotes from concerned parents which adds an interesting narrative side to the piece.