For those who are not attending today's NY Times Schools For Tomorrow event, it is streaming live all day on their website: http://nytschoolsfortomorrow.com/
Topics being covered include:
Perspectives on education issues from the campaign trail
Global overview - Canada, Australia, Finland, Singapore
Economics metrics of education in the U.S. compared to abroad
How to increase the status and perception of the profession and attract top talent
Teacher salaries & merit-based pay
Measuring teacher performance
Role of teachers' unions
Chicago teachers' strike
Influence of Teach For America
Role of federal/local government in educational reform
Future of education
Building support structures - school mentorship, teacher-training programs, and supporting teachers to deliver better instruction
Changing role of the teacher
Highlights include:
David Brooks as moderator
Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University Professor of Education
Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of the D.C. Public School System (successor to Michelle Rhee)
Keynote address by Aneesh Chopra, former Chief Technology Officer for the U.S.
Remarks from Chancellor Dennis Walcott
If teaching, in the words of Linda Darling-Hammond, is "the profession on which all other professions depend," today's subject of how to improve that profession makes for a meaningful and worthwhile conversation.