Opus One from Penney Sanders

By Penney Sanders:

Richard has asked me to be an occasional contributor to Kentucky School News and Commentary. I am honored to be included in this “august” group Therefore, in keeping with a career in which I have usually been perceived as provocateur, or simply irritating, it is my hope to continue to do the same on this blog.

After nearly twenty years, education reform efforts are entering their middle age. Educational practices, once considered revolutionary or exploratory, have become part of classroom daily practice. Technology is part of every student’s tool kit. Assessment and accountability have become the standard expectations for every classroom. Educators are doing more, and in most cases, doing it better than we did twenty years ago.

In the world of ideas and influencing learning, one always has to look at issues from many sides. Much of my current perspective has been shaped by my work in high risk, low performing schools in states other than KY, so I now come from a world that is a bit wider than just KY. However, as a daughter of the Commonwealth, my first and enduring passion has been for KY and her school children. As Judge Bert Combs once said, when describing the KY Education Reform Act, “it is about the children and our future”.

Indeed, it is all about the children; that is the eternal premise and promise of education.

Now let us begin, with what, I hope, will be an interesting journey whose itinerary and destination will be determined as we travel along.