Contributor
Bob Peterson, Fifth-Grade Teacher, Milwaukee Public Schools, and Editor, Rethinking Schools
Related Link:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org
Biography provided by participant
Bob Peterson, Ed.D., is a founder and a fifth grade teacher at La Escuela Fratney, an anti-racist, two-way bilingual public school in Milwaukee. He has taught in the Milwaukee Public Schools for 28 years and currently is on the executive board of the Milwaukee teachers union.
He is a founding editor of Rethinking Schools, a national magazine advocating the reform of urban schools, with a special emphasis on equity and social justice. He has co-edited numerous books, including: Keeping the Promise: The Debate Over Charter Schools; Transforming Teacher Unions; Rethinking Globalization: and Rethinking Columbus.
Peterson has been a workshop leader and keynote speaker in the United States and internationally. His awards include the 9/11 Teaching Award from Dickinson College and the Smithsonian Museum of American History (2004) and the Wisconsin Elementary Teacher of the Year (1995/96).
Peterson has a Doctorate from Cardinal Stritch University's Doctoral Program in Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service, and a Masters Degree from UW-Milwaukee in Curriculum and Instruction.
Recent Responses
October 19, 2009 11:23 PM
I’ve been a classroom teacher for 29 years (I tell my students I flunk fifth grade every year.) The teacher evaluation systems I’ve seen over the years generally fall somewhere between inadequate and horrible. So yes, teacher evaluation needs to be improved. But before talking about how, one reality must be addressed. No new system will work unless we also change the growing problem of inadequate time, a problem which makes it almost impossible for classroom teachers to seriously reflect, evaluate student work and collaborate with colleagues to learn best practices from one another. Let me be specific. The bilingual…
Read moreAugust 13, 2009 01:42 PM
As a veteran teacher of 30 years, the notion of using money to motivate students strikes me as absurd. Yes, motivation is a key to learning. I see that every day with my fifth graders, but motivation should flow from the quality of curriculum, the nature of the learning activities, the connectedness of the curriculum to the lives of the students, and the overall school experience. I suggest that districts that have so much money that they can have programs to pay students for higher test scores, instead spend the money on making sure that all students have a full…
Read moreJuly 31, 2009 12:56 PM
Previous contributors have provided many fine ideas about addressing the achievement gap: improved teacher quality, equitable and adequate school funding, and quality leadership at the school and district level. As a fifth grade teacher in an under-funded, inner-city school I offer an additional idea: teachers need to use methods that address the varying academic levels and learning styles of their students. Some call this differentiated instruction. I call it common sense. With 75% free and reduced lunch, 18% special education students, and large numbers of English language learners in my bilingual (English/Spanish) school, the English reading levels of students in…
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