The cheerless depictions of our public schools from the 1800s are famously etched in our minds by writers like Charles Dickens and memorialized in countless black-and-white photos of pupils staring forward, blankly, with arms folded, behind rows of wooden desks. As we fast forward a couple of centuries, these images have been replaced by a more colorful assortment of engaging lessons and student interactions more befitting a 21st Century education. Yes, yes, have no worry. It is true that across the wide landscape of public schools we have made progress in discovering greater collaboration among children, richer technologies in use, and even deeper relationships among teachers and students. The monochromatic curriculum and routines of the past are harder to find, and that is a good…
