Joshua Block

Humanities Teacher at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. Passionately believes that education is a tool to help people understand and transform their individual and collective realities.

Redefining the Role of Teacher: 5 PBL Best Practices

[Cross-posted on Edutopia] Deep learning is messy and complicated. My most fulfilling teaching days are filled with overlapping student voices, surprise, and opportunity. As I circulate around the room, I speak with young people who are grappling with challenges, generating and then revising ideas, and finding their way through the multiple stages of project creation. […]Read Post ›

How Inquiry Can Enable Students

I am thankful to Katrina Schwartz of MindShift for this wonderful article on our Modern Day de Tocqueville project: How Inquiry Can Enable Students to Become Modern Day de Tocquevilles Some teachers are skeptical about “student-driven learning,” suspecting that it’s really just another chance for unfocused social time. It can often be hard to see […]Read Post ›

Educon and Student Voices

Every year I amazed at the fact that we are able to rally and mobilize as a school community and host a national education conference. It is no small feat and I am grateful to the many people who put in hours of work in order to make it happen. This year it was my honor […]Read Post ›

Modern Day de Tocquevilles — 2015 Edition

I’m so excited about and proud of this year’s Modern Day de Tocquevilles! Click on the image below to see their work and learn more about the project.

Educate to Liberate: Build an Anti-Racist Classroom

[Cross-posted on Edutopia] Recent events in our country are tragic and poignant reminders of the ongoing need for educators to create classroom environments that investigate society and the potential for change. Black Lives Matter, yet in our country, the experiences of African Americans and other marginalized groups demonstrate that there isn’t liberty and justice for […]Read Post ›