Robert Fried, NCLB Critic,

At Fairfield University Nov. 30

FAIRFIELD — Nationally acclaimed teacher and author Robert Fried, who challenges the high stakes testing model so engrained in the American system of education and reinforced by the No Child Left Behind Act requirements, will speak at Fairfield University on Thursday, November 30, at 4:30 pm.

Mr Fried’s interactive lecture on “Creating and Sustaining Passionate Teaching in an Age of Accountability” will be followed by a panel of area educators who will respond to his remarks.

The event is free and the public is welcome. It will be presented in the Oak Room of the Barone Campus Center at Fairfield University.

Mr Fried, associate professor of education at Northeastern University, is the author of several books that speak to the heart of the teaching profession. In The Passionate Teacher: A Practical Guide (Beacon Press, 1991/2001), The Passionate Learner: How Teachers and Parents Can Help Children Reclaim the Joy of Discovery (Beacon Press, 2001) and The Game of School: Why We All Play It, How It Hurts Kids, and What It Will Take to Change It (Jossey-Bass Educational Ser., 2005), he champions the rights of teachers and students to reclaim the enthusiasm and curiosity for learning they had as young children.

He says that students from kindergarten through graduate school too often leave behind their love of learning when they learn to “the game of getting by” and complying with the system. The result is the stifling of creativity and “the paralysis of intellect and meaningful inquiry.” Mr Fried draws on examples of real classrooms with authentic teaching models that inspire, and provides a roadmap for a return to the rewards of teaching and learning with a passion.

For additional information, call 203-254-4190 or visit Fairfield.edu.