Another school year. It’s my 32nd as a teacher and I can still say that I love what I’m doing and believe that I am contributing to the betterment of society. I just wish that at some point before I go to the Great Faculty Room in the Sky, you know, the one where the… Continue reading Great Teachers Make Great Schools
Category: Education
Education Roars Back
It’s August and the Back to School sales are ramping up in earnest, at least here in the nor’east. The sales started in July for the more southerly US climes, but that’s because they’re already back in the classrooms. In any event, it’s time once again to be thinking about education, and the issue is… Continue reading Education Roars Back
Education By Dummies
Politicians can talk all they want about how changes to the American education system such as the Common Core, new testing rubrics and teacher evaluation systems will vault us into the top tiers of learned nations over the next few years, but, really, that’s not going to happen if what’s happening in Arizona and other… Continue reading Education By Dummies
Christie: It’s Not My Fault. Elect Me President
It’s one thing when you have something to run on. It’s quite another when you have to run away from your record. That’s the position Governor Christie finds himself in on the eve of his long-awaited announcement that he will run for president. Most candidates have a signature issue or can point to improving conditions… Continue reading Christie: It’s Not My Fault. Elect Me President
Pensions in the Age of GOP Math
Things are getting a bit complicated in New Jersey for Governor Christie, and that’s having a major effect on when (and it will be when) he announces his bid for the presidency. Yes, he is waiting for the economy to improve and the George Washington Bridge scandal to go away, but now he’s added what… Continue reading Pensions in the Age of GOP Math
CCRAP! More Testing Ahead
If you’re a regular American, you know, like the kind of person Hillary Clinton is trying to appeal to, you probably think that the PARCC tests are over and that the education system has moved on. Not so. This week marks the return of the standardized tests that no one likes, and are based on… Continue reading CCRAP! More Testing Ahead
Pearson Jumps the Shark on PARCC
We are truly in deep PARCC mode now. Perhaps the April/May test administration should include readings from the Pentagon Papers. Pearson Education, the company that produces the PARCC tests, and is reportedly being paid over $22 million dollars in New Jersey alone, is monitoring social media to check for security breaches and other untoward activity. … Continue reading Pearson Jumps the Shark on PARCC
On Education: Can’t See the Forest for the Bushes
AFP PHOTO/Saul LOEB Remember the education president? That would be George H.W. Bush, who promised that he would focus on improving schools so that the United States would be number one in educating its children for the new millennium. His Goals 2000: Educate America Act had terrific political nuggets such as: All children in America… Continue reading On Education: Can’t See the Forest for the Bushes
Teacher Hangs Herself In Classroom
No, reports say her students were not in the classroom at the time, but they found her body hanging in the classroom when they reported for class. Jillian Jacobson, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene at El Dorado High School in Placentia, some 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Los Angeles, said a spokesman.… Continue reading Teacher Hangs Herself In Classroom
Elected, Perchance to Govern?
Mitch McConnell, moderate. I thought I’d never see that characterization, but after last week’s embarrassing, incompetent, dangerous gambit the House Republicans played, he’s looking like the only GOP adult in the room. John Boehner seems to have lost his caucus and is now dependent on the far right to dictate what gets done in the… Continue reading Elected, Perchance to Govern?
Christie Tells It Like It’s Not
It’s getting a bit too easy finding contradictions and hypocritical statements in what Governor Chris Christie is saying these days. That must mean he’s running for president. On his signature issue, pension and benefit reform, the governor went back on his promise to make a full payment for 2014, and his administration even argued in… Continue reading Christie Tells It Like It’s Not
The Best and Brightest Have Let Us Down
I get very tired very quickly when I hear that we need the best and brightest to become classroom teachers in the United States. For one, it’s incredibly insulting because it assumes that the teachers we have now in public schools are somehow subpar, which is not true. Further, it also assumes that the elite… Continue reading The Best and Brightest Have Let Us Down