I’ve been in the education business for 31 years and I’ve seen many a fad come and go, from Teacher-proof curricula to shared decision-making to Differentiation to Cooperative Learning, Curriculum Mapping, Goals 2000 and various reading programs that focus on inventive spelling, phonics, whole language and learning vocabulary in context. Many of my colleagues didn’t… Continue reading The Swift Fall of Testing – What Comes Next?
Category: News
Refugees From Reality
Leave it to the GOP (and some uninformed Democrats) to make a frightening situation something to panic over. The Paris attacks were terrible. The threat of more terrorist attacks on Europe is very real. But if you want to stop terrorists from coming into the United States, tampering with the refugee system is exactly the… Continue reading Refugees From Reality
Video of Laquan McDonald’s Shooting Could be Released Pending Judge’s Ruling
Chicago police may be forced to release video that is said to show an officer shooting a black teenager 16 times, WGNTV reports. A Cook County judge is expected to decide Thursday whether to order police to release dashcam video of the October 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Police have said McDonald refused to… Continue reading Video of Laquan McDonald’s Shooting Could be Released Pending Judge’s Ruling
Mastermind of Paris Terrorist Attacks Confirmed Dead
The man responsible for the Paris attacks last weekend was confirmed dead by French authorities this morning. Abdelhamid Abaaoud was identified by his fingerprints collected at the scene in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. His body was found “riddled with impacts,” according to the prosecutor’s statement. The operation started with shootings at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday,… Continue reading Mastermind of Paris Terrorist Attacks Confirmed Dead
Does This Mean War?
I’m being a bit of a coward by posing my title as a question, but I do firmly believe that the western world is headed towards a much larger, more coordinated and, ultimately, more deadly military conflict. If it sounds like war, smells like war, destroys like war, breeds intolerance like war, then it must… Continue reading Does This Mean War?
President Obama Delivers Statement on Paris Terrorist Attack – Video
As the terrorist attacks on Paris unfolds, President Obama offered this statement to the people of France and to the America public, saying that America is “prepared and ready” to provide assistance to France. “This is an attack not just on Paris. It’s an attack not just on the people of France. But this is an… Continue reading President Obama Delivers Statement on Paris Terrorist Attack – Video
ISIS Beheader “Jihadi John” Possibly Killed in US Airstrike – Video
The face of ISIS, the man seen on video beheading three U.S citizens, was the target of a successful U.S airstrike. His fate is still unclear. Mohammed Emwazi has participated in numerous propaganda videos showing the killings of Westerners, including American journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, American aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines… Continue reading ISIS Beheader “Jihadi John” Possibly Killed in US Airstrike – Video
Mrs. MacDowell 1 Exxon 0: Why I Knew in 1970 What Big Oil Still Denies
OK, let’s go back to the halcyon days of the 1969-70 school year when I was in fourth grade. My teacher was one of those cool, hip, young people who knew how to reach children, to excite them to learn, and to inject a bit of reality and responsibility into them as they began to… Continue reading Mrs. MacDowell 1 Exxon 0: Why I Knew in 1970 What Big Oil Still Denies
Officers Charged with Second-degree Murder in Killing of 6 Year Old
The 6 year old was shot 5 times and died. And the two police officers responsible for his death were charged with second degree murder. Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, and Derrick Stafford, 32, were charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting in the city of Marksville on Tuesday, Col. Mike Edmonson… Continue reading Officers Charged with Second-degree Murder in Killing of 6 Year Old
Education’s Dirty Little Secret
The week began with the president saying that there was too much emphasis on testing in schools. In the middle of the week, the New York Times published a story about Success Academy Charter Schools that, among other things, noted the following: The network serves mostly black and Hispanic students and is known for exacting… Continue reading Education’s Dirty Little Secret
More Bold Predictions: This Debate Changed Everything
October 28 is a very special day in my life. It was 43 years ago that I became a man and realized the meaning of that old, old adage, “That’s the first time I stood up in front of people, bored them, and they gave me money afterwards.” Mazel tov indeed. So it was with… Continue reading More Bold Predictions: This Debate Changed Everything
The Republican Party is not just the Party of “NO”, It’s the Party of “NEVER”
Later this week the country will celebrate a milestone: the date that Marty McFly used to travel to the future in Back to the Future II, the second movie of the trilogy that represents the greatest expression of Reagan-era optimism that Hollywood has yet produced. If only the remaining GOP candidates would sit down and… Continue reading The Republican Party is not just the Party of “NO”, It’s the Party of “NEVER”