Thirty years ago today, I walked into York Preparatory School on New York’s Upper East Side for my first day as a high school history teacher. I had no formal training as a teacher except for my degree in History from Syracuse University. I had been working in advertising for a Madison Avenue firm that… Continue reading Thirty Years an Educator
Category: teaching
In Education, Teachers Must Lead the Way
Aside from the December holiday season, the back-to-school late August and early September rush has the most profound effects on the United States. Shopping patterns change, traffic gets worse, and the general tenor of every community shifts to accommodate the children and adults who work in education. Welcome to this year’s edition. Some things have… Continue reading In Education, Teachers Must Lead the Way
The High Schoolization Of College
Last week, President Obama made a series of speeches about making higher education affordable, which of course would be a great idea if we really had a socialist system and the government could tell schools what to charge. The problem is that we have a quasi-meritocracy with a bit of market capitalism mixed in, and… Continue reading The High Schoolization Of College
Osama bin Laden Applies For Teaching Job in India
On his registration form for one of the new teaching positions in India, the candidate who called himself Osama Bin Laden said his father’s name was Bill Clinton. He was one of hundreds of bizarre false names given by chancers apparently hoping to secure jobs in schools in Uttar Pradesh, in northern India. Perhaps the… Continue reading Osama bin Laden Applies For Teaching Job in India