Seeing as how I’m an education dinosaur, having taught for the past 32 years, I’ve seen many a fad, meme, phase and reform come and go during my career. Each of these aforesaid events was billed as the new reality and the change that would ignite the staid and conservative field into a dynamo that… Continue reading College Is For Everyone… Except for Those It’s Not
Tag: students
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
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
The Education Reform Silly Season
It might be summer, but the education know-nothings are clearly not at the beach. The latest case-in-point is former CNN correspondent Campbell Brown’s incredibly uninformed comments on teacher tenure that, unfortunately, millions of people saw and didn’t stick around for the fact-checking. Her musings come on the heels of a California decision in which a… Continue reading The Education Reform Silly Season
10 Killed In Bus Collision in California
A FedEx truck crossed a freeway and slammed head-on into a bus carrying students in Northern California, killing 10 people, authorities said Friday. The collision Thursday evening killed both drivers, five students and three chaperones, said Lt. Bill Carpenter with the California Highway Patrol. At least 34 people were taken to local hospitals, authorities said.… Continue reading 10 Killed In Bus Collision in California
Teaching, Unions and Social Justice
Giving of course my humble opinion, I believe we are at the high water mark of the anti-union, pro-market-force, evaluation-by-testing mania that’s gripped education. Or I could be seriously deluded and education is going through a profound change that will see radically different protocols for years to come. Monday is the National Day of Action,… Continue reading Teaching, Unions and Social Justice
Schools In Pennsylvania Now Allowing Students To Be Armed In Class
What could possibly go wrong? Five of Pennsylvania’s state universities — Kutztown, Shippensburg, Edinboro, Slippery Rock and Millersville — will now allow students to carry firearms at school, due to advice from attorneys in the governor’s office and state higher education office claiming that “blanket firearms bans were vulnerable to constitutional challenge and exposed the universities”… Continue reading Schools In Pennsylvania Now Allowing Students To Be Armed In Class
33 High School Students Suspended Over ‘Awesome Twerk Video’
Over thirty students at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego have been suspended after allegedly using school equipment to film a twerking video. Urban Dictionary defines “twerking” as “the act of moving/ shaking ones ass/buns/bottom/buttocks/bum-bum in a circular, up-and-down, and side-to-side motion. basically a slutty dance. derived from strip clubs.” All told, some 33 media class… Continue reading 33 High School Students Suspended Over ‘Awesome Twerk Video’
The Final NJ Teacher Evaluation Rules. Until They Change.
When my colleagues and I met with New Jersey Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf and his staff in January, he alluded to March 6 as the date when the State Board of Education would be issuing its final rules on teacher evaluation. He reminded us that final rules meant that because of public comments the… Continue reading The Final NJ Teacher Evaluation Rules. Until They Change.
Presidential Address – Creating Long Term Economic Stability
The President of the United States: For months, I’ve been pushing Congress to pass several common-sense ideas that will help us do that. And on Friday, I signed into law a bill that will do two things for the American people. First, it will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s… Continue reading Presidential Address – Creating Long Term Economic Stability
Fighting For Students – President Calls On Congress to Work FOR Students, Not Against Them
President Barack Obama urged Congress to limit student-loan rate increases, calling higher education an “economic imperative.” Going to college is “an economic imperative that every family must be able to afford,” the President said Saturday in his weekly address. Student-loan rates are set to be the next big issue split along party lines, and Obama… Continue reading Fighting For Students – President Calls On Congress to Work FOR Students, Not Against Them
Class And The Classroom
Why does it seem that money matters everywhere but in public education? Corporations spend lavishly to recruit the best workers and provide the most luxurious perks. The best places to live are in the wealthier suburbs that can pay for clean, safe streets. High end cars have the latest gadgetry and safety features. But public… Continue reading Class And The Classroom