Reading First was President George W. Bush’s signature reading program, the cornerstone of No Child Left Behind. With a $6 billion price tag (a billion per year for six years), it promised “scientific proof” it would have every child reading by third grade. States had to apply for federal grants. Reading First centered around phonics. […]
The Technology Cheating Problem Is Still a Problem
While many were appalled at the celebrity college entrance scandal, there’s another scandal that gets minimal attention. Students cheat with technology! Cheating has always been a problem in school but with technology it runs rampant. In the classroom, teachers curtail cheating by supervising students in person. They learn about students and become familiar with their […]
Teaching and Learning in the Age of the Technocrats
By Sheila Resseger, M.A. I wrote the following words almost exactly four years ago. Since then, many parents did choose to inform themselves, and refused to allow their children to participate in the PARCC/SBAC assessments; the problem with the underlying standards, however, was not addressed. And the situation we have today is even more concerning. […]
Defining “Educator” During a Teacher Shortage and the Privatization of Public Education
Define educator for America’s schools. It’s critical to nail this down during a teacher shortage and when there are attempts to privatize public schools. We don’t want people with inappropriate or no credentials teaching America’s children and directing their public schools. Ensuring that teachers and administrators are qualified used to be required. Since NCLB, alternative […]
The Headband Obsession With Student Concentration
Headbands created to collect information about student attending behavior are the latest trend. Adults monitor and gather information from students’ brains to see if they stay focused on schoolwork. Here’s the Vulcan Post that discusses Neeuro, from just one company jumping on the headband bandwagon. This falls into the social-emotional “good behavior” and “self-regulation” learning […]
Arne Duncan Continues to Push Dangerous Corporate School Reform
With Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, it might be tempting to see Arne Duncan as an educational expert, but Duncan has never formally studied education, or been a teacher. Duncan paved the way for DeVos. EdSurge recently brought us Arne Duncan’s 6 lessons about education. They are nothing but the same old corporate reforms that have […]
Technology or Books? The Right Book for Christmas and the Holidays
When I was a child, my aunt and uncle, who lived in Chicago, would always send me a cool present for Christmas. I would eagerly run home from school looking for that package attached to the mailbox. It would be wrapped in brown paper and string. The packaging paper would be removed on Christmas Eve, […]
Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents
It’s the use of only technology in education without qualified teachers that is the concern. It’s “tech without teachers” and without public school buildings, a sense of community, student socializing, and the misuse of data collected on children that keep parents and teachers up at night! The problem is that there is a concerted effort […]
“Disruption” Using Technology is Dangerous to Child Development and Public Education
Public schools continuously change to keep up with progress. Technology has much to offer. But the idea that instruction should be disrupted using technology is putting students and the country at risk. It destroys the public school curriculum that has managed to educate the masses for decades. Disruption is a troubling word when referring to […]
Finland’s Sad Embrace of America’s Corporate School Reforms
For years, Americans have repeated a mantra when discussing public schools, “Look to Finland!” Now, we see the same dangerous reforms happening in Finland’s schools that are happening in America’s schools! Prominent leaders believe that teaching is still a strong profession in Finland. And certainly using technology can be useful. I guess, like most reforms, […]