A good parent, who cares about her kids and is savvy about what is happening with school reform, asked me if I knew anything about capstone projects. She’s concerned and I don’t blame her. For years, the Great Schools Partnership has been pushing middle and high school students to do a capstone project much like […]
Teacher Age Discrimination During a So-Called Teacher Shortage
While I wrote this post ten years ago, I’m still getting heartbreaking comments and emails from veteran teachers with good records and credentials who cannot find teaching positions, despite claims of a teacher shortage. When I first wrote this post in 2015, Jeb Bush was 62, Hillary Clinton was 67, Donald Trump was 69, and […]
Got Art? How Much Art Do Students Get in School?
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for. Georgia O’Keeffe The new school year is starting and I’d like to hear how much art students get? Do children in preschool do art? Kindergartners—how much art will they find between […]
Georgia’s Problem with Students with Behavioral Disabilities is Everyone’s Problem
How does one teach a student who shows up at school angry, defiant and/or sullen and depressed, who might hear voices—who acts so atypical that there is worry they might lash out at other students or hurt themselves? When they throw a chair, strike another child, or teacher, or hit their head repeatedly against the […]
Facing Chris Christie Clones Who Bully Teachers
It would be one thing if Gov. Chris Christie’s latest statement that the teachers’ union “deserved a punch in the face,” was some lone comment by one irate individual. But the sad fact is there are more Christies out there! The friction between Christie and the teachers’ union runs deep, but don’t forget the other […]
Common Core and Close Reading: Shouldn’t College Work Stay in College?
Common Core English Language Arts uses close reading even in the early grades. What some might not realize is close reading comes from college. If you Google “college and close reading,” numerous PDF files and websites surface about how to teach college students close reading, and if you Google “kindergarten and close reading” almost an […]
Mindfulness Training—Help or Cover-up in Education-Reform Affected Schools?
There’s mindfulness for teachers and mindfulness for students. There’s mindfulness in the UK and mindfulness in the USA. You can find groups that will train teachers and students about mindfulness around the world. But is mindfulness being used to push students and teachers to be robotic? Is it meant to cover up the problems in […]
There are Many Roads and Destinations for Children with Disabilities
Every child doesn’t have to arrive at the same destination. There are many endpoints and lots of highways. So why are parents and students directed to one score and one test to say who will be successful? The Atlantic is asking whether No Child Left Behind (NCLB) should be considered an achievement when it comes […]
How REAL Community Schools Differ from Charters Who Adopt that Label
By Mark Naison Community Schools are public schools with wrap around services that become places where all residents of low income communities can find spaces where they can learn, organize and find a voice. The concept was once at the forefront of social justice organizing in the 1980’s and 1990’s, but was pushed aside for […]
Community Schools or a Bunch of Bologna?
With the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or No Child Left Behind into the Every Child Achieves Act (ECAA), there is a lot of talk about community schools. For many, the term “community schools” conjures up the idea of schools as the hub of the town, with experienced principals and credentialed career […]