In my freshman year in college I signed up for Art 101. The class was merry and a nice respite from all the reading and testing involved with hard core basic subjects freshmen take. Make no mistake I was no future Rembrandt. But I enjoyed the class so much that I boldly signed up for […]
The Continuing Bizarre Message That We MUST Test Students with Severe Disabilities—Say NO!
I wish I were a judge and had some of these ed. reformers who believe tests are more important than children come before me. Honestly. I’d send them to jail. Mandates written to play Gottcha with children’s services, intentionally designed to get rid of services and teachers, are wrong. America shouldn’t be the place to […]
Brown v. Board of Education—Still Further Apart than Ever Before On Its Anniversary
On the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education I don’t believe we are working on the issue of school integration in the least when it comes to public schools. Here are the two biggest examples: 1. In 2010, the UCLA Civil Rights Project determined that charter schools “isolate students by race and class” yet charter […]
The Little Engine That Derailed—How Aligning Books to Skills Kills the Joy of Reading
It is one thing for a child to read The Little Engine That Could for the pleasure of the story and quite another for her to comprehend the inner workings of a locomotive. ~Joanne Yatvin, former public school educator, a past president of the National Council of Teachers of English, and a former member of […]
Why Teachers Quit and What Administrators Would Do if They Wanted to Keep Them
A parent I know who is a strong crusader for goodness and public schooling told me about a Forbes article, “The Top 8 Reasons Your Best People Are About to Quit – And How You Can Keep Them.” How does this list apply to teachers? How do the negative business reasons described by Forbes affect […]
Ode to Moms I Admire Who Fight Draconian Ed. Reform
I am not a poet and I know it, but here I go ith. Here’s to the Moms who fight Common Core. They want it thrown out the classroom doors…. It’s a bore! And we don’t adore. Here’s to the Moms who support all the children, even those not their own. Treat yourself to tea […]
How Losing the Arts in Public Schools Hurts Students and Their Future Careers
President G.W. Bush loves to paint and has recently gotten recognition for his artwork, but does he know how his administration squelched the arts for millions of public school students, thereby also stifling their chances of a good career in the arts? That’s right. There are jobs in the arts! NCLB included the arts. It […]
Louis C.K.’s Comments—Good For Public Schools—or Not?
There seems to be two camps in education. One is happy that Louis C.K. spoke out about Common Core and testing. They have posted and re-posted on Facebook his stint on David Letterman. The other side is not happy about the attention celebrities get if the topic is education. They believe the celebs only distract […]
In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week—Who Are They Kidding?
Get ready teachers! The country is priming for that once a year period where you are venerated by America for the work that you do—for all the children you just finished testing the heck out of—through little fault of your own. It’s Teacher Appreciation Week! Want to see how so-called leaders and the media are […]
Girl Scout Badges Made Just for Teachers!
A new corporate idea being revved up for public schools involves teachers earning badges…because there is nothing that says Free Market more than teachers competing with Girl Scouts. Here are some badges you can earn, teachers: Money Counts. Teachers, earn this badge when you spend 50% of your paycheck on materials that the school cannot […]