The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that 5 percent of American children have ADHD. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the number at more than double the APA’s number. The CDC says that 11 percent of American children, ages 4 to 17, have the attention disorder. ~The A.D.D. Resource Center, Oct […]
What Preschool Isn’t: Waterford UPSTART and Any Other Online Program!
No one can deny the importance of early learning. We have years of research by developmental psychologists and early childhood education researchers built on findings to help us understand how preschoolers learn. We need to fund adequate preschools so students get a good introduction to the joy of formal learning. Researchers have known for some […]
The Toll College and Career Readiness Has Taken on Students
First day of school! Wake up! Come on. First day of school. ~Finding Nemo Children usually start school excitedly. They might even think they’re superheroes! But it doesn’t take long before their belief in themselves is challenged. Much has been done to public education in the name of college and career readiness. It’s difficult to […]
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 […]
With One Reply, Betsy DeVos Told Us Her Real Plan for America’s Public Schools
In one of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s most troubling responses of both days of testimony, she responded to an inquiry by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) about this nation’s crumbling school infrastructure. It comes about 1:09:45 into the tape (below) from the PBS News Hour. It’s important to remember that she has always said that public […]
“Educational Freedom” is False Advertising!
It sounds so patriotic…Educational Freedom. But public education in traditional public schools is what is truly educational freedom. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other conservatives like former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and current Tennessee Governor Bill Lee are touting their idea of Educational Freedom and they repeatedly make comments implying that poor children will get […]
Reasons Children Have Reading Problems that Corporate Reformers Don’t Talk About
We know of many variables that help children learn to read. But well-designed peer-reviewed research continues to be ignored when it comes to these variables. At the same time, states and school districts continue to promote destructive school policies. We know such policies fail. So, why are they still being used? Here’s why some children […]
Look at Me! The Problem with Quotas, Caps, and Disparaging Special Education
Special education, which includes gifted education, is about helping students who learn differently. It’s distressing when a student needs academic support and there is none, or when quotas and caps get in the way of a child’s needs. It’s also concerning when special education is made to look like a bad placement option. It stigmatizes […]
Reading Instruction, The Attack on Teachers, and Two Areas of Concern
Almost every day there’s another report attacking teachers for how they teach reading. It divides parents and teachers. It’s also dangerous at a time when there’s a teacher shortage and teachers are banding together to try to save not only their profession, but public education. I don’t like to see my profession criticized so harshly […]
Bill & Melinda Gates Don’t Discuss Their Takeover of America’s Public Schools
Bill and Melinda Gates’s 2019 letter “We Didn’t See This Coming,” is filled with their concerns and optimism about everything from commodes to climate change. Always eager to discuss their global initiatives to help the poor, and a variety of other endeavors, they say little about the aggressive ways they are remaking public education to their […]