If you thought Common Core State Standards were bad, look out! Here come the new social-emotional standards to complement Common Core—because nothing says children have feelings more than benchmarks! Today’s Common Core State Standards are aligned to high-stakes testing that closes schools and pushes good teachers out. Of course, many parents have not been happy […]
Laura’s Back and She Still Doesn’t Like Common Core
Summer is ending, and school is starting in some places. I hope parents and teachers will encourage students to read for fun even though the summer is over. Most who I know will do that. I hope students will not be hampered by being made to time how much they read after school. I hope […]
Are Teachers Writing Their Own Epitaph in Favor of Online Instruction?
In places like Louisiana, teachers are being enlisted to help write online curriculum. School officials have determined that Common Core hasn’t worked out well. So isn’t it nice that they asked teachers to supplant Common Core by coming up with their own unit ideas? Shouldn’t that make teachers feel good—that finally school officials, and businesses, […]
Why Do Teachers Stay? What Makes them Leave?
What makes a teacher stay teaching when everything goes wrong? What is the breaking point to make them want to quit? Almost every day there is another sad story of a teacher who says good-bye to their students and closes the classroom door for the last time. This is especially a problem when it comes […]
Who’s Teaching Your Student? Questions to Help You Find Out
It’s hard to believe that it’s time for school to start again. As parents and children visit schools with anticipation, parents might want to ask their student’s teachers about their instructional backgrounds. School districts used to be fairly vigilant about ensuring teachers had the right state credentials. That may no longer be the case. But […]
The Manufactured Shortage: Driving Teachers Out of the Classroom
Those in charge of public schools and politicians are hypocrites when it comes to the rhetoric surrounding a teacher shortage! School districts around the country are describing hundreds of classrooms they can’t seem to fill with qualified teachers. This has been a manipulated ploy to get rid of veteran teachers and employ alternative, revolving door, […]
Donald Trump’s Love of School Choice
It is no secret that when it comes to public schools and other facets of American life, many Republicans do not like the federal government. Donald Trump used to speak of local control of schools. This is very much the old Republican Party talking. But last night, Donald Trump cheered school choice. He no longer […]
Hillary Clinton and Charter School Myths
Last night the report from the AFT convention was that Hillary Clinton once again spoke about how charter schools provided traditional public schools with innovation. This is a recurring theme with her—one that has already drawn boos from teachers in the NEA. As one teacher put it last night, is she tone deaf? Charter schools […]
Ferris Buellar’s Days Off of Online Home Charter Schools
Attendance in traditional public schools is important. If a school age student does not attend school, there is an investigation into why. Children who have chronic absenteeism often drop out of school. For many corporate bigwigs, the ultimate goal in schooling is to make money by getting students online at home for all their schooling. […]
Arizona Fails its Children!
Arizona is holding back 1,400 third graders. I guess they are following Florida’s misguided lead. The Arizona Department of Education said the third-graders did not pass the math and English portions of the Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching — AzMERIT — test. (KTAR News) Expect More Arizona seems O.K. with the failures. Here […]