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 […]
Schools and Tornadoes
So here they come again. If you live in the heartland you know what I’m talking about. I am still not used to spring in the Mid-south, and I thought this was going to be a good year. I guess not. Once again we sadly watch as people describe what it was like to live […]
Better Prepared Teachers? Coffee Chat with Arne and Andrea
The other day I watched Andrea Mitchell interview Arne Duncan. It’s always difficult for me to listen to authorities on teaching who have never been teachers, or who have never even studied what it takes to be a teacher. When they bloviate what the government needs to do to make good teachers, I want to […]
Refusing to Kiss the Chimp—Professionals, Crazy Stunts, and High-Stakes Testing
Years ago, back before test motivation had anything to do with calculated stunts, a friend of mine, who did some nice things for our school, brought in an adorable chimpanzee. It was a real hit with the students. At one point I was put on the spot to kiss it. Despite student begging—they drastically wanted […]
What President Obama Got Right—Warning—It’s Wild and There Was No Drill!
OK. You don’t like Race to the Top or the corporate education agenda that all presidents subscribe to. Me neither. Maybe you don’t like a lot of President Obama’s policies and can’t wait for a new guy…or gal! I get it. But how can you not appreciate the way President Obama has been practicing his […]