Don’t bank on narrow Common Core English language arts skills to teach your child to read. From what I see and hear, over and over, CC increases stress and reduces a lot of students to tears. It pushes very young children to read more difficult material before they are developmentally ready, and it focuses too […]
To the Pretenders Atop the Ed. Ladder–This is How You Spell D-I-S-C-O-N-N-E-C-T
One wonders what sort of alternative universe the so-called education leaders live in these days—most whom only taught a year—if they taught at all, and who most likely never bothered to lower themselves to take one of those silly courses about child and adolescent development. Across the country parents and teachers are rallying in their […]
Hey! Who’s that With the Baby Grand on their Back?
Memphis and the surrounding suburbs have been through quite a lot of “churning” with the school merger of the city schools with the county schools. Most everyone spots the corporate fingerprints. They’re all over the place. Chain charters, Teach for America, The New Teacher Project, Common Core, etc. are, with the help of Stand for […]
Great Public Schools Focus on Student Interests
I wonder how many parents out there remember when anyone at their child’s school asked these questions: What are your child’s interests? Does your student have any hobbies? How do they like to spend their free time? I am reading an interesting book called Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, […]
Homemade Activities to Target Disabilities (and/or Just for Fun)–Puzzles!
Just in time for the holidays! I have blogged about not letting the current issues in public schools steal the today that you have enjoying your children and helping them to learn. I know that is easier said than done. But the teacher and mom in me wants to step away from criticism against Common […]
Does the Tea Party Love Teach for America?
I read an interesting blog post by Plunderbund all about Teach for America in Ohio. Cleveland pays $9,000 (for two years) in addition to regular salaries and benefits to hire TFA. In other places, like Memphis and Pittsburg, Bill Gates foots the initial bill to TFA, usually about $5,000 per teacher, and then the school […]
What Part of Individual Educational Plan Don’t They Understand?
A recent Ed. Week article, “Common Core’s Promise Collides with IEP Realities,” claims, “Special Education teachers struggle to make sure individual education programs align with standards.” Wow! You could have fooled me! I thought IEPs were tailored to student needs, not to the Common Core State Standards. But really, aligning IEPs to the standards—has been […]
The Hurtful Reality of High Stakes Testing—Let Them Eat Cake!
Last Thursday night I had the honor to sit on a panel of distinguished educators, parents, a school board member, and two students, in Jackson, TN. The event covered standardized testing and was sponsored by the Tennessee Education Association (TEA). While this meeting was held in Tennessee, my guess is meetings like this can be […]
Are You a Coach or a Teacher?
The “coaching” post generated criticism. Several individuals argued that coaching can include good attributes and there is nothing wrong with the term. Some teachers, who have been or are currently called coaches, took offense. I am not criticizing teachers/coaches personally. I never said that if you have the title coach, you are not a good […]
“Coaching” Applied to Teaching–Why I Don’t Like It
“Teaching Coaches” have become commonplace as public school curriculum is converted to Common Core. The plan is to enlist teachers, lots of them, to coach other teachers how to instruct using Common Core. In most places these teaching coaches get a stipend of $5-6,000 to help transform a school district into a Common Core wonderland. […]