Vocational education, now called Career Technical Education (CTE), emphasizing STEM, has always been important for students who are not college-bound or want skills outside of traditional coursework. Done well, this preparation can lead to vital, well-paying jobs that young people find exciting. However, for some time, CTE has tracked K-12 students using school data. For years, […]
Dismantling Public Education: No Laughing Matter!
Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone… ~Joni Mitchell Many educators and parents found it painful watching Donald Trump sign off on dismantling the US Department of Education (USDOE). For those who taught and continue to teach and parent activists fighting for public education, observing billionaires and state […]
NCLB’s Curse: 12 Reasons Reading Scores are STILL Poor
Recent NAEP reading scores show students have made negligible improvement in reading. While there could be various reasons for this, it’s critical to recognize that the curse of NCLB policies has driven public education for almost 25 years, and changing course and reevaluating what isn’t working is essential. NCLB led to Common Core State Standards, […]
What Does the U.S. Department of Education Do? Enforcing Laws to Protect Students
Americans might not understand how the US Department of Education (US DOE) statutes work or their importance. President Trump, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and many billionaires believe the department should be abolished. However, students rely on the US DOE’s federal laws and services. These individuals wish to privatize public schools, ending the US DOE […]
Is This the Final Knockdown of America’s Public Schools?
Many well-prepared educators have spent years teaching and leading schools and are well-prepared to improve public education, even making our schools the best in the world! Instead, Trump chose an education secretary, Linda McMahon, who could lead the final knockdown of America’s public schools. More about McMahon in a minute. Trump, Musk, and Maga Republicans […]
Sal Khan and AI Reimagined Schools: Questions and Concerns
Recently, 60 Minutes showcased Sal Khan, known for the popular Khan Academy, describing Sal Khan’s Khanmigo, a new AI-powered program promising to revolutionize teaching by giving students an online personal tutor. Here’s Khan’s TED talk, “How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education,” Khanmigo’s format, feedback, and human-like online conversation and interactions are clever and innovative. […]
Republican Kids in Public Schools Also Lack Mittens
A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead. […]
Honor President Carter: Save and Improve the U.S. Department of Education!
President Jimmy Carter, a peacemaker and human rights activist, improved public schooling by establishing the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), removing it from its less significant place in Health and Human Services. Carter seemed keen to unite people; a USDOE aligns with that thinking. As the nation mourns and celebrates President Carter, it’s ironic that […]
Give the Gift of Removing Reading Pressure on Kindergartners!
This holiday season, give children the gift of reading. One of the best ways to do that is to relieve the pressure of insisting they read early. Some children might pick up reading when they’re very young, but others will learn a little later, and there’s nothing wrong with this. However, children who are made […]
How Assessment and Data are Used to Stigmatize Children as Failing
School districts continue to purchase high-cost commercialized tests that depersonalize teaching, stigmatize children and schools as failing, and build public distrust. Assessment should inform educators and parents about where children are academically and behaviorally, but it doesn’t appear to improve learning. Current tests appear to primarily be used to collect data, invading a child’s and […]