Happy Mother’s Day! I hope all moms and families have a beautiful Sunday. Isn’t it interesting that Mother’s Day and Teacher Appreciation Week are close together? Perhaps it is because teaching and nurturing children (no matter how old a child is) are similar. When mothers (and dads) unite with teachers, there is no end to […]
40 Reasons to Honor Teachers in 2016
Last year I made this list in honor of all teachers for teacher appreciation week. It is that time of year again! So, I’d like to wish all my teacher friends a wonderful week! I hope you can focus on the great jobs that you do despite any problems that come your way. I added […]
New Assessment Aligning Students with Severe Disabilities to Common Core
There is new Common Core assessment claiming to be “rigorous” for students with severe cognitive disabilities. Do students with severe disabilities need rigor? The assessment is being likened to a “journey” like a beautiful trip. Or, is it a trip to nowhere? It touts accountability, but I see no safety net for students if they […]
Free Public College Tuition—We Had it, Lost It, and Can Have it Again
Some Americans scoff at the idea of free public college tuition. Or they peg Sen. Bernie Sanders as some kind of a new age dreamer. Why? America once had free public college in California. For awhile, the students in that state paid only a nominal fee for public higher education. From 2012 Dissent: The high-water […]
Public Schools Belong to the People—Not Just Mayors, CEOs, or the President
In Chicago, Troy LaRaviere has been fired from his principal position at Blaine Elementary School, partly because he sided with parents against high-stakes testing. Those who fondly regarded the outspoken administrator were stunned to learn of his ousting by mail. LaRaviere has been critical of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others in the school system. I’d […]
Special Education and Vendors–Quality Concerns
Why must school districts rely on outside companies to hire school workers in special education? Isn’t there more room for error when they hire through unregulated companies? This is a practice that appears to have started with No Child Left Behind and should fall by the wayside now that NCLB is defunct–since the Every Student […]
Hillary Clinton, Zip Codes, and School Equality
The point often made during debates by Sec. Hillary Clinton is that children should not get a poor education based on their zip code. Most of us would agree about poverty and its harmful effects on children in school. But the zip code message was co-opted a long time ago by those who want to […]
More on Memphis School Cuts and the Broad and Gates Foundations
The Blues City is earning its name when it comes to public schools. Both the Broad and Gates Foundations have seen to it. The other day I posted about cuts to Memphis (Shelby County Schools). I was quickly reminded, rightly so, that these were proposed cuts—like maybe there would be some kind of rollback in […]
Drastic Public School Cuts in Memphis—The New America
Shelby County Schools in Memphis are cutting programs like special education and teachers and staff and other important positions and resources that help a good school function. They need to make $50 million or maybe even $86 million in cuts to public schools. The biggest hit to a single department under academics is in special […]
Warped Message: Avoid the Classroom
US News and World Report just printed an article that will do absolutely nothing to motivate anyone to go into teaching. Why? The title is “Pursue an Education Career but Stay Out of the Classroom.” Listen, US News and World Report: The most important job in schooling is classroom teaching. Everything else is periphery. Ask […]