Whenever you hear about public schools today people use the word failure, others go so far as to call them dropout factories. So if they are so bad, if we really have such a crisis, why are some of our most prestigious universities still admitting the majority of their students from public schools? Corporate reform […]
Common Core Marketing Mistakes Will Lead to Its Demise
Marketing is everything. A wise English professor once told me, you might write the worst book in the world, but if you have a good marketer, connections, not to mention financial backing, it will be published and it will probably sell. Common Core has been sold to the American people, backed by a lot of […]
Using Students with Special Needs to Privatize Public Schools
Education Week came out with an article pondering a serious question. How can you have special education charter schools and still call it inclusion? HERE. I wondered, were the school reformers going to do the following: Return or ramp-up the old model of resource and self-contained classes within the traditional public school system? Pull together […]
The Role of Public Schools in the NFL Scandal
The NFL is in a tight spot right now. They don’t want to lose their talent and the dollars that might come with a championship. But they are in danger of losing their image. Domestic and child abuse are ugly topics, when they surface. They provoke intense emotions. It’s been difficult to watch the different […]
Charter v. Private School “Prepsters”: Manufacturing College-Ready Kindergartners
“College Prep Begins in Kindergarten” is the motto for Cornerstone Preparatory School (a charter) in Memphis. HERE. A lot of charter schools advertise themselves as college preparatory schools, and they begin marketing college at the earliest of all levels—kindergarten. How does this compare to honest-to-goodness private schools? Secretary Arne Duncan visited Cornerstone the other day. […]
Differentiation and Common Core—A Strange Combination for Gifted Students
In looking at different cities and their plans for gifted students, there is one thing most of them now have in common. They advocate differentiation and Common Core. The real buzz word is differentiation! Differentiation sounds soothing, like it will give every parent what they always dream of, personalized attention for their child. It advertises […]
Commiserating on How Gifted Students are Ignored by Educators, Policymakers and Those Who Should Care
A post I did almost a year ago about Common Core and gifted students has been receiving renewed activity lately. HERE. HERE is another. I wondered what was up. Why are gifted parents digging into the archives? I realized school for many has been in session for a while now and for parents, including parents […]
Does Bill Gates Think Teachers are All Miss Trunchbulls?
At school there’s Miss Trunchbull, two hundred menacing pounds of kid-hating headmistress. Get rid of the Trunchbull and Matilda would be a hero. But that would take a superhuman genius, wouldn’t it? From Matilda by Roald Dahl Does Bill Gates hold a vendetta towards teachers? Does he see them as Trunchbulls and is he planning […]
Lessons From M. Mouse: Or, How I *BELIEVED* Disney Could Help Public Schools
A forest of thorns shall be his tomb! Borne through the skies on a fog of doom! Now go with the curse, and serve me well! ‘Round Stefan’s Castle, CAST MY SPELL! ―Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent casting her spell to stop Prince Phillip In 1991, I obtained credit for renewing my teaching certificate by attending an […]
Why Unionizing Teachers In Charter Schools is a Bad Idea
In California, the new NEA leader Lily Eskelsen García is working to gather charter school teachers to unionize. HERE. She appears savvy and smart and gave an uplifting, firery introductory speech to teachers upon her election. As a retired member of the NEA, I wish her well. But she has thus far claimed, like AFT’s […]