Can you imagine never being able to jump off a Merry Go Round? The fight over education policy is like that. It involves the same worn-out problems that could have been addressed years ago if Americans truly got behind their democratic public schools. The middle class and the poor, Democrats and Republicans, who understand the […]
Betsy DeVos Goes Trick or Treating for Dyslexia
US Senator Bill Cassidy MD (R-LA) and his wife Dr. Laura Cassidy recently met with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and dyslexia and learning disability organizations to discuss serving children with dyslexia. It’s important to remember five things. Public schools used to do more for students with learning disabilities. Resource classes, general education support, and certified […]
Alternative Ed., or Personalized Learning? And Susan Sarandon’s Ad
During this serious time when public schools are under siege and threatened by a tech, anti-teacher, anti-brick-and-mortar schools, and an anything goes takeover, it’s important to define public schools. It goes without saying that public schools should be creative places for learning. Some children, especially those who are at-risk, require different learning environments. The alternative […]
A For-Profit Charter ALTERNATIVE School?
A confusing article was just published by USA Today using the term “for-profit charter alternative school.” I’ve never seen a charter school described this way before. Charter schools and alternative schools are two different schools. And since Betsy DeVos is crookedly selling school choice to America, it is important to understand the difference. So I […]
Donald Trump’s Education Mirage
Donald Trump’s education agenda is puzzling. Where does he stand and what does he know about public schools, teachers and students? Pam Vogel for Media Matters in America, Eric Robelen in The Atlantic, and Valerie Strauss from the Washington Post questioned Trump’s education agenda. And charter school and No Child Left Behind promoter Nina Rees […]
Rating Common Core Math Textbooks—Isn’t THIS a National Curriculum?
A new report in Education Week discusses a “Consumer Reports-like” nonprofit group that will now evaluate math textbooks from different companies online. If you are teaching math and want to know which books are best—books aligned to the Common Core—you can go to Edreports.org and they will apparently tell you, eventually, which books, or book, […]