No doubt, many children aren’t getting the general or special education teachers they deserve, especially in poor schools. There probably is a real teacher shortage. However, school reformers have been squawking about a teacher shortage for years. If policymakers cared, they would have put programs into place to address this shortage. They would have sought […]
Trump’s Budget Cuts: Make America Hungry Again
If you have ever spoken to a relative or friend who lived through the Great Depression, you will learn how the little things in life, that most of us take for granted, meant so much during that time. If we are lucky, we will never know the want those who lived through that period experienced. […]
Donald Trump’s Love of School Choice
It is no secret that when it comes to public schools and other facets of American life, many Republicans do not like the federal government. Donald Trump used to speak of local control of schools. This is very much the old Republican Party talking. But last night, Donald Trump cheered school choice. He no longer […]
Hillary Clinton and Charter School Myths
Last night the report from the AFT convention was that Hillary Clinton once again spoke about how charter schools provided traditional public schools with innovation. This is a recurring theme with her—one that has already drawn boos from teachers in the NEA. As one teacher put it last night, is she tone deaf? Charter schools […]
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 […]
School Choice v. Local Control—Oil and Water!
Republican Presidential candidates claim to be for choice, including vouchers, charters and opportunity scholarships, and they also claim to be for local control of schools. But school choice and local control are like oil and water. You must choose one or the other. For example, Brandon Wright, in “Donald Trump Quotes about Education” from The […]
Teacher Age Discrimination During a So-Called Teacher Shortage
Jeb Bush is 62. Hillary Clinton is 67. Donald Trump is 69 and Bernie Sanders is 73. If these individuals were teaching in a public school, and not famous politicians, what would you bet that they’d still be working? How many older teachers do you know who are still teaching? While there is much gnashing […]