Efforts to destroy public schooling in America have not disappeared during the pandemic. While Education Secretary Betsy DeVos displays her hatred for public education, especially with Fairfax County public school teachers, DC Charter Schools are advertising innovations during the pandemic. They’re promoting smaller class sizes as innovative medical experimentation. Their innovations, however, are not ingenious. […]
Teacher Appreciation: It’s More than a Free Burrito
The official Teacher Appreciation Week starts tomorrow. If you celebrated it last week—celebrate again. In fact, celebrate every day! Teacher appreciation can’t be captured in one week. Here is my 2015 list and my 2016 list of why we should appreciate teachers. If you think of something I left out let me know. Chipotle gave […]
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 […]
Charter Schools 25 Years Later—and What to Expect in the Future
The charter movement has since expanded to include 43 states plus the District of Columbia, and over 2.5 million students—or about 5 percent of the total K-12 public student population. Arianna Prothers, Education Week June 4, 2016 Charter schools are 25 years old. My, how time flies. Yesterday, Education Week printed an interview with Ember […]
Today’s School Reforms and the Destruction of Invention
Currently, school reformers impact schools in such a way that little is done to assist students to be inventors. To teach young people to invent means looking at them as individuals with interests and uniqueness—hopes and dreams. It means providing experiences that foster those interests–introducing them to new ideas. Schools need to encourage and trust […]
What’s Innovative about Charter Schools?
What is innovative about charter schools? What do they do that is so unique it has provided traditional public schools with new methods of working with students? I often hear politicians and charter advocates praising charter schools for what they can give public schools in the way of new ideas. I am wondering what innovations […]
It’s What President Obama Didn’t Say about Education in the State of the Union Address….
The president, of course, could not speak about all the following disputes in one State of the Union Address. But the problem is he rarely speaks about these issues with the American people. There is little, if any, discussion or debate. The president might be surprised to find not everyone approves of his education policies. […]