It sounds so patriotic…Educational Freedom. But public education in traditional public schools is what is truly educational freedom. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and other conservatives like former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and current Tennessee Governor Bill Lee are touting their idea of Educational Freedom and they repeatedly make comments implying that poor children will get […]
Poverty & Reading: The Sad and Troubling Loss of School Libraries and Real Librarians
My last post listed reasons why many children don’t learn to read. Poverty was behind many of the items. Poor students attend poor schools where they miss out on the arts, a whole curriculum, even qualified, well prepared teachers. Students might end up in “no excuses” charter schools with only digital learning. But, next to […]
Public Schools and Texas Priorities
Texas has their share of students in poverty, so why did the Katy Independent School District spend $72.1 million on a new football stadium? Remember a few months ago when we learned how the state had shut students with special needs out of services due to an unlawful cap? State officials did not seem to […]
10 Serious Issues Facing Public School Students: Where’s Betsy?
Betsy DeVos wastes precious time on her choice initiative, ignoring the most serious problems facing our young people in public schools. At a hearing the other day, she pushed many of these problems onto the states. But I would argue that these difficulties still require thoughtful attention and research from an education secretary who should […]
Priorities In a School System Where Nearly Half of Students Live in Poverty
By Laurie Taylor-Mitchell The annual costs for new computers and technology (STAT*) is now $57 million, and over $250 million overall is expected to be spent by 2018. Administrative salaries and costs are also increasing within the school system: the salary budget for the Chief Academic Officer and two other positions is nearly $500,000. In […]
I’m Thankful for Real Public Schools!
With the DeVos selection, I thought I’d tweak and rerun an old Thanksgiving post. Here are a few of the things we should focus on instead of breaking up public schools. Have a beautiful Thanksgiving! Enjoy your kids. ____________________ Thanksgiving can be a lonely time. It can be a time where problems appear worse, when […]
The Manufactured Shortage: Driving Teachers Out of the Classroom
Those in charge of public schools and politicians are hypocrites when it comes to the rhetoric surrounding a teacher shortage! School districts around the country are describing hundreds of classrooms they can’t seem to fill with qualified teachers. This has been a manipulated ploy to get rid of veteran teachers and employ alternative, revolving door […]
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 […]
The Library Stayed Open in Baltimore…
Last night, a former librarian whom I’ve gotten to know through FB, posted an article about how the library did not close in Baltimore during the height of the unrest. I found this almost spiritual in its significance. Libraries to me are filled with hope and meaning. The library also stayed open in Ferguson during […]
Quality Teachers for Poor Students: Another Missed Opportunity to Address Real Change
This past week President Obama sat down to a lovely salmon dinner with a few teachers with inspirational stories, to discuss his new program to get excellent teachers for children in poor school districts. The problem of poor children in school is critical. Educational Week reported last fall that almost half the students in America […]