By Paul Bonner Not too long ago, I walked up to a register in a grocery store. The clerk noticed that I had a school district ID and asked, “Are you a teacher?” I replied, “I’m a principal.” She looked at me, smiled, and said sincerely, “I never knew what my principal did.” The school […]
15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching
How to handle a pandemic is a new territory for school officials and educators. Here are some observations of odd and downright scary practices surrounding the disease and school attendance. Adults online. Students are in-person. School board members meet online to discuss business. They’re worried about catching the virus, but they determine it’s best to […]
Nineteen For 2019: Choose This, NOT That, to Save Public Education in the New Year!
1. Kindergarten NOT The New First Grade Kindergartners should be treated like the four and five-year-old students that they are and not pushed to be first graders. The activities and instruction for this age group are well established. Real educators should take charge and ensure that there’s much free play and age appropriate activities. 2. […]
Public Schools Belong to the People—Not Just Mayors, CEOs, or the President
In Chicago, Troy LaRaviere has been fired from his principal position at Blaine Elementary School, partly because he sided with parents against high-stakes testing. Those who fondly regarded the outspoken administrator were stunned to learn of his ousting by mail. LaRaviere has been critical of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others in the school system. I’d […]
Special Education and Vendors–Quality Concerns
Why must school districts rely on outside companies to hire school workers in special education? Isn’t there more room for error when they hire through unregulated companies? This is a practice that appears to have started with No Child Left Behind and should fall by the wayside now that NCLB is defunct–since the Every Student […]
New Leaders—The Pretend Principals
Most people know about Teach for America (TFA), but who are New Leaders (NL)? New Leaders is to principals what Teach for America is to teachers. Jonathan (Jon) Schnur is the main creator of NL. Like TFA’s Wendy Kopp, Schnur has no education degree. He never was a teacher or a principal. A 2004 braggadocio […]
Should We Love Our Principals Like CEOs? Heavens No!
The Atlantic has an interesting article entitled “Should Principals Be Treated Like CEOs?” I think a more appropriate title for the article would have been, “Should Principals Be CEOs?” To me that is what they are really getting at in their report. Since this “school-to-business” ideology was foisted on public schools years ago, we have […]
Why Teachers Quit and What Administrators Would Do if They Wanted to Keep Them
A parent I know who is a strong crusader for goodness and public schooling told me about a Forbes article, “The Top 8 Reasons Your Best People Are About to Quit – And How You Can Keep Them.” How does this list apply to teachers? How do the negative business reasons described by Forbes affect […]
New Jersey, the Principalship and New Leaders for New Schools
Who are New Leaders for New Schools? Education bloggers wrote fervently this weekend about the suspension of four principals in Newark, New Jersey who spoke out against the “One Newark” plan to reform schools http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/12/18/one-newark-reform-plan-proves-divisive-even-before-official-release/. The plan is similar to what is happening in cities across the country other than the fact that they have […]