Here are some observations of Betsy DeVos and her Rethink Schools tour. Autism in Douglas County One of the schools she visited was the Firefly Autism House the private school which received attention in the landmark Supreme Court case Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. Parents received funding to place their child at Firefly […]
Teacher Appreciation As School Starts
Teachers are starting the 2017-18 school year. While the focus appears to be on transforming teaching into digital competency-based instruction, or personalized learning, real human teachers are what make learning for every child personalized. That title was stolen from them. Teachers work to bring students together. They let them know that every child, no matter […]
XQ Super Schools—Business Working to End Public High Schools
Laurene Powell Jobs and her XQ school bus are coming to us via television on major networks on September 8th. She wants to remake high schools. Powell Jobs would have you think that high schools haven’t changed for a hundred years. That’s not true. The American high school can certainly always improve, but the institution […]
Public Schools and Freedom: A New Threat as We Celebrate This 4th of July
I wish to dedicate this post to the woman I’m calling America’s librarian, Joan Kramer, who lost her battle with cancer last week. Joan fought for children, their libraries, and their schools, bolstering us with her strong but kind ways. I felt it was important to acknowledge her this 4th of July. A hero and […]
Why Unionizing Charter School Teachers is STILL a Bad Idea
I wrote this blog post in 2016. But this issue continues to be relevant to privatizing public schools. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I can understand the union’s desire to add members and support teachers in charter schools. But most charter schools have not evolved into that old concept of teacher-run […]
Betsy DeVos Should Resign!
Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery. ~Horace Mann It’s Teacher Appreciation Week and a woman who never taught a day in her life was just booed during commencement at a well-known, highly regarded historically black university. She […]
XQ Super Schools vs. Teachers and Great Schools
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Many teachers are being bombarded by gifts and thank you notes as they are appreciated for what they do. In Grand Rapids, the YMCA, the science museum, universities, and the local school district, with millions of dollars of funding by “XQ: The Super School,” are conspiring to replace teachers and their […]
Where Are the Celebrities Supporting Democratic Public Schools?
The Oscars are over and I wonder where the celebrities are when it comes to supporting public schools. Especially when so many dislike President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, you would think at least one movie star would champion democratic public schools. Hello out there! Hey Hollywood and beyond! All of you who love […]
How to Protest Against Betsy DeVos
Our schools are being starved into failure in order to justify mass privatization. —Timothy Meegan, Chicago Sun Times A while back, I attended a meeting at the University of Memphis where many of us were against the Relay Graduate School of Education—a reform group that recruits students out of their chosen careers and supplies unqualified […]
Educating Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVos does not understand what it is like to teach in any school let alone poor public schools. She does not understand what the lives of real teachers and students are like. She does not understand the problems facing many of America’s children. These problems won’t be solved with a voucher. They also won’t […]