A new corporate idea being revved up for public schools involves teachers earning badges…because there is nothing that says Free Market more than teachers competing with Girl Scouts. Here are some badges you can earn, teachers: Money Counts. Teachers, earn this badge when you spend 50% of your paycheck on materials that the school cannot […]
What President Obama Got Right—Warning—It’s Wild and There Was No Drill!
OK. You don’t like Race to the Top or the corporate education agenda that all presidents subscribe to. Me neither. Maybe you don’t like a lot of President Obama’s policies and can’t wait for a new guy…or gal! I get it. But how can you not appreciate the way President Obama has been practicing his […]
SAT Scores Damned Public Schools and Teachers for Years—Why a Facelift NOW?
We’re told the SAT needs a facelift to level the playing field and make the test more relevant for disadvantaged students. Whoa! Let’s rewind that tape a bit shall we? The SAT has been used for years to damn public schools and teachers who were unjustly accused for not preparing all students well enough for […]
Why I Don’t Like Teach for America–#ResistTFA
I have never liked Teach for America. I remember when I first heard about it. I thought to myself that is the dumbest program ever. Maybe I was biased. I had just spent seven years of my life teaching full-time while earning a PhD in education—not to mention the many years before that, teaching and […]
Do Americans Love Their Children?—Yes! Many of them DO!
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (New International Version) A while back I was talking with a friend about school problems, and she surprised me by saying “America doesn’t love its children!” I was taken aback. I’d never […]
What Should Parents Do For Students with Autism in Public Schools?
The January 3rd post about autism hit a nerve and I have a little more venting to do on this subject before moving on…. These suggestions can apply to all students and parents who want something more than Common Core State Standards and high-stakes testing in their public schools. It is easy to tell parents […]
How to Be a Nice Teacher When You’re Mad and Treated Badly
I wanted to write something that had to do with teachers in relationship to Martin Luther King Day and this is what I came up with. Teachers are genuinely nice people. If you work with children you teach them to be nice and respectful to others. Most people go into teaching because they are happy […]
Bill Gates and Kindy Coding
The Memphis Commercial Appeal recently had an article about a private school incorporating iPad computing coding for kindergarteners. At first I was appalled. Kindergarteners? Coding? Why, they should be learning to tie their shoes! Then, after sputtering a few cuss words (nothing too bad) to myself, especially when I saw Bill Gates name and the […]
Huge Class Sizes and the Increase in Student Mental Health Problems—Connect the Dots!
The New York Times has an article having to do with large class sizes. It’s all about the push to put more kids in classrooms and schools with fewer teachers and specialists. This is happening around the country in every school. It is happening without any thought to the recent tragic events in our public […]
Mr. Duncan—A Few Reasons Why I Question Your September 30th Speech, “Beyond the Beltway Bubble.”
Arne Duncan takes a lot of criticism from educators. They have never seen him as one of their own. For me personally, I wanted Linda Darling-Hammond to get the job. I don’t always agree with Darling-Hammond, but I do respect her as an educator and a researcher. When Mr. Duncan was hired I and a […]