[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] I teach high school government and economics, and I abide by a minimal homework policy. It’s difficult, I know. There are only so many minutes in a period, only so much […]
Dana Dooley
Dana Dooley teaches high school AP Government, Government & Economics, and Yearbook near Sacramento, Calif. As a former journalist and graduate student, Dooley is a super policy nerd and fascinated with political theory. She's won some teacher awards, and she loves her students immensely as family.
The State of Education: Funding Control Changes in California
Approximately 93 percent of education funding comes from the state or local level. As we are a federalist system where a state is responsible for the safety, morality, and health of its residents (known as “police powers”), education falls within a state’s reserved powers, and thus it is primarily a state responsibility to fund its educational […]
Politicized Purpose: A Reassessment of Teacher Unions Today
In February 2011, about 1,000 Wisconsin teachers protested Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to hinder union bargaining rights. Ripple effects were felt throughout the nation: political leaders sought to reform unions in each New Jersey, Nevada, Indiana, and Florida, to name a few. In her report on these stories, Jennifer Epstein of Politico writes, “Teachers unions, […]
Google Conference Shows Power of Tech in Education
Technology can greatly enhance instruction by encouraging meaningful collaboration, creation, and developing 21st-century skills. This was the main message of last weekend’s conference in Roseville, Calif. (near Sacramento). Known as a “GAFE” Summit (Google Apps for Education), this two-day event provided inspiration and technical know-how for integrating the use of Chromebooks and other Google technologies […]
Issue Project: How I Empower Students to Change the System!
I teach high school government because I want my students to become empowered, active citizens who know how to effect the change they want to see. And the best way to get them there is to have them effect change while they are still students in my classroom. Enter the Issue Project. First, each student […]
To Student Teachers, From a First-Year Teacher
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Last week my credential program invited me to come speak to the current teacher candidates about my experience as a student teacher and transitioning into full-time teaching. Now, this is kind […]
What is "Social Justice Education"?
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Like it or not, teaching is a political act. We influence developing minds daily, aiding in their structure of morality and empowerment; and we are embedded in a highly politicized arena […]
California Proposed Budget Increases Education Spending
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] At a time when state governments seem to be at odds with the public school system—take Wisconsin’s anti-teacher-union fiasco in 2012, for example—it’s refreshing to see an in increase in education […]