There is a conundrum facing American K-12 education. It is the same conundrum that has always faced American K-12 education. How do we educate “those” kids? “Those” refers to the kids who are dealing with any (or all) of a host of disadvantages. They are from the “wrong” side of the tracks. They are from […]
John Kuhn
John Kuhn is a public school administrator in Texas and a vocal advocate for public education. His ''Alamo Letter'' and YouTube videos of his 2011 speech at a Save Texas Schools rally went viral, as did his 2012 essay ''The Exhaustion of the American Teacher.'' He has written two education-related books, 2013's Test-and-Punish (Park Place Publications) and 2014's Fear and Learning in America (Teachers College Press).
Posted inFeatured
The Exhaustion of the American Teacher
With the American school year still in its infancy, it’s worthwhile to note that the people doing the actual educating are down in the dumps. Teachers feel more beaten down this year than last. Some are walking into their classrooms unsure if this is still the job for them. Their hearts ache with quiet anguish […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, From the Front Lines, School Improvement, The State of Education
Education, Circa 2038
Twenty-five years from now, I will be just shy of 65 years old. I should be retired by then. As I read recently about Amazon’s delivery drone idea and at the same time thought about the seeming inevitability of the Common Core State Standards and their associated tests (even, eventually, in my non-CCSS home state), […]
Posted inCommon Core, How to Fix Education, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Common Standards, Disparate Lives
I get the push for common standards, I really do. Poor students shouldn’t be doomed to lesser expectations. As much as I dislike George Bush’s No Child Left Behind and all the unintended(?) negative consequences it has had on public education, I must admit that the “soft bigotry of low expectations” was and is a […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Snow Day Blues
Today is a snow day at my school, and I’m happy about that because I like to think and write. I love my job, and I love being around kids, but a snow day gives me a chance to stop and wonder. There isn’t enough time for wondering when you’re working, unless you’re better at […]
Posted inCommon Core, Opinion, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
In Texas, Progress; But the Fight Continues
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. [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 got involved in the scrap over education two years ago when I wrote an epistle known as “The Alamo Letter” to my state legislators. […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Helping Teachers- Why Wait?
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. If there was ever a time when public education needed defenders, it’s now. If there was a day when teachers needed support, it’s today. The great American experiment of a free public education for all children—rich and poor, black and white, fluent y todavia aprendiendo, children like yours and […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, How to Fix Education, Kindergarten, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
The Bandaid of Efficiency
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. [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”] Argumentation today consists of little more than two people taking turns misrepresenting one another’s positions. Gone are the days of Socrates, when the point of […]