Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized

Five New Years Resolutions for Public Education Supporters

2013 was a pivotal year for parents, teachers and students who support a free public education for American children. In California, Governor Jerry Brown refused to over-test the state’s students to satisfy bureaucratic demands for data, even in the face of federal threats to withhold Title 1 education funding. In Seattle, Jesse Hagopian and fellow teachers at […]

Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, School Improvement, Uncategorized

The Wizards of Ed- The Conundrum of Education

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 […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized

What Educators Learn From Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson

[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”] On March 22nd, 2012, A&E launched its first episode of Duck Dynasty. The show, which is about Phil Robertson, his wife Kay, their children, grandchildren, their multi-million dollar company, and their […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion

A Tale of Two Cities: How Taxpayers Foot the Bill for Sports at the Expense of 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”] When the Seattle Mariners signed Robinson Cano to a 10 year, $240 million contract, I scratched my head. Weren’t the Mariners one of the “poorer” teams in Major League Baseball? Yet […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Interviews

Teachers Who Won't Be Silenced Anymore: Angela Curry

Many around the country, as the “homeless teacher,” have known Angela Curry, but she is so much more than this label. In November, I spoke to this Orlando-area teacher and mother of two about her career, her situation, and how she hopes she can make a difference in education. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” […]

Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum

Teachers and Their Students Practice, Not Perform

“A bad dress rehearsal foretells a great performance.” This theatrical superstition is a great comfort to those who botch lines, drop lines, break props, or miss entrance cues before performing in front of an audience. Rehearsals are for practice, to fix what could go wrong so that the performance before a critical audience is perfect. […]

Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, School Improvement

Despite What You Have Heard: American Students are Not 'Falling Behind'

[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”] This week saw the publication of the  PISA scores – the Programme for International Student Assessment, conducted every three years by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) – which […]