I recently read an article on Politico where a group of “30 smart macro thinkers” recently contemplated how the Coronavirus will change the world. While many of their thoughts are far too Shangri-La and delusionally optimistic, it got me thinking about how this pandemic will change education – with 8 big questions I pose, and, […]
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Posted inOpinion
Teacher Professional Development and Training is Ridiculously Out of Touch
Guest Writer: Jill Jackson About a year ago, I was sitting in a hotel lobby with a group of very smart, talented and super motivated leaders from a district I know well. They know what’s up and they are busy at work every single day. I admire them and what they do. We were casually […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Heart of a Teacher is Consistent
Guest Writer: Melissa Kloeckner Educators have gone and done it again. Despite the short notice, FAPE law restrictions, and the varying home resources and needs of students, they have stepped up to the plate and risen to the occasion. I can already hear the voices… “Well, teachers are still getting paid so they should be […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
A Pandemic Brings Opportunity to Rethink Standardized Testing
Coronavirus-canceled testing brings an opportunity. As a teacher and parent in the state of New York, news that standardized testing might be canceled this year brings mixed emotions. I suspected the closures due to COVID-19 might come to this, and for many years I have been pretty open about my personal feelings about abuse-by-test. My […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Teachers: There Are Many Things That No Longer Matter
Dear Colleagues: Please allow me to write an open letter to you. We face the possibility that March 13, 2020 (or earlier) was the last time we will see our students during the 2019-2020 school year. I walked out of school on Monday, March 16, 2020, with a fellow teacher who told me: “Laura, this […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s Taken a Pandemic To Save the Mental Health of Teachers
As I sit here to write this piece, it’s 5:09 pm on the east coast and I have just made it in after a long day of preparing to be out of school for at least two weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic occurring around the world. While the world has seemingly broken into a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
President Mike Bloomberg Would Be a Nightmare for Public Schools
#NeverBloomberg There are so many reasons Mike Bloomberg should not win the Democratic presidential primary. Using his billions to buy votes, his racist rationale for the 2008 housing crisis, his similarly racist and stubborn commitment to stop and frisk policing, and his misogynistic treatment of women are just a few of his recently publicized disqualifications. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Valentine to a Teacher
by Sarah Macha                 February 14th is a day of dread for most teachers. Kids are high on candy, hormones and rival the vibrato of wolves during a full moon. Helium balloons bounce around, red and pink packaging fill the hallways and the scent of $5 roses linger in the air like a bad perfume that won’t […]