Posted inElementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized

The Anti-Equality Movement

[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 I look at the oeuvre of a proponent of modern school reform orthodoxies like Eric Hanushek, I’m struck by the disturbing fact that much if not most of his research […]

Posted inElementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Kindergarten, Uncategorized

A New Generation of Educators Leads the Way

For the last several years, the ASCD has honored two educators with an Outstanding Young Educator Award.  This year at the ASCD Annual Conference, we had a chance to talk with one of the recipients, Dr. Joshua Garcia.  Garcia is the Deputy Superintendent of Tacoma Public Schools in Tacoma, Washington.  He was a teacher, principal, […]

Posted inCommon Core, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Uncategorized

The Irony of Not Teaching the Importance of Teaching

Every May, one week is designated as Teacher Appreciation Week. There will be the customary newspaper coverage of favorite teacher stories,  the hashtag #thankateacher will trend on Twitter, and celebrities will post videos thanking teachers as the most important influences in their lives. These are all wonderful and appropriate tributes to the profession that prepares our nation’s […]

Posted inBook Review, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized

Do your 'Assignments Matter'? A Book Review

Eleanor Dougherty’s Assignments Matter is a great book. Assignments make up a bulk of what teachers do, and probably take for granted. We give assignments because that’s what teachers do. Dougherty shows that just giving assignments is not enough. She encourages teachers to analyze the process so they are choosing assignments that provide an authentic […]

Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Principals' Corner

Charter School Diaries # 6 – Turning off the Cruise Control

This week was an abbreviated one. Unfortunately, I was only in school for three days (Wednesday through Friday), but the week was no less compelling. Personally, I think that fire drills are outdated, yet we actually had a small emergency where a fire drill was warranted this week. We also had an incident where a […]

Posted inFeatured, How to Fix Education, Opinion, Uncategorized

Charters: They're not all KIPP

This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. Several recent articles deal with charter school applications that contain copied passages. Since one of the main tasks of a democratic education is to produce ethical leaders, I have a visceral reaction to questionable shortcuts, especially academic dishonesty like potential plagiarism, being employed in setting up a school. I […]

Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School

Teaching Through Trickery: A Snapshot of Theory vs. Reality

During my first year of teaching high school, I inherited a remedial reading class that consisted of about eighteen unmotivated juniors.  Having just finished a graduate program in educational psychology with emphasis placed specifically on reading and literacy, I saw this as an opportunity to take all of those research-based best practices and make readers […]

Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, Uncategorized

English Teachers Should Have More than a Footnote

The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) wants students to read in every discipline from elementary school through grade 12. The standards demand an increase in the reading of informational texts, the genre formally known as non-fiction. So where is the passage that concludes that English/Language Arts teachers will continue to teach fiction and literary non-fiction […]