We have almost 11 more months of dealing with pollsters, pundits, politicians, and partisans who have opinions about the presidential race. Each of the presidential candidates will take the podium, attempting to address the ills of our nation, and often chief among them is the role of education. Additionally, students will harbor their own opinion for a […]
Politics
The Perils of the United States of Smug
I make my living by teaching politics to high school seniors and college students. I am not a “read-the-textbook” kind of teacher. I want my students to watch the news. I want them to read political biographies. I want them to watch the complete seven seasons of The West Wing. Of course, few of them […]
Dealing With Dress Code Conflict
One of the most politically charged policies for high school students is dress code, and for good reason. As students enter this stage of their lives, they’ve blazed past adolescence and want to be treated like adults. According to Erikson, they’ve also entered the psychosocial stage of Identity vs. Confusion, trying to find their place […]
Placing Highly Qualified Teachers
Every child deserves excellent teachers. For this reason I and a large number of my colleagues stayed together in a large urban middle school. All of us were not only properly certified and experts in our fields but we were involved in continuing education as well as being teacher leaders within our school and at […]
Inspirational Educator: Deborah R. Gerhardt
We at The Educator’s Room have a quest to locate and speak with any and every Inspirational Educator we can find. For this segment, we turn to North Carolina – currently a hotbed of pro-teacher – and much needed – educational reform. [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” […]
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 […]
Educational Reform: It is Time for Real Change
[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”] As I get older, I see the value in the adage, “There is wisdom in numbers.” I catch myself more often than not running ideas and proposals by colleagues and friends […]
Politics As Usual – Pt.1 (Charter School Diaries #12)
Week 3/25-3/29 [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”] In any job, there is always office politicking going on. In public education, district-wide politicking is the norm. The cycle is never ending. Policymakers are pressured by parents who […]