Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! The scenes are familiar – protestors wearing national colors, pushing down barricades, beating police officers. Government buildings broken into, offices ransacked, and national symbols desecrated. It sounds like a scene from the far-right attack on the U.S. Capitol two […]
public education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Do You Know Your State’s Fair Funding Grade?
The Education Law Center’s Annual Report Unveils Numerous Inequities Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Our district Superintendent recently provided us with some alarming news: as of January 2023, our district has no cash on hand and will need to take out loans to make […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
One Teacher’s Questions for Republican Lawmakers
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Don’t Say Gay legislation. Limiting classroom discussions of “controversial” topics, including many that we simply call “history.” Removing books from school libraries. Requiring online posting of lesson plans and instructional materials. Installing classroom cameras. Banning diversity training. Questioning social/emotional […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Case of the Shrinking Education Department
This year has been challenging for teachers for a myriad of reasons. Research shows stress, PTSD, and mental/emotional health issues are running rampant for teachers around the country. Faced with the Trump Effect, many teachers are not only faced with the stresses and fears of students, but with their own fears about the future of […]
Posted inOpinion
Why are we Doing this Thing Called Public Education?
A close friend of mine was confused. He wondered why teachers “post 1000 memes that make it seem like our job is stressful, underpaid, and makes us into alcoholics.” But when he talks to teachers, we say that we love teaching. He was right. We complain… a lot! But sometimes we need the outlet because while […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Considering the Case for Betsy DeVos
I am not a fan of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. I wasn’t fond of Arne Duncan either. And after working under John King when he led New York’s schools I didn’t cheer for his appointment. But Betsy DeVos represents a different challenge to public school teachers, students, and families. I shared feelings of anger, fear, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
“An Education System Flush with Cash [and] Students Deprived of All Knowledge”
“An Education System Flush with Cash [and] Students Deprived of All Knowledge” In President Donald Trump’s Inaugural Address, these were his first official words about American public education. While it’s all too easy to jest that President Trump could have been possibly referring to his Education Secretary choice Betsy DeVos (who has donated $5.3 million to campaigns […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Can Public Schools Survive the Era of School Choice?
Last week Betsy DeVos was tapped as the Secretary of Education by the incoming Trump administration. Now many educators in traditional public schools are cringing and bracing for the worst because DeVos is known in Michigan for her support of school vouchers and charter schools, often called “school choice.” The charter school topic can be a very […]