Teacher: Why the last school year was ‘crushing’
New York City Public Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott recently sent a letter to the city’s Education Department staff describing the 2012-13 school year as “extraordinary.” Here, Katie Lapham, an elementary school English-as-a-Second-Language teacher, responds in a letter of her own that describes a very different view of the school year. This appeared on theCritical Classrooms, Critical Kids blog.Dear Chancellor Walcott,
I am writing in response to your ‘Extraordinary Year’ email, which you sent to NYC DOE staff on June 26, 2013. In the spirit of diversity, I wish to share with you my year end reflections, which differ from yours. In my view, there appears to be a disconnect between your office and working teachers; thus, my intention is to help bridge this gap.
I prefer to describe the 2012-2013 school year as crushing.This spring, for example, I felt the heavy weight of your initiatives while commuting
England vs Scotland: Competing school reform visions
Here is a post about the different ways that England and Scotland are approaching school reform — with echoes of the U.S. reform debate — by Marc Tucker, president of the non-profit National Center on Education and the Economy and … Continue reading →