What’s missing from education policy debate
Reformers and policymakers talk a lot about how to recruit teachers with higher GPAs, higher standards, better standardized tests, big data and more. In this post, Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., writes about something critical that gets ignored in these conversations. Schneider is a former high school teacher and the founder of University Paideia, a pre-college program for under-served students in the San Francisco Bay Area. His research focuses on educational policymaking and school reform in the 20th century. Schneider is the author of “Excellence For All: How a New Breed of Reformers Is Transforming America’s Public Schools” and is working on a new book about scholarship in education. He tweets @Edu_Historian.
By Jack Schneider
I was a pretty good high school teacher. I wasn’t perfect, or even great. In fact, I doubt that I was the best teacher on my end of the hallway. But I knew my content area—history—and I was passionate about it. I had high expectations and was a rigorous grader. I pushed my students to grow as readers and writers. And I spent endless hours revising my lessons. So it isn’t entirely surprising to me that every once in a
If you’re talking about ‘college and career ready’
If you’re talking about ‘college and career ready’
If you’re talking about “college & career ready” & have nothing to say about schools laying off guidance counselors, that ain’t #RealEdTalk. — Sabrina Stevens (@TeacherSabrina) September 6, 2013 Context: Budget troubles have led some school districts to either reduce the number of counselors or completely eliminate them, leaving schools without professionals who, at their best, help s