Why Are We (Still) Failing Writing Instruction?
We have two recent commentaries that detail how schools and teachers fail students in the teaching of writing—one comes from a college student and the other, from a former teacher. While both reach the same conclusion about the teaching of writing, the reasons for those failures are in conflict, suggesting that we must consider whether schools and teachers are fumbling the teaching of writing, and
End Zero-Tolerance Policies: A Reader
What do zero-tolerance policies, “no excuses” practices, and grade retention have in common? They all negatively and disproportionately impact children from poverty, minority children, English language learners, and boys; and nearly as disturbing, all are discredited by large bodies of research. Is the tide turning against at least zero-tolerance policies? Lizette Alvarez reports: Faced with mount
12-1-13 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Belief Culture: “We Don’t Need No Education”“Four in 10 Americans, slightly fewer today than in years past, believe God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago.” This December 2010 poll also includes the finding that a scant 16 percent of the U.S. pop