“Protecting Classrooms From Corporate Takeover: What Families Can Learn from Teachers’ Unions”
Protecting Classrooms From Corporate Takeover: What Families Can Learn from Teachers’ Unions is a good article in YES Magazine that was written by Amy Dean. It’s gives a number of very good examples of teachers unions working with families and other community members. I’m a little disappointed, however, with the headline — it would have been nice to communicate that it’s a two-way street — we can
“Is Parent Involvement Really a Waste of Time?” – Excellent Response to “Broken Compass”
Is Parent Involvement Really a Waste of Time? Recent Polemic versus the Research Record by Mai Miksic is an excellent response to the authors of the Broken Compass book. It was published by the CUNY Institute For Education Policy. Here’s an excerpt: “The weak empirical basis of Robinson and Harris’ book means it cannot in any way challenge the decades’ worth of research that has shown positive eff
APR 23
The Best Posts On Involving Fathers In Schools
The topic of increasing the involvement of fathers in schools has been garnering some attention lately, and I thought I’d bring together some of the previous posts on the topic together. I was prompted to do so by today’s article in The Washington Post, Schools roll out the red carpet for dads who volunteer. Coincidentally, I believe tonight’s #PTchat on Twitter was on this same subject, and I’ll
APR 22
inBloom Officially Folds, Blaming Everybody But Itself & Its Funders For Failure
I’ve chronicled the ongoing fiasco of the Gates Foundation-founded-and-financed inBloom student data-vacuuming service called inBloom (see The Best Posts On The inBloom Data Fiasco). As usual, these guys never bothered asking parents and teachers what they thought before they initiated their bright idea and, now that today they announced its dissolution, they’re blaming everybody but themselves a
APR 20
Good Letter To NY Times Editor On “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement
The New York Times published three letters to the editor today on the infamous “Broken Compass” parent involvement op-ed and book. The first one is good and the second one, by parenting researcher and professor Wendy Grolnick, is excellent. I’m adding this info to The Best Commentaries On The “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement Book.
“The Middle Ground Between Opt Out And All In”
The Middle Ground Between Opt Out And All In is a very thoughtful post by Matthew Di Carlo at The Shanker Blog. Here’s an excerpt: when it comes to “opting out,” what’s important to me is the idea that you don’t have to agree with its proponents’ solution to acknowledge that they may be correct about the existence of a problem. There are good and bad policy applications happening right now, and it
Free Webinar With Anne Henderson This Tuesday On Parent Engagement
Anne Henderson, one of the top — if not THE top — expert on parent engagement in the U.S., is leading a free Webinar this Tuesday. Here’s the information that I’m copying and pasting from the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education: Free Webinar, April 22: High-Impact Strategies to Engage Families & Enhance Student Achievement A free webinar on Tuesday, April 22, 2:00 PM — 3:30
APR 19
The Best Commentaries On The “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement Book
Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework is the title of an article that appeared a few weeks ago in The Atlantic. It was written by Dana Goldstein. It describes research shared in a new book, The Broken Compass:Parental Involvement With Children’s Education by two professors which, at least according to Dana Goldstein, questions most the effectiveness of what most of us would typically consider
“The relationship between single mothers and poverty is not as simple as it seems”
As most people know, there is a common narrative suggesting that single-parent households can be a cause of many problems affecting children — in and out of school. I’ve previously posted some articles questioning that view (see The Best Articles Questioning The View That Single Parents Are A Problem), and a new article has just been published raising more questions. Check out The relationship bet
“Ombudsman” Hired In D.C. To Work With Families
D.C. Board of Education names ombudsman as liaison between families, schools is the headline of a recent article in The Washington Post. Here’s an excerpt: D.C. parents have a new place to take their questions and complaints about city education: Joyanna Smith, the independent ombudsman charged with helping families navigate the District’s traditional and charter schools. Smith is a lawyer and for