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Getting kids involved in summer learning — city by city, town by town, student by student
Sarah Pitcock is the CEO of the National Summer Association, which is dedicated to creating quality summer learning opportunities for young people, particularly low-income students who suffer more learning loss over the summer than other students. In this post Pitcock explains the problem of summer learning loss, and some solutions. By Sarah Pitcock For […]
Special-needs student may be barred from graduating because of two points on standardized test
Unless the Rhode Island House of Representatives goes along with a Senate-approved moratorium on the use of a standardized test as a requirement for high school graduation, Molly Coffey won’t be able to get a diploma. On that critical test, the 18-year-old, who has a form of Down syndrome, missed the graduation cutoff by two […]
Superintendent: The greatest ‘crime’ committed against the teaching profession
Thomas Scarice, the superintendent of Madison Public Schools in Connecticut, has been a vocal critic of high-stakes test-based school reform. Earlier this year he sent a letter to state legislators explaining why these “reforms will not result in improved conditions since they are not grounded in research.” In the following piece, he looks at what […]
JUN 19
And now, a Common Core brawl
You’d think that the heated debate, overcharged rhetoric and complete nonsense being spouted for and against the Common Core State Standards would be enough for one education reform. But no, now we have a brawl. Yes, in Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal — who loved the Core before he hated it — has essentially declared war […]
Aren’t California tenure policies in fact unreasonable? Plus 4 more Vergara questions asked and answered
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu handed down a ruling in Vergara vs California this month tossing out California statutes providing job protections to teachers, siding with plaintiffs who argued that California children who live in low-income families receive an inadequate education because they get weak teachers who can’t be fired. The ruling has […]
From Redskins to Redhawks: Why one Washington high school changed team name after 88 years
This week, a Washington state high school whose sports teams were known as the Redskins for 88 years gave final approval for a new logo with the team’s new name: The Redhawks. Why did it make the change? Because it determined that while tradition was important and change is hard, the Redskins name is disparaging […]
JUN 18
Sarcasm, Scarlett Johannson and why machines should never grade student writing
Can machines really grade essays as well as humans? Naturally, there is a study that says they can (there are studies saying just about everything), but a number of experts say otherwise. Here’s one of them, writing about why the machines are inferior graders and should not be used. It was written by Maja Wilson, […]
What real learning actually looks like in class
For decades educator Marion Brady has been writing about what real learning looks like in class — and it frankly doesn’t resemble much of what you’d see today in public schools where standardized tests drive what and how teachers teach. In the following post Brady explains what project-based learning is and why it is superior […]
JUN 17
A case for why K-12 teachers need tenure
Why should teachers have tenure? What, for that matter, is “tenure” anyway? The issue has become a big topic of conversation because of the recent verdict in the “Vergara trial,” in which a Los Angeles judge tossed out California statutes giving job protections to teachers. The decision didn’t exactly come out of nowhere; school “reformers” have […]
Dear LeBron: Time to get a college degree (other big-time athletes did)
“Thank you,” Washington Post sports writer Mike Wise wrote in this great love letter to Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James, “for giving youngsters someone to emulate.” Love him or hate him — and it seems that more people love to hate him than perhaps anybody else in professional sports — James has been a role model […]
Summer reading list for and by teachers
Here are books for and recommended by teachers, from Scholastic Instructor magazine and titled the “Ultimate Summer Reading List for Teachers:” We searched far and wide to come up with a list of great books for you to crack open during the summer break—and, most important, we asked our teacher advisers and Facebook teachers what they were […]
JUN 15
Starbucks to offer employees free tuition to complete online bachelor’s degree
Starbucks is planning to announce on Monday a new plan to offer full tuition reimbursement to thousands of its employees to complete a bachelor’s degree online — with no mandate to stay with the company after graduation. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan, in collaboration with Arizona State University, will be announced in New York by […]
Arne Duncan issues new statement with the ‘right lessons’ from Vergara trial
In case you weren’t sure what to think about last week’s verdict in the “Vergara trial” — in which a Los Angeles judge tossed out state statutes giving job protections to teachers — Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a new statement Sunday offering what he thinks are the “right lessons” from the case. Vergara v. […]
JUN 14
‘If you truly cared’ — angry president of largest teachers union sends message to school reformers
It’s been a bad week for teachers unions — what with a California judge tossing out state statutes providing job protections for teachers and attendant publicity, including an article in Politico Pro with the headline, “The Fall of Teachers’ Unions‘. But let’s face it: Headlines have been screaming for years that teachers unions were “under […]
Superintendents on Common Core: ‘Slow down to get it right’
The American Association of School Administrators just released a new report calling for policymakers to slow down the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and aligned standardized tests because educators need more time to “get it right.” Last week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said it now supports a two-year delay in using student […]
‘ I have very real concerns about the sustainability of public education’ — Virginia teacher’s ‘painful’ decision to quit
Josh Waldron is an award-winning teacher in Waynesboro, Virginia — or rather, was an award-winning teacher in Waynesboro, Virginia. In the following sobering post, Waldron explains why he made the “tough decision” to leave the classroom after six years, during which he won four teaching awards. It isn’t that he didn’t love teaching. He did. […]