"This is the best thing my union has ever done for me" - Lily's Blackboard : "This is the best thing my union has ever done for me" One of our core values is ensuring that every student has a caring, committed, qualified teacher. That means educators must have the resources and support to be the very best they can be. National Board Certification , a voluntary, advanced teaching credential, is an
BREAKING NEWS - Having lied about her education background – Linda McMahon is now a Trump appointee - Wait What? : BREAKING NEWS – Having lied about her education background – Linda McMahon is now a Trump appointee President-Elect Donald Trump has announced that World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon will head the Small Business Administration. McMahon is well known in Connecticut,
Charters, Blackwater, justifying cruelty to children: Future schools in Trumpland | : Charters, Blackwater, justifying cruelty to children: Future schools in Trumpland How can you be in charge of a Newark charter school and mess up a venerable name like Paul Robeson? Was “Miss” Gray’s shadow-self acting out and halfway, in her mind, to Robberson? Now that’s a Freudian name-drop. I found this lett
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Dems leave teacher unions hanging on DeVos : Dems leave teacher unions hanging on DeVos IEA graphic. Hillary has her picture on milk cartons since she went missing after election day. SNL even picked up on it. Seems like the entire old-guard leadership must be out in the Chappaqua woods with her, especially when it comes to resisting the Trump juggernaut. Most notab
Tackling the challenge of precarious labor | American Federation of Teachers : Tackling the challenge of precarious labor Precarious labor is shifting the landscape of the working world, with an increasing number of unstable (often part-time) jobs, low pay and exploitative working conditions. At a daylong Washington, D.C., conference on Dec. 5, labor leaders, policy experts and academics—includin
Charter school advocate will head Ohio's charter school office | cleveland.com : Charter school advocate will head Ohio's charter school office COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Department of Education has hired charter school advocate RaShaun Holliman, the head of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools , to lead its charter school office. He started Monday in the position once held by Joni Hoffman
Badass Teachers Association : Shawna Mott-Wright: The precarious finances of an Oklahoma classroom teacher By: Shawna Mott-Wright Originally published here http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/opinionfeatured/shawna-mott-wright-the-precarious-finances-of-an-oklahoma-classroom/article_993c04a4-b158-57bd-81e9-ca086191ab98.html The holiday season traditionally marks the start of a time to celebrate the
CURMUDGUCATION: What Do The Tests Measure? : What Do The Tests Measure? Christopher Tienken (Seton Hall) has solved a mystery. Along with Anthony Colella (Seton Hall), Christian Angelillo (Boonton Township SD), Meredith Fox (Nanuet Union SD), Kevin McCahill (George W. Miller Elementary) and Adam Wolfe (Peoria Unified SD), Tienken has once again answered the question -- what do the Big Standardize
Take the TWO TOUR Pledge! – Cloaking Inequity : Take the TWO TOUR Pledge! I received this interesting letter about the Two Tour pledge from a Cloaking Inequity reader. The Two Tour Pledge Now that the presidential election is over and a new secretary of education has been named, it appears that school segregation will only continue down its ugly path – unless… Unless we CHOOSE otherwise. Unless w
Privatize, Monetize, Weaponize: How the DeVos family devoured Michigan’s schools | Eclectablog : Privatize, Monetize, Weaponize: How the DeVos family devoured Michigan’s schools NOTE: This post is a companion piece to this week’s episode of The Sit and Spin Room podcast . Click HERE or scroll to the bottom of the post to listen to the podcast or find it wherever you get your podcasts by searching
Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Did the Shift from Paper to Computer Bring Down East Asia’s (China’s) PISA Performance? : Did the Shift from Paper to Computer Bring Down East Asia’s (China’s) PISA Performance? I was surprised by China’s 2015 PISA performance, particularly in reading. I was confident that even the expansion beyond Shanghai would not cause a significant decli
The big burden of charter school oversight | EdSource : The big burden of charter school oversight With the California Charter Schools Association’s goal of serving a million students – a nearly 75 percent increase – within six years, charter school growth is raising the stakes for effective monitoring. But there’s a sharp contrast in charter oversight capacity between California’s largest distri
Betsy DeVos and the twilight of public education : Betsy DeVos and the twilight of public education In Detroit, parents of school-age children have plenty of choices, thanks to the nation's largest urban network of charter schools. What remains in short supply is quality. In Brightmoor, the only high school left is Detroit Community Schools, a charter boasting more than a decade of abysmal test s
National universities plead to Trump on behalf of DACA, but… | Fred Klonsky : National universities plead to Trump on behalf of DACA, but… Luis Gomez, a 21-year-old senior at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Following up on the previous post. While the University of Illinois has turned a deaf ear to faculty, student and alumni calls for undocumented student sanctuary, Muriel A. Howard, the p
For students worried about Trump, Los Angeles school district opens hotline, support sites - The Washington Post : For students worried about Trump, Los Angeles school district opens hotline, support sites The Los Angeles Unified School District — the nation’s second largest public school system — is about 75 percent Latino. That helps explain why a month after Donald Trump won the presidential e
Schools Matter: Sister Betsy Will Be Puppet of Walton Clan : Sister Betsy Will Be Puppet of Walton Clan The Detroit Free Press has a scathing assessment of Sister Betsy Devos's involvement in education matters (see below). What is missing in this and other discussions of Sister Betsy's ranking of ideological devotion over educational quality is the DeVos link to the Walton clan . If Sister Betsy
Bruce Baker: How Do Charter Schools Affect Public Schools in Urban Districts | Diane Ravitch's blog : Bruce Baker: How Do Charter Schools Affect Public Schools in Urban Districts Bruce Baker is a professor of education at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers ; his area of specialization is school finance and the economics of education. This new paper is a major analysis of the effects of c
Education Law Prof Blog : What Betsy DeVos Does Not Know About Public Schools and Probably Assumes About Private Ones Yesterday, Alyson Klein, pointed out that Betsy DeVos, the nominee for Secretary of Education, would be the first person to head the department in its more than 35-year history who hasn't either attended public schools or sent her own children to them. . . . And DeVos, a school ch
CURMUDGUCATION: ESSA Won't Spur "Best Practices" : ESSA Won't Spur "Best Practices" Eric Kalenze, Director of Education Solutions at the Search Institute , is guest-blogging at Rick Hess's EdWeek spot this week. His interest leans towards questions of research and best practices and how any of those things ever hope to line up with actual classrooms. Today he's asking one particularly interesting
Michigan Commentators Fill in the Gaps about Michigan’s Betsy DeVos | janresseger : Michigan Commentators Fill in the Gaps about Michigan’s Betsy DeVos When someone like Betsy DeVos, who has been active for years in Michigan state politics emerges on the national stage, it is worth paying careful attention to what Michigan insiders have to say. DeVos is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Charter School Updates : Washington State Charter School Updates With the Growth Boundaries, 20-Minutes added to the school day, changes to the Student Assignment Plan, Cedar Park, etc, I have found nary the time to write about charter schools in Washington State. But finally, here it is. Washington State Charter School Commission Today, the Commi
'We need to get moving': LAUSD's King urges school board to approve retooled 3-year plan | 89.3 KPCC : 'We need to get moving': LAUSD's King urges school board to approve retooled 3-year plan After months of back-and-forth, Los Angeles Unified school board members finally appear poised to sign off on superintendent Michelle King's strategic plan, a crucial visioning document school district leade
Interview with Betsy DeVos, the Reformer | Excellence in Philanthropy | The Philanthropy Roundtable : Interview with Betsy DeVos, the Reformer For years now, she has been at the forefront of the educational-reform movement . Interview from Spring 2013 issue of Philanthropy magazine Betsy DeVos is a reformer. At Calvin College, the young Elisabeth Prince undertook her vocation, becoming involved w
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 12/6/16 Featured Post Another Education Blog Sells Out - Big Education Ape for Sale! It’s time to restructure the US Department of Education | Seattle Education by mike simpson / 5min It’s
A List of Closed Charter Schools in Washington, DC
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Quick: How many “public” charter schools have closed in Washington, DC?
Would you say five? A dozen? Maybe twenty? Guess what: According to the
board in ch...
Why I Am So Dangerous
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When it comes to transforming this country, I am much more dangerous than
George Soros, even the George Soros of Fox News imagination! That George is
tran...
Cartoons on Teaching English
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For this month I have turned to cartoonists who draw on their experiences
in English, reading, and language arts lessons. Enjoy!
Adve...
On the Road, Singing the Dark Times
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SINGING in DARK TIMES Sunday, April 29 | 5:00 PM-6:30 PM Comfort Station
| 2579 N Milwaukee Ave Motto In the dark times, will there also be singing?
Yes, t...
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
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Wednesday Metro Nashville Public Schools presented their proposed budget
for 2018 – 2019. Just for reference, I went back and watched the
presentation from...
Celebrating Earth and Thanking Science Teachers
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Earth Day 2018 is April 22! Let's celebrate our planet and the science
teachers who work so hard to help our students understand how to protect
it. More…
Friday Open Thread
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Three times in a decade - yet another Washington State teacher has been
named nationally as the Teacher of the Year. Congrats to Mandy Manning, a
teacher ...
DeVos Becomes an Actual Punchline
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From the moment she became late night sketch fodder, Betsy DeVos has become
something new in the world of education secretaries.
I doubt that the average c...
Neo-Confederates, Monuments, and Flags
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By Paul Horton. Although advocacy groups like the United Daughters of the
Confederacy have made statements disavowing any groups that promote hate,
many ...
This Week in Education Organizing - April 20, 2018
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*Books, Not Guns*
Today is another day of protest, as tens of thousands of students and
supporters are expected to walk out of schools and rally for stri...
The Best Stick Collector
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"I'm the best stick collector." He said it to me earnestly, as if telling
me something I didn't already know. His cubby, the place designated for his
p...
What Feeds Bias in the Education World?
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I'm not naïve enough to think that schools could turn hearts and minds in a
K-12 generation. But could they do significant good, given the right tools
and ...
Why We Must Save the VA for Veterans
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As a ten-year U.S. Army combat veteran, I’ve felt my share of aches and
pains following my service to my country. And I know firsthand how the
Veterans Adm...
“Out of Joint”: On Ideology and Anxiety
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The time is out of joint. O cursèd spite, That ever I was born to set it
right! Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5, ll. 190-191 My high school English students
in Upst...
2018 Medley #10
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Teacher Activism, Retention-in-Grade, Charters, Testing, First Amendment,
Science TEACHER ACTIVISM The 9 states where teachers have it worst
According to C...
Educators have no business supporting war
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Damascus after the attack. War is the enemy of education, of children and
families. Education leaders have no business supporting war or encouraging
war-m...
A Rotten Peach Poisoning Atlanta Public Schools
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Sadly, the Atlantic Public Schools (APS) are careening from one destructive
tragedy to the next. On the heels of the great cheating scandal of 2009,
APS hi...
Choice as a Substitute for Adequacy?
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Originally posted on School Finance 101:
Another excerpt from forthcoming work… Much of the expansion of charter
schooling occurred during the recession. T...
Heartbroken
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She was brilliant in high school. I admired her so much. She traveled to
our not so great school in the Bronx from Manhattan because of our honor
prog...
Featured Author @ Palmdale Book Festival
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Join me for a captivating book signing & storytelling! Get your very own
signed copy of 5 stars Chike the Invincible! and Oma the Faithful
Daughter! ...
Terrorism?
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Could somebody explain to me why acts like the unprovoked and senseless
attack by Salman Abidi in 2017 on an audience of predominantly innocent
children wa...
Some thoughts on Trump, Rosenstein, and Mueller
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offered in light of recent events, and the information floating around both
that Trump wants to get rid of Rosenstein and that Rosenstein expects to be
f...
Expanding "No Excuses" Models is a Bad Idea
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An organization called The Future of Children came out recently with a
report titled* Charter Schools and the Achievement Gap* by Sarah Cohodes,
an assist...
ELA Assessment: Dear Board of Regents,
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Dear Members of the Board of Regents,
Thank you for your service as leaders in public education in New York
State. I am writing as a parent of two public ...
Advocating for Schools to City Leaders
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Dr. Robert Moses, civil rights icon and education advocate, joined the
April 12 Education Town Hall, along with long-time DC education advocate
Suzanne Wel...
PAA joins Google/You Tube FTC complaint
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Today, Parents Across America joined more than 20 civic and children’s
advocacy organizations in filing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint
against ...
Helping an ATR
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The following are real words and real life from a current ATR. The
statement below was read to the UFT executive board on March 26, 2018. Her
name has been...
A maximizing area question
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I gave this question to students as a challenge at the end of a trig unit.
A quadrilateral has perimeter = 60 and a 30º angle. What is the maximum
possible...
Welcome to the walkout, from okeducationmom
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When I marched for the passage of HB 1017 in 1990, I was hopeful and then
grateful that Governor Henry Bellmon and a bipartisan group of legislators
found ...
Who Survives Success?
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Success Academy opened in 2006 with 156 students — 83 kindergarteners and
73 first graders. Now, eleven years later, they have their first
graduating seni...
Silence Speaks At March For Our Lives
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Listen to Emma’s profound silence. Remember the silence of students
crouched in closets, hiding from the sound of an automatic weapon being
fired in their ...
Scenes for the March For Life in New York
-
And so they came and came by the thousands, flooding Central Park West with
citizens of all ages, all races, all creeds, all who have had enough of
insane ...
A NATION THAT FEARS ITS CHILDREN?
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Here we are again. The murders caused by the NRA-GOP-Gun manufacturers
corruption have terrorized America for over a generation. Young people do
not see ad...
I’m voting for Chris Kennedy
-
A question was posed to me last night. “At this point, does a vote for
Daniel Biss instead of Chris Kennedy help JB Pritzker?” During the last
presidential...
Amy/Andy and the Orphans
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Willowbrook. Any New Yorker of a certain age shutters at that name–and no,
not because it was Geraldo Rivera who brought it to our attention.
Willowbrook w...
Florina Rodov: The Truth About Charter Schools
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*“[W]hen teachers aren’t unionized, they’re exploited — and when teachers
suffer, so do kids.” — Florina Rodov*
This amazing piece by Florina Rodov on *S...
#NationalSchoolWalkout – Grown Ups Need to Listen
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Student activists, responding to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, organized a national walk out to
memoriali...
Letter for BCPS Parents: My Child is Not a Pipeline
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(Image courtesy of Alison McDowell) Dear County Council Members, I am
writing on behalf of concerned BCPS parents regarding the newest rounds of
BCPS polic...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
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Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
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I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
Are Our Educators Prepared For Their Students?
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If there is one thing that I am sure of as an educator it is that rapid
change greatly affects both what and how we learn. If there is a second
thing that ...
2018 TSJ Inquiry to Action Groups (ItAGs)
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We are excited to announce the 2018 TSJ *Inquiry to Action Groups *(ItAGs).
ItAGs gather educators, activists and others to study a topic and
collectively...
Who Is Pulling The Muppet Strings?
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
Sesame Street is an iconic brand that embodies humor, acceptance, and
humanity. Who doesn’t love a muppet? So, on...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
-
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to s...
Budget Cuts To Kids Are Not Necessary!
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We’ve been hearing a lot of news from OUSD about how cuts to schools and
kids are necessary. So we’ll need to keep saying the truth… they are not
necessar...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
This is our Sputnik moment.
-
School’s all across the nation are either starting or about to start a new
academic year. It’s suppose to be an exciting time for students and
teacher. How...
Student of the Month Nightmare
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*This is something I wrote for a monthly gathering to honor some of the
best students at our school. I figure most teachers will relate:*
I was grading pap...
99 Years of Progress Erased – unless we fight back
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Public healthcare for all? Public education for all? What is being done to
our monetized children regarding their potential healthcare and their
existing e...
You Can Be an Astronaut, but You Can't Be Black
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“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question I always
imagined every kindergarten student hearing.
“I want to be a doctor!” declares Sally.
...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
Don't Like Chris Christie? Blame the Democrats.
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Yesterday Diane Ravitch published a piece in The New Republic, titled Don't
Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats.
If you care about public education at al...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
-
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
Bad Hair Day
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It’s winter time. It’s cold — okay, not for anyone outside California and
Florida, but still — I’m wearing hats in the morning. Lovely knitted hats
that I’...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
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Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
All Aboard the Opt Out Bus
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The #OptOutBus is currently traveling the country giving away free books to
children! Follow their progress at their Facebook page and donate to their
FR...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
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Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...