Teacher appreciation among Americans has become an oxymoron, and teachers have known this for years. It’s not that teachers don’t appreciate luncheons, little trinkets, and notes that say, “We love our teachers,” or that they don’t pile up those heartfelt gifts (poems, pictures, and letters of appreciation from students and parents) to review forever. The […]
Education: The Democratic Party’s Working-Class Issue
If the Statue of Liberty opened the gateway to this country, public education opened the door to attainment here. Schools like my sister’s Buffalo State Teachers College and CCNY have served as the Harvards and Princetons of the poor. And they served us well. I am, consequently, a champion of public secondary and higher education. […]
Crystal Ball: A President, VP, and the Future of Public Schools
Clairvoyance is the name of the game when it comes to public schools, the Democratic party, and Presidential elections. In contrast, we know Republicans want to end them. Vice President Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, have yet to devise an education agenda. Walz’s past as a teacher, coach, and governor and his […]
Can Early Academic Pressure Cause Learning Disabilities?
When children face pressure to learn to read early in kindergarten and run into trouble, will they be diagnosed with learning disabilities when they only need more time? Creating one-size-fits-all, high-stakes standardized tests demanding children read by first grade creates pressure on the child, parent, and teacher. Higher-than-usual expectations have existed since 2001, and NCLB […]
Science of Reading and EL Education: What is It?
School privatization was born of manufactured crisis, and one of the so-called crises today is reading instruction. Not that reading shouldn’t be debated and improved when it’s called for, especially for children experiencing learning disabilities. Still, the frenzy surrounding reading in this country has become fever-pitched. It has divided teachers who want to do what’s […]
When the Last Real Teacher Says Goodbye: The Dangerous Myths Driving Their Exit
As this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week ends, Americans might want to think about a country without real teachers. In the future, technology may control and monitor children. Their data will continue to be sought after by companies. Teaching will increasingly be about profitmaking, and tutors or fast-track trained Teach for America types will supervise classrooms […]
Who’s Behind PBS News Hour’s Gloomy Reporting About Student Learning?
Arne Duncan (Obama) and Margaret Spellings (G. W. Bush), noneducators and former education secretaries, recently appeared on PBS News Hour, Study shows parents overestimate their student’s academic progress to dash any hope parents might have that their children are doing well in school. Who’s behind such gloomy reporting? Here’s how PBS begins, and here’s the survey: […]
How Stressing Preschoolers and Kindergarteners Could Lead to Mental Health Problems
There has been a pushdown of academic expectations for years, and Americans should be asking how much stress this causes all students, especially our youngest learners. If a child struggles in preschool or kindergarten, it might be due to pressure. Why force children to rush through preschool and kindergarten to learn skills that never would […]
Connecting Big Business with The Science of Reading: Replacing Teachers and Public Schools with Tech
A troubling feature of the Science of Reading (SoR) is the connection between those who believe in the power of phonemes (and more) and those who want to privatize public schools. The old NCLB crowd has been rejuvenated and seems onboard with digital instruction replacing public schools and teachers. Understanding this connection is critical for […]
Hurricane Ian: How Are the Children and Public Schools?
Hearts go out to those suffering from Hurricane Ian. It’s hard to fathom what Florida residents and those from hurricane-affected areas are experiencing. How are the children? How are they handling the disruption? Will public schools change? As of Tuesday morning, October 4, 2022, according to the Florida Department of Education, the following K-12 school […]