With budget cuts to education and social services, schools are struggling across the nation to do more with less. However, the current approach used by the Obama Administration, Arne Duncan, and other so-called reformers is that a good teacher can overcome everything thrown at them. You’re a great teacher? Have some extra students. You’re a ...

I’m surprised, but not shocked, that politicians and columnists continue to advocate for a link between teacher evaluations and RiF processes, but I have to admit that I’m frustrated by the lack of forethought on this issue. I don’t believe the current evaluation system in WA State is a good one–which is why nine districts are piloting new ...

Previously I had posted about how education may be suffering from the loss of a generation of teachers. With few people retiring and no positions to hire, education could be losing a myriad of teachers to other professions. After all, if teaching isn’t hiring, someone else may be. Well, I’ve been accused of hyperbole with my coming thoughts, but ...

It’s sad to me that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show has become perhaps the best watchdog in journalism today, but he does get to the heart of the Wisconsin fight for collective bargaining rights and the hypocrisy of this partisan issue. I only hope your state is not fighting this same battle, but I have a feeling this struggle will be yours soon ...

If you want an accurate analysis of the Wisconsin teacher protests as a microcosm of the nation’s teaching force’s feelings, read Diane Ravitch’s CNN editorial. Not only does she discuss the growing anger of teachers everywhere, but she points out the hypocritical nature of the “reformers” and those elected officials who claim to be improving the ...

Washington State, like many other states, is hurting financially. No one questions this; however, the recovery methods and suggestions do cause me to pause and worry about the state’s and nation’s education futures. One column’s composer basically says teachers should be able to overcome all odds to create student success. Granted, the author ...

Why are teachers and students judged by the worst of each? Each time I read an article or scan the comments sections of those articles, students and teachers are judged by the lowest common denominators. Ignored are the valedictorians, the Honors Society Members, the Debate champions, the Knowledge Bowl victors, and AP successes. Overlooked are ...

I often discuss with my students the art of framing a question. I teach them how to fairly, justly, and ethically create a question based on neutrality and fact-finding. And then I tell them how to do it effectively. I like to illustrate framing an argument using one of the most controversial of topics–abortion. I ask them to consider the names ...

According to Rick Ayers in a blog post on The Answer Sheet (a fantastic daily must-read), the filmmakers got it wrong in Waiting for Superman. Here is his list, and you can check out his full explanations at the source. Waiting for Superman says that lack of money is not the problem in education. Waiting for Superman implies that standardized ...

Well, I’ve said unions are not the enemy of education reform many, many times. Unions just refuse to allow their members to lose ground when it comes to compensation, benefits, and working conditions. Plus, union leaders recognize that the recent trends in education are often about privatizing education, providing another hand-out to ...