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Calling teachers to action beyond SB 6
My heart has been racing for educators over the last month. Even though I no longer take up residence in Florida, I literally experienced palpitations watching debate over Senate Bill 6 take place on the House floor. When considering the potential impact of what could result from passage of said legislation, my thoughts went immediately [...]
Continue reading...What Ifs of Education
12. March 2010
1) What if we eliminated public schools as we know them? What if parents were provided with smaller, more personalized community schooling options in lieu of our current “mass production” schooling campuses. Think of it as a revival of the one-room school house, except maybe a two story multi-bedroom house instead. Instead of building new schools, [...]
Continue reading...Intelligent Design and the Debate of Religion in our Public Schools
7. October 2009
A debate rages in science classrooms across the nation. With the publication of Darwin’s Origin of the Species, the commonly held belief that a sole and divine creator is responsible for the conception of human life, and that it is his grace alone that provides the sole reason behind our purpose and existence, was challenged. [...]
Continue reading...The President’s Race to the Top
27. August 2009
On July 29th, 2009, the Department of Education announced the release of a competitive grant program available all states called Race to the Top, or the State Incentive Grant Fund. This program provides 4.3 billion dollars in grant monies to states that demonstrate “significant education reforms across four assurance areas.” 50% of these monies will [...]
Continue reading...Equality for Students or Undermining of Public Education?
23. June 2009
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Reimbursement Recently, the Supreme Court decided that students with special needs may be reimbursed for educational programs outside of the public programs available in their district if their needs are not being served. The court ruled in a 6-3 decision in favor of an Oregon boy who was attending [...]
Continue reading...Kentucky Fried Schooling?
15. June 2009
A recent opinion piece by Al Westerfield called “Menu For Schools” raises an interesting debate. Would creating schools in the image of competitive businesses benefit or undermine public education? I would love to hear some debate on this article fellow educators….
Continue reading...Teaching as Competitive or Cooperative?
18. May 2009
The last week or so, I’ve had ideas thumping around in my head that I just can’t seem to wrestle into a cohesive stream of consciousness. So, I’m just going to start blogging and see if they resolve themselves. I’ve long struggled with the idea of teaching becoming a competitive profession. While competition is appropriate [...]
Continue reading...How can a spoon drop kid succeed in a cookie cutter school system?
9. April 2009
I’ve been spending a lot of time the last two weeks looking up articles on Sage Publication’s website (by the way, you can peruse their journals for free until April 30th). I’ve been pouring through articles on a variety of topics: gifted, ADHD, alternative assessments, teacher retention, pre-service teacher education…etc. I’ve been doing this with [...]
Continue reading...AIG reminds me of our blessings
31. March 2009
Admist all the turbulence and outrage at AIG executives for the acceptance of large bonuses funded by taxpayer dollars, I am reminded of what an extraordinary country we live in. That the public can rage out loud, that our media organizations are free to report and free to editorialize, and that our government answers to [...]
Continue reading...Education Reform – How far are we really willing to go?
31. March 2009
This morning I found it difficult to keep my fists unclenched as I pounded out a rythym on the treadmill while listening simultaneously to President Obama’s plan for education reform. It certainly was a speech that could appeal to both parties; there was little in there for everyone. But the question that kept popping up [...]
Continue reading...Free Market Education?
31. March 2009
Gatto writes… Some form of free-market system in public schooling is the likeliest place to look for answers, a free market where family schools and small entrepreneurial schools and religious schools and crafts schools and farm schools exist in profusion to compete with government education. I’m trying to describe a free market in schooling exactly [...]
Continue reading...What texts inspire you?
31. March 2009
I’m interested in hearing about texts that inspire you (or challenge your beliefs) as educators. As I prepare to apply for grad school, I’m anxious to dive back into what’s old, what’s new, theories borrowed, theories blue…. I’m about to start reading Dumbing Down America, by John Taylor Gatto. He has also written Weapons of Mass Instruction. [...]
Continue reading...Promises to the Future of Education
31. March 2009
Okay, I know this is old news, but I’m new to blogging, so I wanted a chance to add my two cents about our President’s promises about the economic stimulus package and education. Here is the excerpt from his February 24th address to the nation taken from cnn.com… “The third challenge we must address is [...]
Continue reading...Recent Videos 
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Oil Spill Estimate
Pick your level of gush: NOAA’s super-conservative-we-just-publish-what-BP-tells-us or the Dr. Doom expert analysis. Either way, it’s not looking good. It’s looking goo.
- Open Letter to the Teacher Who Said "I Hate Technology."
- The Folly of Rubrics and Grades
- A Teacher's Field Guide to Parents
- Reviewing Cathy Vatterott's "Rethinking Homework"
- Shift Happens. (Even in Schools?)
- Marion Brady: Thank YOU. I hope I didn't leave the impression th...
- Marion Brady: I've done consulting work twice for the Gates Foun...
- Sharon Elin: One important parent type that could be added, in ...
- Jessica Horton: Marion, I love this piece, but I don't know if I a...
- Adam Burk: Thanks for this post, making the necessary highlig...
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21. April 2010
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