Ecology of Education

Ancient physicians believed that humors ruled the health–both physical and mental–of the human body. Any imbalance was a sure cause for illness and disease. This belief gave rise to the practice of administering curatives such as bleedings, purgatives, diuretics, among others in order to restore the balance of humors within the patient’s body. Similarly, the [...]

If you’re a teacher or have ever been a teacher, you know you’ve thought it. We all have, at some point. “If they spent half as much on education as they do on the military . . .” Well, what if we had our cake and ate it too? Why not keep the military spending [...]

(This post was written in conjunction with The National Day of Blogging for Real Education Reform.) Scenario: Zombie invasion. Your mission: Survive. Do you: A. Arm yourself heavily & prepare to wallop hundreds, possibly thousands, of undead humanoids upside the head? B. Find a Cold War relic bomb shelter and hermetically seal yourself inside until [...]

Teachers would be foolhardy to label parents as either good or bad. Not all parents are created equal and cannot be categorized on a single spectrum.  To do so would jeopardize a teacher’s ability to survive. Literally.  I mean, I’m talking life or death here. You see, when normally mild mannered and reasonable people become [...]

Here are some (hopefully amusing) Pros & Cons of spending summer break as a full-time daddy.

I submitted 5 open-ended questions I thought lawmakers should ask teachers before crafting bills aimed at reforming education. The policymakers on the Education Policy Committee thought it was a great idea (especially after the stink teachers made about not being included in reform efforts in Florida).  However, in order to more easily quantify the responses, [...]

Not all gaps are created equal. Here is a handy guide to 10 gaps in education that not everyone knows about, but have a major impact on schools, teachers & students.

In the 500 years since Columbus’s Big Misunderstanding in the “West Indies”, our education system has come a long way.  After manhandling the country away from the natives (who’s “schools” probably consisted of ridiculously worthless lessons like feeding your family, shelters that last, and building fires without zippos, anyway) we’ve managed to construct an institution that has [...]

Two words: Tater Tots. Dipped in ketchup. For Breakfast. Accidentally pass gas in company? No problem. Turn to the toddler and ask, “Do you need to go potty?” Newborn in arms = legitimate reason to do nothing but watch kung-fu, sci-fi or fall asleep. When your childless friends bellyache about how busy they are, it [...]

I keep waiting for Steve Job’s introduction of Apple’s iGadget line, supposedly already in prototype production.  According to rumors I’m making up and circulating, the iGadget line is intended to be a complete lifestyle suite of gadgets, accessories, and apps to improve our i-lives.   I secured this incomplete list of products from my imagination. iWipe: [...]