For most of us parents, the first impression that we have of school is that it is a warm, welcoming place. It’s because that first impression comes from viewing the Kindergarten class on an occasional basis when our children first start school. Continue reading The Hostile Workplace of Teachers
Over the last ten years, bloggers have kept the issues of who controls schools at the forefront when so many big money interests want desperately to have us look the other way.
One advantage that school raiders have in taking public schools away from the public and turning them over to investor-owned charters is that the traditional news sources are hobbled from reporting accurately and fully.
Continue reading Blogs Are Critical to Re-establishing Public Schools
Once upon a time in Oklahoma, magnet public schools were the “choice” that allowed for much more creativity and freedom. They helped to break years of racial/economic segregation. But that’s not the point of a huge “school choice” push today. Continue reading Cynical School Choice Stunts Ramp Up In Oklahoma
This is “school choice” week for those who propose that all parents just take a certain amount of tax money and choose whatever school they want their child to be in. But it doesn’t always work that way. Continue reading Does School Choice Mean that You Choose the School?
A sweeping charter school bill was defeated last year in the Oklahoma Legislature. If passed, they would have allowed investor-owned charters to spring up in direct competition to public schools everywhere, even in the smallest of towns.
The “reform” argument was the same as it has always been when selling “education reform”: Continue reading Bait and Switch with “Parent Choice”?
Even though experienced teachers as a group have a high degree of love for their students and their work, they are leaving education in large numbers. The teacher brain drain has been happening for about ten years now, and very little grief expressed. Why? Continue reading Education Reformers Engineer a Teacher Brain Drain
Education reformers love to strike a heroic pose as they refer to themselves as engaging in “disruptive innovation”. Thing is, that’s not what they are doing. It’s more like what corporate raiders did in the 1980s. Continue reading Education Reform is Not Disruptive Innovation
After the election on November 4th, will we then need to defend the independently-elected position of Superintendent of Public Instruction? No matter who wins the race to fill it, the answer is most likely, yes. Continue reading Why We Will Need to Defend the Office of State Superintendent
The race for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction took a negative turn about two weeks ago after having been a pretty classy campaign until then. Continue reading Campaign Attack Blog Reveals Ugly Attitudes Toward Educating the Poor
How many failures will it take before we allow ourselves to know that societal problems impede education just as a lack of education impedes progress in society? It’s not either/or. It’s both/and.
Continue reading Success Still Hinges on the Student’s Life Outside of School