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
Recent spontaneous and unprecedented high school student protest movements are causing a growing panic among the wealthy investor class who want to convert much of American education from public, democratic control to corporate investor control for their profits. It is showing that high school students are finding their own voice distinct from just joining in with adult protests.
Continue reading High School Student Protests Create Headaches for Some, Hope for Others
My students are from lots of places: Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico, Vietnam, South Korea, China, and Taiwan this year. The mix is always changing. My two classes are adult-ed, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
I am lucky to have such a good part-time job working for an awesome community college. This is only my second semester to teach in this program.
Continue reading It Takes Practice to Become This Kind of a Rainbow
Never really getting true reform, Michelle Rhee has stepped down from her role as the leading spokesperson for the corporation schools front organization Students First.
She held fast to an ideology – yes, ideology and not data – that denies the power of poverty in interrupting poor students’ education. Instead, she focused on schools and teachers that serve those areas of high poverty. She placed blame liberally on teachers, insisting that with better teaching, poor students could succeed in spite of their poverty.
Continue reading Poverty Is Still a Huge Issue for Students – Michelle Rhee Is Still Wrong
After you have worked your way through the prep and first few days of your new job teaching alternative school, what next?
During that first year, your teaching abilities will change and grow as never before because the students won’t allow it to be any other way!
In any setting, teaching causes you to grow personally and professionally.
But, in alternative school, that is a hyper process. The demands of these students are bigger and more pressing than students who you might have taught in student teaching or in earlier teaching positions.
In those two big areas of teacher growth here are my ideas about surviving your first year teaching alternative school.
Continue reading Survival Guide to Teaching Alternative School, Part 2 — Your First Year
Out of the 16 years that I spent teaching in public schools, 6 were spent teaching in alternative schools. I know some stuff that might help.
This is my good news for you about teaching in alternative school:
The pressure will make you a far better teacher than you ever would have been if you had spent the same amount of time in a traditional school with seemingly compliant students.
Continue reading Survival Guide to Teaching Alternative School, Part I — The First Days
There are 3 education questions that, when answered or dodged, tell all about a politician’s stance on public education:
Continue reading The 3 Education Questions We Should Ask All Candidates for Public Office