‘Hurricane Vicki’
Portland’s former superintendent gets a big stage with Gates Foundation assignment.
Testing
Beyond Anthologies
A veteran teacher laments the trend toward mandated curriculum and argues that teachers should choose materials that address students’ lives and social issues.
Despair, Hope, and the Future
UCLA professor blunts anti-public school rhetoric with honest insights on education.
Edwina Left Behind
Edwina did what was asked of her. Did Alaska do everything it could for her?
Shaking Foundations
Virginia professors take on the state’s attempt to eliminate Social Foundations of Education” from required course work.”
NCLB and the Military
California teachers take a stand against the NCLB-aided military blitz on in-school recruiting.
Lego Fascists’ (that’s us) vs. Fox News
What’s so wrong about questioning modern American values such as consumerism and militarism?
Can NCLB Be Left Behind?
Reauthorization could bring ‘damage control’ or more damage.
Exit Strategies
Getting us out of the war in Iraq and NCLB requires challenging the premises that got us into these messes in the first place.
‘I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad’
Another child’s love of reading runs smack into No Child Left Behind.
Elephants in the Room
When mainstream media report on urban schools, the real story is often what goes unsaid.
Overhauling NCLB: What You Can Do
8th-grade algebra meets rising gas prices and peak oil.
Test Prep and the War
Preparing high schoolers for the Regents exam while studying the War in Iraq.
Film: Inspiration From Mexico’s Rank and File
Film: Granito de Arena (Grain of Sand) by director: Jill Friedberg, Corrugated Films, 2005, DVD. 60 min.
We’re Not Blind. Just Follow the Dollar Sign
Chicago’s renaissance” could mean dark age for city’s public schools.”
Bargaining for Better Schools
One union works for meaningful small school reform.
Not in Our Name
Reclaiming the democratic vision of small school reform.
Editorial: The Small School Express
If we ignore race and money inequities, small school reform won’t help anything meaningful take root.
Standardizing Small
How testing and top-down reform can undermine small schools.
An Open Letter to Bill and Melinda Gates
Thanks for helping start Success Tech Academy in Cleveland, Charney says, but tell state leaders they’re going to have to fund these ideas too or your money won’t be well-spent.
The Gates Foundation and Small Schools
The Gates’ $735 million have made them key players in small school reform.
Testing Lang
Lang was a student of mine last year, an eight-year-old with big brown eyes and a shy, quiet nature. He hated writing; putting pencil to paper was a brutal task […]
Lessons from a Garden Spider
An ordinary spider assists a multilingual third-grade classroom.
Unacceptable
Labelling schools low-performing” has consequences for all.”
Field Trip
A teacher observes social inequities during a class trip.