A Show in Jeffco: Last Week’s Meeting and What Lies Ahead
As you may recall, I went to a party last Thursday night. Sadly, I didn’t find the snacks I was promised (though not for lack of trying). What I did find was a relatively small room absolutely packed with cameras, tension, and people wearing cheaply designed custom t-shirts. And snacks or no snacks, I got […]
Falling Membership Decline Begs Question: Is Time on the NEA’s Side?
Time is not on my side today, which means I have only a few moments to write something. Which is interesting. Because as Mike Antonucci reports, time doesn’t seem to be on the side of the National Education Association, either: Officers of the National Education Association expressed some optimism last July that the union’s falling […]
Jefferson County’s Ongoing Case of the Blue Flu
Whatever Jeffco’s teachers have, it seems to be pretty contagious. First it spread like wildfire through two high schools, then it infected thousands of Jeffco high school students. Now, it’s made its way to teachers in two more schools. We should probably start making warning posters: “The blue flu is active in this area. Symptoms […]
Jeffco Teacher “Sickout” Has Me Feeling Sick… And Confused
Having to write this kind of post makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. Why would some teachers walk out on kids, enough to close down two Jeffco high schools? The headline from a 9News story points to the only two possibilities I can see: AP US History or teacher pay raises. What… […]
Task Force Talks Testing: The Challenges Ahead
As you may have noticed, I’ve been talking a lot about testing recently (see here and here). I thought I got it all out of my system, but it turns out blogging about testing is a little like eating potato chips—it’s close to impossible to stop yourself once you’ve opened the bag. It’s like cracking […]
Not a Walk in the PARCC: Testing and Local Control In Colorado
I wanted to open this post with a cute joke rhyming joke, but it turns out nothing rhymes with local control, Common Core, or assessments. Unfortunately for you, this means you get serious Eddie today. Maybe it’s for the best—issues surrounding testing, local control, and the Common Core are pretty serious these days. As the […]
Michigan Judge Calls Out Union Opt-Out Policy as Unfair to Teachers
My dad once told me a story about when he was a little kid, not much older than I am now. He saw one of the bigger kids on the school playground holding a few of the smaller kids’ lunch money hostage. This bully said he had taken their money for the privilege of being […]
Make Progress, Not War: Thompson’s Golden Opportunity for Change
Cooperation is the key to success. It sounds trite, I know. In my world, most major arguments are settled with wrestling matches or food fights. In grown-up land, however, those aren’t always viable options (or are they?). No, adults have to learn to work together even when they don’t want to. Maybe especially when they […]
Getting Back to the Core of the Common Core Debate
Arguments happen. We all know that. But we should also know that if we aren’t careful, those arguments can creep away from their original subject (and reality) as they gain steam. That, my friends, is how we wind up in messy food fights instead of constructive conversations. As it is in life, so it is […]
New Hampshire Ruling for Kids & Tax Credits Makes Me Smile Wider
“Good news for educational freedom!” Words that can light up my day, right up there with “Free Legos” and “of course, you can have another scoop of Superman ice cream.” (Sadly, too many kids are left Waiting for Superman… Okay, okay. Enough groaning already.) Specifically, the latest good news comes compliments of the “merry band […]
“Race to the Top” Consensus Approach Disappoints: Who Really Wins?
Yesterday the state of Colorado turned in its Race to the Top grant funding application to the U.S. Department of Education. Missing the opportunity to do something bold, Colorado instead opted for “consensus” and “collaboration” — as reported by Jeremy Meyer in the Denver Post. Some of my older friends in the Education Policy Center […]
One Big Reform Speech from Teachers Union Leader Doesn’t Change Much
So American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, leader of one of the national teachers unions, gives a big speech this week on how her group is interested in reforming the tenure system and is willing to accept student performance as part of meaningful teacher evaluations.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert gives Weingarten a […]
