Well, it happened in the United States. What now?
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Are we just going to give this a whirl and see where it ends while the world watches? Continue Reading
Teaching from the middle of the room
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Public education is about civility, about community, about democracy. How can this be taught? Not from the front of the room, that’s for sure. Continue Reading
The importance of public education
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How can authentic education happen when it is reduced to ingestion, regurgitation, and controlled performance not unlike the training of seals? Continue Reading
It’s about groceries
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What really makes for a healthy, equitable society is truth — and the truth is about groceries, not overseas bank accounts. Continue Reading
Are we circling the drain?
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While promising fair distribution of material and social wealth, capitalism delivers quite the opposite. Continue Reading
On teachers, free speech, and the protection of public education
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It is going to take a great deal of political action to remove people from office who are so anti-social and anti-child that they are willing to sacrifice one of America’s greatest achievements. Continue Reading
Maybe the sky is falling
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The present election cycle has exposed a deep body of unfocused acrimony and repressed anger caused by an economic system that has impoverished and disadvantaged many. Continue Reading
The power of belief
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No form of social contract, from so-called democracy to a totalitarian state, can exist and function unless people believe its tenets, be they true or not. Continue Reading
Fluid concept of justice takes a backseat to winning
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The question is not how much worse can it get but how much longer it can go on without a total breakdown of civility and order. Continue Reading
The new Tower of Babel
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The 21st Century Tower of Babel has been constructed and the intent clearly is to confound the narrative in order to dismantle the finest, most democratic and enabling institution this country has ever had, public education. Continue Reading
An a-historical war against public education
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What bothers me most about the current war against public education is that it is a-historical. It is as if schools suddenly went bad a few months ago or coincidentally with Jeb Bush needing something to keep himself busy when his term of office in Florida expired. Continue Reading
The scam: Fire two teachers and call me in the morning
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“Fire two teachers and call me in the morning” seems to be the cure-all that neoliberal and right-wing activists are banging their drums for. The next move after the “A-B-C-D-F” scam will be to legislate recognition of mail-order teaching degrees from online diploma mills. Continue Reading
Skandera takes steps to undermine public education
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It’s no surprise that N.M. Education Secretary Designate Hanna Skandera is taking steps to undermine public education. The problem is that the educational model she and her backers pursue isn’t education at all. It’s operant conditioning. Continue Reading
The more things change, the more they stay the same
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Communities are spending millions to acquire the latest and greatest educational whiz-bang gadgets to outfit their schoolrooms. But machines can’t replace educational professionals, who need to spend more – not less – time with kids. Continue Reading
Ditch the corpse
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Both social promotion, and holding children back in grade for failing to achieve according to arbitrary standards, are counterproductive. Continue Reading