Becoming Politically Active: A Change in Attitude
In less than two months, voters will have the opportunity to voice their opinions at the polls. I will publicly admit, if it is not a presidential election or a local school-levy issue, I am not interested. I have never …
As a new teacher, I was schooled on politics
As this year’s election nears, I remember the early years of being a teacher. During election season, I remember how often veteran teachers in my building would talk politics in the teachers’ lounge. I am a social studies teacher by …
Schools Should Take the Lead
Despite the fact that Ohio did not place in the top 20 on Forbes’ list of America’s Greenest States (we came in a dismal 39 out of 50 in 2007), or that there are no Ohio cities that made the …
Wants vs. Needs: How the Economy Has Changed Back-To-School Shopping
Districts, classroom teachers, and families have been forced to cut back on spending year round. What does that look like during the “Back-To-School” shopping season? For districts, the next school year actually begins before school lets out for the summer. …
Education Employees Feel the Pain of Budget Cuts and Layoffs
I am encouraged that the House of Representatives has passed emergency legislation that may save 100,000 education jobs around the country, even though it is estimated 300,000 jobs are at stake. The bill now goes to the Senate. Unfortunately, pundits …
Reading for Change
As this summer began I was excited to start up with my summer reading. It seems during the school year there is never enough time or energy to read an entire book. As I hit Border’s during the second week …
School Libraries Are Being Ignored
Having attended the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference and Library Advocacy Day in Washington, DC, this past week, I was disheartened to read a recent AP story on my return home by Donna Gordon Blankenship, “Libraries Fading as School …
Making Educators Scapegoats in the Argument for School Choice
Compare the state report cards of charter and public schools in the same city, Youngstown for example, and the numbers don’t lie. Charter schools, by and large, do not educate students any more effectively than public schools in the same …
For Profit Charter School Chains Make Money with Questionable Real Estate and Management Deals
The brands offered by White Hat and Imagine have provided little in terms of tangible results – White Hat’s dropout prevention charter schools post a graduation rate of just 14 percent and no Imagine school earned better than a D on the most recent state report card.
Chicago’s teacher performance-based pay didn’t work
A study released Tuesday by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. about a Chicago program that contains performance-based compensation for teachers, shows no evidence that the program boosted student achievement on math and reading tests, compared with a group of similar schools …
