School Backpack Alert: Risks, Recommendation, & Tips
September 20th slipped by pretty much unnoted by most of us, as we settled into the post-back-to-school rush. With recently purchased supplies, paper, pencils and tech devices firmly secured in our kids' backpacks-right there along with textbooks, lunch bags, and...
The Growing Teacher Shortage
According to the Learning Policy Institute led by Stanford University's Linda Darling-Hammond, in the 2015-16 school year, America was short some 60,000 teachers: 48 states and D.C. were in need of special education teachers; 42 states and D.C. were in need of math...
Chronic Absenteeism in America’s Schools
With thanks to Education Week's Lovey Cooper, here are the absentee numbers and where they're the highest, based on research by Johns Hopkins University's Robert Balfanz and Hedy N. Change, director of Attendance Works: Their analysis, "Preventing Missed Opportunity,"...
The PDK International & Education Next Common Core & Testing Polls
With thanks to Education Week, these poll responses speak volumes about the Common Core, their related online assessments, and the billions spent to implement them--all to very mixed reviews. Your tax dollars at work... Question: "Are standards preparing students to...
TeamChildren: Making a Difference One Child at a Time
When it comes to computers and all things electronic, schools have jumped in big-time, with education tech spending estimated to hit $60 billion by 2018. That commitment promises to continue the transformation of classroom instruction-and, in turn, homework, too....
Universal Pre-K: Benefits and Downsides
The push for universal pre-K echoes from the White House on down and nowadays is the talk all about town. As Education Secretary John B. King put it, "Because of historic investments from the Obama administration, states and cities, more children-particularly those...
The Atlantic Takes on Homework
In The Atlantic's article, "When Homework Is Useless," education experts are asked if schools should assign, grade and use take-home assignments; the following are pulled from their comments: "Homework is absolutely necessary for students to demonstrate that they are...
The Atlantic Asks, “What Should Students Know upon Graduation?”
More specifically, The Atlantic asked various education experts the question: What should students be expected to know by the time they leave school." Here are some snippets from their responses: "Students should leave school with the ability to think critically and...
Brian A. Jacob’s Take on Student Test Scores
The study, "Student Test Scores: How the Sausage Is Made and Why You Should Care," was written by Brian A. Jacob, a University of Michigan professor and senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. What he figured out is definitely worth noting in this day and age of...
Reasons for the Current Teacher Shortage
Reasons for the Current Teacher Shortage By Carol Josel | Submitted On August 19, 2016 America has a teacher shortage problem, and there's plenty of blame to go around, especially since the Obama administration took over and the federal government doubled-down on...
The Sorry State of Writing Instruction under Common Core
As reported by The Washington Post's Jay Mathews, The Education Trust collected 1,876 school assignments from 6 middle schools in two big cities in two states to uncover how well English, the humanities, social studies, and science are being taught in this age of the...
Pew Research Center Poll on News Consumption Trends
Recently released results of a two-part Pew Research Center survey conducted early this year queried 4,654 adults about their favorite national and international news sources and viewing habits. The findings reflect a number of age-related trends. For instance: 20%...
Fewer College Students Majoring in Education
The message is clear: Fewer and fewer of our college students are opting for teaching careers, suggesting a dim outlook for school districts in need of filling vacancies. Indeed, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment continues to rise,...
Teacher Absenteeism Makes Headlines
Kids are missing school in droves—6.5 million of them last year according to the U.S. Department of Education, but they’ve got company in that regard. According to a 2014 National Council on Teacher Quality study, teachers, on average, are absent 11 days each year,...
NOTE: Avatar-Driven Teacher Licensing Program
The powers that be keep taking their education reform agenda to new lows, even as they speak at the same time about raising standards, a la the ever-controversial Common Core State Standards. In reality, most teachers held their students to high account well before...
The Case for Putting Handwriting Back in the Curriculum
Back in 2014, journalist M. English penned an article for 21st Century Media that led with the line, "When John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence, he couldn't have known he'd become a penmanship icon," and adding that January 23 is National Handwriting...
Quotes from Sebastian Junger
In a piece in Time Magazine's June 27, 2016 issue, Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, is asked several questions by Karl Vick. One such question was, "So it's not just service members who feel isolated," to which the author responds: "The...
A Word about Millenials
The following insights come with thanks to Laura L. Carstensen, the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity writing for Time Magazine's June 27, 2016 issue. Entitled, "What millennials already know about growing up," she highlights findings on the university's...
Physical Activity and Academics: A Proven and Positive Link
Here's one more reason--and a very convincing one--why parents should make their kids put down their electronic devices and get their kids moving. The research also has implications for schools and their government-sponsored obsession with data and standardized test...
Chronic Absenteeism: Students and Teachers, A;ike
Sure it’s summer and classrooms are empty for now, but it’s still worth taking note that, every year it seems our kids are staying away from school in droves. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection's 2016 update,...
