The Games Begin but Don’t End with the Science of Reading (Part 3)
Whole Word and Whole Language now reign AND SO… 1970 to 1980: Commissioner of Education James E. Allen launches the Right-to-Read Program, a literacy call-to-arms. He gives up after ten years, saying, “Whole Word is too ingrained.” 1975: Phonics proponent Marva...
The Games Begin but Don’t End with the Science of Reading (PART 2)
ABOUT LOOK/SAY (WHOLE WORD) and WHOLE LANGUAGE: 1929: Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a pioneer in the study of learning disabilities and dyslexia, warns educators: “The sight word method would cause reading disabilities among a very large number of...
The Games Begin but Don’t End with the Science of Reading (PART ONE)
~ English: 26 letters and 44 distinct sounds (phonemes) AND AROUND AND AROUND WE GO… The term Science of Reading first appeared in the 1836 issue of The American Annals of Education and Instruction, waited 174 years to make a comeback in 2010,...
Teacher Graded vs. AI Graded
While Learning Together author Elham Kazem and others suggest that school leaders should work with teachers to analyze student writing more regularly…,” Education Week’s Sarah Schwartz tells us: “[There is] an emerging group of middle and high school teachers using...
Universities in the Spotlight this April 24, Holocaust Remembrance Day
As Washington Post’s Peter Stevenson put it, “If there is one comparison you never make, it’s comparing someone to Hitler. It just isn’t done because almost no one in history was as bad as Hitler was.” Or, so you’d think, but… Seems a number of politicians,...
Social Media As Mental Health Advisor
When looking for answers, kids used to turn to a parent, teacher, or some other trusted adult. Nowadays, though, many are drawn to sites like TikTok on their quest for self and belonging, as evidenced by a recent EdWeek Research Center survey. Among the findings:...
Education Reforms Have Put kids—Especially Boys–at Risk
REMINDER: George W. Bush’s 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) claimed it “has raised expectations and improved results.” REMINDER: NCLB’s follow-up, the Barack Obama/secretary of Education Arne Duncan ’s July 24, 2009, $4.35 billion Race to the Top and June 2, 2010...
A Sign of the Times: 3 School-Wise News Updates and 4 Quotes
** According to a recent National Center for Education Statistics School Pulse Panel survey of 1,500 schools, more than 80% say they’re “seeing stunted behavior and socioemotional development in their students.” ** While federal law requires that states test...
A.E. Stevenson Elementary’s School Improvement Model
Recently, Education Week’s Libby Stanford reported that, three years ago, Adlai Stevenson Elementary had little to boast: As the lowest-performing elementary school in Pennsylvania's Southfield School District, it found itself hemorrhaging students. The solution: It...
Trending and Complicated: Teachers at Risk in the Classroom
Back in my junior high days, the principal got to know me really well… God, I even made my 7th-grade history teacher cry by rolling a marble or two down the aisle while she droned on and on. At the same time, during art class, Mr. H. liked to walk around his...
Celebrating Women’s History Month and 12 Who Broke the Mold More Than 100 Years Ago
It comes in like a lion and often goes out the same way, but in between, March offers up such goodies as Read Across America Day, Daylight Saving Time, the Spring Equinox, St. Patrick’s Day, and, in 1987, got itself officially named Women’s History Month, 130 years...
The Price Students Keep Paying Academically, Socially, and Emotionally
About the results on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, aka the Nation’s Report Card, the National Assessment Governing Board writes, “National scores are below pre-pandemic 2019 levels in ALL tested grades and subjects.” Plus, thanks to our...
The Disconnect between Grades & Test Scores, Kids’ & Parents’ Schooling Views
According to a recent, nationwide Gallup poll of 1,005 adults, 18 and older: ** Between 2019 and 2025, those reporting dissatisfaction with our K-12 public schools rose from 61% to 7 ** Those saying they’re satisfied with our schools is at its lowest since 2001....
The Uphill Battle Facing America’s Traditional Public K-12 Schools
Moody’s Ratings has now given our traditional K-12 public schools “a negative outlook.” The top reason: slowing revenue. The $121.9 billion from the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief III had to be spent by January 28, 2025, now extended to March 2026--but on a...
Winter 2025’s Big Comeback
On the 17th, AP science writer Seth Borenstein put it this way, “The vast majority of Americans are about to get an extended taste of frigid Siberian weather. Another polar vortex disruption will stretch Arctic air across the top of the globe…” Indeed, it seems as...
Artificial Intelligence and Schooling: Be Careful What You Wish For
This morning, I asked Google how/why teachers use Artificial Intelligence and got this AI-generated answer: “[It] essentially makes teaching more efficient and effective.” How? #1 on the accompanying list is Personalized Learning. The reason? Reportedly, AI analyzes...
Competency Based Education: The Next Big Thing or Concerning Reform?
The 1983 eye opener, A Nation at Risk, highlighted declining student achievement and SAT scores, too. An indictment, if you will, of our public schools that preceded such education reforms as George W. Bush’s NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and Obama’s ESSA (Every Student...
2024’s Words of the Year
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.” Well, as we all know, they actually can and often do, while some simply get used so much they rise to the title Words of the Year, reflecting the times we live and/or how language evolves. In 2024,...
Guest Blog ~ The Art of Parenting: Sculpting Your Family
Parenting is like sculpting; each decision, each conversation shapes the story of your family’s life together. Open discussions where ideas are heard, considered, and appreciated can sculpt and refine healthy relationships. Family Meetings Create Togetherness...
Going, Going, Ongoing: Our Disappearing Public School Students
Amy Rock, Campus Safety's Executive Editor, and Education Week's Mark Lieberman report that, between 2013 and 2019, public school enrollment rose right there along with the rest of the U.S. population—until the pandemic took a sledgehammer to the numbers. In the...
