Teaching Today: Still a Calling or Now Just a Job?
I was not “called” into teaching; instead, I fell into it after finally asking, “What do English majors do?” The usual answer was teach, so I did, and I loved it and the 8th graders who, year after year, graced my classroom. I left it behind because I got old,...
Trillions in Spending, Trillions in Debt, and Schooling’s Piece of the Pie
There never seems to be enough of the green stuff to go around, and sometimes songs are written about it, like Abba's “Money, Money, Money," which starts off with: "I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to payAin't it sad?And still there never...
As America Turns 247, Our Founding Fathers Advise and Warn
It arrived on my doorstep pre-dawn on June 29 boasting an above-the-fold, close-up photo of the United States Capitol Dome and the caption, “Suffolk University polls shows fear for the future of democracy is widespread.” Beneath it, that USA Today article’s...
The 2022 NAEP–The Nation’s Report Card–Suggests 8th Graders Don’t Know Much about History and Civics
On top of their disappointing reading and math performances on the 2022 NAEP--the National Assessment of Educational Progress, aka the nation’s report card--now comes students’ poor showing on the history component. About that, says Peggy Carr, commissioner of the...
Character Defined and Sadly Lacking in Post-Pandemic America
Am kinda done with the news nowadays--most of it bad and/or negative, opinionated, and all-too-often politically bent. Intentionally or not, divisive, as well. On the other hand, seldom seen are articles that highlight and promote personal accountability,...
With Thanks to the National Center for Education Statistics, The Highlights of Its “The Condition of Education 2023”
Nowadays, education is a headliner, oozing stories about teacher shortages and burnout, academically struggling students, and mental health concerns. Enter the National Center for Education Statistics survey of our K-12 schools: The Condition of Education 2023. As The...
Censorship 2023: Divisive, Escalating, and Chilling
“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied-- chains us all irrevocably.” ~ Star Trek’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard Having given them up, my father early on and endlessly drilled into my...
A Teaching Profession in Flux and Fewer College Students Opting In
In February 2022, the National Institute on Retirement Security looked into “Americans’ Views of Public School Teachers and Personnel in the Wake of Covid-19” and found that, among respondents: 83% worry about staff shortages; 81% are concerned about staff burnout;...
$$$$: School-Wise and Other-Wise
A recent Education Week headline read, “Schools Are Heading into a Perfect Storm.” The reason: Their federal COVID-19 relief funds will start expiring this coming autumn—and must be all spent one year later. The result: lost jobs, fewer special programs such as...
Money, Money Money for Ed Tech, but Little Bang for Those Bucks
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says that 20% of our children and adolescents will experience some type of mental health problem, and yet a March 28, 2022 Education Week Special Report revealed that… More than 5.4 million U.S. public school...
Homework: Preparation Is Everything
With thanks to Tanya Lee of abilityvillage.org for this guest post... Homework is never easy, and many kids struggle with the idea of bringing their least-liked activity home. And while it’s true that kids need downtime, a little bit of homework never hurt anyone,...
Our Iffy Mental Health: Facts, Figures, and School-Related Remedies
Seems like no matter what we’re doing or where we’re going, reminders abound that that there’s nothing normal about this so called “new normal.” It hits us every which way just gassing up, picking up groceries, or taking in the news, replete, as it is, with stories...
The Post-Pandemic Changing Face of America’s Schools, Everything from Struggling Students and Charters to Dress Codes and Cuts in Gifted Education
Education has been a news centerpiece for some time now, including our struggling students, school choice, dress codes, and the words we use, too. Here, a sampling of recent school-wise headlines: **** “The Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative Seeks to Rid...
Dr. Leonard Sax and The Damage Caused by Kindergarten As The New First Grade
In my day, only a handful of us kids attended nursery school, as pre-school was known back in the day, and kindergarten was truly a “children’s garden.” Half day only and all about play, socializing, milk and graham crackers, naps, too. We sang, banged on triangles...
Porn Has Gone Mainstream and Our Kids Are Watching
Growing up in the restrictive 50’s and 60’s, much of what I wanted to do was off-limits. Wasn't allowed to wear makeup—not even lipstick. Cursing, too, was frowned upon; even telling my sister to "shut up" got me a scolding. Among the universal taboos: tattoos and...
School-Wise Snippets from Withheld Awards and Declining School Enrollment to AI Taking Over Teacher Paperwork
Virginia’s Fairfax County Schools has withheld National Merit awards from hundreds of students, done, says its website “to keep equity at the center of the curriculum” and “to eliminate gaps in opportunity, access, and achievement for students.” D’s and F’s were also...
As the Saying Goes: “If You Can Read This, Thank a Teacher.”
Teachers were never fond of me in my growing years. I did stuff like surreptitiously rolling marbles down aisles, making more than a teacher of two cry, and, oh, how I loved to talk and pass notes… Naturally, I never wanted to be one. Back story: Accepted as a...
Social Media Ensnaring Our Kids: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Though I rely on it every day, am not a big tech fan. Not anymore. Sure, I love keeping up with faraway friends. And no more card catalogs and endless book shelf searches, but I still miss the library itself, its quiet, studious air… Just don't really need it...
Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank You!!
When I was a kid… If someone opened or held a door for you, you thanked them. If someone handed you so much as a glass of water, you thanked them. If someone gifted you—even with something you hated—you thanked them, not with a phone call, email or text, but with a...
With Its Spying Eyes and Risky Challenges, TikTok Might Just Get the Boot!
*** TikTok boasts more than 1.5 billion active users worldwide. *** Finds parental control software maker Qustodio: “Overall last year, kids spent a whopping 91 minutes per day on TikTok…” CNN’s Oliver Darcy headlined his December 13 article with “Ban...
