Articles Archive

  • Ever wonder what it would be like to grow up, then teach in inner city, NY.  Pamela Lewis presents a heart-felt description of her experiences in a letter to President Obama:     A Message to the President From a Bronx Teacher Pamela Lewis (Written to Be Delivered at Occupy DOE 2.0) Good Afternoon, Angela Davis once said, “The word radical simply means a grasping of the root.” By that definition, Michelle Rhee is not a radical, as her book title suggests. I am a radical because I grasp from the root. In our world of education, that translates to looking to fix the origin of the achievement gap rather than divert from it by blaming teachers for something that we did not cause. The root of this problem is poverty. I come from humble beginnings. I grew up in...

    The Big Apple Blues

    Posted on April 12, 2013 | No Comments
    Ever wonder what it would be like to grow up, then teach in inner city, NY.  Pamela Lewis presents a heart-felt description of her experiences in a letter to President Obama:     A Message to the President From a Bronx Teacher Pamela Lewis (Written to Be Delivered at Occupy DOE 2.0) Good Afternoon, Angela Davis once said, “The word radical simply means a grasping of the root.” By that definition, Michelle Rhee is not a radical, as her book title suggests. I am a radical because I grasp from the root. In our world of education, that translates to looking to fix the origin of the achievement gap rather than divert from it by blaming teachers for something that we did not cause. The root of this problem is poverty. I come from humble beginnings. I grew up in...

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  • Our friend, Mike Martin, is the author of the most popular article we have ever posted, by far.  Since we first posted it, Waiting for Super Fraud has been viewed by more than 10,000 visitors.  Mike has written a piece describing the role of students in the civil rights movement for Inauguration Day and has allowed us to print it here.  The article piqued my interest because of the role I think students must play in stemming the tide of privatization of the public schools that is sweeping the nation.   ***** It was interesting to watch the inauguration of President Obama on Martin Luther King Jr. Day but I still say people need to understand what really brought about the Civil Rights Act. What really allowed Barack Obama to win the Presidency in the United States of America. People...

    Inauguration Day

    Posted on January 21, 2013 | No Comments
    Our friend, Mike Martin, is the author of the most popular article we have ever posted, by far.  Since we first posted it, Waiting for Super Fraud has been viewed by more than 10,000 visitors.  Mike has written a piece describing the role of students in the civil rights movement for Inauguration Day and has allowed us to print it here.  The article piqued my interest because of the role I think students must play in stemming the tide of privatization of the public schools that is sweeping the nation.   ***** It was interesting to watch the inauguration of President Obama on Martin Luther King Jr. Day but I still say people need to understand what really brought about the Civil Rights Act. What really allowed Barack Obama to win the Presidency in the United States of America. People...

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  • This article is from Kenneth J. Bernstein who is a schoolteacher and a blogger whose work appears on Daily Kos and other sites. We were sitting in a Starbucks in Arlington, Va. It was our first meeting. Previously, Iowa governor Tom Vilsack and I had talked by phone and exchanged blog posts on education. His campaign staff had reached out to a number of educational bloggers, as he was seriously considering running for president and thought education was a good issue for him. Since he was going to be in my neighborhood, we agreed to get together. At one point I mentioned that the governors had just had a meeting on education, and he nodded. I remarked that each had brought a business leader to the meeting. The governor nodded again. And then I asked, “Why didn’t you bring a...

    Why Not Ask Teachers How They Would Improve Our Schools?

    Posted on January 16, 2013 | No Comments
    This article is from Kenneth J. Bernstein who is a schoolteacher and a blogger whose work appears on Daily Kos and other sites. We were sitting in a Starbucks in Arlington, Va. It was our first meeting. Previously, Iowa governor Tom Vilsack and I had talked by phone and exchanged blog posts on education. His campaign staff had reached out to a number of educational bloggers, as he was seriously considering running for president and thought education was a good issue for him. Since he was going to be in my neighborhood, we agreed to get together. At one point I mentioned that the governors had just had a meeting on education, and he nodded. I remarked that each had brought a business leader to the meeting. The governor nodded again. And then I asked, “Why didn’t you bring a...

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  • Full disclosure: I spent 36 years in public education as a high school math/science teacher and as a district-level administrator responsible for curriculum, instruction and assessment. At the university level I have taught graduate-level classes in curriculum, instruction, and especially in the teaching of higher-level thinking. My background includes speaking in venues across the continent on higher-level thinking, school facility design, and brain research as it applies to teaching. I spent the last 20-plus years in the private sector. I worked for a design firm that specialized in school design and have served as a consultant to districts regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment, and facility design. So I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. Why am I a telling you this? My half-century of serving the public schools tells me we have ignored the vast research base regarding human development...

    Full Disclosure

    Posted on December 21, 2012 | 2 Comments
    Full disclosure: I spent 36 years in public education as a high school math/science teacher and as a district-level administrator responsible for curriculum, instruction and assessment. At the university level I have taught graduate-level classes in curriculum, instruction, and especially in the teaching of higher-level thinking. My background includes speaking in venues across the continent on higher-level thinking, school facility design, and brain research as it applies to teaching. I spent the last 20-plus years in the private sector. I worked for a design firm that specialized in school design and have served as a consultant to districts regarding curriculum, instruction, assessment, and facility design. So I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. Why am I a telling you this? My half-century of serving the public schools tells me we have ignored the vast research base regarding human development...

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  • John Kuhn is superintendent of a small school district in Texas. But his voice is mighty and powerful. Those who have heard him wish he were Commissioner of Education for the state of Texas or in another position where everyone would learn from his wisdom. Kuhn was the first person to be named to the honor roll for his eloquence and courage in support of public education. The Dallas Morning News Published: November 2, 2012  John Kuhn, superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt school district in Jack County, northwest of Fort Worth, is active speaking out and writing critically about public-education reformers. He’s gained some fame for his oft-quoted “Alamo letter” from 2011, in which he vowed never to surrender the fight for his students. Now that more than 850 Texas school boards have signed on to a resolution against over-reliance on high-stakes testing,...

    A Superintendent Speaks Out About Standardized Testing

    Posted on November 29, 2012 | No Comments
    John Kuhn is superintendent of a small school district in Texas. But his voice is mighty and powerful. Those who have heard him wish he were Commissioner of Education for the state of Texas or in another position where everyone would learn from his wisdom. Kuhn was the first person to be named to the honor roll for his eloquence and courage in support of public education. The Dallas Morning News Published: November 2, 2012  John Kuhn, superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt school district in Jack County, northwest of Fort Worth, is active speaking out and writing critically about public-education reformers. He’s gained some fame for his oft-quoted “Alamo letter” from 2011, in which he vowed never to surrender the fight for his students. Now that more than 850 Texas school boards have signed on to a resolution against over-reliance on high-stakes testing,...

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  • Open Letter to Michelle and Barack Obama: Here is what the experts say our kids will need to be successful in the 21st Century: Basic, scientific, mathematical, and technological literacies. Inventive thinking including curiosity, creativity, and risk taking as well as higher order thinking and sound reasoning. Effective Communication including teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. High     Productivity refers to the ability to prioritize, plan, and manage for results. It includes the use of real-world tools and the     production of relevant, high-quality products. Here is what your kids get at Sidwell: Pretty much everything on the list Here is what the kids get in our local public school thanks to NCLB and RttT: High-stakes bubble-in tests in a narrow range of subjects (mostly reading and math), beginning in the lowest grades and extending through high school Test-prep curriculum designed...

    Open Letter to Michelle and Barack Obama:

    Posted on November 13, 2012 | No Comments
    Open Letter to Michelle and Barack Obama: Here is what the experts say our kids will need to be successful in the 21st Century: Basic, scientific, mathematical, and technological literacies. Inventive thinking including curiosity, creativity, and risk taking as well as higher order thinking and sound reasoning. Effective Communication including teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills. High     Productivity refers to the ability to prioritize, plan, and manage for results. It includes the use of real-world tools and the     production of relevant, high-quality products. Here is what your kids get at Sidwell: Pretty much everything on the list Here is what the kids get in our local public school thanks to NCLB and RttT: High-stakes bubble-in tests in a narrow range of subjects (mostly reading and math), beginning in the lowest grades and extending through high school Test-prep curriculum designed...

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  • The debate regarding charter schools is of great importance to local school districts throughout Washington State.  I-1240 has the potential of diverting millions of dollars from local school coffers to charter schools which are operated by non-democratically selected boards and have no oversight by elected school boards.  Here is an analysis by Dr. Wayne Au, a University of Washington at Bothell professor.  Please read carefully and if you agree with his analysis, contact local school board members and urge them to pass a resolution opposed to I-1240.   http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/policy-memo-on-washington-state-initiative-1240/

    Analysis of I-1240

    Posted on October 22, 2012 | No Comments
    The debate regarding charter schools is of great importance to local school districts throughout Washington State.  I-1240 has the potential of diverting millions of dollars from local school coffers to charter schools which are operated by non-democratically selected boards and have no oversight by elected school boards.  Here is an analysis by Dr. Wayne Au, a University of Washington at Bothell professor.  Please read carefully and if you agree with his analysis, contact local school board members and urge them to pass a resolution opposed to I-1240.   http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/policy-memo-on-washington-state-initiative-1240/

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  • Details from the PDC record are posted at the bottom of this article. Following Tuesday’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) hearings in Olympia, Kennewick School Board members Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry and Ben Messinger were fined for violating PDC rules during their 2011 election campaigns. Each candidate had selected the Mini Reporting option for financing his campaign which limits total contributions and expenditures to $5000. with a maximum contribution from any individual of $500. Local businessman, Ty Haberling initially contributed $250.  to each candidate then later paid $2817. postage for mailing three political advertisements featuring the three candidates.  Proportionally dividing the postage among the candidates resulted in an additional individual contribution of $939. which exceeded the limit by $689.

    Kennewick Board Members Brooks, Mabry and Messinger Fined for Campaign Law Violations

    Posted on October 4, 2012 | 1 Comment
    Details from the PDC record are posted at the bottom of this article. Following Tuesday’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) hearings in Olympia, Kennewick School Board members Brian Brooks, Ron Mabry and Ben Messinger were fined for violating PDC rules during their 2011 election campaigns. Each candidate had selected the Mini Reporting option for financing his campaign which limits total contributions and expenditures to $5000. with a maximum contribution from any individual of $500. Local businessman, Ty Haberling initially contributed $250.  to each candidate then later paid $2817. postage for mailing three political advertisements featuring the three candidates.  Proportionally dividing the postage among the candidates resulted in an additional individual contribution of $939. which exceeded the limit by $689.

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