And yet it’s never reported in the news — Everywhere you look, there are articles proclaiming that teachers are not aware of the importance of phonics and how to teach it. A recent news article stated, “Many educators, however, believe that reading comes naturally, like talking, if the child is immersed in a language-rich environment. …

Being trained and being educated are two different things Everywhere you look, there are reports that college degrees don’t prepare future educators for teaching. But it’s no surprise if you look at how the K12 educational system works. Often these claims overlook the fact that being educated in something is…

A review of Chuck Wendig’s novel, Wanderers. — Literary critics praise Chuck Wendig’s dystopian novel, Wanderers as an “examination of America” and symbolic look into “American’s soul”, yet it is more a representation of the modern American phenomenon of popular culture’s infiltration into science fiction. The dystopian plot is overwrought with prototypical characters and predictable events. Good and…

As I read the news of the horrific shooting that occurred in Buffalo, New York , I am struck by the responses to this among teachers on social media. It’s not their personal responses that are disconcerting. They are horrified and saddened, just as I am. Yet, many times they…

The book every school board member and administrator needs to read — While there is no lack of teaching memoirs out there, it is rare to find one so candid and raw as Teaching in the Twilight Zone. This is no saccharine re-telling of the “teacher-as-saint” narrative. Jeff Mays gives an unflinching account of the reality of teaching. From assiduously kept records…

Americans have a problem with sharing things online. Actually, the problem is not the sharing, it’s the reading. A recent study showed that 6 out of 10 people only look at the headlines before sharing an article on social media. An earlier study stated that only 41% of news consumers…

Myth-busting the most common arguments for high-stakes testing — Most people, even some educators, don’t really understand high-stakes standardized testing. This lack of understanding continues to fuel our national obsession with testing, even after knowing the harms it inflicts. The good news is that you don’t have to take a graduate-level statistics course to get a real idea how…

Thank you Justin. Sometimes one feels one is merely screaming into the void. Lately though, I believe there are more and more people realizing the necessity of human centered/student centered schooling. Even if the goal is to simply increase test scores (a sad goal if there ever was one), these goals are not attained with the current inflexible top-down standardized educational format. Our focus should begin with the individual students themselves. Instead of placing humans within a framework of expectations, the framework should arise from humans themselves. As technology advances, this is all the more imperative. Thank you for the support!

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