I first have to say that I know a lot of great teenagers. I’m immensely proud of my sons and almost as much so of many of their friends. I stopped as I was writing this and nearly discarded it, keenly aware that I could inadvertently hurt one of these great kids by causing them…
Category: Education
Principals, Principles, and Proper Policy
A student is being punished for her after-the-fact reporting of wrongdoing by her classmates. Obviously this is the wrong way for administrators to gain the trust of teenagers. Policies must be applied in conjunction with the exercise of judgment, not blindly. DAYTON, Ohio — A charter school student who said she saw two classmates having…
High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries
The NY Times: “When we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. And yet in education we do just that. At the moment, the average teacher’s pay is on par with that of a toll taker or bartender. So how do teachers cope? Sixty-two percent work outside…
Grandstanding Buffoon Misses Point in Teacher Firing
Quanell X, grandstander supreme and champion of criminals, among other well-deserved titles, completely missed the point in the recent flap in Houston after a teacher allowed students to hit the class bully. The man is so wrong, so often, that he must be doing it on purpose. The X-man’s take: "What that teacher did was…
Rhode Island Teachers Fired, With Cause
Every teacher in what is demonstrably the worst-performing school district in the state of Rhode Island – which is to a Texan little more than a glorified county, in truth – has been fired. The state’s tiniest, poorest city has become the center of a national battle over dramatic school reform. On the one side,…
Unlike Other Spending, President’s Teacher Program Too Small
Since taking office just under a year ago, President Obama and the Democrats have tripled the already obscene budget deficit by spending $500 billion on their “stimulus” program, dollars that, in typical federal government fashion, were spent with remarkable inefficiency. Now comes word of a new initiative sponsored by Mr. Obama that actually does serve…
American Science Education, as Seen by a Scientist
Eric Berger’s interview with Michio Kaku is, in his own words, a bit scatter-shot. It’s certainly that, but what Kaku had to say about America’s education system was brutal, fascinating, and dead-on true, particularly as relates to science: Kaku: We are dumbing down the American high school kid. We have the worst educational system known…
President Entitled to Indoctrinate Children?
Regarding his plans to address virtually all American children in their schools, is President Obama operating within his proper sphere of authority as President of the United States? Probably, though it’s certainly debatable. But what he has to say – and what teachers do with his words – may give many parents reason answer in…
Teaching the Bible in Texas Classrooms
Sara Story of KLTA reports that a Texas state law that requires all public schools to offer “information relating to the Bible in their curriculum”. The law was passed 2 years ago and is set to go into effect for the new school year. For better or worse, some schools have stalled out when it…
Texas’ New Education Standards Deserve Failing Grade
A pair of mismatched Houston Chronicle articles demonstrates the failed nature of Texas’ state education standards. First, the bad news: The number of Texas school districts rate by the state as “academically unacceptable” has increased to its highest level ever. Next, the even worse news: Texas’ new school rating system … helped record numbers of…