Intellectually Entertaining. Socially Relevant.
The United States of America is home to great athletic programs (see the London 2012 Olympic medal count), a grand diversity of citizens, and the world’s best public education system. And no, you didn’t read that wrong. Every so often, I come across a report talking about how a Nordic country is kicking our butt Read More
When the economy takes a downward path, government funded programs across the board experience budget cuts. While education tends to be among the last to experience cuts, many can’t escape drops in funding from both state and local budgets. Simultaneously, operation costs are rising which leaves even less money for schools to operate on. When Read More
I was sitting at a family friend’s house one day, when I heard the cry, “they’re taking our jobs!” Annoyed that once again I was the last person to hear family gossip, I immediately set out to find out who “they” were and whose jobs “they” were taking, and most importantly, if “they” were taking Read More
Once in a while, a news story comes along that I feel I must share with the readers, but one which I know is bound to stir (extra) controversy. This one comes from NBC Latino: “Immigrant children who came to the U.S. before they were teens do better in academic achievement and school engagement than Read More
This week the Chicago Public Schools enacted their first strike in 25 years prompting both a local and national debate on the place for unions in the modern labor workforce. Chicago’s mayor has called the action a “strike of choice,” while public school teachers united across the city staying out of the classroom and keeping Read More
Let’s face it. Children don’t have it easy. As a high school teacher, I sometimes joke with my teenaged students that ,unlike the adults that often give them the “when I was your age” speeches, if I had the choice, there is no way I’d be a teenager again — with family issues out of Read More
September is here and you’re probably getting your kids ready for school. Anticipating the first day can be exciting, especially for kids who’ve spent a summer apart from friends. But for those who are starting the year in a new school or whose first language isn’t English, back to school can cause children a great Read More
“No entendemos inglés. Tienes que hablar español.” This was the first thing my 7th-grade math class made sure I knew as I introduced myself for the very first time. I took over midyear for a teacher who’d just retired. I’d taken the previous 18 months off to go back to school full-time. So not only Read More
You just didn’t come home with anything less than a 90 on your report card: that was the rule at my house, and needless to say, it worked. At some point after middle school, my parents didn’t really need to remind me about the “you-better-get-all-A’s-or-else” rule, because it became mine. I could talk about my Read More
When they say the wealth gap is widening and that race and class are interchangeable terms in America, they’re not exaggerating. The good folks at Face the Facts USA have published an infographic highlighting the effects the Great Recession has had on wealth disparity in the United States. It shows that the median net worth Read More