If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
There has been constant debate surrounding charter schools. I have a very simple question that I want to explore: What's the point?
Next In Your Education Library: Ron Paul?? According to the Washington Post, former presidential candidate Ron Paul is working on an education tome called "New School Manifesto." The book will be out in September. Paul, as you might recall, campaigned on shutting down the U.S. Education Department. So it'll come as no surprise that the book will majorly boost home schooling.
If my experience alone doesn't impress you, then I present to you my Eleven Point Plan to transform the nation's 18th largest education system into the finest in the land. (That's right. My plan goes to eleven.)
Can we agree that it is less expensive to run a safe school than a dangerous one, thus saving taxpayers money? Can we agree that before test scores can rise, students have to feel safe at school?
Giving a Lifetime Achievement Award for the arts to a governor who is slashing an educational foundation of the arts is one small, but provocative, example of the fantastical cognitive dissonance in politics today.
Instead of honoring Gov. Corbett with an award for his contributions to education, the Pittsburgh Opera ought to stage The Beggars Opera to recognize how public schools are going hat in hand, hoping to salvage their arts curriculum with donations.
Until recently, we all saw the college years as an important time for intellectual, social and cultural growth. Those days seem to be over. Colleges and universities have been profoundly politicized.
What does it mean to opt out? The simple answer, in the context of the public school reform movement, is when a parent pulls their child from state mandated high-stakes testing.
Parents, teachers, administrators, community leaders in government and civic organizations need to take an active role in mentoring as well as educating youth.
As I attended President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, I was not alone. This invitation was an honor, but my dedication to education is not exceptional or unique. Because, for all teachers, it is our students that keep us going.
My parents were first-generation Latino immigrants. I had six siblings. My family didn't have a lot of money. So to get ahead, we had to work twice as hard. And to find a summer job, we sometimes had to look twice as hard.
Regardless of party affiliation, an elected official in the state of Pennsylvania is required to support public education.
I'll keep my local "taxpayer advocates" informed of how their hard work is paying off -- dismantling community-based public school systems and making sure that teachers are sharing the pain.
It's not the test that parents and kids should fear. It's the loss of real learning that these kinds of assessments cost them.
