Shaun Johnson

I read a lot about education. As I do my cursory checks of what's happening in the education blogosphere, there is so much ado about technology in the classroom and today's buzz-acronym STEM, which in case you haven't heard, stands for an integrated curriculum of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics....

Between March 30 and April 2 of 2012, public school advocates will arrive in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Education on Maryland Avenue to make a clarion call in opposition to test-driven and data-mad education reforms. The event will include four days worth of teach-ins, marches,...

When I've studied the issue of who chooses to teach and why, its status as a profession always comes up. In case you haven't noticed, teachers as a whole are not taken very seriously these days. Teaching as a respected profession has been on life support for quite some time....

I've made a few comparisons between other occupations and teaching to highlight some of the ridiculous rules and regulations imposed on educators as a result of both No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and now Race to the Top (RT3). I wondered what would happen if physicians suffered the...

The Wall Street Journal recently published the editorial "No Need to Panic About Global Warming" claiming that the scientific hysteria surrounding climate change is exaggerated and perhaps misguided. A few days later, a second editorial was published in reply, written by actual climate scientists, who argued that...

Over the holiday break, I had a pretty heated conversation with a conservative friend of mine about politics and other assorted topical sundries. The discussion turned towards the obligatory public versus private meme trotted out by most Republican and Tea Party sympathizers. That is, the public sector needs to shrink...

The left-leaning political blog Think Progress recently reported on a comment from a top-executive with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) that some children eating rat poison is "an acceptable risk." Thus, there is no justification for the government to regulate these kinds of products. For ALEC, the...

A recent study from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) argues that public school teachers are actually overpaid, which seems contrary to the conventional wisdom regarding educators' salaries. These "fat cat" elementary teachers with second jobs must have been doing it for fun all this time. I guess mixing...

Although a bold statement, I'm starting to wonder: can Americans actually care less about education? I don't think so, and here's why.

On a broader scale, there is an overwhelming attitude in this country that embraces and champions ignorance. It seems all right to publicly admit a misunderstanding of science...

There are moments that leave you shaking your head in demoralized confusion, just as you feel like you're making a difference.

Over the last few weeks, I've been mired in a debate against standardized testing. A recent correspondence-turned-column with education columnist Jay Mathews at the Washington Post was...

The question titling this post comes from a genuine and sincere place. And by "privileged" I mean in this context "an immunity from critique" in the conversation on education.

I've participated in a lot of furious debate on- and offline about education, particularly on testing and the role of...

A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education online address concerns regarding the perceived exploitation of college students in unpaid internships, but that these experiences are necessary to put liberal arts educations into practice.

Carefully conceived, academically informed internships provide that kind of added value -- a...

A confession: my name is Shaun Johnson, I'm a public school advocate, and I've considered opening a charter school. I know what you might be thinking. As a colleague and friend noted, it's like picking up all of my toys and playing elsewhere, implying that I'm exiting the public school...

The Conference and March to Save Our Schools begins this Thursday in sweltering Washington, DC. I'll be there, joining the various like-minded K-12 and university educators I've met over the last couple of years through my participation in the so-called 'education blogosphere.'

When I first became a...

In the interests of full disclosure, as a professor of education and former elementary teacher, I do not support the TFA organization for a variety of reasons. I've been critical of them before on this very site. In light of the recent squabble between the National Education Association...

We are about to enter the enviable summer vacation, a frequently scrutinized perk of the teaching profession. Yet, the lure of June-July-August persistently fails to recruit those who harp the most about it.

After my first year as a faculty member, I realized that I was a whole five years...

I've been a social studies methods instructor and member of the National Council of Social Studies (NCSS) for several years now. So, I recently flipped through the current issues of Theory and Research in Social Education (TRSE) and Social Education, two NCSS flagship journals. I say "flipped" because these are...

For those of us who affiliate with a particular musical scene, I must first dispatch with the bonafides before getting to the topic at hand. I'm partial to bands from the late 70s and early 80s, with a special affinity for "Oi" music. Some bands that I listen to pretty...

Teachers everywhere, rejoice: school's out for the year, am I right? Well, sure, you still have to show up everyday and, well, do stuff I guess. I mean, the education part is done, now it's just time to, what, watch movies, have extra-extra recess, and maybe some heavily sustained silent...

I've struggled with this over the last week or so since Obama's honest and likely off-script remarks about our recent obsessions with standardized testing. Now his own education department is scrambling to find ways to reconcile their test-driven policies with the president's comments. Inasmuch as I appreciate and understand the...