A public school teacher in the United States of America is not a very attractive career. The pay is not acceptable. The training is not sufficient. The professionalism of the career is in the gutter. Schools are underfunded and understaffed. Tenure has destroyed any motivation for improvement and advancement. Leadership and most significant decisions trickle down from state or federal…
Month: December 2018
After A Year Like 2018, Teachers Can No Longer Stay Silent About Injustice
After a year like this one, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting and questioning how so many injustices can still exist in our nation today. Just think about it. In 2018, we saw two Black men get arrested in Philly for simply waiting up for their friend at a Starbucks. We followed the fallout from Charlottesville, gawked over a…
11 Inspiring Stories That Got Us Through 2018
We made it through 2018, perhaps a little bruised but as energized as ever to tackle the challenges in education in the year to come. But before we do that, let’s look back at how our network of contributors responded to all the craziness that went down in the United States this year. IT WAS… A LOT 1. I’M A TEACHER…
Knowledge Still Matters, Even In the 21st Century
As someone who usually subscribes to the all-things-in-moderation philosophy, I think there needs to be a healthy balance between the whats and hows of education. But anymore, it seems like all I hear about is the latter. By whats, I mean the content being taught; the texts, the essential concepts, and so forth. As for the hows, I’m talking about…
I’m a Teacher Not a Boxer, and I’m Tired of Being Beat Up by My Students
Disclaimer: For most of his career Brett has worked at county-level special education that takes kids when their needs become too much for the local districts to handle. This may be due to behavior or medical needs. I had a job interview recently. Even though I am pretty well known for my work with older students I was interviewing for…
Pension Reform Bill Struck Down By Kentucky Supreme Court
For those following the pension reform debacle in Kentucky, we finally have the verdict: Senate Bill 151, the controversial “sewage” bill that stood to make major changes to public pensions, has been struck down. In a unanimous decision made Thursday, the Kentucky Supreme Court stated that the bill “did not comply with the three-reading requirement,” and thus ruled that the…
This Kentucky Student Is Launching A Sexual Assault Education Campaign, And You Can Help.
A couple weeks ago, my sister Amara Stroud wrote a piece exploring the role that schools play in preventing and addressing sexual assault. After reading and reflecting on her comments, I’ve done some research on my own. I have to say, I’m impressed with what I’ve learned. It turns out that there’s a Kentucky high school student named Celia Ziliak who’s…
We’re Still Here: Kentucky Teachers React to the 2018 Midterm Elections
It’s been a month since the 2018 midterm elections humbled Kentucky’s #RememberInNovember crowd, but with the newly-elected General Assembly beginning their session next month, you may think that Kentucky teachers are still licking their wounds. It couldn’t have been a more personal loss. Angered by a controversial pension overhaul bill and a Governor’s uncanny remarks, many Kentucky teachers thought they…