American politics is a sport of trends. In 2016, we witnessed a progressive uprising among Democrats and left-leaning independents who embraced Sen. Bernie Sanders’ vision of “democratic socialism.” The Vermont Senator may have gone on to lose that race against frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but his platform was no less successful. Bernie moved the party to the left, setting a trend…
Month: May 2019
I’m Not Down With Adversity Scores Because All Kids Can Excel
Many moons ago, the late rap genius Tupac spoke about “the rose that grew from concrete.” It’s a metaphor of course, and as a teacher, I’ve seen lots of roses (students) that must blossom in spite of harsh environments. Difficult family and home situations make it tough for kids to persevere, and in some areas, incessant crime and drug abuse…
So You Really Wanna Know What’s Wrong With Ed Reform?
It seems like every week I come across another article that tries to point out where “school reform has gone astray.” Many of them are penned by teachers, angry and confused by the adoption of charter school laws and rapid changes to their state’s accountability systems. Others are written by reform-minded folks with legitimate concerns about the direction that the…
I Am ‘Just A Teacher’ And Proud Of It.
OK, so here’s this embarrassing thing I did recently. I kinda promised myself I would never admit this to anyone, so please don’t tell. It was my friend’s birthday, and my friend is this super impressive person who has been elected to office and whose friends are all impressive people that help people get elected to office and have job…
Kentucky’s Getting A New Teacher of the Year. Their Job Is Going To Be Tough.
If you follow my site regularly, you’ve probably noticed that I don’t talk about myself very often. I’m an issues guy — I focus my writing pretty squarely on the policies and practices in Kentucky that impact equitable outcomes for our children, and I try to use my platform here to discuss how we can fix the obstacles that hinder…
How One Program Is Fighting To Solve Teacher Shortages In Rural Schools
Last April, when I was invited on to the Rural Matters podcast to talk with former Assistant Education Secretary John White, I argued that the recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers is at the heart of inequities in rural schools. Communities like mine have major shortages of high-quality science and math teachers, and in many cases, schools have to rely…