I just got home from a convening with the rest of the Kentucky State Teacher Fellows, where we had some long, tough conversations on equity in our schools. We’re preparing for later this fall, when schools across the Bluegrass are going to witness a major data collection blast from education groups and teacher leaders. The reason is simple: Kentucky is…
Author: Garris L. Stroud
Kentucky Teacher on TIME Magazine Cover: ‘I’m A Teacher in America’
“I truly love teaching,” says Kentucky teacher Hope Brown. “But we are not paid for the work that we do.” Teachers across the nation are experiencing this issue. Lately, we’ve seen teachers in states like Kentucky and Oklahoma trying to do something about it. Now, Time is letting a Kentucky teacher speak out on it. 52-year-old Hope Brown was on a…
Betsy DeVos Is Failing Public Education
Betsy DeVos is nothing if not controversial. Traditionalists oppose her staunch support of school choice; reformers are skeptical of her inability to defend it. For once, thought leaders from each side of these sparring factions agree on something — Betsy DeVos is fundamentally unqualified to lead the U.S. Department of Education. During her confirmation hearing, DeVos botched a softball question…
Education Reform Isn’t A 4-Letter Word
If you didn’t know any better, you might think there’s a civil war brewing right now in school systems across the country. It’s called education reform. Education reformers support school choice initiatives and accountability for public schools. Reformers are passionate about closing achievement gaps and building better public schools, but don’t necessarily believe that the conventional methods of education are…
Teaching Is Tough, But So Are You.
There was a day last year when I had to miss school because of a conference I was attending. I came in early the next morning to check on how things had gone while I was out, and I found one of the best notes from a substitute teacher that I had ever received. “I wanted to let you know…
Personalized Diplomas Would Keep Education From Becoming An Effort Grade
In light of graduation scandals and state policy changes happening across the country, there’s a burning question right now among education circles: What does a high school diploma even mean anymore? Ideally, a high school diploma should suggest to universities, technical and community colleges, or employers that the graduate has been successfully prepared to transition to the next stage of…
Kentucky Drops Master’s Degree Requirement
Earlier today, a waiver that removes Master’s degree requirements from Kentucky teachers was approved by the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). This is the first major action of the newly-consolidated EPSB, which was formerly an independent board. Per Interim Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis’ recommendation earlier this month, the EPSB was placed under the oversight of the Kentucky Department of…
Move Over Boomers, Millennials Are Here And We Want Equity In Schools
Millennial life is like being a responsible teenager. You do all your homework, you hold down a couple part-time jobs, and you only have friends over late on the weekends. Yet the elderly neighbors down the street still complain about having to live next to a bunch of kids. (“Hey punks, get off our yard!”) Because no matter how you…
Elon Musk’s Next Challenge: Education Reform?
It’s no secret: Elon Musk is a titan of industry. It’s not just that he’s the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, he also has a brain that’s hard-wired for innovation. Just look at his Hyperloop idea, for example, which may eventually make it possible to travel from New York to DC in 30 minutes flat. A transit system like the…
Want More Rural Students To Be Lifelong Learners? Give Them More Opportunities.
One of the best baseball movies I’ve seen is Moneyball with Brad Pitt. There’s this scene where Pitt’s character had just brought in an economics wiz and baseball fanatic from Yale, played by Jonah Hill. Using statistics, they were going to build a winning team. It was unconventional at the time. During a tense conversation, one of Pitt’s employees, a…