With my term on the Commissioner of Education’s Teacher Advisory Council (TAC) set to end next week (not a humblebrag, I swear), I’ve been spending some time reflecting on the valuable insights and opportunities that teacher leadership has afforded me these past three years. I’ve been privileged to engage in meaningful conversation about Kentucky education issues with four different commissioners,…
Tag: Teacher Voice
Citizen voices are speaking out on education during COVID-19
Citizen voices are key to COVID response in education and beyond Add to Kentucky’s groundswell of education influencers some innovative, if earnest, laypeople. We are part of a citizen research team of school stakeholders. We call ourselves the “Intergen 9,” and we comprise three parents, three teachers, and three students representing eight districts across the Commonwealth, including five people of…
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…
Rural Schools Need Equity Too
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…
Standards Can Help Fix Students’ Broken Moral Compass
A recent piece in The Atlantic, Students’ Broken Moral Compasses, describes a teacher’s attempt to help his students develop good character and learn morality and ethics. However, his arguments against the Common Core State Standards are unfounded. High academic standards free teachers and students from skill-and-drill sessions that deaden curiosity, and give students the opportunity to think independently, analyze reading…
Teachers Are More Supportive of Education Reform Than You Think
I’m a science teacher, so it’s in my nature to be curious about how and why things work the way they do. Since I’ve been on an education reform kick lately, I decided to do a little experiment. I asked public school teachers from different organizations across the state to play a little word association game with me, giving me a short,…
If We’re Going to Have a Real Conversation About Education, We’ll Need A Few More Seats at This Table
Often when I let my students work in groups, I remind them of a favorite proverb of mine: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” They usually roll their eyes when I say that, but it’s true. Working alone can be efficient at times, but if we really want to push…