Originally posted on Open Salon on June 12, 2011:When it comes to educating our children, all stakeholders need to remind themselves once in a while of things they must do in order to ensure success. In this post, I share five things that I have learned from my colleagues over the course of my career [...]
Tag: education
Hail, Fredonia!
Originally posted on Open Salon on May 31, 2011: I do not allow myself as a teacher to play favorites. I may have a favorite novel to teach or a favorite unit; I even have favorite colleagues. But when it comes to the students, I make it a point to favor no one—not an individual, [...]
How I Dress at Work
Originally published on Open Salon on April 9, 2011: Recently, I have given a great deal of thought to a particular tendency in our culture that has powerful implications, not only for my work as a teacher, but also for society as a whole. A personal anecdote serves as an introduction. For about twenty years [...]
Chris Christie and School Rules: Making Things Sensible?
Originally published on Open Salon on April 5, 2011: The Star Ledger reports today that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is creating a task force that will review state rules for school districts with the goal of eliminating forms of regulation that interfere with the efficient function of schools. Reporters Ginger Gibson and Jeanette Rundquist [...]
Teachers, Unions, and Reasons to Reflect
Originally posted on Open Salon on March 3, 2011: Any true education blog must, in this moment, provide commentary on public policy set at the state level and its impact on public education. Let the highest profile examples and the obvious points come first: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is clearly targeting teachers. He is attacking [...]
Student Behavior and Our Media
Originally posted on Open Salon on February 21, 2011: More today about the behavior spectrum of today’s students. I explained in an earlier post that our entire society—adults and children alike—is strongly influenced by our mass media. It helps to isolate and understand some important principles on which our media function. It is obvious that [...]
Classrooms Have Changed Along With Our Society
Originally posted on Open Salon on January 30, 2011: The initial post on this blog raised some questions to be taken up at a later date. Now might be a good time to explore some realities that have emerged in the modern public school classroom—realities that may not be entirely clear to people who have [...]
The Myth of Teacher Tenure
Originally published on Open Salon on January 27, 2011: Teacher tenure comes up often lately in the discussion about how to improve our schools. The prevailing view of tenure holds that once a teacher has it, he or she has a secure job for life. Most people believe that tenured teachers can only lose their [...]
Charter Schools and Vouchers: a Diversion Tactic?
Originally posted on Open Salon on January 23, 2011: Today’s edition of the Star Ledger contains several articles about charter schools and vouchers in New Jersey. Given the poor conditions in some inner-city schools, reformers are hoping to make more choices available to students and their families. This past week, Governor Christie’s administration approved charter [...]
Governor Christie and the Teachers’ Union
Originally posted on Open Salon on January 21, 2011: A few comments today on a matter specific to New Jersey. There has been a public relations war going on for some time between our governor, Chris Christie, and the state teachers’ union, and it is going to heat up again very soon. When I speak [...]
Real Teaching 