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Common Core: Who loves it, who hates it and why?
Patrick Gleeson EducationRecently, I wrote about the history of opposition to Common Core, noting that at this point it is neither an unqualified success nor an unmitigated failure. Student scores have not improved significantly, if at all, in nearly a decade. But many states who have adopted Common Core — or adapted several of its principles and procedures — profess relative satisfaction. One of the biggest obstacles to Common Core’s success is that three different groups claim a stake in its outcome, and they passionately disagree about almost everything related to the program. Here's a brief overview of their conflicting views, motives and tactics.
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The case for detracking in our schools
Brian Stack EducationSecondary schools have historically relied on tracking as a way to sort students into ability groups for the purpose of providing appropriate instruction at a "just right" level. Last week, I visited a high school with no fewer than five different tracking levels for its 1,500-student population. When talking with teachers in the school, I had to ask the seemingly obvious question: What is the difference between a level 3 and a level 4 student? Not surprisingly, the responses I received from the teachers in this school had little to do with academic ability and more to do with work study skills.
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Life lessons I’ve learned this year as a learning-disabled individual
Amy Temple EducationAs we reach the end of another year, a lot of time is being spent in reflection over the events that have occurred in our lives. For me, I have learned a lot of crucial lessons about myself and life in general. This spring, I finally worked up the courage to quit a job working for a longtime client in my dog-sitting business because of a toxic work environment. I joined LinkedIn and met wonderful people who have provided me with numerous opportunities to grow in my writing career. I would not have been able to do any of this if I still had a bubble up and didn't take chances.
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Can Common Core ever really work?
Patrick Gleeson EducationAn embarrassing failure in U.S. education has been the persistent underperformance of K-12 students in matchups with students in other countries. After more than a decade of intense efforts, U.S. students remain firmly in the middle of the pack worldwide. The most recent 2018 cross-national PISA test, administered to 15-year-olds every three years, found U.S. students ranked 37th in math, 18th in science and 13th in reading. This comes after 18 years of costly federal programs that have resulted in minimal improvement. What's gone wrong here?
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Who am I?
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationIn my November article, we saw how interrogative pronouns lend themselves to extensive and inventive study. This month, let’s explore how asking "Who are you?" can work in concert with the previous activities or can be used individually. The identity exploration activities we’ll examine this month can be used for kindergarten through university and arguably for even younger students. The activities introduce or review poetry, figurative language (particularly personification, metaphor, simile, idioms, alliteration, and onomatopoeia), and vocabulary development.
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How school counselors can help teachers integrate basic competencies of…
Dr. Ronald Morgan EducationThe purpose of this commentary is to examine how school counselors can assist classroom teachers with the basic competencies of social-emotional learning (SEL) in order to enhance student learning. A brief review of the literature over the past decade reveals there has been an increase in the number of teachers and schools in general who are utilizing SEL. However, before examining why that has been the case, it’s important to discuss what exactly SEL is and the competencies that define it.
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Houston ISD schools face state takeover, growth in charters
Michelle R. Matisons EducationAs the national wave of education labor successes, which include a rejection of charter school expansion and school budget freezes, continue, the state of Texas has decided to take over the Houston Independent School District in an effort to improve student performance. The takeover tactic has an infamous history in U.S. education circles, requiring serious educator efforts to mitigate the worst effects of this awkward — even hostile — move.
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Exploring diversity in preschools, K-12 schools
Bambi Majumdar EducationAt a time when education leaders and policymakers are focused on tackling growing racial segregation in public schools, a new Urban Institute study states that early-childhood programs are more segregated than K-12 settings. The study compared the variety of learning arrangements for children five and under and K-12 schools. The Northeast was most lacking in integration according to the numbers, while the Midwest showed the most promise when it came to reducing segregation. Most urban and rural areas showed more segregation than suburban areas.
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Bringing mindfulness into the classroom
Brian Stack and Erica Stack EducationImagine arriving home from work each day and being confronted with tasks to complete as soon as you walk through the door. As adults, we typically have a little bit of time to "decompress" after a long day. Now more than ever, in a society where we are expected to be executing one task while simultaneously thinking of the next one, we as adults need time to be mindful. Children are rarely afforded these mindful opportunities, and that needs to change. They often sit on a loud bus, enter their classroom, and are expected to get right to their morning work.
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Historic inmate commutation in Oklahoma calls for new approach after release
Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityEarly November saw conservative Oklahoma release 462 people serving sentences for non-violent and drug offenses in the largest commutation in U.S. history. This is a case study, if you will. These former inmates are now working residents, sharing demands with people in the working class: fair wages; the right to unionize; affordable housing/healthcare/child care; quality public education/scholarships; and continuity of safety-net services, among others. There are competing visions of prison reform that render post-release obstacles part of a fledgling "release/rehabilitation state-industrial complex" of sorts.
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