College in the 21st Century (or, is it too late to change my major?)
“College is where liberal professors teach ‘ridiculous’ classes and indoctrinate students who hang out and protest all day long and cry on our dime. They’ve become elitist, politically correct institutions that often fail to provide practical skills for the job market” (Washington Post, 2017). Wow! That’s quite an indictment of American colleges and universities.
How Do We Define Success? (or, which way to the playground?)
Have you noticed that things happen in threes? Well, the other day I saw three articles – one in the news, one on Facebook, and another on Twitter – all talking about the same thing! Naturally, I took that as a sign….there’s a there there. What’s more, I need to write about it. Pop
AWOL Educators (or, teachers are people, too)
Last week, I ran into an educator-friend at the grocery store: “Did you see that news article last night?” she asked. “Now, they’re bashing teachers for taking too many days off!” This teacher, by the way, is not a complainer. She is respected by her peers, contributes to the positive climate of her school,
More Educational Surprises (or, subs are not sandwiches)
Here we go again. Remember the teacher shortage I wrote about a few weeks ago? Well, apparently it caught up with Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, TN. According to USA Today, this school – a school at which President Obama gave the 2011 commencement speech due to an inspiring turn-around story –
The Purpose of Education (or, where the hell is my sushi?)
I think we’d all agree that schools are educational institutions. Teachers instruct, and students learn. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen, right? Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Remember the old saying, “What gets measured, gets done”? There are plenty of examples of this in education. For instance, teachers may not focus on
The Case for Education (or, teachers as panhandlers?)
Guess what? There is a nationwide teacher shortage. Surprised? I’m not. I’m not the least bit surprised, because I AM an educator. But all those non-educator types – you know, the politicians, the reporters, the educational philanthropists – they seem quite surprised. They even write articles about teacher shortages, wondering what they can do