Friday, May 8, 2015

Are Charter Schools the Answer?

Furman University in South Carolina professor Paul Thomas nicely summed up the unimpressive track record of over a decade of promoting "choice" in US Education Policy in a post this week,  and Valarie Strauss reprinted it here. Its worth remembering and circulating these stark realities as the uninformed myths about charter schools continue. Thomas reflects national data and his closely examined data in South Carolina. But the data in Washington DC, where charters have more advantages than anywhere else in the nation, fits the same pattern.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Love of Reading and Writing Beats A "Reform" Focus

Valarie Strauss posted an eloquent post by Nancie Atwell, the renowned founder of the Center for Teaching and Learning and an award-winning Middle School educator from Maine, describing her approach to teaching a love of reading and writing as more useful than the current strategies aimed at Common Core. It's worth a read to remind us what is really important. What else is there to say?