Fifteen years of my career as a teacher were spent at a little prairie high school of about 300 students. In a school that small, I taught most students all four years of high school, so I had the opportunity to truly appreciate them and their families, and to really make a difference with their […]
There is a saying at the military academies that is applicable to the kerfuffle in the Jefferson County School District: “Amateur military analysts argue about weapons and tactics. Professional military argue about logistics.” When adapting the saying to education, we come up with, “Amateur educators argue about books and curriculum. Professional educators argue about instruction.”
AP History, Part I: Amateur Hour Read More »
New teachers, it turns out, have very little personal time. Between lesson plans, waking up at the crack of dawn, and handling masses of children all day, I’ve always been surprised they don’t just go home and turn themselves off for a few hours, rebooting the next morning to do it all again. However, it
In Loco Parentis: Interview with Dan Cordova Read More »
As a student, I see how hard it is to pay for school. Affordable education is a fantasy for many Americans. Going to a community college alone has cost me upwards of $6,000 in my first year. Students go into debt by taking out loans they have a hard time paying back. Indeed, the main
Thinking of Affordable Education Read More »
In the 1980s, Jossy Eyre volunteered at a Denver homeless shelter. She began to realize that although that the shelter provided many essential needs, people needed a different type of support to change their lives permanently. In 1989, Eyre bought 500 dollars’ worth of beans and employed two homeless women to sell the beans, thus
Women’s Bean Project: Smart Assistance for Those in Need Read More »
Over the past two decades, America’s education system has declined, due largely to complacency and inefficiency. Among other things, this harsh, infuriating reality is reflective of lower or misguided priorities in education and inconsistencies among the various school systems. Conversely, since arising from the Soviet Union’s shadow, Finland has transformed its education system into a
Finland’s Education System: A Superior Model Read More »