John Wilson Unleashed
Prior to leading the National Education Association and the N.C. Association of Educators, John Wilson taught special education for 23 years. He is a past chair of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the Learning First Alliance, and the N.C. Covenant for Children. He is a senior fellow at the Pearson Foundation. This blog is no longer being updated.
Teaching
Opinion
Administration and Teachers' Union Collaborate in Providence, R.I.
Guest blogger Marian Kisch writes about the collaboration between the administration and the union that represents teachers in Providence, Rhode Island. Collaboration is not easy, but the results demonstrate the worth.
School & District Management
Opinion
Give Every Child a Free Breakfast
This is National School Breakfast Week and a reminder that research shows the benefits of a nutritious breakfast for all students. NEA Health information Network and Share our Strength have created great guidelines and supported schools in creating universal breakfast programs.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Researchers and Politicians Agree on 21st-Century Skills
With the National Research Council's recent report on 21st Century skills and deeper learning and the formation of the Congressional 21st Century Skills Caucus, the education and business community are uniting behind this movement to assure students of a relevant and purposeful education.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
You Better Start Listening to Teachers
The MetLife American Teacher Survey presented insight into the problems with teacher job satisfaction, and the frustration that is building with the bureaucratic intrusions into the demands on teachers today.
Teaching
Opinion
Dancing Classrooms
Dancing Classrooms is more than teaching children ballroom dancing. It is a program that teaches leadership, confidence, respect, acceptance, as well as strengthens self-esteem.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Put Down the Guns, Pick Up the Crayons
Deb Shoemaker, an art therapist, makes a persuasive argument why schools should be gun-free, but enhanced with art therapy to care for students suffering from mental illnesses.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Today We Are All Garfield Teachers!
Today is the day all teachers stand with those at Garfield High School in Seattle,Washington in their refusal to administer the MAP test. This is ground zero for the civil disobedience that we will see across the nation as teachers expose the misuses of testing.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Martin Luther King Jr. Understood Poverty and So Do Teachers
As we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., we need to focus on ending poverty for all children.
Standards
Opinion
The Real Issue Isn't Common Core; It's Common Implementation
Alan Blankstein, president and founder of HOPE Foundation, offers his ideas about the implementation of the Common Core, and it starts with readiness.
School & District Management
Opinion
My Predictions for 2013
As we begin 2013, I offer ten predictions that involve education policy, practice, and politics.
Federal
Opinion
Grading My 2012 Predictions
As we come to the end of 2012, I reviewed the predictions I made a year ago and graded them.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Courage in the Face of Fire
Alan Blankstein, president and founder of the HOPE Foundation, provides insightful words that reflect on the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School and offer comfort for the present and a challenge to change our future.
Teaching
Opinion
Teachers Deserve Higher Salaries With Those Standards
For the last decade, the salaries of teachers have increased only 3.4 per cent when you factor in inflation. It is time to prioritize higher salaries with those higher standards.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Brave Teachers and Heavy Hearts
Today America's school reopen after a weekend of sadness in response to the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. While our hearts are full of sadness for the children and school staff who were killed, we are full of pride for the educators who protected and saved many children.