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 This blog is no longer being updated.
School & District Management
Opinion
Teach Oregon: Growing Great Teachers
Teach Oregon is a partnership between school districts and universities to develop a diverse workforce of great teachers. Oregon is tackling the toughest issues of teacher development that every state faces.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Dumbing Down America's Teachers
Advanced degrees are an important part of the teaching profession. Researchers who limit their research to a test score have undermined the complexity of teaching and enabled anti-intellectual politicians to do harm to teachers.
Federal
Opinion
Sequestration Hurts Military Children and Teachers
Sequestration will result in the furlough of teachers and education support professionals in schools under the Department of Defense. This will cause hardship for children and military families.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
More Vetoes of Teach For America Needed
Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota vetoed a legislative appropriation to Teach For America because he knew their business plan was to seek funding from cash-strapped states while maintaining a well-funded organization. Nevada and North Carolina are going down the same path. They should learn fiscal responsibility from this savvy governor.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
There Is Only One Effective Teacher Evaluation
Teacher evaluations that are being perpetrated on teachers by politicians and reformers are wrong-headed. Peer Assistance and Review programs offer the best method that assure teacher quality.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
A Memorial for Fallen Teachers
A memorial to fallen teachers is being built on the campus of Emporia State University by the National Teachers Hall of Fame. We should never forget the fallen educators who died protecting their students from violence.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
5 Great Teachers Head to Hall of Fame
The newest inductees into the National Teacher Hall of Fame came to Washington, DC to meet with Secretary Arne Duncan and NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. As great teachers, they speak truth to power.
Assessment
Opinion
Teachers Need Action Along With Appreciation
This is Teacher Appreciation Week and tomorrow is National Teacher Day. It is time to take action to restore respect, autonomy, and responsibility to teachers for their profession.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Students Need 8 Critical Conditions for Success
The latest results of the student survey developed by the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (QISA) and administered by Pearson Foundation show a disconnect between teaching and learning. School culture can be improved using the QISA framework including eight conditions that make a difference in student success.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teachers Need So-Called Tenure More Than Ever
Teachers need fair employment and dismissal procedures or so-called tenure because so much concentration on high stakes testing has distorted the practice of teaching. Politicians need to assure good teachers that they will not be subjected to personal, political, arbitrary, and capricious decisions not to mention nepotism.
Accountability
Opinion
Professor Andy Hargreaves Talks Sustainability
Professor Andy Hargreaves of Boston College discusses sustainability of school improvement in a conversation with the HOPE Foundation.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Teachers Who Cheat Go to Jail
The Atlanta scandal on teachers and administrators cheating on standardized testing has rocked the teaching profession. A closer look should examine this complex problem and changes need to be made.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Common Core: Mend It; Don't End It
Common Core Standards continue to be a point of debate. We should remember that these standards are what every child should know and be able to do not everything a child should know and be able to do.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Teachers Are Needed to Close Civic Gap
Civic literacy is critical with the wide gaps that exist in voting patterns. Rich people vote 50 points higher than poor people, and it shows in political support for issues important to tackling poverty in this country.