Two pieces of legislation, which collectively would phase out tenure for teachers and create a merit pay system for teachers and administrators, are signed into law by Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter. Read Full Post >
Several people have e-mailed me this recent Slate article by developmental scientist Alison Gopnik, which Slate, in its Slate-y wisdom, has chosen to run with the subhead, "New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire." Does this mean, folks are asking, t... Read Full Post >
A study finds that "higher percentages of youth with hearing impairments scored below the mean in reading, math, science and social studies, compared to students in the general population. Read Full Post >
For the past decade, the universal pre-k movement has worked diligently to increase the number of pre-k teachers who have bachelor's degrees. Pre-k advocates have urged the creation of state regulatory requirements mandating bachelor's degrees for teachers in state-funded pre-k, and they have suppor... Read Full Post >
I've been increasingly struck, over the past few weeks, with how terribly our educational system treats the youngest and newest (not always the same thing) teachers. Consider the following: Due to seniority-based layoff policies, the youngest/newest 5-10% of teachers are essentially guaranteed t... Read Full Post >
Per last week's post on layoffs by lottery, a correspondent sent me this example from Ann Arbor, Michigan: 4.813.3 Experience shall mean months, days and years of certificated employment in the Ann Arbor Public Schools. If two or more teachers have the same seniority and the Board must decide on ... Read Full Post >
Responding to Dana Goldstein's recent quasi-defense of "last in, first out" teacher layoff policies, Matt Yglesias writes : Note that since teacher compensation costs increase as a function of experience, LIFO is actually worse than the equally objective practice of firing teachers at random. LIFO... Read Full Post >
Collaboration and co-teaching should be part of the agenda for federal education policy, says the president of an organization for special educators in this blog interview. Read Full Post >
The Council for Exceptional Children president answers questions on the instructional practice. Read Full Post >
Today I am sharing part two of a two-part essay contributed by educator Betsy Angert. Ms. Angert is a creative educator who taught Secondary School and University students. She also served to instruct and supervise future Educators in the Teacher Credentialing Program. She now hosts the web site Emp... Read Full Post >
