There’s a lot of pressure out there. It started when I was in ed school, studying to be a teacher. The professors and my fellow student-teachers raved about Harry Potter. When I finally got a full-time teaching gig, all the teachers there raved about Harry Potter. My wife raves about Harry Potter. Am I the… Continue reading Am I the only one who hasn’t read Harry Potter?
Category: Education
Does “belief in” public schools matter?
Maybe this is symptomatic of the kinds of social circles I run in, but I often hear friends and acquaintances saying that they are sending their kids (current or future) to public school because they “believe in public schools.” I’m not sure what this means exactly. All the people I know who say this, well-intentioned… Continue reading Does “belief in” public schools matter?
Single-sex? Co-ed? Who cares?
Recently, I read an article in Newsweek espousing single-sex education. The following week, the magazine published a slew of letters arguing for or against single-sex education. The original article itself and all the subsequent published letters all missed two major reasons it’s dumb to argue about whether schools should be single-sex or co-ed: 1. Arguments… Continue reading Single-sex? Co-ed? Who cares?
Only Temporary Band-aids: Affirmative Action and Extended Time Testing
What do affirmative action and extended time testing have to do with one another? They’re both band-aids. Unfortunately, in popular discourse, there is rarely talk of any sort of weaning process with either. Now, affirmative action is a complex issue, and if you want to explore almost every nuance of the debate, I’d advise you… Continue reading Only Temporary Band-aids: Affirmative Action and Extended Time Testing
Why Teach English?
Even though I’m now getting out of the teaching profession for not-so-idealistic reasons (I hate grading papers, and I like being able to call in sick without huge repercussions), I really do believe teaching literature to high school students has value. Now, here I’m writing specifically about teaching literature. Few people doubt the need for… Continue reading Why Teach English?
Distracting Dress Codes
One of my friends from youth group is now a youth pastor and has posted a dress code on his church’s website. I find one sentence particularly amusing: “Undergarments should be worn and they should not be visible.” If they’re not supposed to be visible, what does it matter if they’re not worn? The rationale… Continue reading Distracting Dress Codes
Social Education
In the pages of Time and Newsweek, as well as in their own leaflets and propaganda, both those for contraceptive-focused sex education and those for abstinence-focused sex education throw around statistics and studies about the efficacy of their respective programs. Supposedly, adults, who are either relieved to hear affirmation of their own prejudices or who… Continue reading Social Education
Myths About What Schools Need
Time=learning. So, more time=more learning. Good schools have good teachers. So, better teachers=better schools. Testing discourages social promotion Tracking solves most classroom learning problems Lack of tracking solves most classroom learning problems Individual teachers create educational revolution (think Dangerous Minds and Stand and Deliver) Students do not care about education What schools actually need Student-teachers… Continue reading Myths About What Schools Need
Reflections on Teaching
When I began thinking about teaching, I began it with a rather self-centered outlook: I will teach the way I wanted my teachers to teach me. I will be the kind of teacher I’d always wanted in high school. I also had a dream to be the revolutionary teacher from such faux-inspirational films as Stand… Continue reading Reflections on Teaching