Tag: learning

  • The Public School Bible

    “This summer, the Texas State Board of Education approved a new required-reading list for public schools, mandating what the state’s 5.4 million students will read in every grade from kindergarten to 12th. …What made the Texas list controversial is the inclusion not of a new book, but of a very old one: the Bible. Students…

  • Get Loud

    Like free speech in too many circles these days, student voice is under attack inside our traditional K-12 school system. Student voice is the serious process of listening to young learners about how they like to learn and what they like to learn. Sometimes it’s referred to as learner agency. The Atlantic, in an article…

  • Friday News Roundup

    Time for the Friday News Roundup! 52 Million U.S. Kids Eligible for New Scholarships, but California Hasn’t Opted In (The 74) This could be a game changer. The 74 reported this week that nearly 52 million U.S. kids will be eligible to receive funding under the Education Freedom Tax Credit program so they can choose…

  • Define Cheating

    “At the beginning of each new class, Al Rabanera lets his students know that he knows they’re using AI.” “’I’m not going to pretend like you aren’t,’ he tells his students. ‘I know it’s readily available for most of you, if not all of you.’” “A math teacher at La Vista High School in Fullerton,…

  • Stop Hating Vouchers

    It seems advocacy groups, worried about declining performance on the part of our K-12 school system, are suggesting that vouchers are the cause. One national group making that case is EdTrust, a Washington D.C. think tank committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system.…

  • Could Mike Miles Be Our Educational Savior?

    ABPTL has been hard on Mike Miles, the state-appointed superintendent assigned to lead the Houston Independent School District back in 2023. But now, based on new test data, it seems like Miles’s reforms, a program he calls his New Education System, is working for more kids in more schools. The Houston Chronicle reported earlier this…

  • What If It’s Not the Phones? Part 2

    Last Thursday ABPTL posted Part 1 of “What If It’s Not the Phones,” which included excerpts from an article published in The Atlantic focused on the mental-health crisis facing our young people. Today’s Part 2 focuses on Peter Gray’s reaction to Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation and Gray’s theory about why our young learners are…

  • Friday News Roundup

    It’s Friday! Time for the News Roundup. Can the Prospect of 3rd Grade Retention Improve Early Literacy? Yes, Study Says (EducationWeek) To hold kids back or not continues to be a debate in our K-12 school system. Most recently, findings from a study conducted by researchers at American University and Syracuse University suggest that just…

  • What If It’s Not the Phones? Part 1

    On last night’s Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon announced that France became the first European Union country to ban social media for kids under 15. Fallon’s crowd clapped, demonstrating approval. The next news item Fallon shared was about “Jimothy,” the internet sensation raccoon currently captivating the social media world. Fallon’s crowd went crazy with clapping and…

  • Microschools Need Funding

    Lack of imagination has always been something of a curse traditional K-12 decision-makers had to endure. When challenged to do something different to help kids learn, most school district leaders just double-down on what they have tried in the past, cross their fingers, and hope for the best. Education savings accounts presented an opportunity for…