Tag: students

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…

After three weeks off, ABPTL is back. Our ability to read and our love of reading is under attack. “Twenty-three hundred years ago, the legend goes, King Ptolemy I of Egypt asked his court adviser to assemble a comprehensive collection of the world’s written works. Ptolemy, who had served under Alexander the Great, envisioned a…

I was big into America’s Bicentennial celebration back in 1976. Although I was just 16 years old, I served as treasurer for my county’s Bicentennial commission. And I designed a commemorative coin to honor my county’s history (focused mainly on the Pottawattamie Native American tribe along with a century or so of white man’s farming).…

When I worked as a public school educator in Texas, charter school growth was substantial. Since 1995 when the Texas Legislature approved charter schools, growth occurred in both numbers of students and numbers of charters throughout The Lone Star State. Until now. The Texas Tribune reported last week that, “Texas charter schools recently saw their…

Traditional elementary and secondary schools are a recent invention. Based on an industrial model of schooling, the teaching and learning system most used in America and around the world was created in the mid-19th century and is based on Prussian bureaucratic structures. The end goal for this system, at least in America, was the production…

I’m a historian by training. I received my undergraduate degree in history, focusing on the history of the Cold War. I earned my master’s degree in history, focusing on U.S. colonial, Revolutionary, and Constitutional history. Although I taught other history during my teaching years, my main classroom assignments revolved around U.S. History. I can’t remember…

When I was a student teacher, my girlfriend (now my wife) came for a classroom visit. I had prepared a 45-minute lecture on the U.S. involvement in the Cold War and was excited to present what I knew about the subject. My students were less excited, and several demonstrated their boredom by placing their heads…

All of my professional career inside a Texas K-12 school district, decisions were made about kids based on standardized testing. Standardized tests have long been criticized for being culturally biased and forcing teachers to “teach to the test” by narrowing the curriculum and causing significant test anxiety in the students taking them. But as a…

My wife and I spend time in Iowa City, Iowa now. Iowa City was where we met when we were both students at the University of Iowa – back in the early 80’s. Once, when we were living in Texas, the Iowa City Public Schools’ superintendent position opened for hire. I considered applying but didn’t.…