A Better Path to Learning

Tag: teachers

  • Friday News Roundup…

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    It’s Friday! Time for the news roundup… Texas Republicans Want to Arm More School Employees, But Few Districts are Opting In (The Texas Tribune) Governor Greg Abbott Instructs School Safety Officials to Conduct “Unannounced, Random Intruder” Audits of Texas Public Schools (The Texas Tribune) “Since Texas launched the school marshal program in 2013, just 84…

  • What I Learned from Coach Woody

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    Recently, I read an article on Joey Woody. Joey is the head coach for the University of Iowa men’s and women’s track and field team. Coach Woody has built what could be considered a sport’s dynasty in Iowa City, Iowa, home of the University of Iowa. Woody has led Iowa to 46 Big Ten individual…

  • Here’s the Problem with State Legislatures

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    I noticed an article in a recent online edition of The Texas Tribune that discussed the “hardening” of Texas public schools. “Hardening” is the word used when elected officials pass laws attempting to make schools safer for the students, teachers, other staff, and the public. According to the article, back in 2019, after an armed…

  • Debating with a Traditionalist

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    A dear friend just retired from a central office position in a traditional suburban school district. He used to buy me beers at happy hour during my first year of teaching in Houston, Texas because I didn’t have money to pay for my own. We watched each other get promoted inside our Houston district, with…

  • Learning Like Picasso

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    I just returned from Spain. While there I visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona for a second time. I’m glad I returned since there is too much to capture on just one trip. Picasso was born in Spain in 1881. Throughout his long career as an artist, he created more than 20,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures,…

  • Friday News Roundup…

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    It’s Friday! Time for the news roundup! ‘We Beg You. Do Something’: Principals Who Lived Through Shootings Plead for Action (EdWeek) “Current and former principals who experienced shootings in their school have issued a plea to lawmakers at all levels of government to “Do something. Do anything” to keep “our educators and our kids from…

  • Public Schooling Over Public Schools

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    Lots of folks think I no longer appreciate public schools. That might be true. Public schools, at scale, are mediocre at best. Public schools have produced flat line National Assessment of Educational Progress (the nation’s report card) results over the past 40 years. Out nation’s public schools have been rated a “C” by EdWeek, a…

  • Necessity is the Mother of Invention or 5 Ways Traditional Schools Can Try to Improve

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    Somewhere along the way I saw a sign stating: “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.” Few schools follow this type of advice. Instead, most campuses double down on tried and not so true strategies like improved teaching, better principals, stronger curriculum, high stakes testing, and the list goes on and on. The traditional school system…

  • Friday News Roundup…

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    It’s Friday! Time for the news roundup. Oakland’s New Opportunity Ticket Gives Students in Failing Schools a Shot at Attending Its Most Sought-After Ones (The 74) I mentioned this lottery program in yesterday’s column. This past March, the Oakland (CA) Unified School District board approved a plan to offer spots to some of their most…

  • Schools Are Inequitable and That Can’t Be Fixed

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    Lately I’ve heard a lot from traditional school districts that this coming year they are really going to work on the equity issue inside most, if not all, schools. School leaders realize black, brown, and poor kids are getting the short end of the stick and now they have decided they are going to do…