Recently in Education Category

In his state of the union, President Obama urged all of the states to raise the dropout age to 18. To prove I'm not simply a sheep I will say that is absolutely the wrong thing to do. In fact, I think that's moving it in the opposite direction that it needs to go. The big problem is that public school curriculum stop serving the needs of the majority the minute they all step into...

I've made an observation about myself lately, and a friend mentioned this morning that what I'm going through might be described as a mid-life crisis. No, I haven't gone out and bought a little red convertible nor have I scheduled any cosmetic procedures nor broken off any long-term relationship to attach myself to someone 20 years my junior. I have instead come to the realization that I'm finally imposing the boundaries and filters that should...

I work on the heels of Voice and her piece on sexual harassment in the work place. Really, this piece isn't so much about dress code as the death of common sense. As teachers, we work with dress code on both sides of the fence, but anyone that works outside their house does the same from the employee end. The furor over dress code is a prime example of social science run amok. A basic...

No one knows what the future holds, but I am counting down the days until the end of the school year. By my count, there are ten more days with children and eleven more counting are close out day. My new job begins now in mid June. Of course, that is a long story by itself, but I can't complain how it has worked out. I even get a week in between to recharge my...

It's time to take action. State officials are headed for a vote, so please take a moment to let them know that further cuts to education funding in Texas are UNACCEPTABLE.http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/index.php/act/issues/advocacyIt's pretty important to your future....

"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate drops to zero." -- Tyler Durden It's funny how much numbers consume our lives. Like most things, it isn't noticeable at first. It's the 20 percent chance of rain, 50 percent approval rating, and 33 percent off at the Assistant Manager's Day Sale. My professional life and my moonlight life are governed by statistics. Therefore, it especially pains me to push this forward on this fateful Monday....

Perhaps you've heard the phrase before. Gladwell wrote a book about his perspective on tipping points. It's referred to in several ways: crossing the line, the last straw, triggers, the point of no return, the magic moment -- you know the drill. Tipping points are change catalysts. Why are they most notably associated with pain or negativity? Because we only decide to change when it becomes uncomfortable for us to continue doing what we're doing/the way...

Students in the Katy Independent School District--located here in the Houston-area--walked out of class Thursday afternoon to protest sharp public education cuts being planned in the Texas Legislature.From the Houston Chronicle----"An estimated 400 students at two Katy ISD high schools walked out of class today to protest teacher layoffs triggered by a state budget shortfall. Students spent about 30 minutes outside the Morton Ranch High School building, a few even attempting a 3-mile march to the Katy...

People in my life have often called me a smart ass. I suppose that is better than being a dumb-ass. Still, in our culture it is a lot easier to poke fun at something, rail against something, or generally call someone an idiot than it is to offer real solutions. So, I will give my plan for improving our schools and doing it for an affordable rate. This won't accomplish everything mind you, but it...

During the Enlightenment (or before my literary history is fuzzy), Jonathen Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" to address the concerns of the poor Irish children that the government didn't want to support. He suggested eating them (in jest of course) to shock the reader into realizing the depths that their poverty problem had fallen to. If he wrote today it would look something like this. My fellow Americans, we have a problem. See, we're having...