With the indictment of former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly A. Hall and 34 other public school employees in a massive cheating scandal, the time is right to re-examine other situations of possible illegal behavior by educators. Washington, DC, belongs at the top of that list.
Eating Our Young
Do we realize that we are sacrificing our young on the altar of test scores? Teachers, principals, and superintendents are fired largely on the basis of scores. Parents (and often their kids) want to outscore everyone else on the SAT, the ACT and other gatekeeper tests, and they see the ADHD label and the drugs as the keys.
Life is Unfair
There’s no point to cursing the dark truth about life’s unfairness. It is what it is, and so, while we rage against the dying of the light, let’s embrace each day.
The Best and Worst of Times
With apologies to Charles Dickens, “It is the best of times (to be an education reporter); but it is the worst of times (to be in a classroom).”
Please Don’t Call Me Coach
If I were still teaching, I don’t think I would want people calling me “Coach.” Football and basketball coaches have win-loss records that determine whether they keep their job or get fired, and I fear that’s the road education is rushing down.
Power and Generosity
This note from Lisa Hannah, the assistant principal of a school in Belmar, NJ, came to us a few days ago. It’s an eloquent statement about the significance of public education, the commitment of educators, the power of television, the value of Learning Matters, the skill of my colleagues, and the generosity of the American people.
ADD Deja Vu
We slowed down the ADD bandwagon for a while, but greed, opportunism, naivete and our eagerness to believe in a quick fix are back in business. The number of kids now being diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder continues to grow, and the drug dealers (legal ones) continue to laugh all the way to the bank.
