I'm trying to address a certain unreality, a certain abstraction,  a certain dishonesty, where children are  said to be learning 21st-century skills, critical thinking, collaboration, resilience, and so much more, but they don't know where Panama is on a map of the world. They don't know what 7×8 is. They don't know what a moon is.

They are as ignorant as bricks.

And here is a little secret. Our…

Story starter websites – In this School Library Journal feature, Richard Byrne suggests apps to help students get started with their writing. Here are three that are free:

• Write About This http://ow.ly/CwmbT 

• WordWriter http://www.boomwriter.com/wordwriter 

• StoryToolz…

In my never-ending quest for boiling everything down to a few paragraphs, I put up a short article called "Memo to mothers: how public schools damage your child."

 The four ways are: reading, arithmetic, knowledge, and attitudes. Make a mess of those four and you've pretty well  messed up another generation.…

Outrage at the Los Angeles Unified School District case comes from the incredible possibility that school officials knew there was a serious problem and no action with consequence was taken. It comes from the fact that there are over 80 known victims and likely dozens of others. It comes from a school attorney who acknowledges that if the allegations had arisen now they would be taken more seriously. This is progress that we struggle to be proud of. Weren't there child abuse laws back…

Nonfiction That’s Good for the Learning Environment

by Steve Peha

As many of us adjust to the Common Core and new standards in other states which mimic the Core in all but name, we know we’re going to be teaching a lot more nonfiction. In particular, we’re going to be teaching issue-oriented, analytic, short-form nonfiction of the kind we often find in newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet. I recently came across an incredible set of materials that seem…

If we look at the present, we see the federal government has attempted to not leave any child behind and then asked us to race to the top, with little notable result. Now, the support for P-TECH and other STEM initiatives hold promise. We need to step up and meet these system changes with the engagement necessary to make a positive difference. Otherwise, the wheel will turn, energy will be spent, and little will change. The question remains how to step up and meet these system…

Countering 'churn and burn'

Since the no-excuses movement began in the 1990s, its schools have had a reputation for teachers who are young, idealistic, white, and available to families around the clock -- until they leave, writes Sara Neufeld for The Atlantic. Some are ready to have children of their own or more lucrative careers; others are just fried. The dynamic has been criticized for depriving students of stable adult relationships and creating mistrust…

The role of public education is to educate ALL children and to prepare them all for their lives as adults who are informed and productive citizens in our democratic society. In the age of dreams and start-ups, college may not be the only path but it is likely only a few who will become hugely successful without it.  Read more...