Those Good-For-Nothing Moms!

This weekend, America will observe Mother’s Day for the 98th time since it was officially added to the calendar in 1914. Of the 85 million mothers in America, about 5 million are stay-at-home moms, society’s great good-for-nothings.
Officially, motherhood is worthless. Unpaid work does not count in economic statistics, so moms officially contribute …

The EdPrezi

About ten years ago, I left the private sector and set out to learn about the challenges of improving public education, especially in my home state of California. I sought out people with differing perspectives and a clear and informed point of view. As I learned, I began synthesizing and writing for …

California’s Ed Finance Morass

In a few short months, California voters will again take up their part-time role as legislators. As usual, we will be asked to weigh in on policy questions of great complexity in the blunt form of a yes-or-no vote on initiatives.
Several important measures will relate to education funding and finance, …

How Should the Success of Schools Be Measured?

This entry first appeared on TOPed.org in answer to the question “How should we measure our schools?”
The success of schools, per se, must not be our primary concern. Schools, after all, are only a means to an end. The center of the proverbial target is simpler, but even more …

Schools Are Like Businesses

This entry first appeared on http://toped.org
Schools are like businesses, but not in the way most think.
I frequently find myself in conversations comparing “how it works in business” with “how it works in education.” A popular version goes something like this:
Schools are like factories. They take raw materials (kids and textbooks) …

Less School = More Problems

It appears ever more likely that California state revenues for education will come up short, again, abruptly. When the money comes up short there are only a few ways to make the numbers work:

employ fewer teachers,
reduce their wages, or
reduce their hours.

School districts across California will have to choose door #3 …

Kids Can Teach

What would happen if you cemented an internet-connected computer into a wall in an impoverished area of an Indian city? Enterprising education researcher Sugata Mitra decided to find out. He watched with amazement as kids with little or no education clustered around the wall and found ways to do things …

Can the Content of Character Be Measured?

My daughter’s first-grade report card came in two sections, one related to her academic work and the other for her teacher’s feedback about the character she displayed in school. Did she play well with others? Did she participate in class? Did she take risks?
A focus on character is nothing new; …