Leadership Blog

Walt Gardner's Reality Check

Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Opinion Get Real About Recruiting Highly Effective Teachers
True talent has always been in short supply. Generous incentives can help attract better teacher candidates, but it's unrealistic to assume they can duplicate the performances of virtuosos.
Walt Gardner, February 17, 2016
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3 min read
Education Opinion Rush to Judgment About Teacher Anger
Even good teachers can have a bad day.
Walt Gardner, February 15, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion New SAT Has a Legitimate Purpose
If students find reading passages on the new SAT to be difficult, how in the world will they be able to handle college-level work?
Walt Gardner, February 12, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion How Useful Are Tougher Teacher Evaluations?
Studies from even marquee-name universities can be published that allow invalid inferences to be drawn.
Walt Gardner, February 10, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion What Happens to Unions After Friedrichs?
The model adopted after the Friedrichs ruling will be unrecognizable to traditionalists.
Walt Gardner, February 8, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Can Creativity Be Nurtured?
Observant parents can nurture creativity in their children by supporting their interest at an early age.
Walt Gardner, February 5, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Workaholic Students
Endangering one's physical and mental health is too high a price to pay for excelling.
Walt Gardner, February 3, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Vindictive Principals Destroy Morale
Exemplary teachers have no protection from vindictive principals without strong unions.
Walt Gardner, February 1, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Single-Sex Education Is for Parents to Decide
Despite the growth in popularity of single-sex education, be ready for a constitutional challenge that segregation of the sexes is inherently unequal.
Walt Gardner, January 29, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Senior Citizens as Mentors
A Mentor Corps composed of senior citizens would be the basis for an ideal symbiotic relationship.
Walt Gardner, January 27, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion What If School Were a Privilege?
If education were a privilege instead of a right, would schools be able to do a better job?
Walt Gardner, January 25, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion College Admissions Process Is Unavoidably Competitive
Marquee-name colleges and universities are unique brands that students and their parents will always be willing to pay more for in one form or another.
Walt Gardner, January 22, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Out-of-Control Classrooms
When students disrupt the learning of others, they forfeit their right to be in the classroom.
Walt Gardner, January 20, 2016
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1 min read
Education Opinion Time to Break Up Giant School Districts
School district behemoths can never fulfill their duty to provide a quality education to all students.
Walt Gardner, January 18, 2016
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3 min read
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