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 This blog is no longer being updated.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 Private-School Parent Hypocrisy
Racial awareness workshops are no substitute for the experience of daily interacting with students from different races.
Walt Gardner, February 23, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion The Alleged Shortage of STEM Workers
It's important not to get carried away by alarmist claims about the shortage of STEM workers.
Walt Gardner, February 20, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion Responsibility for Homeless Students
It's one thing for teachers to be responsible for identifying homeless students but quite another to expect them to follow through.
Walt Gardner, February 18, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion Cash Prizes to Which Schools?
It's unrealistic to expect urban districts to compete with suburban districts.
Walt Gardner, February 16, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion Teaching Writing Poses Unique Challenges
The SAT writing section measures speed more than depth.
Walt Gardner, February 13, 2015
•
2 min read
Education Opinion Lessons From Teach for America
Five weeks of training are hardly sufficient to prepare teachers for the realities of the classroom.
Walt Gardner, February 11, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion The Proper Use of Standardized Tests
Standardized tests provide invaluable diagnostic information, but that's not how they're being used.
Walt Gardner, February 9, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion How to Force Teachers to Resign
The best way to prevent principals from giving the worst classes to teachers they don't like for one reason or another is to have a policy of random assignment of students.
Walt Gardner, February 6, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion Parents Acting in Self-Interest Is Natural
Parents have the right - indeed, the duty - to send their children to any school that best meets their unique needs and interests.
Walt Gardner, February 4, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion Do Teachers Have It Too Good?
If teaching is a sinecure, then why is teacher turnover so high?
Walt Gardner, February 2, 2015
•
2 min read
Education Opinion Touching Students Has Consequences
Appropriate touching is one way for teachers to show their students that they genuinely care about them.
Walt Gardner, January 30, 2015
•
1 min read
Education Opinion The Other 'Super Bowl'
What works in one district backfires in another, making the process of superintendent selection largely a matter of luck.
Walt Gardner, January 28, 2015
•
2 min read
Education Opinion Are Teachers' Unions the Enemy?
Before scapegoating teachers' unions, critics should be forced to spend two weeks teaching in an inner-city public school.
Walt Gardner, January 26, 2015
•
2 min read
Education Opinion GED Safety Net Is Fraying
The changes in the GED have gone too far too fast.
Walt Gardner, January 23, 2015
•
1 min read
Load More ▼