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 This blog is no longer being updated.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 When Students Rate Teachers
Written evaluation of teachers by students should be permitted, provided they include specific evidence and are not anonymous.
Walt Gardner, December 25, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion TUDA Results
Education is more complex than standardized test scores.
Walt Gardner, December 23, 2013
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1 min read
Teaching Opinion Preparing Teachers for Classroom Realities
There is no surefire formula for success in the classroom because what works well in one school may not work well in another.
Walt Gardner, December 20, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion In Defense of JROTC
Academic courses have no monopoly on developing self-esteem by mastering skills and leadership traits.
Walt Gardner, December 18, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion PISA Results Mislead Taxpayers
It's a stretch to believe that tests of international competition predict a country's economic health.
Walt Gardner, December 16, 2013
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3 min read
Education Opinion Are NYC Charter Schools an Anomaly?
Self-selection largely determines why charter schools outperform traditional public schools.
Walt Gardner, December 13, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Education Reform or Privatization?
What is happening is not educational reform in the sense of improving public schools but instead in the form of their privatization.
Walt Gardner, December 11, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion Suing Schools Over Right to Read
Can schools be sued when they fail to teach students how to read?
Walt Gardner, December 9, 2013
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3 min read
Education Opinion Are Teachers' Pensions Safe?
The pension crisis is created by the failure of lawmakers to fully fund their promises.
Walt Gardner, December 6, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion Predictable PISA Results
High-flying schools deserve praise for their accomplishments, but I remain skeptical about their scalability.
Walt Gardner, December 4, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion What About the New Teacher-Pay System?
The NEA's problem is to convince teachers that its new salary schedule is fair, or it will not fly.
Walt Gardner, December 2, 2013
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2 min read
Education Opinion Are Student Incentives Justified?
Learning should be its own reward.
Walt Gardner, November 29, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Involving Parents in Children's Education
It's easy to forget that poor families, particularly those newly arrived in this country, too often don't know how to reinforce learning.
Walt Gardner, November 27, 2013
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1 min read
Education Opinion Textbook Adoptions Pose Risks
It's hard to understand how critical thinking skills can be developed if students are shielded from controversial issues.
Walt Gardner, November 25, 2013
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3 min read
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