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 This blog is no longer being updated.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
Sex Scandals at Schools
The news that two teachers at Miramonte Elementary School are accused of lewd acts with children in their classes sent shock waves throughout the working-class South Los Angeles neighborhood. Reacting to parental outrage, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy moved swiftly to announce that the entire staff of the school will be temporarily transferred with full pay to a school under construction for the balance of the school year ("Staff of Miramonte replaced pending sex abuse inquiry," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7). Their places were filled on Feb. 9 by teachers and other staff members from a rehiring list at a cost of $5.7 million for the remainder of the school year ("L.A. Unified faces hefty costs from Miramonte School scandal," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 9).
Education
Opinion
Will Tuition Hikes Affect College Applications?
The college admissions frenzy in the U.S. is at a fever pitch even though tuition and fees have skyrocketed 439 percent since 1982. The trend is expected to continue despite evidence from England that there is a limit to what parents and students will pay for a coveted sheepskin. While it's always risky to apply the lessons from abroad to these shores, a few caveats emerge.
Education
Opinion
Is Adult Education a Frill?
The term adult education will undoubtedly conjure up images from history textbooks of rows of immigrants being taught English and citizenship in night school. Although this perception is still partially true, it fails to convey the full menu of options, including acquisition of high school diplomas and career skills.
Education
Opinion
Evaluate Teachers and Doctors the Same Way
The ratings game that has triggered fierce opposition from teachers is about to apply to doctors. Medicare intends to open its files to insurers, employers and consumers so that they can prepare report cards on individual doctors ("Prescription with side effects," Los Angeles Times, Jan. 30). The announcement has doctors up in arms for reasons that are uncannily similar to those expressed by teachers.
Education
Opinion
Is Private School Worth the Money?
Tuition at private day schools in large cities has been slowly creeping up over the last decade, forcing many parents to question whether their disaffection with neighborhood public schools is enough to overcome sticker shock. To put the matter in concrete terms, elite private schools in New York City now charge more than Harvard's $36,305 ("Bracing for $40,000 at City Private Schools," The New York Times, Jan. 29). From every indication, tuition will top more than $40,000 in the next year or two.
Education
Opinion
Unintended Consequences of Shuttering Schools
The repercussions from closing persistently failing schools are about to be felt by tiny Premont, Texas, which is located about 150 miles south of San Antonio. The town of 2,700 is bracing for the shuttering of the Premont Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency because of poor academics and a high truancy rate ("Texas district cancels sports in hopes of improving grades," Fox News, Jan. 21).
Education
Opinion
Who Determines What Is Taught?
If public schools don't already have enough to contend with today, a new law in New Hampshire has the potential to make their situation worse. The state Legislature earlier this month overrode Gov. John Lynch's veto to give parents the right to object to any course material in their child's curriculum as long as they provide a reasonable alternative that the district approves, and pay for any associated costs ("New NH law allows parental objection to any course material; educators wary of potential consequences," Nashua Telegraph, Jan. 22).
Education
Opinion
Policies Trump Schooling in Upward Mobility
I was brought up to believe that education is the single most important factor in upward mobility. But Winner-Take-All Politics (Simon & Schuster, 2010) by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson calls the assumption into question by contending that the huge differences in wealth in this country are instead the result of a campaign designed by powerful players in Washington and on Wall Street.
Education
Opinion
The Troubling Mexican Dropout Rate
It's clear by now that the high school dropout rate has implications far beyond what is immediately apparent. A front-page story in The New York Times sheds new details on the problem ("In New York, Mexicans Lag in Education," Nov. 25).
Education
Opinion
The Third Rail of the Accountability Movement
Whenever the subject of failing schools arises, the usual suspects are rounded up. I don't doubt for a second that teachers should be at the head of the list. After all, they are the most important in-school factor in learning. But what about students? Aren't they also responsible for their education?
Education
Opinion
College Degrees For Sale
It was only a matter of time before the full extent of the obsession with a college degree became apparent. Appropriately, the venue is California, which leads the nation in the number of unaccredited schools ("California Leads Nation in Unaccredited Schools, and Enforcement Is Lax," The New York Times, Jan.14). At last count, these totaled nearly 1,000 colleges and vocational schools.
Education
Opinion
Appropriate Practice in the Classroom
One of the most important principles of effective instruction requires that teachers identify the knowledge and skills contained in a stipulated objective and provide their students with ample opportunities to develop them. This involves prompt feedback and careful monitoring of student progress.
Education
Opinion
The Teacher Compensation Debate
"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing." When Oscar Wilde wrote those words in The Picture of Dorian Gray 120 years ago, he had no idea that they would eventually apply to public schools. I thought of the connection after reading "Critical Issues in Assessing Teacher Compensation" by Jason Richwine and Andrew G. Biggs that was released on Jan. 10 (Backgrounder No. 2638, The Heritage Foundation).
Education
Opinion
Why Judge CEOs and Teachers Differently?
Reformers assert that teachers enjoy the equivalent of diplomatic immunity for their performance, as compared with chief executive officers in business who either deliver results or are shown the door. It's a claim that has great intuitive appeal in today's protracted recession. But the truth is far more nuanced.