Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank (AEI), author of books like The Same Thing Over and Over, Letters to a Young Education Reformer, and A Search for Common Ground, offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform. Rick’s takes are his alone and do not represent AEI or Education Week. Follow Rick on Twitter at @rickhess99.
Teaching
Opinion
Students Need to Learn Good Habits, Even When They Don't Seem Logical
Clarity around behavior, homework, and classroom conduct can help students cultivate the kinds of habits that will stand them in good stead.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
Virtual Reality Looks Cool, But Can It Actually Help Schools Teach Math?
A VR company founded in 2019 to offer a learning solution for math now serves over 20,000 students.
Teaching
Opinion
New Book Offers Tried-and-True Advice on Classroom Practice
American education has a thing for shiny “innovations," but sometimes sensible, effective advice of experienced teachers is what is best.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Searching for Common Ground: High School Football’s Risks and Rewards
Safety concerns with high school football are real, but the sport also has value for student athletes.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Bigotry Is Bigotry, Even If You Call It Equity
Calling out instances of prejudice is not only a moral imperative. It could also go a long way toward healing some of our frayed trust.
School & District Management
Opinion
How School Reform Can End Up Like Stone Soup
Reform involves winners and losers, values and unanticipated consequences, and is almost never a simple question of “what works.”
Professional Development
Opinion
6 Myths About Teacher Professional Development
What's working and what can we do better to make PD the solution it's intended to be? Scholars take a crack at it.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
A Veteran Teacher Pens a Not-Your-Typical Novel About Schools. And That's a Good Thing
Class Dismissed ditches the familiar school novel formula, and it pays off nicely.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Searching for Common Ground: Rick and Pedro Go to the Movies Again
Movies and TV shows like "Lean on Me" and "Friday Night Lights" center on real education issues and can help the public work through them.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Searching for Common Ground: Rick and Pedro Go to the Movies
A few education-themed films aptly capture the fact that teachers are people with huge challenges in their lives.
Mathematics
Opinion
How Reflexive Partisanship Has Undermined Math Education
Conflict over how math is taught is not new. An educator recalls the many disputes since the 1990s.
Standards
Opinion
Did I Accurately Guess the Fate of the Common Core? You Be the Judge
In 2012, I imagined what the Common Core would be like in a decade. Now, readers can compare this imagined “future” to reality.
Policy & Politics
Opinion
From A Nation at Risk to CRT. How’d We Get Here?
How did a bipartisan school reform movement give way to a series of heated culture clashes?
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
How to Make College More Affordable? Try the Charter School Model
A new organization is exploring how to make space for new colleges to emerge that also challenge the status quo.