The K-12 Contrarian
A former high school teacher, Dave Powell is an associate professor of education at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. In this blog, Powell examined efforts to fix education, including whom you should trust and why. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
Schools and the Lost Art of Customer Service
Should schools be worried about "customer service"? After today, I'm thinking maybe ours should.
Social Studies
Opinion
Going on Vacation, in a Contrary Mood
I'm going on vacation—but, first, a little rumination on what I hope will happen while I'm gone.
School & District Management
Opinion
Paying for Schools With Property Taxes Doesn't Work
Providing inconsistent funding for schools, and especially tying it to the political process, is a recipe for mediocrity. Let's start a conversation about addressing this problem.
School & District Management
Opinion
Are We Paying Too Much in Taxes, or Not Enough?
Are we paying too much for education or not enough? As investments in public education continue to shrink, so, too, do our hopes of ever leveling the proverbial playing field.
School & District Management
Opinion
Should Teachers Be Grading Common-Core Tests?
If the first things you think of when you think of scoring the tests associated with Common Core are cheeseburgers and Craigslist, then two things may be true about you: you have probably never been a teacher, and you probably work for Pearson. Why aren't teachers the ones grading Common Core exams?
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Another Young Teacher Contemplates Leaving the Classroom; Whose Fault Is That?
Another teacher with outstanding potential is set to leave the classroom. Should we blame her teacher education program for that, or a larger culture that denigrates teaching and narrows our definition of educational success?
School & District Management
Opinion
End-of-Year Report: Grading My Kids' Schools
School's out, and that means it's time again for report cards. In the spirit of the season, I have decided to issue a report card of my own. I want to share the wealth and make sure the schools that my kids attend have a taste of that accountability too.
Assessment
Opinion
Quiz Time! Are You Ready for Kindergarten?
Think you have what it takes to send a kid to kindergarten? You may want to check your medical records and family vacation logs first.
Education
Opinion
Are School Safety Measures Making Our Schools Less Safe?
Everybody wants children to be safe at school. Did you know there's an industry popping up to make sure you don't spend too much time thinking about the unexpected consequences of that?
School & District Management
Opinion
The School Board Was Not for Sale After All, But the Fight Continues
The good news is that the local super-PAC candidates all lost their bids for seats on the school board; the bad news is that we pretty much sent the same board we already had back to work. There is plenty more work to do.
Education
Opinion
School Board for Sale
A local developer appears to want to buy five votes on our nine-member school board. What might the cost be for the rest of us?
Curriculum
Opinion
Common Core Is Not a Government Takeover
You may have heard that Common Core is a "government takeover" of education. You heard wrong. But there is government interference to be concerned about, and it's probably happening near you.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Can School Reform Save Baltimore?
School reformers, especially the ones pushing "no excuses" approaches to school change, have made at least an implicit promise that their approach to fixing schools will work. Baltimore seems to be telling us something else.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
A Teacher Calling It Quits for All the Right Reasons
Another teacher is hanging it up, this time after only six years in the classroom. Should we be worried about the fact that so many teachers choose to leave the classroom so soon?