Teacher in a Strange Land
From January 2010 to September 2018, Nancy Flanagan, an education writer and consultant focusing on teacher leadership, wrote about the inconsistencies and inspirations, the incomprehensible, immoral and imaginative, in American education. She spent 30 years in a K-12 music classroom in Hartland, Mich., and was named Michigan Teacher of the Year in 1993. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: teacher leaders.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Squeezing More Entrepreneurial Juice Out of Public School
It's not exactly clear what the Reimagine Learning network will do with the $50 million start-up cash. Their mission: "Making a difference in the lives of millions of students who may be marginalized or disengaged in school because of learning and attention issues or social emotional issues." That's a lot of scratch dedicated to letting students with "issues" discover their own power and uniqueness. And here's the thing--I don't know many teachers who aren't doggedly working toward that very end already.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
The Amazing Power of Snowpants
Playing outside in warm clothing, using sleds and snow toys--with follow-up hot chocolate-- represented a special treat to the children at Palmer Park Academy in Detroit, courtesy of a dedicated teacher and her kind-hearted friends and colleagues. But--the children in her class deserve free play and a refreshing drink every day, year-round, as part of best pedagogical practice for very young children. The research on this is iron-clad.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Gap of All Gaps: How ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization Makes the 'Purpose Gap' More Visible and More Painful
The purpose of education in the United States in 2015 is not clear or shared despite all pretension otherwise.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Nine Reasons Teachers are Unwilling to Stand Up for Their Profession
If teachers are ever going to establish themselves as fully professional, they will need to develop an authentic, very public voice and vehicles to advocate for their professional interests and control over their own work. What did the teachers in one state believe were the core reasons for apparent teacher apathy, compliance and unwillingness to speak out against destructive policies and practices?
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Women in Education Leadership: Why Is This Important? What Difference Does It Make?
There's a reason why we are now experiencing an all-out assault on one of America's best ideas--a free, high-quality, fully funded, fully public education for every child. It takes a compliant work force, people fearful of losing the low-paying jobs they love, who will put down their heads and do as they're told.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Six Questionable But Common Reactions to Gender Bias in Educational Leadership
The essential truth about men and women in leadership roles: It's "normal" for men to hold most high-profile leadership positions, normal for women to be grateful for special recognition, normal for folks to be indignant or confused about gender bias. Aren't we beyond all that? Gender bias is so endemic, so deeply and subtly woven into American society, that most of the time, it goes unrecognized.
School & District Management
Opinion
A Conversation With Peter DeWitt About the Gender Imbalance in Educational Leadership
Why are the nonprofit CEOs, thought leaders, big names in ed tech and on social media, best-selling authors, administrators and bosses in education so overwhelmingly male (and white)? How does that shape the education discourse, when the majority of mouthpieces are male? Who has the loudest voice in education policy--and why?
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
The Nonexistent Secret Sauce in Hiring Good Teachers
Jose Vilson's book reflects teacher hiring, teaching, and public education, perfectly: the most important truths emerge in the dialogue, but it's a messy and imperfect process. The qualities essential for good teaching are place-based, deeply personal and rest more on character than quantitative measures. You can't test scientifically for an outstanding educator like Jose Vilson. Thank goodness.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
Kids Who Take Vacations in the Middle of the School Year
While a child may absorbing the wonders of a rich travel experience, back home in the classroom, they're ... behind.
Education
Opinion
Best and Worst Ed-Books of 2014: An Oddball List
There are reviewers (both formal and casual) who judge a book entirely by one aspect: Does the author agree with me?
Not: Have I learned something new from this book? Has it pushed on any of my perspectives? Does it present its case in an engaging or unique way? Or even: Did this book raise my blood pressure? Because that can be useful.
Curriculum
Opinion
Football Players and Band Members Meet in the Middle at the Holiday Concert
Student athletes and student musicians have lots in common--they're kids who are seriously engaged in wholesome, school-based activities that have a big impact on their development and eventual lives, careers and citizenship. Pitting them against each other is a selfish mistake. "School spirit" is a real and valuable thing. Its other name: Community.
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
The Disruptors
Kicking kids out for misbehavior is easy. Figuring out why they're misbehaving and addressing those needs is the real challenge.
Curriculum
Opinion
The Darkest Places in Hell
Shouldn't we educators be modeling civic discourse, at appropriate levels of understanding? Everything from unwarranted assumptions about someone based on appearance (something even a first grader can comprehend), to the actual purpose of convening a grand jury. There are stories, songs, technical problems to investigate and historical resources available. And there's the old-fashioned practice of classroom discussion, taking turns speaking, honest listening. Treating our students like young adults and future citizens.
Assessment
Opinion
When Grading Meets Technology: Not Necessarily a Match Made in Heaven
When it comes to online gradebooks, I believe there is a misguided faith in the magic of technology to "streamline" routine tasks and "solve problems" (even things we didn't realize were problems beforehand). Here's one: if parents weren't allowed to peek into teachers' gradebooks twenty years ago, what makes us think they're interested now? And furthermore--is it even a good idea to nurture grade-stalking in parents?