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 This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: teacher leaders.
Education
Opinion
"When the Economy Gets Better..."
Rebuilding public education will take time and excellent leadership. And it won't be cheap, upfront. But we can't afford to wait until the economy gets better.
Education
Opinion
Sub-a-Dub-Dub
A subject that ought be drop-dead obvious: Teachers improve with experience.
Education
Opinion
I Hear a Symphony
What's on your short list of essential skills for school leaders? Do compliance and consistency matter more than knowledge and experience?
Education
Opinion
The Teacher Leadership Mambo
You can't know how to "fix" schools when you drive past them, on your way to your real life. You can't know what kids need, until you know the kids.
Education
Opinion
More Powerful than a Locomotive: Tracks
The value of equity is nested in excellence: You can't have a truly excellent educational system unless it is inherently equitable.
Education
Opinion
Purple Shirts and Confederate Flags
Sometimes, being politically correct is the right thing to do.
Education
Opinion
Voting: Reflections on Elections
As long as the public believes that all children are being offered genuine educational quality, we can maintain the illusion that all kids can be "college and career ready."
Education
Opinion
This Boy's Life
It's very hard for a mother to watch her son go from smart, athletic and so successful to being a kid whose potential has been denied.
Education
Opinion
Dropping Out
Maybe dropping out of school is not about lousy teaching or low standards. Maybe simply entering the building tells you what value the world places on your education.
Education
Opinion
Twenty-first Century Sub
You'd think it would be impossible to make Genghis Khan boring and forgettable, but no.
Education
Opinion
The Good School
How would a parent know if a school was good--i.e., functional, challenging, caring, and doing what schools are supposed to do?
Education
Opinion
The Victor, the Spoils and the American Way
The highest levels of excellence in science, technology and business generally come from collaborative efforts. This is not mushy school-speak. This is straight out of Deming.
Education
Opinion
No Waiting. Meet Superwoman.
"If a kid comes to your charter school without a HEAD you are required by law to admit that student." We believe it.