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I might know more about education than Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary.

Betsy DeVos is Donald Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary. Here are some facts that emerged from yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearing: She called the public school systems a “dead end” even though she did not attend a public school, did not send her children to public schools, and never taught in a public school.  She has…

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If you want to have a say in education, become an educator

Attention politicians, policy wonks, educational advocates, professors of education, and anyone else who wants to have a say in education: “Every human being who wants to have an opinion of American education ought to spend some time as a substitute teacher.” – Nicholson Baker, the author of Substitute, who served as a substitute teacher for…

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If the teacher tells you that your child is not gifted, it’s more likely that it’s the teacher who is not gifted.

The most common response to a piece I wrote last month entitled 12 Things Teachers Think But Can’t Always Say to Parents was a suggested addition to the list. It was phrased in many ways, oftentimes sarcastically, and it generally went something like this: Your child is not as gifted as you think he or…

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“Fun” is the word most often missing from education today. It’s practically nonexistent.

I have many goals as a teacher, but my primary goal, is to make school a fun and memorable place that kids want to return to daily. I want my students to despise Saturday and Sunday. I want them to lament the approach of summer vacation. Lofty and perhaps unattainable goals, but ones I strive…

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Cost effective way of attending college

The New York Times recently ran a piece on the soaring cost of college: For all borrowers, the average debt in 2011 was $23,300, with 10 percent owing more than $54,000 and 3 percent more than $100,000, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports. Average debt for bachelor degree graduates who took out loans…

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