Public Education Supporters Give Thanks

By Cynthia McCabe Before buying the canned pumpkin, madly scrubbing the house before mother arrives (how does she always find those dustbunnies?), or helping the little ones memorize “Five Little Turkeys,” America’s public school educators and supporters sat down at their computers the week before Thanksgiving and shared why they’re grateful for public schools. They, [...]

Nation’s Public Schools Celebrate American Education Week

By Celeste Busser Starting today, the National Education Association joins the nation in celebrating American Education Week, which will be held November 14-20. The annual commemoration, now in its 89th year, shines a spotlight on the important work of creating great public schools for all of our students. The week’s theme, Great Public Schools: A [...]

Educators Help Spread Warmth For Students in Need

By Kevin Hart Poverty doesn’t hide well in the cold. As temperatures drop across the country each, year, it quickly becomes apparent which kids lack the warm clothing and coats they need to endure the chilly fall and winter months. Teachers and support professionals will tell you that they see these kids each day, shivering [...]

Superheroes Spotted in Michigan

By Alain Jehlen Kimberly Cairy wrote about art educator Peggy Conlin who works with students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder during her prep period and organizes displays of their projects. John Welch told about Doris Bramer, recently passed away, his former social studies teacher, dance instructor, class advisor, and all-around life transformer who, among other things, [...]

Meet Public Education’s Everyday Superheroes

By Kevin Hart Whether you’re catching a showing of the new education “documentary” Waiting for Superman or watching the latest special news report on education, don’t expect to hear about Yolanda Porter, Marsha Grim and their fellow educators at Ella Grant Elementary School in Prichard, Ala. Maybe there’s nothing “Hollywood” about a group of public school teachers, administrators [...]

Tony Danza Talks About Respect for Public School Teachers

By Cynthia McCabe Tony Danza is crying. He’s not far into a year in which he will teach sophomore English to students at Northeast High School in Philadelphia — as an actual job, not for a role — and he’s come to the realization that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. [...]

The Waiting For Superman Paradox

By Kevin Hart In the opening minutes of the new education “reform” documentary Waiting For Superman, director Davis Guggenheim has a moment of candor about the charter schools he hails as a panacea for urban education — he admits that most of them are not exactly getting extraordinary results. It’s that admission, educators say, that proves that [...]

NEA Member Earns Prestigious MacArthur “Genius Grant”

By Cynthia McCabe Stunned and $500,000 richer. That’s how California high school teacher Amir Abo-Shaeer found himself when he recently picked up the phone and learned he’d been awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, also known as the “genius grant.” Recipients of the coveted award learn they’ve received it in a single phone call and they [...]

New Mexico School Counselor Hosts President Obama

By Cynthia McCabe While educators nationwide are imploring political leaders, policymakers and media to bring them into the conversation as they debate what’s best for public education, a New Mexico school counselor went one better. She hosted President Barack Obama today for a backyard talk on the topic. Etta Cavalier, a 36-year veteran of the [...]

An Upset Educator’s Letter to Oprah — ‘Ask teachers.’

By Cynthia McCabe After Oprah Winfrey aired a special Monday on education, many educators were angry at what they believed was the media mogul jumping on the teacher-bashing bandwagon. Immediately after the show, upset commenters filled more than 200 pages on Winfrey’s message boards. But one took her disappointment right to Winfrey, writing a heartfelt [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »