Category Archives: Education Reform

K12 and the Corporatization of American Education

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Mike

As a footnote to Lee Fang’s article in The Nation, an article in The Idaho Statesman, December 6, 2011, focuses specifically on K12, one of the major players in the virtual education industry. K12 is of particular interest in Idaho … Continue reading →

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K12 and Tom Luna

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Mike

Lee Fang, writing in The Nation, outlines “how online learning companies bought America’s schools.”  Closer to home, Dan Popkey’s December 6 Statesman article, “K12’s money hasn’t influenced Idaho schools chief Luna, spokeswoman says,” explores in more detail K12, one of … Continue reading →

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Virtual Schools and the Corporatization of American Education

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Mike

If it seems that School Reform has become the darling of Big Business and Big Business-friendly Politicians, there are reasons for that, and they have nothing to do with what kids learn, and a great deal to do with money. … Continue reading →

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Darrel Deide on Teachers’ Unions

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Mike

In The Idaho Statesman’s Reader’s View of 10-9-2011, Darrel Deide makes several assertions about teachers’ unions that deserve examination. Is the teachers’ union (IEA)  a monopoly, as Deide says it is? Yes, in the sense that the other large teachers’ … Continue reading →

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Parent Involvement

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Mike

Idaho law now requires that school districts adopt some sort of pay-for-performance plan. At first glance, it seems simple: you pay those who perform, and you do not pay those who don’t. Actually, at this point, it starts to get … Continue reading →

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A Link Worth Following

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Mike

You all have probably gathered by now from my rants that the world of school is not easily walked away from. You have probably gathered that I have little use for the school “reform” movement, which, in the cynicism of geezerhood, … Continue reading →

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In Class With Mr. Jackson

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Mike

I just finished listening to The Story, a syndicated interview program, carried by our local public radio station. Ruben Jackson changed careers, leaving a job at the Smithsonian for teaching English in high school. He found himself in front of … Continue reading →

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Computers in a Classroom

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Mike

While on a recent vacation, I indulged myself by reading as many as three newspapers a day, none of them my hometown paper. They were Seattle Times, Wenatchee World, and USA Today. During the course of my vacation, I forget … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum, Education Reform | 1 Comment

Finland

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Mike

They say that comparisons are odious. Nevertheless, the educational achievements of Finland and the U. S. are frequently compared by Reformists (Politicians, Pundits, Polemicists, and all too many Professors who should know better and perhaps do), and the U. S. … Continue reading →

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Khan Academy

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Mike

The August, 2011 Wired article, “The New Way To Be a Fifth Grader” is subtitled “How the Khan Academy is changing the rules of education.”  It may be doing that, or more likely it is not, but certainly there is … Continue reading →

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