Category Archives: Education Reform

Re-inventing Herb

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Mike

Yesterday, at Winco, I was thumbing through the August Wired, which I seldom buy. My eye was caught by an article, “The New Way To Be a Fifth Grader,” and I took it home.  A breath of fresh air! In an … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum, Education Reform, School Program | Comments Off on Re-inventing Herb

Teacher-bonus Strategies

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Mike

Idaho state law now mandates pay-for-performance for teachers, but school districts retain latitude in how p-f-p plans will be structured and administered. “With a Sept. 1 deadline nearing, administrators and teachers throughout Idaho are hammering out local approaches that will … Continue reading →

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William Lutz

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Mike

While searching for something else, I chanced to come across Bill Lutz, an old friend from the University of Nevada. Over the years, our paths have crossed briefly a time or two, but then we seem to lose track of … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Reform, Language and rhetoric | Comments Off on William Lutz

Bonehead

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Mike

Reformists din their lament that America’s public schools turn out so few graduates who are ready for higher education, witness the number (presumably unprecedentedly higher) of students who must take some sort of remedial (bonehead) classes. Academic standards are in … Continue reading →

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Does Family Income Matter?

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Mike

Does family income matter in students’ achievement in school?  The Reformists say no, of course, and draw themselves up piously and hurl charges of elitism and classism at anyone who would suggest that it does. Common sense tells us that … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Reform | 1 Comment

Philosophy of Education

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Mike

In 1970, give or take a year, Payette High School underwent its first ten-year evaluation, a brand-new initiative, part of the accreditation process. I remember a Visitation Team of administrators from other districts, teachers of various disciplines from other districts, … Continue reading →

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Reformists and Reformism

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Mike

When I began The Peavine Quarter nearly a year ago, I conceived it as platform for my musings on various topics, education and teaching as well as literature, film, and miscellaneous. I would also have a section that would provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Reform | 1 Comment

The O Word

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Mike

Today on NPR’s Talk of the Nation http://www.npr.org/2011/05/23/136583949/bill-moyers-shares-favorite-journal-interviews, I heard Bill Moyers use “the O word:” oligarchy. He attributed it to Simon Johnson, professor of economics at MIT, and former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund. Moyers (and Johnson) … Continue reading →

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The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Mike

A colleague sent me a link to a New York Times article that is worth sharing. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-THC-050111-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click It says some important things and says them right on. I do have a minor quibble, however, that it gives some credit where … Continue reading →

Posted in Education Reform, Teacher Compensation | 1 Comment

Teacher Rage

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Mike

Teacher rage? Yes. Why? The media propound the pronouncements of Politicians, Pundits, Polemicists, and all too many Professors Who Should Know Better, that “teacher rage,” insofar as we are capable of such a thing, can be motivated by nothing more … Continue reading →

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