Writing
Most education writers and analysts view schools from the outside, focusing on policies and politics, school funding, and the many forces that weigh on schools from above. Robert, a former South Bronx 5th grade teacher, looks from the inside and asks what are the kids doing all day? “This has long seemed to me the only question worth asking, if we are serious about improving the outcome of American education, particularly for low-income children of color, the only children I’ve ever taught,” he writes in How The Other Half Learns.
How Self-Expression Damaged My Students
We teach children to unburden their souls in writing personal essays. But the unlived life is not worth examining—or helping them learn to write.
The Hunger Games Is a Civics Lesson
The ideas that drive the books explore the relationship between the individual and the state, making it the best civics textbook since George Orwell's "Animal Farm."
The Culture of College is an Asset, Not a Flaw
If the basic model of college has remained unchanged for half a century or more, that’s not necessarily a problem. It might be the point.
The Myth of the Overstressed American Teen
Most children, particularly those from low-income families, are non-participants in the academic and extracurricular arms race.
The Miseducation of Donald Trump Voters
Efforts to close the 'achievement gap' ignored white, working class families who now get left behind.
U.S. News and World Report
‘Hamilton,’ is a miracle of civics education: Every New York City kid should see this show
It accomplishes what education barely attempts anymore: transfers ownership of America's ideals and ambitions from one generation to the next.
What the Hell Is Going On at Success Academy?
Something extraordinary is happening in Harlem. And it’s time figure out how it’s being done.
There’s No Such Thing as a Reading Test
Real literacy involves learning about the world, not just letters and sounds.
David Brooks and the language of privilege
To be proficient in Brooksian English—the language of privilege—requires mastery over not just an alphabet and rules of grammar, but also an enormous range of assumed knowledge, historical references, and cultural allusions that are commonly held by members of a speech community.
“No Excuses” Kids Go to College
Thousands of students from charter school high-fliers have arrived on campus. How are they doing?
Edutopian Vision
Star Wars creator George Lucas says his Edutopia is “What Works in Public Education.” Is it?
Do Our Children Know How to Be Citizens?
There should be room in our college and career focused classrooms, to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of America's founding principles.
Literacy is Knowledge
Why Teaching Reading Means Teaching Content