StickWithANose

In my dissertation, I conducted a discourse analysis of the popular literature produced by prominent think tanks in the U.S. from 1998-2008 that specifically addressed education reform, and the degree to which these institutions actively work to construct alternate realities not even remotely tethered to empirical evidence shocked even my cynical mind. For the average [...]

Since the 1980’s, we’ve been presented with an endless supply of “no excuses” education reformers hailed for their “success” in raising student achievement in low performing schools due to their supposed tough guy approach to schooling. And, as has been demonstrated in each case going back to the famous charlatan Joe Clark, the successes enjoyed [...]

One last tax post for the day and I’m off to garden! This one comes from noted America-hating socialist J.K. Rowling on why she chose to remain in the UK after becoming wildly rich instead of moving to a tax haven country.
I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main [...]

While our public intellectuals are busy working the uninformed into a frenzy about the freeloaders who pay no taxes, the reality of tax day is that while the effective tax rate of those supposed freeloaders is approximately 15% [it's called payroll taxes & everybody pays it starting with the first dollar your earn] those at [...]

Early advocates of public education, such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush, understood that the health of a large democratic republic with such a diverse population as ours requires national institutions that create a public space for preparing individuals to participate in democratic processes and to create a sense of national identity and solidarity. Often [...]

…even though their students spend less time on instruction than other OECD nations. As I’ve noted previously[1][2][3], there is much to be learned from Finland, however all of the methods being used in Finnish schools aren’t really all that new. These ideas have been around for over 100 years. From BBC America: [h/t Public Policy [...]

Commenting on this article in the NYT, Anne Geiger points toward the central paradox of Arne Duncan’s Dept. of Education.
It seems like we are moving into treacherous waters where the goal is to shake up everything even in organizations that work well, for the sake of “reform.” This can lead to greater inefficiency and ineffectiveness [...]