The Indianapolis Public Schools rebuilding stronger plan is really something. Whether that something is really good or really bad remains to be seen. However, there is no shortage of people willing to stake their flag at either end of the spectrum. The Mind Trust doesn’t support the plan. However, it had enough support on the…
Author: Andrew Pillow
How Did Education Issues Play Out on Election Night?
The mid-term elections are not quite settled. There is a run-off in the Georgia senate race. However, we are far enough out that we can confidently talk about the results of most of the elections and how key issues played out at the ballot box. During this election cycle education was a key issue. Since…
Schools Bear Some Responsibility for the Lack of Black Kids Playing Baseball
The World Series just ended. Unfortunately for me, the Houston Astros beat my Philadelphia Phillies. Although that wasn’t the outcome I wanted, I was happy to see the manager of the Astros, Dusty Baker, finally win a title. Dusty Baker is one of the few African American coaches remaining in baseball, and he has had…
Teacher Hack: Follow Your Own Rules
If you are a teacher that is having trouble managing behavior, there is likely more than one reason. You have probably asked yourself a number of questions related to what you are doing in the classroom: Should I switch seats around? Am I giving enough positive praise? Do I need to call home? But here…
Daycare Workers Being Charged for Intentionally Scaring Children Serves as an Important Reminder
There was viral video circulating a week ago of daycare workers wearing a mask similar to the one in the iconic movie franchise “Scream.” In the video the workers were seen terrorizing children. This happened at a Mississippi daycare called Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center. It appears that the premise of the “prank”…
High Standards for Teaching Candidates Don’t Matter Without a Strong Pipeline
Much fuss has been made the last couple of weeks about lowering the standards to become a teacher. Between proposals to allowing unlicensed military veterans to become teachers to waiving the certification exams, many states have kicked around ideas that would make it easier to enter the classroom. Not everyone is on board with these…
Schools Need to Be More Protective of Student Data
In the age of information, a data breach is one of the worst things that can happen. At best, it is a violation of privacy, and at worse, it leads to identity theft. This is why schools need to do better when it comes to managing student data. Schools keep tons of data on their…
Hispanic Heritage Month is Almost Over but Your Responsibility to Hispanic Students Isn’t
It seems like with each passing year we are becoming more aware of different affinity months. This is good. For most of American history the groups we are recognizing with said months have been underrepresented and overlooked. However, I have noticed that the celebration of these months sometimes takes the place of actual tangible action…
What Should School Administrators Do about Teacher Burnout?
A lot of time and energy has been devoted to the topic of teacher burnout lately. Teacher burnout is not new but with half of the public schools in the United States reporting they are severely understaffed people are being forced to confront the factors driving teachers away from the profession. Burnout is near the…
Study: Students with Disabilities Performed Better in Inclusive Classes
One of the biggest debates in special education at the moment is around least restrictive environments, specifically inclusion versus self-contained. Some people tend to believe that students with disabilities will do better in classes specifically designed for them and others believe they do better in a general education setting. A new study Indiana University supports…