Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s government designated holiday has officially come and gone for 2019. As usual, the day was filled with symbolic marches, speeches, and programming celebrating the late great civil rights icon. Eulogies, declarations and pledges bejeweled my timelines on all the social media platforms. And, like every year, the day after is…
Author: Andrew Pillow
An Airbnb for Pre-K?
School choice has been shaking up K-12 education for years now, but what about Pre-K? Charters and vouchers have created a paradigm shift in the way we view educational options, but the Pre-K landscape hasn’t seen a significant disruption in years. A new startup wants to change that. Wonderschool is an online platform that has…
Social Studies Teachers Need to Be Aware of the Different Identities in Their Class
Social Studies class is the type of place where a student can have a variety of different experiences. Most of it depends on the type of teacher leading the class. Is the teacher engaging? Is the teacher knowledgeable about their content? Does the teacher have a good relationship with the students? Of course, those questions…
5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Judge Inner City Students for Having Expensive Items
If you have ever had a conversation with someone around low-income families, you may have heard them question why some people with low-income have seemingly expensive items. Something along the lines of, “Well if they don’t have a lot of money why are they spending $150 on shoes?” This sentiment is quite pervasive. Many people…
Hard Truth: Schools Are Not Equipped to Handle Bullying
Bullying is an ongoing issue around the country. Most schools would probably describe bullying as the single biggest non-academic problem they face. Because of this, schools are often seen as the primary mechanism for combating bullying. However, there is a problem with this idea…schools have no idea what they are doing. Bullying is kind of…
Indiana State Rep. Wants to Get Rid of State Board of Education
Indiana’s complicated educational governance structure has been a source of frustration for years. There is no shortage of ideas and hot takes about how to fix it, but a local state representative has a creative new idea on how to fix the state’s board of education: Get rid of it. Indiana House of Representatives Democrat…
This Teacher’s New Year Resolutions for 2019
It’s officially 2019. School is back in session, and now is the time to start setting new goals. New Year’s resolutions have become cliché, but the start of the year is actually a good time to make positive change. This is particularly the case in education where the end of winter-break offers educators a de-facto…
Why Students of Color Still Need Protection from Excessive Discipline
School discipline has been at the forefront of ed-reform for years. The debate around just how much discipline is too much discipline has dominated the conversation for at least the last decade. The Department of Education’s new school safety report is going to add some fuel to that fire. A federal commission led by Betsy…
Dos and Don’ts of Winter Break for Struggling Teachers
Winter Break is upon us. For most teachers around the country, winter break is a time to kick back and relax. While relaxing is an essential part of any break, there are some other activities teachers should consider doing that will make the return in January much easier… and some activities they should avoid. Do:…
All I Want for Christmas: Andrew Pillow’s Educator Christmas Wish List
Christmas is right around the corner. Santa is making his list and checking it twice. Hopefully, he can make a stop at a few metro Indianapolis schools. If he does, I know exactly what I want: A better accountability system for measuring school outcomes I am tired of the alphabet soup ranking system for schools….