Joanne Jacobs
The readiness is (almost) all
Who goes to college? Enrollment rates vary widely by family income, race and ethnicity and gender, but among students of similar academic...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 30
- 2 min
Teacher: Students are learning they don't need to show up or do the work
No-consequences attendance policies have encouraged students to skip class, teacher Loren Green told the Albany, New York school board....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 30
- 2 min
Unsafe at school
Angry teachers in Newport News, Virginia blame lax discipline for a 6-year-old shooting his first-grade teacher, write Ben Finley and...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 29
- 2 min
The sound of stupid
The Sound of Music is not the Nazi-glorifying Triumph of the Will, nor is it the Nazi-spoofing Springtime for Hitler. But it does have...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 28
- 1 min
'If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life' ...
My husband says this is "our song." I interpret it as: Have realistic expectations.
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 28
- 2 min
Happy days: Connect, care about others, cope
Happy people are kind to others and to themselves, says Laurie Santos. The Yale psychology professor is offering a free, six-week course,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 27
- 2 min
Funding follows students to religious school, if that's parents' choice
Empowered with a $7,000-per-child "backpack of cash," Arizona parents can choose an educational program -- including a religious private...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 26
- 1 min
If strike closes LA schools, it could be 'nail in the coffin'
A threatened strike by Los Angeles Unified's service workers -- custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and special-education aides --...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 26
- 2 min
Exodus: Achievers' families are leaving
As many New York City middle schools end selective admissions, middle- and upper-middle-class parents are considering private schools or...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 25
- 1 min
Choice lets parents find a school that respects their rights
"Families should not be stuck in an education system that actively undermines parental rights and ideologically grooms children, argues...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 25
- 3 min
Parents feel 'villainized' by teachers who think they know best
It's not just conservative parents who think they have a right to know if "Hannah" has become "Hank" at school, reports Katie J.M. Baker...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 24
- 2 min
ESAs expand in red and purple states, states, and blue-staters are interested too
"Capitalizing on parent’s frustration with public schools during the pandemic," Republican governors are pushing for education savings...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 24
- 1 min
54% of parents are considering a new school for their kids
A majority of parents are considering a new school, according to a new survey by the School Choice Awareness Foundation. Two-thirds say...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 23
- 1 min
Open doors to challenging academics
Challenging classes can help many students -- not just the "gifted" -- excel, writes Vincent Dotoli on Fordham's Flypaper. He heads...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 23
- 2 min
Skip the smart kids: We're holding back (and boring) high achievers
I was very good at school, but also very bored. I wanted to skip a grade to catch up with my sister, but the district never skipped...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 22
- 1 min
School board member tweets: 'Whiteness is so evil'
Tweeting "whiteness is so evil" has proven controversial for Kesha Hamilton, who's on the Jackson (Michigan) school board, reports...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 22
- 2 min
'Diversity training' costs billions, but does it work?
There's no evidence diversity training works and some evidence it hurts, writes Jesse Singal in a New York Times commentary. The...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 21
- 2 min
Do 'red flag' laws prevent shootings?
“I just might come to yo school and kill everybody,” a 17-year-old former student wrote in an Instagram message. He specifically...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 20
- 1 min
Generation Doom: Show students a path forward
Teachers should encourage young people to believe in the future, writes Alice Dominguez on EdSurge. The Doomer Generation needs a sense...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 19
- 2 min
How much math?
British students who pass a national math exam at 15 or 16 don't have to take any more math, unless they need higher-level math for...
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