Joanne Jacobs
Harvard students can't handle 'The Scarlet Letter' -- but prisoners can
“The last time I taught The Scarlet Letter, I discovered that my students were really struggling to understand the sentences as sentences...
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Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 20
- 2 min
AP African American Studies: None dare call it 'systemic'
The new Advanced Placement African American studies course was revised after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called it anti-racist...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 3
- 2 min
It's only Schoolhouse Rock (but I like it)
I'm so old I don't know the words to Conjunction Junction. Schoolhouse Rock, animated musical shorts on grammar, history, civics,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 16
- 1 min
'Letter from a Birmingham Jail'
"We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom," Martin Luther King Jr....
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 8
- 2 min
If liberal arts are dying, is it suicide?
Liberal educators aren't making the case for liberal arts education, writes John Agresto, former president of St. John's College in Santa...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 26, 2022
- 2 min
'You could shoot your eye out'
I saw National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for the first time on Christmas Eve -- I'm always just a bit behind the culture -- and...
Joanne Jacobs
- Dec 23, 2022
- 3 min
Mastering newspeak at Stanford
Will Stanford continue to award master's degrees? Will my daughter's major -- American Studies -- need a new name? Stanford's IT...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 24, 2022
- 1 min
Happy Thanksgiving
I remember making these in school in the 1950's. I don't think much has changed. Bion Bartning of FAIR (Foundation Against Intolerance &...
Joanne Jacobs
- Nov 16, 2022
- 1 min
Most don't want schools to 'say' LGBTQ
Most Americans don't think young children are ready for lessons about sexuality and gender, writes Morgan Polikoff, a USC education...
Joanne Jacobs
- Oct 8, 2022
- 2 min
Raising not-so-American kids
College-educated parents want their children taught in Japanese, Mandarin, French and Spanish, writes Abigail Shrier on Substack. They...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 18, 2022
- 1 min
Putin orders pro-war classes
Russian schools are watching war movies, taking "virtual tours" through Crimea and "celebrating Russia's 'rebirth' under President...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 5, 2022
- 2 min
How Asians excel: It's the culture
Harini Logan, 14, of San Antonio, Texas holds the National Spelling Bee trophy with her family. Photo: Reuters Don't tell Asian-American...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jul 5, 2022
- 2 min
A vote for merit in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor London Breed replaced the recalled school-board members with three parents (clockwise from top left): Lisa...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jun 13, 2022
- 1 min
Second wave of learning loss is coming in ’23-24
Students learned a lot less in remote classes, test scores show. “The achievement loss is far greater than most educators and parents...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 7, 2022
- 1 min
‘Russian’ school gets a new name
A “Support Ukraine” rally in Indianapolis on April 9. Children still come for after-school classes in math, science and chess, but the...
Joanne Jacobs
- Jan 7, 2020
- 2 min
A More Inclusive Literature Curriculum?
Canon, that which transfers our cultural heritage to the next generation, is out. Giving everyone’s feelings a voice is in: Most English...
Joanne Jacobs
- May 21, 2018
- 2 min
Is This <i>Really</i> Insensitive?
Or will some people look for any excuse to act aggrieved? The principal of Cherry Hill High School East has apologized for “insensitive”...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 24, 2018
- 1 min
Teamwork, time and the universe
Via Viral Hog: Students in Chihuahua, Mexico demonstrate the traditional dance of the huahuas de puebla, which requires “confidence,...
Joanne Jacobs
- Mar 3, 2018
- 1 min
Teaching ‘Black Panther’
Black Panther, a huge box office hit, is a “hit with teachers” too, reports Brenda Iasevoli in Ed Week. Teachers are building lessons...
Joanne Jacobs
- Feb 19, 2018
- 2 min
Can we blame video games for violence?
Lonely and miserable, the Florida shooter played video games for as much as 15 hours a day, Paul Gold, a former neighbor, told the Miami...
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