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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...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 8, 20232 min read


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 20, 20232 min read


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
Feb 3, 20232 min read


'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 16, 20231 min read


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
Jan 8, 20232 min read


'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 26, 20222 min read


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
Dec 23, 20223 min read


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 24, 20221 min read


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
Nov 16, 20221 min read


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
Oct 8, 20222 min read


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 18, 20221 min read


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, 20222 min read


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
Jul 5, 20222 min read


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
Jun 13, 20221 min read


‘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
May 7, 20221 min read
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
Jan 7, 20202 min read
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
May 21, 20182 min read
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 24, 20181 min read


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
Mar 3, 20181 min read


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...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 19, 20182 min read
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