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'Public schools don't belong to the teachers'
To restore trust in public education, teachers should be politically neutral in the classroom.

Joanne Jacobs
2 days ago1 min read
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'Meet students where they are' -- and then what?
Teachers and professors are told to "meet students where they are," but not how to get them where they need to be.

Joanne Jacobs
3 days ago2 min read
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Despite the Holocaust, 'competitive victimhood' is a loser for Jews
Anti-antisemitism rules for schools won't work, and more Holocaust education isn't the answer.

Joanne Jacobs
4 days ago3 min read
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Knowledge matters: 'You can't think critically about nothing in particular'
Schools want to teach "critical thinking" without teaching knowledge. It can't be done.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 92 min read
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Merit pay is making a comeback
Some teachers are earning bonuses based on student achievement, evaluations, collaboration with colleagues and taking hard-to-fill jobs.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 71 min read
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Is a 'guide on the side' better than a teacher?
Teachers who use traditional -- and effective -- teaching techniques are downgraded by evaluators who prefer "happy-clappy pedagogy."

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 71 min read
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At calm, focused schools, scores are high, but so is suspension rate
Students -- including those with disabilities -- are learning at Indiana schools that stress structure and good behavior. But suspension rates are high for students with disabilities.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 63 min read
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Why special-ed teachers quit: High stress, high risk, low pay
How can districts hire and retain high-quality special-ed teachers?

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 302 min read
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Math teacher was trained on equity, culture, but not how to teach math
At a well-respected graduate school of education, a former engineer learned about equity, culture and identity, but very little about how to teach math.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 293 min read
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To win back public-school parents, be like Mississippi
Education reforms are working in the South, and they can work in blue states too, if there's political leadership.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 263 min read
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Teachers are sold 'snake oil' about brains and learning
Can high expectations raise IQ? Are some people right-brained and others left-brained? Nope.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 192 min read
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2 + 2 = oppression
Woke math lives.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 181 min read
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Can teachers be fired for celebrating murder?
Teachers' "disruptive" speech may not be protected, even if it's on their own time.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 162 min read
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'Kids aren't phone zombies now'
"Kids aren't phone zombies now," says teacher whose school banned smartphones.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 142 min read
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Did college radicalize Tyler Robinson?
Something happened to Tyler Robinson, but it's probably not a semester of engineering classes.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 131 min read
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Civics teachers 'don't know what they can and can't say'
Civics teachers don't agree on the goals of teaching civics, and fear controversy.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 92 min read
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Know-nothings: It's hard to think in a vacuum
If students don't learn facts, they won't be able to understand what they read or think deeply or critically.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 82 min read
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Oklahoma's teacher test: How do we tell a boy from a girl?
Can you pass Oklahoma's test for new teachers? Yes, unless you're a very dim bulb.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 53 min read
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Effort matters: Kids have to do the work
Effort matters.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 33 min read
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AFT tells teachers: Don't report child neglect -- or chronic absentees
Teachers are being encouraged not to report suspected child neglect or abuse -- or chronic absenteeism -- to keep families together.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 303 min read
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