top of page


Trump will make education great again -- and also leave it to the states
President Trump's education agenda calls for more federal say and more local control.

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 12, 20242 min read
Â


To do more, attempt less
Subtract , advises Adam Boxer, a chemistry teacher in London, on his Substack. He visits many schools and finds himself telling school...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 9, 20242 min read
Â


What parents want: Teach reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, civics and ...
Parents on the left, right and center agree that schools should teach reading, writing, math and civics, writes David M. Houston, a...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 2, 20242 min read
Â


Politics in the classroom: Can teachers teach the election without bias?
Should teachers teach about the election?

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 31, 20243 min read
Â


Teach the children well: From rural Oregon to Houston, students are learning more
Third-graders at Adrian Elementary School, in the poorest county in Oregon, have the highest reading proficiency scores in the state,...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 28, 20242 min read
Â


Want equity? Teach more math, not less
As a math teacher in the early 2000s, Adrian Mims saw few Black and Hispanic students succeeding in Brooklin (MA) High School's honors...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 10, 20242 min read
Â


An 'F' for grading: Can expectations go any lower?
Grading may be stressful, writes George Leef on the Martin Center for Academic Renewal. It may deliver unwelcome news to students or...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 4, 20242 min read
Â


Learning is hard, and cheating is easier than ever: What can teachers do?
Teachers can't turn every student into an eager learner, but they can make it harder to cheat.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 3, 20242 min read
Â


How schools can help poor kids beat the odds: Consistency, collaboration, priorities
Schools that help disadvantaged students achieve focus on consistently good teaching, a strong, shared curriculum and lots of collaboration.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 1, 20242 min read
Â


Reform can work: Closing bad schools and opening new ones improved learning in Denver
Denver Public Schools improved -- a lot -- in part by closing bad schools and opening new ones.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 30, 20242 min read
Â


U.S. history teachers prefer DIY curriculum to textbooks
U.S. history teachers are using "digital sources and primary documents" rather than textbooks , according to a report by the American...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 24, 20242 min read
Â


Books are too long and boring, say English teachers
When I was in school in the '60s, we read Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights , Great Expectations, Hard Times, Canterbury Tales, The...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 23, 20242 min read
Â


Covid stress hurt memory, 'flexible thinking' for kids and teachers, says study
Students -- and teachers -- lost reasoning, memory and executive-function skills during the pandemic. Stress? Long Covid? Screens?

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 21, 20241 min read
Â


Chicago to teachers: Give migrant students a 70% and pass them along
Chicago teachers say they were told to pass all migrant students, regardless of their academic skills.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 20, 20242 min read
Â


Special ed is failing: With no time to meet diverse needs, teachers lower expectations
Overwhelmed by the number of students with different needs, teachers tend to lower expectations, writes veteran teacher.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 19, 20242 min read
Â


The lonely teacher: Schools need freedom to rethink teaching
The one-teacher, one-classroom model is leaving teachers exhausted, isolated and ready to quit, according to a National Council on...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 18, 20242 min read
Â


New teachers 'don't understand how kids learn to read'
A majority of Wisconsin students -- about three out of five -- score below "proficient" on state tests, write Danielle DuClos and Kayla...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 12, 20242 min read
Â


Urban Democrats want choice, but Harris-Walz campaign backs union agenda
The U.S. has "already passed peak public school " (excluding public charters), writes Matt Welch on Reason. Enrollment in district-run...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 11, 20242 min read
Â


'Terrible awful no good very bad' advice for teachers
Chicago teachers are getting very bad advice on how to teach with AI.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 4, 20242 min read
Â


90% of teachers support cellphone bans
Ninety percent of teachers in a NEA survey want their schools to ban cellphones in class, and 83 percent back all-day bans.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 3, 20242 min read
Â
bottom of page


