Nancy E. Bailey's Blog, page 35

How School Reformers Try to Convince Us You Can Fly a Plane Without a Real Pilot

Spending time studying how to teach and how children learn has been replaced with fast-track programs that breed future workers. These people know little about children, but they follow the script. They will keep children focused on their computer lessons, and collect data on their progress. It’s like getting on a plane and learning the […]

Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents

It’s the use of only technology in education without qualified teachers that is the concern. It’s “tech without teachers” and without public school buildings, a sense of community, student socializing, and the misuse of data collected on children that keep parents and teachers up at night! The problem is that there is a concerted effort […]

Common Core Creator Slammed Reading Teachers for Having a Research Gap—How Ironic

Teachers have enough difficulties. Sometimes you find an article so full of hubris and irony it cannot be ignored. Several weeks ago, I criticized a series of reports about reading by journalist Emily Hanford. Hanford claimed teachers didn’t understand reading instruction and that their education schools failed to teach them what they should know. I made […]

What’s Behind the Chan Zuckerberg (CZI) Push for “Brain Science?”

It doesn’t matter how much trouble Mark Zuckerberg might appear to be in with Facebook, he and his wife still find time to mess with education and give elitist advice to teachers. Their latest initiative is to claim teachers need to learn brain science. They’re donating $1 million to Neuroteach Global, an online PD platform created […]

Personalized (Online) Learning Fails at Classroom Dynamics and Socialization

Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah Think of all that we could sha-are Let’s get together everyday Every way and everywhere And though we haven’t got a lot We could be sharin’ all we’ve got Together ~Haley Mills, From Walt Disney’s The Parent Trap The public school classroom is a sacred community. How students socialize in […]

Thanksgiving: Family, Friends, Teachers, HOPE, and Public Schools

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It involves family and friends and is rather unassuming, tucked between the shenanigans of Halloween and the solemn, yet frenetic, Christmas rush. We especially remember those suffering loss today. The tables that aren’t whole due to empty chairs. Loss is a burden on a day to give thanks. […]

“Disruption” Using Technology is Dangerous to Child Development and Public Education

Public schools continuously change to keep up with progress. Technology has much to offer. But the idea that instruction should be disrupted using technology is putting students and the country at risk. It destroys the public school curriculum that has managed to educate the masses for decades. Disruption is a troubling word when referring to […]

How Funding Cuts to Public Schools Hurt Private and Parochial Students with Special Needs

Should public school districts be responsible for special education services of students in private and parochial schools? How do they manage this when they have financial problems serving the students who need special education services in public schools? I am not referring to special education vouchers which some states provide students when the special education […]

Articles about “Reading Wars” Meant to Divide Teachers and Parents!

A wave of recent articles about reading trick parents and educators into thinking teachers are not teaching reading and are not being trained to teach reading correctly. The opinion pieces are written by journalist Emily Hanford. Warning! Corporate reform fingerprints are all over these articles. Could it be about transforming classrooms to technology, where students […]

Halloween and The Value of Make-Believe to Reading and Emotional Development

It is not mere childish escapism. There is a political aspect to it – we won’t try to change this world unless we are able to imagine another reality. One could say all change starts with fantasy. ~Cornelia Funke, German author of children’s fiction. Here comes Halloween! Parents and teachers sometimes dread Halloween, the candy […]