One of this blog’s regular participants sent me the following article about California’s controversial parent “trigger” law. Essentially, California law allows parents to “trigger” transformation of their low-performing public school into a charter if a majority of parents sign a … Continue reading»

In honor of Memorial Day and its parades, I am re-posting an essay I wrote this past fall. I’ll get back to new posts later this week. I spent about eight hours this past weekend reviewing applicants for a college … Continue reading»

I’ve noticed that I provoke more response whenever I mention charter schools. But one of the biggest charter school debates has not yet, as far as I can tell, erupted in Utah. What do we do about charter schools that … Continue reading»

This week I’m going to be preoccupied with my daughter’s law school graduation (in Boston), so many of my posts will be “reposts” from other blogs to which I’ve contributed. I’ve written before about why I think students need to … Continue reading»

In this blog I’ve argued that the term “public” education generally, and unnecessarily, conflates two elements: universal free (or rather, taxpayer-financed) education, and uniform government-run education. Like most Americans, I believe the first is essential to a free people. I … Continue reading»

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Utah’s pioneer days saw church and school inextricably linked – and not just because of Utah’s special religious history. Church-based schooling was the rule in early America, on the frontier, and for African … Continue reading»

On Monday the Georgia state Supreme Court struck down a law that let the state approve charter schools even when local school districts turned them down. The local school districts had turned down ALL charter school applications, by the way … Continue reading»

Several commentators on this blog have expressed fear that education budget cuts — and even so-called education reforms — will increase class sizes. The advantage of smaller class size seems intuitively obvious to teachers and parents alike. Research, however, is … Continue reading»

I’m on the road today – driving with my daughter from Palo Alto to our cabin near Capitol Reef National Park – so you’re spared any more educational history for a day. Here’s a link to my op-ed on teaching … Continue reading»

I’ve made rather frequent mention of Rick Hess’s new book on the uneasy history of school reform: The Same Thing Over and Over. In his Education Week blog today he describes how different constituencies have received this and earlier works. … Continue reading»