I was intrigued to see that the Deseret News just ran an Associated Press piece about teacher pay/evaluation changes in neighboring Idaho. Several elements of the Idaho initiatives intrigued me. Individual districts can come up with their evaluation schemes, and … Continue reading»

I have been teaching and traveling (back to Palo Alto from southern Utah) this week, so I missed some opportunities to post articles that blog readers might find interesting. Last Sunday’s New York Times featured an article about a school … Continue reading»

Recent comments on my blog suggest that teachers have a very wide range of experience with teacher preparation. I’d love to hear from more teachers. Anyone who would like to write a longer post about his or her experiences should … Continue reading»

In my last post I took issue with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s opposition to cooperating with education school rankings. This reluctance to cooperate notwithstanding, there ARE some efforts out there to evaluate the effectiveness of education … Continue reading»

I thought I’d take some flak for once again promoting alternative certification of teachers, and I was right. I’m going to try to address some of the issues raised in the comments, because my readers have raised legitimate concerns. But … Continue reading»

One of the commentators on this blog took me to task for using the term “education establishment,” arguing that this term gives aid and comfort to those who would “privatize” education. As I’ve noted before, I think it’s quite possible … Continue reading»

The state’s educational system doesn’t win a lot of first place awards, but Utah did just receive the top score on the Foundation for Educational Excellence’s Digital report card. SB65’s Statewide Online Education Program — which is just now being … Continue reading»

Well, the deadline for applying for a waiver from No Child Left Behind targets has come and gone . . . and Utah is one of only thirteen states that chose not to apply. Since Utah led the first wave … Continue reading»

Another bite at charter schools — in New Orleans this time. The weekend Wall Street Journal edition includes an interesting article about the rise of independent charter schools in New Orleans. I can’t help wondering if it’s easier to embrace … Continue reading»

Education secretary Arne Duncan has recently announced a major push to improve schools of education. As the New York Times reports, “the Education Department would negotiate changes to the rules governing what information the nation’s 1,400 teachers’ colleges and university … Continue reading»