Update on September 7, 2021: It has been brought to our attention that the VA Department of Education put out a statement that the views presented in Amaarah DeCuir's lecture do not necessarily represent those of the VA Department of Education. We have updated this post and our social media posts accordingly. The lecture seems
On my first day of undergraduate school, bright and early in the morning, I timidly entered college algebra class. I had taken a gap year between high school and college, and I was nervous about algebra’s dormancy in my mind. I awkwardly took a seat in the classroom and watched my fellow students fill up
As a parent, few things bring us more joy than watching our children thrive. We hope that they will always be perfectly happy, make good grades, and become strong, kind individuals...but life is not usually free of difficulty. It’s easy to get worried when our kids struggle—even if it’s to be expected. We want to
What is school choice (or educational choice) and why does it matter? School choice is the freedom for parents to choose the best school option for their child. Location, values, available services, quality time, and more play into making an informed choice for your child's education. To further expand that definition, school choice means you have
“Character education is not old-fashioned, and it's not about bringing religion in to the classroom. Character is the ‘X factor’ that experts in parenting and education have deemed integral to success.” The Atlantic Throughout history, you can find various quips and proverbs about character. “Bad company corrupts good character.” “Character is easier kept than recovered.”
Hillsdale College has released a free American history and civics lesson curriculum for K-12 students titled “The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum.” The new resource is designed to ensure students learn about the truth of America’s founding and other vital moments in the nation’s history. Dr. Kathleen O'Toole, Assistant Provost for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College, gave
“Questions regarding the nature, extent, and role of phonics instruction in beginning reading programs are not a modern phenomenon. These concerns have existed in public education for over three hundred years. Throughout the history of reading instruction, phonics, like other methods, has had its high moments and its low moments—from being essential to being ignored.”
Note: This guest post was originally published on December 16, 2020, by Thomas McCracken, Ed.D(c), on his blog Heart to Pen. Weekends and summers off! That sounds too good to be true. That sentiment seems to flow smoothly off many tongues in today’s climate, but has it ever been challenged? Consider this: while darkness still prevails in
In the spring of 2020, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet published a scathing paper describing what she labeled as the “rapidly growing homeschool phenomenon and the threat it poses to children and society." Among her list of complaints, Dr. Bartholet announced that less than a dozen states regulate homeschool parents' qualifications to educate their children.
“We test the children’s learning with admittedly limited instruments—standardized tests—that were never designed to be used as a standalone analysis.” Margaret Pastor, PhD The use of standardized testing in American education comes with widespread debate. Pros and cons are batted back and forth like a tennis ball on the court of public opinion and educational
