Five crucial considerations to protect social and emotional learning
The Master Teacher, Inc.The growth in popularity of social and emotional learning (SEL) is bringing with it increased attention to and scrutiny of what exactly SEL means and questions about whether it is something more than just another educational fad or ideological movement.
School choice is a better instrument for racial justice than critical race theory
Daniel BuckThe outlook has gotten bleak for the anti-racist and CRT movements in U.S. classrooms, as Americans saw these ideas in action and largely recoiled from them. But there's another K–12 strategy for achieving racial justice: school choice.
Blinding ourselves to America’s achievement woes
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Much as happened after A Nation at Risk, the U.S. finds itself facing a bleak education fate, even as many deny the problem. Back then, however, the denials came mostly from the education establishment, while governors, business leaders, and even U.S.
Ohio data show the pandemic's heavy toll on student achievement and the importance of in-person learning
Vladimir Kogan, Stéphane LavertuThe Covid-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruptions to teaching and learning across America, including school closures, sudden changes to instructional delivery, economic hardship, and social isolation.
What U.S. teens think about their futures—and the country’s
Jeremy SmithThe Washington Post and Ipsos recently surveyed fourteen to eighteen year olds on their attitudes toward the state of the U.S.
What 9/11 means for America’s schools twenty years later
Dale ChuThis week, we remember and reflect upon an unforgettably tragic day. This comes amid throes of national conflicts over information, misinformation, even the nature of facts and truth themselves. Schools can’t fix all this, but they must reclaim their vital role in ensuring that Americans understand their history and the interconnectedness of today’s world.
Seven questions about September 11
Lamar AlexanderThis advice from my friend Lamar Alexander for teaching about 9/11 was published twice by Fordham, first in 2003 and again (lightly revised) in 2011.
From the personal to the political, for the love of freedom
William DamonThis superb short essay by Stanford professor Bill Damon is a hard-hitting piece from a gentle, thoughtful, and learned psychologist, and (as with Senator Alexander's contribution) was first published by Fordham in 2003
Alternative certification policies and teacher recruitment outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A recent study published in Educational Policy is a timely look at the ways in which states’ alternative certification (or AC) policies for teachers have impacted the composition of the corps of novice educators.
The wide-ranging benefits of natural mentorships
William RostA recent Annenberg working paper explores the effects of “natural” mentorships, which researchers define as voluntary and informal relationships between school personnel and students. It finds many benefits, especially for teens from low-income households.
Addressing constructive criticisms of Fordham’s report on state civics and U.S. history standards
David GriffithOur recent study of states’ U.S. history and civics standards attracted some constructive criticism from both the left and the right. It was, after all, explicitly bipartisan. Here are our responses to four critiques.
A commonsense alternative to critical race theory bans
Robert Pondiscio, Tracey SchirraThere are good arguments to be made in favor of so-called critical race theory “bans” that have now been considered in some form by more than half of all US states.
A better way to improve literacy among Black and Hispanic children
Ian RoweFor the last half-century, if you read the mission statement of virtually any education reform organization, you will find earnest language about closing the racial or class achievement gaps. Unfortunately, not only have gaps failed to narrow during this multi-decade obsession, overall achievement levels have also remained mostly static.
A downbeat assessment of students’ mental and social-emotional health in the Covid era
Jeff MurrayIt is no exaggeration to say that very little good can likely come from a global pandemic, especially in the short term. And while the “term” of the current pandemic seems to lengthen every day, we are still firmly in the realm of the immediate when discussing impacts.
NWEA measures the impact of the pandemic on student achievement and growth
Jessica PoinerResearchers at NWEA have been using data from their MAP Growth assessments to predict and analyze learning losses since the start of the pandemic.
Using deeper learning to strengthen our democracy
Kent McGuireThe past eighteen months have been some of the most tumultuous in the history of our nation. The twin pandemics of Covid-19 and social injustice have highlighted how today’s students face very different expectations than students encountered in previous generations.
Leading schools with vision in a time of change
Kathleen Porter-MageeAt Partnership Schools, we believe that one thing that separates effective turnaround efforts from failed experiments is the ability of the leader to articulate a clear, coherent, and actionable vision for change.
A bright future for open enrollment
Matthew Ladner“Hi. Welcome to the future. San Dimas, California. 2688.” Rufus, played by George Carlin, thus opened the American film classic Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure by explaining that, in the distant future, everything is great. The water, air, and even the dirt is clean.
Every high schooler in America deserves the U.S. history and civics education I have had
Cate BikalesBlack Lives Matter protests, raging wildfires, a monumental election, and the global pandemic. As a seventeen-year-old growing up in Portland, Oregon, these past eighteen months have been the craziest I have ever experienced. Never would I have thought that I would essentially miss the entirety of my junior year of high school, forced into taking classes in a solely online environment.
Lax school discipline won’t cut it as kids return to school
Michael J. PetrilliAs traumatized students return to classrooms, educators must be ready to handle worsened behavior issues, as some kids externalize the suffering they’ve been through and re-learn how to “do school.” Unfortunately, the discipline policies in place in many schools may exacerbate the challenge, potentially setting us up for disaster.
More dumb things done in the name of educational “equity”
Dale ChuParents across the country are up in arms over their school systems’ equity initiatives. To be clear, this is not “equity” as I came to define it when I started teaching nearly a quarter century ago.
A third disrupted year can only strain Americans’ ties to traditional public schools
Robert PondiscioIn the early days of the pandemic, I was dismissive of “new normal” talk about Covid’s long-term impact on schooling. There was good reason for skepticism.
Examining the benefits of career and technical education at scale
Olivia PiontekWhen it comes to career and technical education, there’s one state that seems to be getting things just about right: Connecticut.
Don’t ignore direct SEL instruction
William RostAdvocates for social and emotional learning (SEL) have pushed for schools to embrace the teaching of healthy life skills to students.
School choice upholds America’s founding ideals
Daniel BuckThere is a heated debate going on among school choice advocates, in which the essential question is whether school choice is sufficient to reform American education. The civil disagreement belies a tension within the conservative movement writ large between the libertarians and the institutionalists. But it needn’t be a stalemate. A means to palliate the competing undercurrents can be found in our nation’s very founding.
The future of local school politics: Division or détente?
Paul T. HillDivisions about mask and vaccine mandates, in-person versus remote learning, student discipline, and racism and anti-racism in the curriculum will make it difficult for schools to serve anyone well this year.
Science class is a great place for social and emotional learning
Jeremy SmithWe don’t usually picture science class when we think of social and emotional learning (SEL) or whatever we decide to call it, perhaps because scientists and engineers, unlike artists and writers, are often depicted as socially awkward or emotionally cold in popular media.
Does the medium matter? Academic outcomes for print versus digital reading.
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Reading on a computer screen became a must for millions of youngsters at the onset of pandemic-induced school closures when they lost access to classrooms and library books in school buildings.