Why I'm Writing about Education
Launching a spot to weigh in on timely and continuing issues in education.
A veteran middle and high school social studies teacher, I have born witness to a tumultuous few years in education in the aftermath of the pandemic. Many, if not all, the problems existed long before Covid. But the last four years have been truly Something, bringing many of those problems into starker relief.
I can testify to the toxic impact of cell phones in schools and the problems with tech at the same time as I have harnessed the power of tech and recognize future possibilities of AI. I can see the ways in which the reading wars in K-5 education affect teaching and learning in 6th-12th. I know how political polarization, January 6 and the racial reckoning of 2020 have exploded in classrooms and at school board meetings. And sadly, I see how teachers who were praised as heroes at the start of the pandemic (for, like, 5 minutes) are burning out and questioning whether or not to stay in the profession. I see all this as a teacher and a parent.
As a history teacher, I care about evidence, facts, sources and the role of perspective. Therefore, I strive to write thoughtfully, considering multiple perspectives, acknowledging what I know and being mindful of all that I don’t.
My audience is anyone who cares about education– teachers, parents, administrators, university professors, politicians, policy makers and the public. After 20 plus years as an educator and no longer so young, I still have that idealistic view that better schools will lead to a better world, and that an educated citizenry is essential to a strong democracy.
So I will write, pouring my years of education, teaching, learning and parenting into exploring the issues in education today that I care about and which profoundly impact our students and their families.
I hope, as I have always hoped as a classroom teacher, that what you read here will make you think.