Arne Duncan and Special Education – A Dangerous Mixture
Posted in ChicagoNow, June 25, 2014 I said I was on vacation and not posting again after Monday, but on the eve of my departure, this...
Jun 25, 2014
Reading Incomprehension – Common Core Standards in Action
Reading when not in school Published in ChicagoNow, March 27, 2014 You would think a former teacher and English major with a master’s...
Mar 27, 2014
“Life is a Test” – Really?
Published in ChicagoNow, March 7, 2014 In its March 6, 2014 editorial in the printed paper, the Chicago Tribune asks, “Where is the harm...
Mar 7, 2014
Dr. Seuss Not a Fan of Testing Kids
Published in ChicagoNow, March 2, 2014 Dr. Seuss died in 1991, ten years before the No Child Left Behind Act passed Congress and long...
Mar 2, 2014
Meltdown over Frozen Recess
Published in ChicagoNow, January 24, 2014 My granddaughter, a second grader, was punished along with half of her classmates for playing...
Jan 24, 2014
Standards Driven Education Reaches Preschool
Published in ChicagoNow, January 10, 2014 (cCartoon by Marcia Liss) Now I’m really angry! Cherry Preschool, which I founded and directed,...
Jan 10, 2014
Raise Your Hand Today
Published in ChicagoNow, December 9, 2013 Today, December 9, 2013, is Raise Your Hand Day. In its message to Congress, the National...
Dec 9, 2013
Teachers Who Love Testing
Published in ChicagoNow, December 4, 2013 (cartoon by Marcia Liss) The first grade teacher tests her students in reading at the start of...
Dec 4, 2013
Why I am Mad at Arne Duncan Today
Published in ChicagoNow, November 22, 2013 (Photo: Rachel Monroe/Monroe's Dragonfly) Today, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination...
Nov 22, 2013
Mister Rogers, Doctor Seuss, & Tests
Published ChicagoNow, October 25, 2013 A friend of mine who trains Chicago public elementary school teachers how to teach reading was...
Oct 25, 2013