This article claims there are 15 definable reasons why public education is in decline in the USA. Do you agree (we don't believe this is an accurate list but it's a place to start. Here's a link to the original article: 15 Failures of U.S. Public Education in 2025 Introduction American public education is at a crossroads. Once hailed as a global standard, the system today faces deep, structural problems that undermine its ability to deliver on its promise of equity and opportunity. From worsening academic performance to chronic underfunding, the failures of the American public education system are not isolated issues but interconnected challenges. In 2025, the stakes have never been … [Read more...]
School boards should focus budget deliberations on student outcomes, financial sustainability
From the Brookings Institute Please get a thermos of coffee or tea. The article is long and detailed so you will need some time. As school districts enter one of their most challenging budget cycles in recent memory, all eyes should be on school boards. That’s because the nation’s roughly 13,000 local school boards are the ones who generally own the fiduciary responsibility for spending $700 billion in K-12 public education funds. They’re the ones who sign their names to decisions about what to prioritize when funds are tight, and ultimately where to cut and what to spare. Yet, findings from our research suggest most school board trustees are simply going through the motions when … [Read more...]
A top researcher says it’s time to rethink our entire approach to preschool
When did we (did we?) decide children could no longer be children and take their time growing up? When did we decide (who is we?) that time to play, socialize and explore the world wasn't ok for pre-K and kindergartners? The article is long so grab a cup of coffee or tea or your favorite beverage and take a few minutes to read and ponder. Today we bring you as story worth reading. Coming to you from NPR and written by Anya Kamenetz. Dale Farran has been studying early childhood education for half a century. Yet her most recent scientific publication has made her question everything she thought she knew. "It really has required a lot of soul-searching, a lot of reading of the … [Read more...]
Does Early Academic Training Produce Long-Term Harm?
From an article at Psychology Today > > > Many preschool and kindergarten teachers have told me that they are extremely upset—some to the point of being ready to resign—by the increased pressure on them to teach academic skills to little children and regularly test them on such skills. They can see firsthand the unhappiness generated, and they suspect that the children would be learning much more useful lessons through playing, exploring, and socializing, as they did in traditional nursery schools and kindergartens. Their suspicions are well validated by research studies. A number of well-controlled studies have compared the effects of academically oriented … [Read more...]