(The author of this guest post wishes to remain anonymous.) Caveat – my vantage point is primary school; I have a kindergartner and a third grader and I believe that the principal and teachers at my daughters’ school are genuinely and in good faith trying their best to make this school year as positive an… Continue reading NYC Mom Asserts, “Remote Learning? It. Does. Not. Work!”
Even though they had six months to plan for re-opening New York City’s schools, Mayor Bill De Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza still insisted on doing everything at the last minute. Schools were supposed to begin remote learning for all on Wednesday, September 16, and blended/hybrid for those who chose it on Monday, September 21. … Continue reading Straight From the Trenches: Parents Report What Really Happened During NYC’s First Days Of School
Last May, I reported on how the Department of Education lost dozens of Gifted & Talented tests — and waited almost four months to inform families (after weeks of telling them the tests weren’t lost, the parents must have done something wrong!). Retests were offered to those affected along with students new to New York… Continue reading Lost Scores, Retests & The Current State of Gifted & Talented Programs in NYC Schools
Mayor Bill De Blasio officially shut down New York City public schools as of Monday, March 16, 2020. Since then, he and School Chancellor Richard Carranza have had over five months to plan for how to reopen them in September. In July, they announced that families would have a choice: They could opt to continue… Continue reading The (Last Minute) Plans of Mice and Men… and NYC Schools
(This is a guest post by Rebecca O’Neill, executive director of the Robertson Center at Success Academy. She previously served as Vice President of Communications at Teach For American and Vice President of Pro-Social Initiatives at CIVIC. She completed her graduate work at Columbia University’s Institute for Research in African American studies, where she focused… Continue reading What We Can Learn From Educators in the Pandemic: Remote Teaching and Learning Guides
Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction
When speaking about what was learned regarding teaching and studying in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert Pondisco summarized the situation nicely in this tweet: The lessons of the past few months are that everything works for someone, nothing works for everyone, and that the well-resourced and motivated student—or one with engaged and pushy parents—has… Continue reading Are All Teachers Equally Good? What Parents Can Learn From Watching Their Child’s Remote Instruction
War metaphors have been flying hot and heavy these past few months, as politicians, statesmen, and journalists search for ways to characterize our fight against COVID-19. They leave ordinary people wondering how we can do our part. What’s COVID-19’s version of Rosie the Riveter, air-raid wardens, victory gardens, collecting scrap metal, rolling bandages, or driving… Continue reading Holding Out For a Hero: How You Can Help Heal NYC (School Edition)
Last week I hammered home one of my favorite points: One educational size doesn’t fit all. This applies to traditional versus progressive learning, ethnocentric classrooms, acceleration, dual language programs, and more. While engaging in my favorite activity of advocating for giving every family what they want, and giving every student what they need, I asked… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #2)
Ever since New York City School Chancellor Richard Carranza advised colleagues that one should “never waste a good crisis” in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, NYC parents have been in a panic. They assume he’ll use it as a backdoor method for ramming through all the changes he hasn’t been able to make via the… Continue reading Never Waste a Good Crisis: How NYC Families (And Teachers And Advocates) Can Take Advantage, Too (Part #1)
While online school is wonderful overall, there are still some issues with it. I’m not talking about technical or logistical concerns. Those are all fairly straightforward to fix. I’m talking about those issues which will take more time, flexibility, and cooperation on both the students’ and teachers’ parts if we wish to make the transition… Continue reading What Still Needs Work: An NYC Student’s Take On the Problems With Online Learning
