OK, I know I just put up a post. But Rita Pierson tells exactly what to appreciate in teachers, and I couldn’t wait to get this out to everyone, in her TED Education talk. Listen and watch her and know that indeed you are appreciated, if it’s only by your students. (Thanks, Marilyn Hollman, for […]

May 7th is supposed to be Teacher Appreciation Day. If only we were! In any case, this would be an excellent occasion to explain to the community just exactly what we should be appreciated for (and if you’re a Teachers Speak Up follower, you know exactly what I’d like you to do). In an op-ed […]

It’s great to see that at least sometimes good schools and teachers are appreciated in the press. Here are two great school stories recognized publicly. First, a whole school district in Hartsville, SC, is working with community partners and a retired corporate CEO to implement a whole-child approach to kids’ learning (developed by child psychologist […]

I spent last weekend at the National Writing Project Urban Sites conference in Birmingham, AL, and what a weekend it was. Along with the usual events at a conference of educators, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute held its own convention. So we heard about the city’s history of civil rights action from people who participated […]

Here’s a guest blog by our TSU partner Marilyn Hollman: Tell your stories. That’s what Teachers Speak Up is all about. Teachers are optimists or they would never be able to return on Monday. But to spend time writing, whether a letter or a speech, takes energy. A burning purpose or question and an audience […]

OK, let’s get serious and look at some numbers. I’m in the Chicago metro area, so I’ll focus on Illinois. A national study shows Illinois is the second worst state in the union for funding disparity between high and low poverty-level schools. This partly results from shortfalls in state aid to schools. In recent years, […]

Here’s our friend Janet Ilko asking teachers to tell the public what matters in school so that we can get beyond all the standardized testing. More and more teachers are wringing their hands about the irrelevancy of the tests and all the time consumed with prepping kids for them and giving them. But as Janet […]

It’s encouraging to hear of more and more teachers advocating and making their voices heard. Here are two fresh examples, one national and one local. The national item is the “Occupy the Department of Education 2.0” event that just took place in Washington D.C., organized by the new Network for Public Education. The report on […]

We’ve already said we’re fans of Megan Allen, Hillsborough County fifth grade teacher who has spoken up to Congress and other public officials. Now read her advice on finding your inner teacher leader, your courage to speak up publicly to advance teachers’ voices in public education policy decisions. Ms Allen, it turns out, is active […]

The wider public, being less connected to schools than we teachers are, tends to have some limited concepts of our work and how to improve it. But in some fascinating and extremely helpful research the FrameWorks Institute provides smart advice on how to talk about education with the wider public. General attitudes about schools differ […]