Mr. Gov'ner, you're an idiot.
Do Away with the EPA? There must be something in the water in Texas. And the air. And the food. Whatever it is, possibly lead, is leading to the election of imbeciles with the curse of ambition and...
View ArticlePoor As A Second Language
"Why we gotta learn a language we already know?" I was asked today by Marvin, a student of mine. He's a quick and clever young man who has been told by every teacher he's ever had that he's bright and...
View ArticleThe Cuphineous Debate
It all started at a staff meeting several years ago. Something was being discussed and somebody was getting upset about something that seemed very important to them at the time -- which is what...
View ArticleCharacter Education Won't Count
The article in the New York Times yesterday, entitled, "What if the Secret to Success is Failure," was a good read. In it, we are introduced to two schools, one private and highly competitive and one...
View ArticleCreate a Job, Gag an Economic Analyst
The economy sucks. Huge unemployment is a reality, hunger and poverty are growing, and things don't seem to be getting better on Main Street, regardless of the rebounds on Wall Street. The tide has...
View ArticleOn Lost Cats and Right-Wing Anger
When we first moved to Los Angeles, our cat, Ajax (from whom my name is derived), disappeared. He had always been an indoor cat, having spent his entire existence in 425 square feet on the second...
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Facebook and The Slaughterhouse Principle
Blogger's note: I apologize in advance for torturing a metaphor. Just so you know, Facebook isn't about to charge us. The warnings of our well-meaning colleagues, friends, family, and long-lost...
View ArticleA muse on fixing our schools
When Henry Ford told a newspaper reporter that his customers could have a Model T in any color they wished, "so long as it's black," he was speaking as the foremost authority on industrial production....
View ArticleThe 411 on Cain's 999
Herman Cain is an asshole.And not just because he wants loyalty oaths from Muslims and swore to protect the endangered zygote. He's an asshole because he passes himself off as the voice of economic...
View ArticleWatts-rich: The real meaning of income inequality in America
"You ball, right?" Donald, a new student, asked me as I was getting ready to walk away from his seat."I do ok," I responded, knowing what was coming. This wasn't the first time I'd had this...
View ArticleFighting For The Other 22%
One of my students asked me for a dollar again today. She does it almost every day so that she can by a bag of chips and a granola bar. I had one today, so I gave it to her.100% of my students get...
View ArticleThe Topeka Consideration: Costs, Benefits and Moral Decision-Making
It's been a a bit over a week since the Values Voters Summit ended and, again, the right wing of our country has been able to use the words Values and Morals without challenge by main stream media....
View ArticlePawnthink and the Power of Personal Narrative
When I orient new students to my school, I always remind them why they're here:"Everybody who's here has screwed up. Either y'all did something, or something happened to you, or you had bad habits and...
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What would you do for a dollar?
Kids struggle with money. No matter what school I've been in, when it's come to understanding how money works, they're lost. It doesn't matter if they're children of privilege or children of...
View ArticleCharter Schools with a Velvet Rope
I love charter schools. I've worked in and for charter schools for the last 10 years and I've never regretted it. I love them, I really do, but it's not the blind, wake-up-thinking-about-them,...
View ArticleWill Work for Food
One of the hardest things for a teenager in South Los Angeles to find is a job. Currently, unemployment for teenagers in the area is running at about 50%, so when one of them does land a job, it's...
View Article1% For Teachers: An Immodest Proposal
"You couldn't pay me enough to do what you do," a friend told me the other day."It's not for everybody," I replied. It's become my stock response in such situations because every time I'm asked that...
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Stay Classy, Occupy LA
We took our daughter to Occupy LA today. She danced a lot and had fun. We were proud of her and proud to be present among those who have decided to pull up stakes and plant themselves on the grass at...
View ArticleLibertarianism and Reality Don't Mix
Every once in a while I listen to something Ron Paul says and I find myself nodding, "Yeah, Ron, I'm glad somebody on the national stage is saying that besides Dennis Kucinich." It's usually something...
View ArticleAn Open Response to Drs. Biggs and Richwine at the Heritage Foundation
Dear Drs. Richwine and Biggs:I read the Heritage Foundation Report on Teaching this morning. I found it because it was referenced at Daily Kos and I read it through over lunch.It had me thinking all...
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