Words matter. These are the best Randi Weingarten Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
We know that reading to children is a crucial step. From the beginning, babies who are read to are exposed to the cadence of language, and school-age children who read at home for 15 minutes a day are exposed to millions of words.
I can’t imagine my life without books. My father was an electrical engineer, and my mother was a public school teacher. Books were an integral part of my childhood.
White Americans can go a long time without ever thinking about the color of their skin. Black and brown Americans have no choice but to confront issues of race every day.
Many schools desperately need caring professionals like guidance counselors and social workers to ensure students’ emotional, social and educational needs are met. But proposals to arm teachers are irresponsible and dangerous. The role of educators is to teach and nurture our children, not to be armed guards.
Kids need time for problem solving, critical thinking, applying knowledge through project-based instruction, working in teams, falling down and getting right back up to figure out what they didn’t understand and why.
Learning should be engaging. Testing should not be the be all and end all. All students should have a broad curriculum that includes the arts and enrichment. Students should have opportunities to work in teams and engage in project-based learning. And student and family well-being should be front and center.
Beginning with the No Child Left Behind law and continuing today with Race to the Top, the federal emphasis on standardized assessments has become so excessive that it has modified state and district behavior in troubling ways.
Real parent engagement means establishing meaningful ways for parents to be partners in their children’s public education from the beginning – not just when a school is failing. The goal should be to never let a school get to that point.
Mike Bloomberg may be a Republican these days. But he has been a Democrat for most of his adult life.
Education – much like law or medicine – should be a profession governed by professionals. Unfortunately, too many policies, even those that are well-intentioned, come from the top, leaving out those closest to the classroom, who have the greatest insight into how to provide a high-quality education for all students.
Schools should be places of learning and joy, not testing and agita.
I’m such a stereotypical female learner in that I love social studies and love literature, and I always struggled with math and science.
Ensuring that we help prepare all kids for life, college, and work in our knowledge-based economy will require a collaborative, sustained effort from all stakeholders – from the president and the secretary of education on down to states, school districts, principals, teachers, parents, and community members.
My sister and I had resolved never to become teachers because the job seemed to demand so much. My mother always seemed to be working. Our dining room table was cluttered with papers waiting to be read and graded.
When police or security personnel work in schools, they should follow the community policing model that integrates officers into school life, not just involve them when trouble arises.
Parents need a full continuum of care and support from birth to kindergarten that is affordable and accessible – that means full day and full year. And let’s not forget that even in elementary school, working parents need access to the same kind of quality, affordable after-school programs!
Sure, just like there are bad lawyers, bad doctors and bad politicians, there are people who aren’t cut out to be teachers. But by and large, the people who are called to be teachers are passionate about the profession.
It’s hard work to ensure that all schools are safe and welcoming places for all children. It means changing policies, practices and cultures; providing school support personnel; and funding programs like restorative justice – not simply resorting to excessive and often discriminatory discipline.
I have repeatedly called for residency programs for teachers, like those you see in the medical profession, to ensure our educators have the training and knowledge to succeed in their classrooms and in their careers.
As a former teacher and someone who has devoted her entire career to children and public schools, I understand the pain and frustration of parents who feel their children are not receiving the education they deserve.
As a woman, as a Jew, as a lesbian, as a labor leader in a time of great anti-union animus, I know that other people project their biases on me. But it is nothing like the experience of our African-American brothers and sisters, especially black and brown men and boys.
The presumption of innocence, the benefit of the doubt, walking without worrying – these should not be hallmarks of white privilege. They are human rights – human rights – that should be enjoyed by all.
For working people and union members, Labor Day stands for something special and profound. It’s a day to honor the deep commitment each of us has to serve the children we teach, the families we heal, and the communities we love.
Giving children a fair chance to achieve their dreams and reach their potential is everyone’s responsibility.
I’ve heard from pre-K and kindergarten teachers alike that the Common Core is inappropriately pushing written literacy standards when the focus should be on the development of oral literacy skills. And that’s actually delaying the development of literacy.
