by David Safier I am not now, nor have I ever been, a knee-jerk charter school detractor. People getting government funding to start independent schools with independent ideas and strategies is an excellent idea. True, the charter school concept has been abused due to lax regulation and privatization, but when it works, it can be … Read more
by David Safier I'm at sea when it comes to legal arguments and decisions, having nothing but my close reading skills to help me, unlike the crackerjack legal minds writing here at BfA. So I'm grateful to Stephen Lemons (AKA Feathered Bastard) at the Phoenix New Times for revisiting the oral arguments about the anti-Ethnic … Read more
by David Safier Want to get your elementary-aged school children into the best, most selective New York City public schools? Send them to test cram school. For a mere $75 to $150 per hour — I'm sure you can pay more if you're really selective — you can get your child into tutoring courses which … Read more
by David Safier How does a high school English teaching veteran like me respond to an article saying computer programs can score student essays as well as teachers? "The demonstration showed conclusively that automated essay-scoring systems are fast, accurate, and cost-effective," said Tom Vander Ark, the chief executive officer of Open Education Solutions, and a … Read more
by David Safier I just spent two hours talking with Cam Juarez, candidate for TUSD School Board, over coffee and tea at Raging Sage. Readers probably know I don't toss around superlatives lightly, but Cam is a truly extraordinary person, from his biography to his educational attainments to his work and volunteer experience to his … Read more