Good Brodesky column on Ethnic Studies

by David Safier Josh Brodesky and I have had our differences lately (he said, understatedly), but he's got a column today worth reading about Ethnic Studies. It's not that I agree with everything in the column. It's that Brodesky has some insider understanding — he went to Tucson High and knows the ethnic and educational … Read more

Students know good teaching when they see it

by David Safier This is an interesting observation which, like all observations about education, needs to be stored away and evaluated rather than being accepted outright. That being said . . . As part of a Gates study, thousands of students evaluated their teachers in confidential questionnaires. The students' evaluations tended to agree with the … Read more

Education: the economic downturn scapegoat

by David Safier If you haven't worked in education for decades like I have, you may not have noticed, but it's as predictable as the sunrise. Whenever there's an economic downturn, bad schools are blamed as the culprit and education reform becomes a huge issue. It's no coincidence that the problems with education are making … Read more

The lure of charters and other educational “reforms”

by David Safier Imagine you're a parent in Compton, CA, with your children attending a public school rife with all the inner city problems like poor test scores, low high school graduation and major discipline problems. If the principal, district superintendent and teachers' union tell you to be patient, that they're working on the problem, … Read more

The comic stylings of G.I.’s Matthew Ladner

by David Safier The good news is, Goldwater Institute's Matthew Ladner is turning into a pitiable study in self parody and should no longer be taken seriously by anyone. The bad news is, you have to learn to appreciate the man's subtle comic stylings to realize what a buffoon he is, and since most people … Read more