Balancing phonics and whole language instruction

by David Safier A first grade teacher from Utah, JC Michaels, just wrote a comment on a six month old post (that's the beauty of the internet, these things hang around forever) about the balance between phonics and whole language instruction. I thought others might be interested.  Since I was a high school English teacher, … Read more

Law-abiding citizens and politically active students

by David Safier Here are two bits of information which are encouragingly contrary to what is considered common wisdom. First, with a barely-standing-room-only crowd of something like 2 million people in the Mall during Inauguration, there have been no reports of arrests. I haven't even heard anyone complain about a picked pocket or rowdiness. Run … Read more

AZ Board of Regents meeting in Tucson Thursday

by David Safier There could be a crowd. The Board of Regents is meeting Thursday, Jan. 22, at 1pm, Student Union Memorial Center. At 1:20, there will be a Call to the Audience to take testimony from members of the public.  This is the beginning of a two day Regents meeting. Note: Parking could be … Read more

Comment about University cuts by ASU Pres.

by David Safier I received this comment from gaardvark on yesterday's post about the UA protest: The Pres of ASU sent out a letter today to all faculty, staff and students outlining some of the impact on ASU*****On top of these cuts, the Pearce and Kavanagh proposal would require ASU to cut another $70 million, … Read more

After the Inauguration, Arizona business as usual

by David Safier A few hundred people — students, faculty, community members like myself — gathered on the UA Mall for a short protest against what were referred to as the Pearce-Kavanagh Education Cuts. Similar gatherings took place at the two other university campuses. It was a necessary but far-too-weak response to the proposed cuts. … Read more