Why My Class Didn’t Recite the Pledge of Allegiance

The short answer is that I didn’t know why, exactly. It did not begin as some sort of ideological stand, and it didn’t have to do with the ‘God’ thing, at least not directly.
It began with a conference with a family before the start of the school year. Their daughter had been homeschooled, but she [...]

Read Full Post »

School Prayer, Part Two. The End.

After posting about the school prayer issue in Illinois, my sister mentioned to me that her attorney friend was a little skeptical about my argument. He noted that the establishment clause simply prohibits the official establishment of any particular religion over another (B, let me know if I’ve got this wrong). I appreciate all reasoned [...]

Read Full Post »

Shhhh…I’m having a moment of silence.

While the Illinois legislature could have been doing other things like, I don’t know, BALANCING THE BUDGET, two weeks ago it passed a law mandating a moment of silence in all public schools. As a person who has been in the trenches of the public school system, I can say unequivocally that silence can be [...]

Read Full Post »

Limbo

So, for all 649 of you who have come to check out this blog, I apologize for taking a nearly year long hiatus. First of all, I had a whole bunch of things to say, said them, and then wondered what the hell I was supposed to say next. Secondly, I was in the middle [...]

Read Full Post »

Where every child is above average

“The only way to be sure of whether or not every child is learning is to test regularly…”
- George W. Bush
I respect the intentions of the No Child Left Behind act. In no way should a school, through lack of organization, lack of will or lack of resources, ignore the needs of any of its [...]

Read Full Post »