Education Reform

Whats Right About Choice

04/2020

I just saw an article in the Houston Chronicle by Heidi Cruz about how Texas' public school children have been less prepared for Corona Virus school at home orders because online charter schools have been limited to only 6 of the states 1,254 districts. She argued that online schooling would have been more developed had more online charters been allowed. It was a simple argument, but virtually all the responses were to oppose school choice! I added my response as follows: Read More...

Federal School Choice Support!

02/2019

WOW! Huge opportunity that will die if citizens don’t act… Federal support for Tax scholarships. Read More...

Godly Systems

02/2016

Systems keep the world rolling! Without systems, every human action would require a unique human decision. Systems are established plans of action involving people and technology. Systems are necessary for complex life, and once established, they gain momentum by force of rules and tradition. As Christians, we must reflect on the systems around us and act to change those that are destructive. Read More...

Good and Angry

02/2016

I go through life analyzing situations to understand the good and the bad of things. With the bad, my first (and often my driving response) is anger… Is this good? Last night I reflected on the actions of an unjust principal… Read More...

Multiplication: Faster Than Addition

01/2016

Christians must re-take the arena of education… and multiplication is faster than addition! Read More...

Is Choice Magical?

12/2015

Soon after my book, Education Reform: Confronting the Secular Ideal, was released, John E. Coons, one of the earliest, most recognized, and most respected scholars associated with the school choice movement, reviewed my book. Though complimentary, he had one serious misgiving. Here is what he said and where he was wrong. Read More...

"Sorry, but No!"

12/2015

The Council for American Private Education (CAPE) just reported the opinion of Obama's upcoming new acting Secretary of Education. John King, Jr. just doesn't think private schools are very important to the public! Read More...

Are Public Schools Religious?

09/2015

While I was responding to a post on Diane Ravitch's blog, another commenter suggested that public money should never support religious schools and that I should stick with the idea of privately funded religious schools. My response? I suggested that public schools are religious. Here's how it goes: Read More...

What Does One Say About "Charter Greed"?

06/2015

Education bloggers spend a lot of their time pointing out the failures and tearing down the Charter School movement. Apparently, they don't find it difficult to find condemning data. Today, Ravitch culled comments from Sharon Higgins that seems to show profligate greed among some Charter School corporate leaders. I won't defend these cases, but neither do I believe they are strong incentives for the government to run all our schools. If anything, these comments point to the deeper moral issues of schooling. Read More...

Trust Parents or the Education Elite?

06/2015

Education blogger Peter Greene recently criticized Nevada's school voucher plan as a "race to the bottom of the barrel for public education." What he had to say rang true with Diane Ravitche because most of her blog post was either a quote and an endorsement of what he said. I will continue the discussion by saying they are both wrong! Their perspective doesn't seem to be able to get far from their own monolithic thinking about the best schools for ALL children and the selfish character of those who think differently. Here is my response… Read More...

Ravitch Slams School Leaders' Motives

06/2015

Today, education leader, Diane Ravitch slammed the leaders of an Arizona private school by calling them "Crony Capitalists" for converting their school to a Charter School. Much more lies behind situations of this sort and it rarely deserves the slam she gives it. Here is her post… and my response follows… Read More...

Solutions for Baltimore's Rioting Students?

05/2015

Apparently there was a firestorm when Jeanne Allen, the senior fellow and president emeritus of the Center For Education Reform, tweeted, "Baltimore riots and community dysfunction remind us that we must fix school and make #edreform a reality 4 all. #Charterschools save cities." She was quick overwhelmed with responses - most from angry traditional public school teachers. Here are a couple of responses I posted to an article about the turmoil…
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Too Much Religion?

03/2015

Religious schools are often feared for promoting "too much religion." But is that a bad thing? Read More...

Social Conflict and Religious Schooling

02/2015

Though many like religious schools, they may be sources of public conflict that are best kept to a minimum… If so, am I promoting the wrong thing? Read More...

Is there a Common Core?

02/2015

I oppose Common Core outright, and here is why… Read More...

Poll: Over 2/3 Support School Choice

01/2015

A new survey has been conducted by some democratic pollsters hired by the American Federation for Children. It finds that over 2/3 of American adults support some form of school choice… Even a majority of teachers! A report about the poll can be found Here.

A video press release can be found Here. Note the speaker makes a mistake referring to 2006 toward the beginning. This poll was just completed in 2015.

Choice Opponent: "We want the best public schools!"

12/2014

We all want our children to attend the best schools. But who defines what is best? Read More...

Our Educational Misunderstandings

04/2013

Little evidence supports the continued funding of Head Start, the federal government’s largest early education program. This is not merely a technical or financial concern, but a challenge to our ideas surrounding the nature of a good education. Read More...

The "Best" of School Choice

02/2013

In this economy, perhaps the most pervasive argument against school choice is that “it will drain money from the public schools and hurt children most in need of state help.” What do I say to that? Read More...

A New Christian School Model?

11/2012

Christian school model much of what is found in secular schools, but how do we go about changing this? As beginners, I propose that we must make Christian schools accessible through new funding opportunities, strengthen the philosophic leadership of our schools, and build real community.

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Accountability and Authority

07/2012

Just as a poor history teacher can make a child hate history, Christian school personnel can harden the hearts of their students to God. Christian school authority carries with it many responsibilities beyond the subject matter. We can learn from the responsibilities of parenting.

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Teachers' Unions for School Choice?

01/2012

Teachers unions generally oppose schools choice. Their power to shape public education decisions is widely opposed by the “Choice” movement, but can the opposition be made stronger. I believe it can in ways that will benefit both teachers and children!

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School Choice 101

01/2012

January 22 – 28 is National School Choice Week. As of this writing, 364 events are planned across the nation to celebrate the successes and energize further advances of the School Choice movement. Below is an overview of School Choice that doesn’t “demonize the enemy.”

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Weaknesses of Secular Education

12/2011

When the state determines what children should know, the perspectives they should hold, the values they should embrace, and the character that undergirds their commitments, it is limiting if not dangerous to society!

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Philosophic Liberalism's Underming of Education

10/2011

Liberal education philosophy continues to support secular schooling. However, I believe evidence for this support is weak or nonexistent. Children and society are benefitted when the wisdom of those who care for them shapes their school day.

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The Next U.S. President and His Educational Agenda

08/2011

What will the next president do regarding public education? Continue to standardize it under bureaurocratic control or allow it to diversify under parent discernment?

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Christian High Schools Strengthen Student Faith Commitments

08/2011

Research shows that Christian schooling strengthens the faith commitments of young people.

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California's SB48 (called F.A.I.R. Act) & Secular Ed.

07/2011

Regarding California’s SB48: The “common” paradigm of public education leads to diverse (and often offensive) educational requirements. A “plural” education paradigm avoids offense and strengthens educational outcomes.

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