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If Mia becomes Mike, parents want to know
If Jayden was cutting school, failing classes and getting in fights, he might not want his parents to know. But his teacher wouldn't keep...

Joanne Jacobs
May 28, 20232 min read
2 comments


We can't 'replace academic mastery with critical thinking about nothing in particular'
The American education system has turned away from academics and lost its way, says David Steiner, executive director of the Institute...

Joanne Jacobs
May 17, 20231 min read
2 comments


'Book bans' sound bad, but so does graphic sex in school libraries
President Biden keeps talking about "book bans," writes Andrew Rotherham on Eduwonk. It's become "a nervous tic" for Education Secretary...

Joanne Jacobs
May 15, 20232 min read
6 comments


Canceling SkippyJon: Everyone wants to censor something
Skippyjon Jones, about a Siamese cat who thought he was a Chihuahua, was a huge hit when it came out in 2003, recalls James V. Shuls. His...

Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20231 min read
2 comments


Madness, brilliance and tragedy
Jonathan Rosen's best friend was brilliant, even after he was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in his early 20s, he writes in his...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 23, 20232 min read
0 comments


'Lazy' parents want librarians, teachers to protect their kids
"Parental rights" advocates have a"dirty secret," charges Alyssa Rosenberg in the Washington Post. They're too lazy to teach their kids...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 19, 20232 min read
9 comments


Was Anne Frank bisexual? Graphic novel -- with breasts! -- is out of school library
The Diary of Anne Frank remains in the Vero Beach High School library, but the Florida school has removed a retelling of the story, Anne...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 13, 20232 min read
0 comments


Conservative teachers are quiet
Teachers who are on the political right "speak in whispers behind closed doors," says Daniel Buck in an interview with Rick Hess....
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 22, 20232 min read
1 comment


Against self-reliance
Hard work pays off. Even those born in poverty can build a better life. Self-reliance is better than dependence. Not so, argues Alissa...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 18, 20232 min read
2 comments


Why was Rosa Parks told to move to the back of the bus?
Florida is approving new "anti-woke" social studies textbooks, reports Sarah Mervosh in the New York Times. Some publishers think the...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 17, 20232 min read
2 comments


Why even kids who like to read hate English class
English teachers are teaching kids to hate reading, writes Pamela Paul, a New York Times op-ed columnist, in response to Nathan Heller's...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 14, 20232 min read
10 comments


Digital danger: Screen time is stealing childhood
Screen time is very bad for kids, argues Michel Desmurget, a French neuroscientist, in Screen Damage: The Dangers of Digital Media for...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 12, 20232 min read
1 comment


Rewriting Roald Dahl: Nobody's 'fat' or 'female'
Characters can be "enormous" and "beastly," but not "fat" or "ugly," in the new sensitivity-edited versions of Roald Dahl's children's...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 21, 20232 min read
0 comments

Learning is hard
Learning is hard, Dan Willingham tells Laura McKenna. It takes effort. But motivated students can learn effective learning and study...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 19, 20232 min read
11 comments


Youth sports are supposed to be fun
Sports should be fun for kids, writes Linda Flanagan. Instead, young athletes give up their childhood to compete for college scholarships...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 5, 20232 min read
14 comments


Classroom libraries aren't a crime in Florida
The "great Florida classroom library freak-out of 2023" is based on faulty reporting, confusing directives from local school officials...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 2, 20231 min read
13 comments


Grandin: Educate the visual thinkers too
Our society and our schools aren't designed for "visual thinkers, which so many of us neurodivergent folks are," writes Temple Grandin, a...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 14, 20231 min read
0 comments


Sneetches are racist! No, they're anti-racist! Or maybe ...
Dr. Seuss's Sneetches learn that outward differences don't matter. There's no need to pay to get a star added or removed from their...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 13, 20232 min read
1 comment


It's just kiddie sex, not pedophilia, so no worries
Jonathan Evison's Lawn Boy, doesn't belong in school libraries, say angry parents, because the graphic novel depicts an adult man having...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 27, 20222 min read
5 comments


'Protect our kids from graphic porn' in the school library
Parents who object to sexually explicit books in school libraries have been labeled "book banners," writes Max Eden, a research fellow at...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 20, 20222 min read
16 comments
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