New survey is out from the AFT.  They asked "a representative sample" of teachers a series of questions about teaching and current trends in education.

Full results appear in the publication American Educator, Summer 2008, Volume 32, Number 2 or can be accessed here.

No big surprises.  The number of teachers who think NCLB has been positive for public education has dropped to 10%.  Those who think it has had a negative overall effect now stand at 64%.

Similarly, those who think there is too much testing and too much test prep has jumped to 70%.

June, July and August. 

It's an old joke, but actually, one that I believed in when I was deciding to become a teacher.  Without those three reasons, I might never have settled into education.

Like a lot of young people, there was a long period of time where I enjoyed being outdoors, carefree and open to whatever might come my way.  Aren't these nearly universal attributes of being between 18-30 years of age?

And, in general, summer is one of the great benefits of being a teacher, whether that means travel, performing other work, having time with family, taking opportunities to learn--it's up to the individual.

The great Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once responded to a question about politics by famously not answering and asking if the audience wanted to talk about something worthwhile rather than waste their time.

Not everyone likes politics.  Not everyone wants their work, especially if their work is with children, to be caught up in politics or even be seen as having a political dimension.

And, in many ways, I agree with that:  the best things in life are not about politics.

That's why I have wanted this open-source website to be mainly about teaching technique, pedagogy and other tangible issues related directly to the practice of teaching.  

This may not be the most popular entry, but I think these issues worth considering.

This weekend is Memorial Day, a time to honor veterans who have died serving our country.  My father is a WW II veteran, as are many friends and relatives, and I do recognize and honor their service, their sacrifice, their heroism.  In no way do I diminish them.

But, I also wonder if this holiday's exclusive focus on veterans does not lead to a mind-set that sees fighting war as the highest, most noble contribution one can make to society, the gold standard of patriotism.  Because, and please hear me out, I do not agree with that.

Get ready for a major dose of "change" this November. Picking a new president means that both Democrats and Republicans are promising to be the party of "change", from which, we can assume, new priorities in Federal education will flow.

The question is: What will the new priorities be?

Given that Washington lobbyists, bureaucrats and legislators are the chief sausage-makers, we should not expect too much. In fact, as the recent farm bill aptly demonstrates, rather than bold, nimble or innovative change in existing policy, what we are likely to get are small baby steps and a whole lot of staying the course--even when it is not working.