Author Archives: axooms

CTU Strike is Not The World’s End

Posted on September 12, 2012 by axooms

The primary media narrative concerning the CTU strike seems to be that it is a MegaBattle which could decide the future of unions, the structure of schools, the influence of ed reform policy wonks, and the very soul of K-12 … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Teacher Unions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Student drinking and debting

Posted on September 9, 2012 by axooms

Among the many paradoxes that face seniors finishing high school is this: you can sign student loan papers for tens of thousands of dollars in debt for you and your family — debt that is virtually impossible to discharge — … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiscal & Economic, Higher Education | Tagged | Leave a comment

Charters, Unions, and the Chicago Teachers Strike

Posted on September 7, 2012 by axooms

9/10 Update: CPS strike is now on, however there are 116 public schools still in session, and 10 of them have independent unions. Read more below. Original Post: Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is facing a rancorous and divisive teacher’s strike, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, Innovation, Teacher Unions | 1 Comment

I Have Met Finland and It Is Not U.S.

Posted on September 6, 2012 by axooms

I’ve always been amused by the comparisons of the US Educational system with that of Finland. For starters, Finland has about 5.5 million people, about the same as Cook County IL — and a glance at Wikipedia notes that Finland … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiscal & Economic, Poverty, School Performance, Whimsy | Leave a comment

DougCo Teacher Exodus

Posted on September 5, 2012 by axooms

DougCo, exhibit 1 on how a district can posture to alienate the local union and have little to show for it, is seeing a teacher exodus with the Onion-esque delicious detail of teachers named Hire who decide to quit: Brian Hire … Continue reading →

Posted in District Performance, Innovation, Teacher Unions | 7 Comments

Segregation & DPS

Posted on June 25, 2012 by axooms

One of the early criticisms leveled against charter schools was that they were “skimming kids” – that the lottery enrollment policy used by charters resulted in the admission of primarily the brightest, most motivated students.  This argument has faded (at … Continue reading →

Posted in Charter Schools, Poverty | 6 Comments

Our obsession with growth

Posted on May 23, 2012 by axooms

The move towards increased accountability coupled with the creation and collection of new data mean K-12 education is constantly sorting through a variety of metrics to better understand what is working and what is not.  But the layers of additional … Continue reading →

Posted in District Performance, Student Achievement | Tagged | 2 Comments