schools

Student Protests over COVID Policy (and Adults Ignoring Them) is Part of a Long Tradition

by Jack Hodgson

"Their message: Education needs to be delivered in cooperation with young people. They have a right to advocate for their own welfare, feel safe in school and receive teaching, not just supervision."

Can the Democrats Take Schools Out of Politics?

by Michelle Goldberg

Times Columnist Michelle Goldberg says that the CRT controversy is obscuring the ways that Virginia's public schools are part of a long political movement to undermine public schools that got a boost from the COVID pandemic. 

Laugh at Parodies of School Board Meetings, but Take Local Politics Seriously

by Lily Geismer and Eitan D. Hersh

Local politics – if it involves a wide spectrum of community opinion – can help override partisan polarization, create new coalitions, and empower citizens to make meaningful change.

Violence Over Schools is Nothing New

by Sherman Dorn

"The history of education teaches us that violence surrounding democratic schooling is part of a recurring pattern and that we have a choice to passively accept or assertively confront violent impulses."

The Culture War Over Schools Is Worse Than Ever

by Jonathan Zimmerman

The 20th century pluralist strategy to resolve the "history wars" – including examples of heroes and leaders representing progressively more social groups – is no longer able to cover over fundamental conflicts over what America is and what students should learn about the nation. 

Can School Discipline Be Fixed?

by Campbell F. Scribner

"One might reasonably ask, 'By what right do schools punish students in the first place?' Unfortunately, Americans have never really been able to answer that question."

Equal School Facilities Should Be Part of "Infrastructure"

by Erika M. Kitzmiller and Akira Drake Rodriguez

A century of discriminatory policies have "set the stage for underinvestment in public education and the wide variance in school facilities that serve White and non-White youths today."

The Complicated Racial History of the High School D.C. is Renaming

Renaming Woodrow Wilson High after Edna Burke Jackson, who taught history as one of two Black faculty members in the years after desegregation, is an obvious choice. 

Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz – Blaming Teachers: Professionalization Policies and the Failure of Reform in American History 6:00 PM Monday, August 31

Education historian Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz discusses the ways that public policy undermines teachers' authority and blames them for systemic problems with education, sponsored by Politics and Prose bookstores. Live at 6:00 PM Monday, August 31. 

Boston Refused to Close Schools During the 1918 Flu. Then Children Began to Die

Boston's school health officials in 1918 denied that school attendance posed a heightened risk for children contracting or transmitting the flu. 

How Trump Politicized Schools Reopening, Regardless of Safety

by Diane Ravitch

Amid this uncertainty and anxiety, President Trump has decided that the reopening of schools is essential to his prospects for reelection.

The Demise of the Great Education Saviors

by Kevin Carey

Charter schools and testing were supposed to right historic wrongs. Now they’ve run out of political steam. What happened?

Busing Ended 20 Years Ago. Today Our Schools Are Segregated Once Again

by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall

Any desegregation plans must be a shared burden. But are we willing to take it on?

Police and punitive policies make schools less safe, especially for minority students

by Kathryn Schumaker

The increase in school security is directly linked to the rise of student activism that started to transform schools 50 years ago.

NAACP challenges legality of Confederate names on Virginia schools

The NAACP is asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to “eradicate the vestiges of a shameful, racist educational system in Hanover County” by ordering the schools to be renamed.

The Supreme Court decision that kept suburban schools segregated

by Jon Hale

The Milliken v. Bradley decision sanctioned a form of segregation that has allowed suburbs to escape being included in court-ordered desegregation and busing plans with nearby cities.

Principal Who Tried to Stay ‘Politically Neutral’ About Holocaust Is Removed

“I can’t say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event because I am not in a position to do so as a school district employee,” said the principal of a high school in Boca Raton, Fla.

How Schools Reinvigorated the Stonewall Revolution

Perhaps, the theory was, just by existing, Gay-Straight Alliance groups could make gay kids feel less alone, and that itself could reduce suicide risk, which was common among gay teens at the time.

‘Never again.’ NC lawmakers consider requiring that the Holocaust be taught in schools.

“The survivors are leaving us and along with their departures, we need to make sure that we live up to the mantra of ‘Never again,’” said Richard Schwartz, vice chairman of the N.C. Council on the Holocaust.

Beyond Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement: Teachers Should Be Integrating Black History Into Their Lessons

by Melinda D. Anderson

According to experts, teaching an accurate and thorough version of history is essential to breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions. Yet much of what students learn about black people’s distinct American story is hit-or-miss.