During recent teacher walkouts in Oklahoma that captured national attention, many major media outlets reported misleadingly small figures for teacher pay. By failing to reveal all aspects of teacher compensation, these outlets hid the true costs to taxpayers—which now amount to an annualized average of about $120,000 for every public school teacher in the United States.

CNN, for example, published an article by Bill Weir claiming that in “most districts” of Oklahoma, “a teacher with a doctorate degree and 30 years’ experience will never make more than $50,000 a year.” That claim, which CNN neglected to document, is at odds with comprehensive data from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. This information for Oklahoma and the entire nation follows.

For the 2016–17 school year, the Department of Education reports that the average salary of full-time public school teachers was $58,950 in the U.S. and $45,245 in Oklahoma. Those figures generally exclude benefits, such as health insurance, paid leave, and pensions. These are typically much higher for government employees than private sector workers. Continue reading →

To Govern a Republic, One Must Know the Minds That Created It.

The more we teach our children about history the more likely they will not make our mistakes. ~ Diversified Dame
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Amid a national epidemic of dishonesty, acting with integrity is more important than ever.

The following is an adaptation of an address to Rice University’s class of 2018.

George Washington

When I was deciding what I wanted to say today, I kept thinking about a Rice tradition that’s an incredibly important part of student life here: I’m talking about the honor code.

When you first arrived on campus, you attended a presentation on the honor code. And your very first quiz tested your knowledge of the code. And so today, I thought it would be fitting for you as graduates to end your time here the same way you began it: by hearing a few words about the meaning of honor.

Don’t worry: There won’t be a quiz. But there will be a test when you leave this campus — one that will last for the rest of your life. And that’s what I want to explain today — and it actually starts with the opposite of honor.

As a New Yorker, I was surprised to learn that an act of dishonor in my hometown almost blocked Rice from coming into existence. William Marsh Rice was murdered at his home in Manhattan by two schemers who tried to re-write his will… Continue reading →

How much of this should the American taxpayer subsidize?

A large percentage of the $1.48 trillion student loan debt accumulated by Americans was never spent on tuition at all. Instead, much of that money went towards everything from beer, Bitcoin, spring break shenanigans and exotic reptiles.

More than one in five; or 21.2% of college students, surveyed by The Student Loan Report admitted to spending student loan money on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). That speculation is risky because Bitcoins lost almost 65% of their value between December 2017 and April 2018. A Bitcoin was trading at $19,205.11 on December 17, 2017, and $6,701.40 on April 5, 2018, data from Coinbase indicates. (Read complete column)

Rutgers Student Calls Out School for Aiding Illegal Immigrants

Look closely at the name at the bottom of the image. – Ed.

A Rutgers University student is calling out his school for “privileging” illegal immigrants over American citizens and legal immigrants.

In February, Rutgers students started a petition opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appearing at a career fair, arguing it would alienate undocumented students. The agency voluntarily withdrew from the career fair after talks with administrators.
Continue reading →

“By educating the young generation along the right lines, the People’s State will have to see to it that a generation of mankind is formed which will be adequate to this supreme combat that will decide the destinies of the world.” ~ Adolf Hitler

It’s 3 O’clock in the afternoon when little Johnny comes barging through the front door after school, throws his back pack into a corner and heads for the refrigerator. He yanks open the refrigerator door and pulls out a carton of milk. He gets a glass from the cupboard and fills the glass full from the milk carton. He gulps down the milk and heads for his bedroom where his play station awaits his anxious fingers. But before he can leave the kitchen, his mom says, “Wait a minute Johnny, I want to hear how your day at school went.” Johnny says, “Oh mom!” and returns to the kitchen. Continue reading →

They’re About Mobilizing Democrats

Democrats and their allies among the teacher activists are following the playbook outlined by Saul Alinsky in ‘Rules for Radicals.’

Teachers all over the country are going on strike. They say they want higher salaries and education funding and the tax increases necessary to pay for them. But there’s a bigger motivation underlying the strikes — mobilizing Democrats.

The strikes began in West Virginia on Feb. 22 when teachers walked off the job. They demanded higher salaries and relief from increasing health insurance costs. The teachers stayed off the job until March 7. The legislature approved a 5 percent pay increase for all state employees. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice appointed a task force to lower healthcare costs… Continue reading →

I’m having a fire sale on education stories this week. Also a parallel fire sale on quotes from my 2009 book We Are Doomed, because the education chapter of that book was the most fun to write and it’s pertinent to this week’s stories. Here’s a sort of keynote quote from that chapter:

The whole topic of education is a glorious feast for pessimists of all kinds.

Education story #1: PS , an elementary school, kindergarten through fifth grade, on West 70th Street in Manhattan. That’s a tony neighborhood. A two-bedroom apartment on West 70th will currently cost you around two million dollars.

I wrote about PS 199 in the education chapter of We Are Doomed. A kerfuffle had broken broke out in November 2008, when an apartment up there only cost one million dollars: Continue reading →

I had a very restless night of sleep last night due to finding out that one of my great grand kids can’t read cursive. He will be 13 in October!!! How did I learn this bit of information?

I bought four of my great grandkids their first bible and wrote a personal note to each of them on the inside page. The 12 year old came over to thank me for it and I asked him if he read my note to him. He looked at me and said he can’t read ‘cursive,’ as if it is a foreign language or such. He had to have his mom read it to him and said she had trouble too. I have always had compliments on my handwriting so it isn’t that my handwriting is bad. I began learning to write in cursive in the third grade. Continue reading →

Tribute to the Teachers; Alexandra Nechita

Teachers across the country can no longer survive on the salaries they are offered to do the most important job of all. This is teaching our children the tools and honing their talents in order to have them do well in what is a very complicated world. Teachers are paid on a yearly contract that runs around 185 days. There are many professions that do contracted work. If the contract is for 365 days or 100 days it makes no difference. The important thing is to get the job done and done well. Some believe in the concept of those who do, do and those who can’t teach. I do get a kick out of this statement because those who can do because they were taught how too.

Teaching has always been equated with the success of its students. The profession has never been defined by money even though the ability to live and teach at the same time has always been difficult. I can define teaching because I am a retired teacher. I wrote the following 25 years ago about one of my days teaching. Continue reading →

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie made billions in steel, sold his business, and switched to philanthropy. He built 2,500 libraries, at least. In his 1889 essay The Gospel of Wealth, he said that “the rich have a moral obligation to distribute their money in ways that promote the welfare and happiness of the common man.”

Where are the people who feel like that today? Here’s the first step they would take. They would ensure that all kids in our public schools learn to read in the first grade. Then those children could go to Carnegie’s libraries and enjoy the books. We have to ask: where are the Carnegies these days – that is, people with big bucks and big hearts? Continue reading →

Oklahoma Wesleyan University

This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.

I’m not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them “feel bad” about themselves, is a “hater,” a “bigot,” an “oppressor,” and a “victimizer.” Continue reading →

67% Not Proficient in Math

A student is showing his frustration at the example of the new math.

Sixty-five percent of the eighth graders in American public schools in 2017 were not proficient in reading and 67 percent were not proficient in mathematics, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress test results released by the U.S. Department of Education.

The results are far worse for students enrolled in some urban districts. Continue reading →

America’s taxpayer-funded schools have become the promoters of these unhealthy behaviors, while replacing traditional education

California lawmakers are not only bulldozing classic liberal education, they are legislating more LGBT lifestyle and pornographic perversion in education curricula. At the same time, they are also trying to outlaw homeschooling, removing all doubt that the left is indoctrinating your kids, and using them as revolting sociological experiments. Continue reading →

(iStock/monkeybusinessimages)

In light of recent headlines around standardized testing for kindergarteners in Oregon and New York, the growing voice of opposition against bubble tests is gaining steam. Continue reading →

President Donald Trump greets Education Secretary Betsy DeVos before signing the Education Federalism Executive Order, Wednesday, April 26, 2017, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday (April 25, 2018) to start pulling the federal government out of K-12 education, following through on a campaign promise to return school control to state and local officials.

The order, dubbed the “Education Federalism Executive Order,” will launch a 300-day review of Obama-era regulations and guidance for school districts and directs Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to modify or repeal measures she deems an overreach by the federal government. Continue reading →

I started wondering about this recent movement of teachers and their attempt to change fiscal policies toward education. Why the association with this particular colour? There are other powerful colour associations. I was also curious about the reasons. I’m not a teacher, but I am interested. Why not choose one of these colours instead?

The colour purple is associated with independence. Our European cousins’ see this colour as that of royalty, power, and strength. It was the colour of the Emperor and the aristocracy. It symbolizes leadership and confidence. Why not push for a more independent educational system? One not bound by governmental oversight and regulations. One that allows teachers the freedom (independence) to teach classes geared toward the abilities of the students rather than forcing these kids into neat little common core boxes of homogeneity? Everyone is the same… aren’t we? Don’t we want more confident leadership? Don’t we want well educated, thinking people capable of making value-based decisions? Isn’t this what we expect from our teachers; to shepherd our children to and through the power of learning and to help them become leaders? Continue reading →

… because parents coddled their kids too much

The PR announcement came out today: Columbia University has launched a new center to research failure and its role in learning, growth and success.

Based at the Ivy League university’s prominent graduate school of education — which preps future teachers — the Education for Persistence and Innovation Center’s goals are “to inspire people to persist and triumph over adversity; to help them channel frustration and use negative emotions constructively; to identify effective strategies for overcoming failure; and to learn how organizations can help employees fail successfully,” according to a news release. Continue reading →