Category Archives: Education

Is Free College a Good Idea?

The idea of free college surfaced during the recent election.  Is it a good idea?  It’s generally agreed that college graduates make more money over a lifetime, along with other advantages.  (I Googled “benefits of a college education” and got 373,000 hits.)  But college isn’t for everybody and such programs are very expensive.  So, on

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The Disconnect in College Debt

I’m sure that you’ve been reading about how many people owe debt from their college educations, but here is a quick review.  According to the Lendedu website, more than 43.3 million people owe over $1.35 trillion in student debt.  That averages out to $28,400 per borrower, $16,033 per graduate, and $57, 600 per graduate student 

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Spirit Week

This was Spirit Week at the local high school.  I had a substitute teaching job on Friday, and I got the full impact up close. Why this week?  Friday night was a football game with a neighboring suburb, their arch rivals.  Over the years, this rivalry has evolved into a higher purpose — it includes

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How Important is Art Education?

When schools have budget shortfalls, one of the first programs to be cut is art.  Granted, art is not as critical as reading at grade level, but it still is important. How important?  A struggling school in a tough neighborhood of Bridgeport, Connecticut credits music, dance and painting for a significant academic improvement.  Not that

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The Day I Met Officer Bruno

I just saw a Facebook post about how a police officer’s life was saved by his canine partner.  http://tribunist.com/police/officer-ambushed-by-3-armed-men-he-pressed-the-button-to-release-his-k9-all-hell-broke-loose/?utm_source=SR This story gave me a classroom flashback.  Several years ago, I had a morning job substituting at a local high school.  Just before I left, I was asked if I could cover for a social studies

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Another School Year is Over

This week wrapped up my eleventh year as a substitute teacher.  I’ve slowed down the last three; in fact I officially retired in 2013 and have just worked a day or two a week during that period.  But it’s still a lot of fun (most of the time) and I have another year on my

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Thirty Million Words

When do we start learning?  Recent research suggests it’s as soon as we’re born.  Which also suggests another advantage affluent families have over poor families — their children are exposed to more learning opportunities as preschoolers, thus giving them a head start when they get to school.   One study estimated that this translates to

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