After teaching high school for ten years, I became a teacher educator, at UCSB and then at San Francisco State. Now retired from SFSU, I do volunteer work with the California Film Institute's Education program, write a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal and an occasional column for the Washington Post's "The Answer Sheet."
Blog Posts
I love all types of music, from John Coltrane playing "My Favorite Things" to Bruce Springsteen shaking the rafters with "Promised Land" to Hilary Hahn's rapturous performance of a Bach Partita. And lately I've been thinking more about the place of music in schools -- all music, but especially...
Read More.I'm not an alarmist, but we truly are in an environmental crisis, headlined by, but not limited to, global warming. Given the importance of the challenge, I'd like to see a National Environmental Education Year -- setting aside a week seems like a drop in the bucket. But since we have...
Read More.I want to update you on two incredible stories on the news that greeted me when I woke up this morning. I'm still in a state of disbelief.
Read More.Three tragic shootings: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012; Century's Cinemark 16 Theater, Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012; Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, April 20, 1999. These traumatic events generated highly emotional responses all across our...
Read More.I grew up loving basketball, and Alan Seiden was the best high school basketball player I've ever seen. He was also my neighbor and a classmate at Jamaica High School in New York City. One of the most indelible memories from my youth is watching Alan hit one beautiful jump shot after another at...
Read More.Every once in awhile I visit a school that reminds me of what public education can be at its best, a place where I'd like to be, as a child or a teacher, a place that elicits the best in me as an educator. And so it was with my recent introduction to the world of the...
Read More.I had a Lewis Carroll-like dream the other night . . . or was it day? I have a hunch some of you might relate to it, so please join me while I take you on my trip to the...
Read More.I hope that many of you took a peek at my blog about my favorite 2012 movies for educators and parents. Well here's phase two, my favorite 2012 books for teachers and parents.
Read More.As a film and book lover, I always look forward to the end-of-the-year critics' picks. I also prepare my own, just to share with friends and family. But this blog gives me an audience (you!) to share my personal favorite films and books for educators and parents for 2012. This time I'm focusing...
Read More.It was back to school night. I was teaching American History. A parent asked me, somewhat accusingly, "Given your liberal bias, how do you plan to teach the New Deal?" My assumption was that this was a Republican parent. My response was, "Well, as to being a liberal, guilty as charged! But as a...
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