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Education’s leadership void

Matthew Stone’s excellent piece in the November 14 Bangor Daily News  titled: How Maine Hurt Public Education by Trying to Reform It highlights the trouble school systems get into when they have the wrong leaders. With the right leaders Maine’s schools could be so much better than they are now. Unfortunately, however, what we far too […]

The unnecessary teacher shortage

The education system in the United States depends on taking advantage of teachers, and this is why we have a national teacher shortage. The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future reports that nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their first five years; the Metlife survey of teachers reports that ‘the […]

The Connection between Schools and Democracy

My life in teaching has convinced me of one thing. Americans don’t really understand the connection between what goes on in schools and the health of our democracy. If Americans understood this connection we would do everything we could to strengthen our schools and our teaching force. We would not hesitate to devote resources to schools. We would […]

Want to improve schools? Improve teaching conditions and you will!

Most good teachers will tell you it takes many years to become a successful teacher. Attending to the social, emotional, artistic, physical, and academic needs of several dozen children all in one room at the same time is no walk in the park. Gradually, when properly supported, beginning teachers learn their craft. Common agreement is that it takes […]

Maine’s teacher shortage could be fixed

The school year is drawing to a close, and teachers everywhere in the US are looking forward to a break from classrooms. In the face of mounting pressures, many are also weighing the advantages and disadvantages of remaining in the profession long-term. We face a growing teacher shortage in Maine and in the nation as a whole. […]

Schools get a lot of bang for the buck with robust language programs

As school boards and administrators look for the most effective use of available funds this budget season, they should take note of the newly released Statistical Portrait from the anticipated American Academy of Arts and Sciences report State of Languages in the US. The report, a response to a bipartisan request from Congress, highlights the importance of language […]

Do you wonder how to help the New Mainers? Attend the 2016 global awareness and responsibility conference

As the world grapples with a refugee crisis of monumental proportions, Ladder to the Moon Network, a community based organization in Portland, Maine has organized the 2016 fourth annual Global Awareness and Responsibility Conference. The event will be held on December 9th, 2016 between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and December 10, 2016 between 9:30 […]

Language education in Maine should not follow a zip code

Language teachers in the USA have special skills that will be especially important to the health of our nation in the new, rapidly approaching political era. These skills include the ability to teach English-speakers to converse with recent immigrants – and vice versa; the ability to share the experiences of those whose lives differ from […]