How to Jumpstart the L.A. Economy

The Country's Second Largest Metropolis Could Start by Improving Its Schools

When it comes to its economic vitality over the last quarter-century, Los Angeles is in the same league as Cleveland and Detroit, lagging far behind the nation as a whole, and other major metro areas.

Recent figures can obscure this harsh reality, given that the Los Angeles metro area has seen brisk job growth of 2.5 percent each of the last two years. With this boost, L.A.’s employment has finally surpassed its pre-Great Recession level of more than seven years ago. But this is a modest bounce from a deplorable state …

by William Yu | June 20, 2015

How to Turn Elementary School Teachers into Emotional Detectives

Strengthening the Bond Between Educators and Pupils Can Get to the Root of Behavior Problems and Bullying

by Brandon Sportel | May 26, 2015

About four years ago, I found myself asking a question many teachers ask their students: “Why would you do something like that?”

I was sitting down with a fourth grade …

How Do You Measure a Teacher’s Worth?

A New Evaluation Method Shows Promise in Rebuilding Trust Between Educators and Those Who Are Grading Them

by Karen Hunter Quartz | May 21, 2015

Imagine one morning, coffee in hand, you head to the website of your local newspaper, type in your name, and up pops how you rank in relation to your colleagues …

The Best Teachers Aren’t Heroes

But We Still Don’t Know What Exactly a Great Teacher Looks Like—or How to Build More of Them

by Sarah Rothbard | November 21, 2014

We’ve all had bad teachers—and many of us have had great teachers, too. It seems as though it should be simple to figure out what the great ones have in …

How a Teachers College Dean Makes Great Teachers

It's Not Enough to Recruit Smart People. We Need Our Students to Learn the Theory, Get in the Practice, and Receive Lots and Lots of Mentoring.

by Mari E. Koerner | November 19, 2014

I was 20 years old when I graduated from college in 1967—the first woman from my family to take courses past high school. My cousin Adolfo was my only other …

How Do We Keep New Teachers From Flunking?

Push Student Teachers Harder, Stick with Them Once They’re in the Classroom, and Integrate Them Into Their Schools' Communities

November 19, 2014

Teaching elementary or high school is not an easy job. But teaching teachers is tricky, too. Teacher preparation programs have to strike a delicate balance between theory and practice. And …

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