SPLC and NEA v. Parents and Kids

By Larry Sand
10/15/2019
The disgraceful Southern Poverty Law Center is now trying to keep poor parents from getting their kids out of awful schools. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which regularly labels organizations whose politics they disagree with as “Hate Groups,” has jumped head-first into the school choice fray. Just a few weeks ago, they began Public Funds...

TAGS: Cato Institute, Education Next, Greg Forster, Kerry McDonald, Kevin Jennings, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Pell Grants, school choice, teachers union, vouchers

The 2020 California Tax Grab

By Larry Sand
10/08/2019
Still a year away, Golden Staters brace for a shoot-out with the tax bandits. Like a bad zombie movie where no one really dies, California’s “split roll property tax” is back. The last time it had a heartbeat was in 2015 via the so-called “Make it Fair” initiative, which was headed for the ballot in...

TAGS: California School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Measure EE, Mike Antonucci, Prop. 13, Richard Rider, split roll, teachers union

Romanticized fiction trumps facts

By Larry Sand
10/01/2019
A blockbuster report exposes myths about the teaching profession, but will it matter? People love stories, and the gooier and more heart-rending the better. Few are more likely to send readers running for a box of tissues than the tale of a dedicated, but woefully underpaid teacher who is forced to take a second job,...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, class-size, Economic Policy Institute, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teacher pay, teachers union

Child abuse: Education establishment style

By Larry Sand
09/24/2019
The true believers in the education world, not climate change, are a major threat to children. When I was seven years old, I had a nightmare about witches, and subsequently became convinced that I had an ugly old hag living in my closet. It wasn’t pleasant, but doing a thorough inspection of my entire bedroom,...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, climate change, global warming, Larry Sand, National Education Association, teachers union

Failing education, lawsuits and parental choice

By Larry Sand
09/17/2019
A literacy lawsuit is due to go to trial in October, but little will change if it is successful. Americans are shockingly weak in civics. The latest Annenberg Public Policy Center survey finds that only 39 percent could name the three branches of U.S. government and less than one-quarter know that Congress has to muster...

TAGS: charter school, education spending, homeschool, Larry Sand, school choice, seniority, Students Matter, teachers union, tenure

Teacher union mandates lead to teacher shortages

By Larry Sand
09/03/2019
The unions treatment of teachers as interchangeable parts does great damage to the education process. In my post last week, I gave ample proof that the claim of a nationwide teacher shortage is bogus. For example, in California, where the  teachers unions insist that teachers are “leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers,” there is no widespread...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, merit pay, teacher shortage, teachers union

The Teacher Shortage Data Shortage

By Larry Sand
08/27/2019
“The false cry that there is no teacher shortage must not go unchallenged.” In recent times, one cannot go far without hearing piercing screams emanating from the education cognoscenti and teacher union poohbahs about the national teacher shortage. But, then again, this hysteria is hardly new. The above quote came from The Journal of the...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Cato Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Readin’, writin’, and proselytizin’

By Larry Sand
08/20/2019
More than ever, parents must be vigilant regarding what goes on in their child’s school. It is officially “back to school” season and, thusly, a time to remind parents that they must be very aware of what their kids are learning in school. Though I have written about this subject many times, it cannot be...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Poll Dancing

By Larry Sand
08/13/2019
The latest PDK poll is useless, as are most. The latest yearly poll from Phi Delta Kappa, an organization whose mission is to “activate educators and other stakeholders to elevate the discourse around teaching and learning….” has just been released, and I don’t see any elevation. In fact, the poll is ultimately meaningless, although that didn’t...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Education Next, James Agresti, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, teacher pay, teachers union

How some teacher unionistas spent their summer vacation

By Larry Sand
08/06/2019
The “Red for Ed” movement is becoming redder by the day. At a time when most U.S. citizens have benefited from the Trump tax cuts, the American Federation of Teachers joined up with a motley assemblage of leftwing organizations over the summer on what was billed as the “Tax the Rich Bus Tour.” The road...

TAGS: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American Federation of Teachers, International Socialist Organization, Janus ruling, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, Measure EE, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles