Kids Win in Washington State
To say that it has been a tumultuous year for Washington State’s public charter schools – and for their students and families – would be an understatement. This past September, just as the school year was getting underway, the Washington State Supreme Court threw the bright educational futures of these charter students and the lives […]
Oprah Winfrey's Wish For Her 'Daughters' Is Simple But Powerful
In two simple words, Oprah Winfrey beautifully summed up her wish for her “daughters” at the academy she opened for girls in South Africa. As part of The Huffington Post’s new interview series Talk To Me, the philanthropist sat down with graduates from The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, whom she calls her “daughters.” […]
Going Global: Debating the Ethics of National Borders
The debate over immigration agitates and disfigures politics in the U.S., Europe and other countries. The success of anti-immigrant parties and politicians reflects more than anxiety about jobs and terrorism. It also reflects the failure of mainstream parties and politicians to take these worries seriously and to address the hard ethical questions underlying the immigration […]
Teacher Pipeline Still Drying Up
There has never been a lower percentage of college freshmen interested in teaching. This comes courtesy of UCLA’s annual survey of first time freshmen, a survey that has been collecting data for about fifty years. You can read the full survey results in a report here. There are several interesting takeaways from the survey, including […]
Note to Asian Americans: Stop Saying "Americans" as if You are Not One
There is something Asian immigrants should stop doing right away. As an Asian American, native born, I am ticked off whenever it occurs: an Asian starts talking, whether in her native language or English, and refers to someone white as “American.” To make it worse, she then refers to someone else black as “Black.” She, […]
The Vitality of Collegiate Recovery
There has never been a more critical time to support the widespread establishment of collegiate recovery programs (CRPs). The most recently available data from the U.S. Department of Education reports that approximately 21 million students were expected to attend the nearly 4,400 nationwide colleges and universities in fall of 2015. The full report states that […]
Pick Me: Inclusion, Deliberate Practices Enhance School Experience for Students With Autism
Recently, the parents of Max*, an 8-year-old boy with autism, came to me with concerns about how their son has been struggling during this school year. Up to this point, he had been doing well with special education services that included speech and language therapy, social work support to facilitate interactions with his peers, and […]
Why Don't Students Take Social-Emotional Learning Home?
The intentions of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are good–and so are the results. With outcomes like increased academic success, improved relationships with peers and teachers, and decreased risky behavior, few could deny that implementing SEL in schools is a win-win situation. But recent studies have found that there’s no guarantee that a student will use […]
Coding Allows Learning Disabled Students to Shine
Learning to code is become increasingly prevalent in school curriculum’s. From after-school clubs to dedicated class periods, coding and computer science curriculum are popping up in schools worldwide. One place surprising place where coding is also increasingly being used is in programs for students with learning disabilities. There are many benefits of coding for learning […]
Introducing WonderPaw, the world's first app that teaches dogs to code
Two years ago, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring the magic of robotics and coding to children everywhere. With the help of thousands of supporters, your favorite robotic pals Dash & Dot were born and have introduced coding to children of all ages. Our progress must not stop there. Today, we are announcing a […]