FAKE EDUCATION NEWS -Washington, DC Mr. Teachbad, author and creator of the wildly popular Mr. Teachbad’s Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement, says he is “less than giddy” about his first venture into the cutthroat world of online teacher book clubs and adds that the “whole thing is going pretty badly.” Mr. Teachbad’s audience of unhappy, disgruntled, angry, saddened, forlorn, castigated and otherwise disenfranchised, disaffected, downtrodden teachers has responded poorly to the first discussion Read more [...]

I am delighted to kick off the Teachbad Book Club with our very first book, Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop the Exodus (2010) by Katy Farber. The author has graciously agreed to participate in our discussion. Ms. Farber welcomes and invites you: Thanks for hosting this book club, Peter. I hope your readers find the book helpful, validating, and motivating. Mostly, I hope they find that it gives voice to the real concerns of teachers today. My goal is to work to make teaching more Read more [...]

Wow…it’s been quite a week. I’ve been dealing with some weird family stuff that has taken a surprising amount of my attention. I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say that everybody isn’t not crazy. Anyway, we have business, you and I. First Item: The Inaugural Mr. Teachbad’s Official Teachbad Book Club Eventacular Discussion Series (MTOTBCEDS) will kick off next Wednesday, March 14, 2012. The plan is for everybody in America to read the book Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Read more [...]

Teachers are in a tough spot. I think it’s fair to say there is a growing sense among teachers that the overall quality and attractiveness of this job is deteriorating. However much you might personally still enjoy teaching, or however much you hated it in the first place…it’s getting worse. For many people, that still keeps teaching safely in the neighborhood of ‘enjoyable’ or ‘tolerable’. But it will also push many over the edge and out of the profession. (Just wait until the economy turns Read more [...]

A couple of weeks ago someone posted a comment I think you should read. Jessica Knapp wrote about what teaching can do to people. Her words struck an arrow through my heart. I would very much like for you to add your thoughts and stories. Here’s what she said: I taught KG for 6 years in an inner city school where 94% of the stu­dent body qual­i­fied for free lunch. In my first year at age 25 I was older than most of my stu­dents’ parents. Many stu­dents arrived in my class­room not know­ing Read more [...]

Last night I watched Jon Stewart’s interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. And it was just terrible. Here is the link. He is the caricature of a crazy, zero independent thought, Washington, DC TalkingPoint Man. It’s amazing how far that and an Ivy League degree can get you. Though she has stopped returning my calls, I still consider Valerie Strauss my girlfriend and she had a great summary of the interview. But after letting the disgust from the initial interview pass, and after Read more [...]

ANNOUNCING!!!! Mr. Teachbad’s Official Teachbad Book Club Eventacular Discussion Series (MTOTBCEDS). Here’s what we’ll do in MTOTBCEDS. 1) I pick a book. 2) I encourage people to buy it and read it. 3) About a month later I post a little review and we chat; if the author wishes, he or she may write something to begin the discussion and/or respond directly to questions and comments from readers. Yes? OK. Let’s begin. We will start with Why Great Teachers Quit and How We Might Stop Read more [...]

I just had a crazy-ass dream and the details are fading fast so let me get this down… I am walking around the grounds of Catholic University in Washington, DC. I stop and sit under a tree or on a bench; I don’t remember. I fall asleep and start to dream. In my dream’s dream, I was in my classroom during first period, which is my planning period. I was working on something stupid or tedious or probably both. I got bored and decided to go for a walk. I was walking around the grounds of Catholic Read more [...]

Note: The tone of this post is a little more serious and it has no very little swearing. I know that will turn some people off, and I apologize. Under normal circumstances, analogies between teachers and doctors trigger in me a powerful, irresistible gag reflex. I hate reading about how we both have a practice, for example. However, I have found a place where the analogy between teachers and doctors makes sense, but only if we proceed seriously and follow where it leads. Be warned. It Read more [...]

I had the best conversation with my wife last night. She had just finished reading Animal Farm for her book club. She hadn’t read it before, maybe because she’s from Poland. (Animal Farm is the allegorical tale of the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union as told through the lives of talking farm animals in England. Written by George Orwell and published in 1945. The whole book is online and free here.) I have read this book probably 20 times. I taught this book Read more [...]