Mike McMahon former Alameda School Board Trustee

09/24/2022

The introduction of technology into the classroom is not without its drawbacks.

An 8-year-old’s YouTube snafu—and one unlikely parent activist—sparked a nationwide debate on the tech giant’s ubiquity and handling of children’s data.

03/20/2022

Interesting article.

Bullying can make kids' lives a misery and cause lifelong health problems – but scientists are discovering powerful ways to fight it.

03/06/2022

Back in the day (2004ish), when AUSD was looking at a facilities bond, one of my conditions was to ensure there was one computer in every classroom for teachers. The 21st century requires interaction with technology during classroom instruction. Here is an example how technology can improve learning outcomes for one of the most critical skills.

Take a first look at Reading Coach, a free new tool that that lets students practice reading out loud using personalized feedback. Reading Coach is coming t...

09/11/2021

21st public education reimagined.

We’ve spent 130 years indoctrinating kids with the same structure. Now, as some of us enter a post-lockdown world, I’d like to propose a useful (though some might say radical) way to re…

07/20/2021

There needs to be a different way.

How accurate is grading? Some teachers are pushing back on counting points for behavior and they’re finding better, more equitable ways to assess learning. By changing grading practices, their teaching is evolving as well.

07/19/2021

We can do better. https://fs.blog/2021/07/mathematicians-lament/

07/13/2021

Critical race theory is not anti-patriotic,” she recently told CNN. “In fact, it is more patriotic than those who are opposed to it — because we believe in the 13th and the 14th and the 15th Amendments. We believe in the promises of equality. And we know we can’t get there if we can’t confront and talk honestly about inequality.

Sharif El-Mekki CEO & Founder, The Center for Black Educator Development “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” -Sometimes attributed to Winston Churchill “History is temporaril…

06/17/2021

Interesting idea. https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-the-time-has-come-to-stop-assigning-letter-and-number-grades/

05/07/2021

A constant tug of war

Here’s video and a recap of yesterday’s debate about the public versus parents on who should decide if a school is good – and how. It’s not a straightforward set of question…

04/30/2021

While I appreciate the idea of providing early children education, I have two concerns based on prior school board member experience. First, careful for what you wish when the Federal government is involved in local education issues. Second, funding can disappear and then what. I would point you to the Federal government involvement in Free and Appropriate Education where Special Education was created on the Federal government. The promise was to provide 40% of the total cost and has never come close to breaking 20%.

04/28/2021

It is really hard to change the systems in schools because parents rely on their past experience to judge the recommended changes to improve outcomes.

Years ago Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Bud Spillane had a plan to collapse early grades K-2 into an ability group approach. He went around the Virginia county explaining the approac…

04/19/2021

Hopefully the beginning to end for all standardized testing.

As more colleges adopt test-optional or test-blind admissions policies, that’s something to celebrate.