Education, Math, and More with Mr. Allison

Years ago, my wife worked in a factory, where one of her jobs was to verify the hours on employee time cards in the part of the plant where she worked. She told me about a guy who consistently complained about his pay, claiming it wasn't enough to live on. He told her, "If they paid me more, I'd work harder." She tried, to no avail, to explain that his view was exactly opposite the way it actually works, that he would likely be paid more if he worked harder. Unfortunately, many like that guy exist pretty much anywhere you go.  There's an attitude analogous to that fellow's view in education. "If we had more money, we could provide a better education." I've always had a problem with this approach. I've always been of the mind that if we provide a better education, we'll have more money. Why? Because schools and districts that provide a quality education to those they serve will draw parents and students like sugar draws ants. Today, we hav...

This is the third and final post of a series to reveal the truth behind the movement to stop Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' monumental transformation of the Arkansas education system. The inappropriately named CAPES stands for Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students. A more fitting name would probably be CARES for Citizens Against Reforming Education for Students. My first two posts in this series described what the petition peddlers hope to achieve and what LEARNS seeks to achieve. This final post of the series will expose who is leading this charge to prevent reform of an education system that fails too many kids. ( Part I , Part II ) The Governor's LEARNS Act is a plan to overhaul a system that leaves almost two-thirds of third graders below grade level in reading. According to the most recent data available for the Arkansas School Report Cards, less than 42% of high school graduates enrolled in college the fall following their senior year. Of those, more than ...

If you read Part I of this series, you know the goal of the petitioners is to overturn Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' new education law called the LEARNS Act. Overturning LEARNS is an attempt to maintain the Arkansas public education system in its current form, a form that fails far too many students in our state. In this second part of this series, you'll learn what LEARNS is and why signing the petition is a bad deal. ( Part I , Part III ) Our goal is to mobilize citizen volunteers to overturn or veto the LEARNS Act ~ CAPES Website LEARNS is a sweeping, bold overhaul of Arkansas's public education system. In my 17 years as a teacher, I've suffered through several failed education reform efforts, including No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and Every Student Succeeds. All were long on promise and short on results. Many like to point the finger and blame teachers every time one of these reform efforts fails, but the truth is the vast majority of teachers want to see ...

If you are an Arkansas voter, you might have already been asked to sign a petition to “put LEARNS on the ballot.” If you haven’t been asked already, you likely will be soon. This is the first report in a three-part series to inform registered voters 1) what those peddling this petition hope to accomplish, 2) what LEARNS is and what Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders hopes to accomplish with its implementation, and 3) exactly who you are following if you do sign this petition. ( Part II , Part III ) Our goal is to mobilize citizen volunteers to overturn or veto the LEARNS Act ~ CAPES Website Before you place your signature on that petition (it seems odd there is no trace of the petition's text online), it is important to note that LEARNS is now law. What the petition actually seeks is to put the REMOVAL of LEARNS on the ballot. The folks circulating the petition and pushing this agenda are not asking for an opportunity to vote for LEARNS. They are looking for you to try to overturn LEA...

It's July 3rd. Next month Arkansas educators will return to school the Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' new LEARNS Act in place. The new law--a revolutionary overhaul of Arkansas's public education system--aims to guarantee access to a high quality education to every Arkansas student. Still, it is vehemently opposed by many Arkansas educators and the Arkansas Education Association (teacher's union.) NOTE: I used the Vilonia School District salary schedules and the distribution of education and experience among Vilonia School District certified staff to build and evaluate these models. Though this post is not to advise or make suggestions to the Vilonia School District administration. I just happen to work at Vilonia, and I'm familiar with where this information is located and how to access it. These models would need tweaking for any other district to achieve similar goals to what I describe here.  One of the biggest sources of LEARNS discontent I've heard from ...