Pass/fail was wrong in the spring, and it would also be wrong now

Note: A similar version of this blog post appeared in March. You can read it here. The argument that percolated in the spring semester is starting to gain traction again: Coronavirus has disrupted the semester to such a significant degree that final grades should be awarded as pass/fail. Nope. I accept the fall term has …

An open letter to families within the Mt. Lebanon School District

Hi everyone, Let's begin with the obvious: Roughly half of you are going to support the words you're about to read, and roughly half of you aren't. Roughly half of you will think I'm sane and rational, and roughly half of you will think I'm something else. The board of the Mt. Lebanon School District …

An open letter to Scott Galloway

Scott, Enough. Your peddling of doom -- and the worst example was your recent analysis suggesting that roughly 90 U.S. colleges and institutions could close because of coronavirus -- serves no one's interests. And that's especially true as we navigate through a pandemic with the Executive Branch having abandoned any pretense of leadership. Now, I …

K-12 online this year? Yes. Full stop.

If your community resembles the one in which I live, then you know there’s a fierce debate about whether the local K-12 school buildings should reopen next month to allow for in-person teaching. (Full disclosure: My younger son begins his junior year of high school in a few weeks; it’s for you to determine if …

What if the teachers bail?

The national conversation about whether K-12 schools should re-open next month or in September has principally focused on two items: the science about whether it's safe to re-open and the internal struggle many parents have as they choose what's best for their child(ren). Missing in that conversation: What happens if a whole lot of teachers, …

How will your fall classes be delivered?

A simple poll to close out the week.