Pearblossom Education

“There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction – even suspicion – among the public about the role colleges play in society, from admissions processes to the way free speech is constrained on college campuses.” -Pew Research, 2019 As Harvard University publicly reveals that they are scaling back on participating in political stances, educational professionals are having discussions of what needs reforming in the education world. Recently, a board of eight chairmen at Harvard issued a Report on Institutional Voice in the University to address the controversial statement of political involvement. The recent jihad between Israel and Palestine has forced civilians at American Universities to grab their poster boards and start marching, rooting for either side in a frenzy that has destroyed intersection traffic, graduations, and business propositions.   According to the report, Harvard "is not a government, tasked with engaging the full range of foreign and domestic policy issues, an...

Have you ever heard that saying, "You can trust the nurse more than the doctor?"  When I started my tenure as a teacher, it started as a campus monitor at an elementary school. Fixing cafeteria food, handing out trays, picking up oranges off of the floor. I spent half of my day teaching phonics and math to little ones in makeshift learning areas (try the old music room, the performance stage, even the outdoor benches in the sunshine) because our schools were getting overcrowded and we didn't have space for resource teaching. I'd arrange books in the library, assist children with behaviors, or help with any task. In the K-12 teaching world, nothing sounds too crazy... During instructional time, aids and assistants are usually inside the classroom helping with instruction and one-on-one tutoring. Other times, they are heading small resource groups since the academic gaps have widened in the last couple of decades. During the lunch and recess hours, support staff are the...

"In July of 2023, Washington D.C. passed a bill to cut nearly $64 billion from educational funding." With lower attendance projections and not enough money, “the bill reduces U.S. Department of Education funding to its lowest levels since 2006. These cuts affect both K-12 education and higher education funding, making cuts to federally funded education programs across the board, and certain programs would be totally eliminated as a result” (TexasAft). And here we are, nearly a year later- reaping the consequences. As our school year comes to an end, as do many people’s jobs as districts prepare for enormous budget cuts. Dave Miller from Think Out Loud states that “difficulties mainly stem from inadequate state funding for K-12 public school districts, especially considering inflation and state requirements. Other factors include fewer enrolled students due, in part, to lower birth rates, pensions that need to be paid without allocated funds, higher student needs, and the end ...