An article written by Jack Jennings, published in The Clarion "I wonder what became of the other folks?" was a comment from one of the first people to read "Girlie," a play that I finished writing in October. Elly, Tommie, Birch, Mrs. Herrity, and Mrs. Sweeney are...
Whether to run off with her lover or stay in a difficult but comfortable marriage is the question facing the heroine of this two-act play written by Jack Jennings. The script for the stageplay Girlie is downloadable, below. Also, "Girlie", an article written by Jack...
Ser anciano es ser más débil, un recuerdo que el carácter de una persona, ni fuerza ni belleza, es la cosa más importante. Ser anciano es conocer la muerte, por lo tanto el tiempo pasado con los seres amados es precioso. Ser anciano es sufrir el dolor física y...
To be old is to be physically weaker, a reminder that a person’s true character, not strength or beauty, is what counts. To be old is to be familiar with death, showing the value of spending time with loved ones. To be old is to suffer pain both physical and...
Many children’s education will be jeopardized, the rich will pay less in taxes, and political revenge will be reaped. The new congressional tax bill is a disaster waiting to happen.
Tolerance of other points of view and respect for others as fellow citizens must be a conscious goal.
If the U.S. were to value education as much as military activities, the schools would be better funded.
In this interview, Jack Jennings comments on the new U.S. Secretary of Education and the national role in education.
Unfortunately, equitable funding is not going to happen.
The United States has a great strength: people in our country understand the languages of nearly every nation in the world. Large scale immigration--almost 30 million people during the past three decades--has brought us that advantage. The ability to speak other...
By 2014, every child should be proficient in reading/English language arts and mathematics. In so many words, this noble purpose was established in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as the Nation's guiding principle for improving public education. But,...
Ideas matter. In education, an under-appreciated but powerful example of the impact of ideas can be found in the influence of Ayn Rand, a Russian-American novelist and polemicist who died in 1982. In Rand's case, her ideas have helped to shape an environment where the...
Many states have reformed their teacher evaluation systems to hold public school teachers accountable for the academic achievement of their students. The hope is that if teachers are measured by the improvement -- or lack thereof -- in their students' achievement,...
"To prepare all citizens to become responsible members of a democratic society" "To develop socialization and citizenship skills in children" "Preparing students for responsible, productive citizenship and imbuing them with values common to one democratic society"...
Mitt Romney has pledged that if elected president he will enact a voucher program that would allow parents of low-income and special needs students "to choose from any district or public charter school, or a private school where permitted by state law." This position...
American schools are not as good as they need to be, according to President Obama, the Republican presidential candidates, business leaders, and many others. It has not been for want of trying to improve education, so the problem must be the way we have gone about it....
Amid the intense debates about how much progress the nation has made in raising student achievement and whether federal investments in education have produced results, one important trend tends to be overlooked -- namely, the notable gains made by African American and...
March is national reading month -- and a good time to focus on some rather bleak news about the reading gap between boys and girls. From elementary through high school, males are reading at lower levels than females. This doesn't bode well for future job opportunities...
Last fall on the campaign trail, Mike Lee, Utah's new Tea-Party-backed senator, boldly asserted that: "...Congress has no business regulating our nation's public education system, and has created problems whenever it has attempted to do so." Other Tea Party candidates...