Alan Lawrence Sitomer » America

I just got a message from Arne Duncan.

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:00:35 +0000

I just got a message from Arne Duncan. An email actually. Here’s what he sent to me:

As our nation observes Teacher Appreciation Week, I am pleased to send this message to recent Teachers of the Year, to make sure

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The 20 Best Prep Schools in America

Alan Sitomer — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:00:22 +0000

Here’s an article on the 20 Best Prep Schools in America, as decided by Forbes (I assume. It’s their article.)

Here’s what they say about #1…

The top prep school in the U.S. is the Trinity School, located on the

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Why I wrote my book The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

Alan Sitomer — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:30:18 +0000

Why I wrote The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

After Homeboyz came out my career ascended to a whole new height. The popularity of the title mixed with the accolades mixed with the attention and awards moved me up “to…

Why I wrote my book HOMEBOYZ

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:30:01 +0000

Why I wrote Homeboyz…

As many know, I am an inner-city high school teacher in Los Angeles at Lynwood High. It goes without saying that I love my kids and love being an English teacher but Los Angeles is a…

My Question About National Standards

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:10:59 +0000

One question that has longed bothered me about all of the conversation regarding having one set of national standards for all American schoolchildren is, “If we are going to have standards at all, why should these standards be different from…

Measuring teacher effectiveness: Day 4

Alan Sitomer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:30:12 +0000

Okay, so for the past few days I have offered up a perspective on measuring teacher effectiveness, devising a matrix that would include…

* student test scores
* peer evaluations
* administrative evaluations
* student

…

If we can put a man on the moon, we can certainly measure teacher effectiveness.

Alan Sitomer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:30:28 +0000

Think about the immense accomplishment of safely putting a human being on the moon and then returning that person back home to planet earth. Truly, it’s almost unreal when you think about the size and scope of the achievement… and…

Dr. Seuss is my Homeboy!

Alan Sitomer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:30:26 +0000

Tuesday was Read Across America day, chosen as such because it’s the birthday of Dr. Seuss (who, btw, is probably one of the most influential authors to shape my own writing life).

Me, I read all of my classes GREEN…

Don’t say “We never told ya so.”

Alan Sitomer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:30:24 +0000

We all know that bringing in young, energetic, enthusiastic teachers is critical to the success of American public education – especially in the future. Why? Because the law of nature dictates that nurturing youthful seeds is the way to eventually…

Gettin’ Spit On… More Thoughts on Being on the Wrong End of a Loogey

Alan Sitomer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:30:52 +0000

I don’t want to shine a light on what is wrong with our school. It’s just too damn easy — and so many people, from the federal government and NCLB to the local politicians to the news media and…