Thank you, loyal readers, but this may be the end of Gadfly on the Wall. Readership has fallen off to such a degree that I’m just not sure it’s worth continuing anymore. That combined with increasing difficulties in my own life have made me truly question whether I should (or can) go on with it. Don’t get me wrong. I will truly cherish every moment writing these articles, fighting for what I (still) think needs to happen in public education so that our children can be fairly treated and succeed. There is so much I think most people don’t know about what happens in our schools and what co ..read more

Most student-athletes seem to think that they’ll go pro some day. However, fewer than 2% of student-athletes go on to become professional athletes, according to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). McKeesport Area School District (MASD) put the needs of students first this week when it postponed the Varsity and Junior Varsity Boys Basketball game because too many district players were ineligible. Student-athletes are required to earn a passing grade in at least 4 different classes, not counting gym, in order to qualify at the western Pennsylvania school district. The gam ..read more

Whom do you trust?     So much in life comes down to that simple question.  When two groups disagree, which one do you believe?  If it’s a matter of fact, you can look at the raw information yourself and come to your own conclusions. But often the matter under discussion is so complicated and the field so rarefied that you can’t hope to make a rational decision alone.   So we appeal to the experts.     In education, the experts are basically classroom teachers and standardized testing companies. Sure there are students who experience all of their own ..read more

  Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, welcome to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Keystone Exam Circus!    Here you will see children of 14 to 18-years-old perform death defying stunts just in order to graduate!    They’ll jump through the flaming hoop of the Algebra I Exam!    They’ll hop through the spiked hoop of the Literature Exam!    And they’ll even bound through the nitroglycerine filled hoop of the Biology Exam!    All this just so they can qualify for a diploma they’ve already earned by passing 12 years or more o ..read more

      “Mr. Singer, do you know what foot finder is?”    “No,” I said to the 5th grade girl in the class where I was substitute teaching.     Her friends and her giggled through an explanation of the Website where people post pictures of their feet for sexual gratification.     ***    Several days later, I tried to play a video on ancient Rome for my students, but before it even began the 8th grade class burst into laughter over the station identification.    The video was produced by the British Broadcasting Company ..read more

It gives me no joy to write this, but McKeesport Area School District (MASD) is a raging dumpster fire. School directors reneged on a teachers contract. Their business manager ran for the hills. And at the last board meeting two school directors had their dirty laundry aired during public comments prompting one to call a White Oak Councilperson a homophobic slur. Our finances have been given over to an accounting firm paid for by Dick’s Sporting Goods. An $86 million district budget (2023-24) at the mercy of the place where you go to buy new sneakers and fishing tackle. This is pretty low ..read more

No one wants to be the disciplinarian. Not at the expense of being a teacher. Often you need to do the one so you can do the other. After all, it’s difficult to teach a class that can’t listen or sit or refrain from arguing. But that’s the role men are often given in the field of public education. We’re the disciplinarians – especially of male students. We’re consistently given more students with perceived behavioral issues, with more histories of suspensions, and we’re given less administrative support than female teachers. It’s not fair at all. Many of these kids are suffering from ..read more

      At the end of the school year, I like to show my 8th grade students the movie “Freedom Writers.”    It’s a good culminating film for the class because many of the subjects and texts we read are mentioned by the characters – “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the civil rights movement, journal writing, etc.     It reinforces the relationship between historical narratives and the fight for human rights as well as underlines the importance of raising your own voice.    However, it is also a movie that has come under fire for ..read more

It’s hard not to wonder about things in my new basement classroom. I kill what bugs I can, wipe away the damp from the desks and try to think over the rattling hum of the ancient overhead heating and cooling system. The room is about 1/3 smaller than the space I had last year and the class size is about that much larger. I smile for a moment remembering that after nearly a decade of litigation, Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court ruled in February that our school funding system violates the constitutional rights of students in poorer school districts like where I teach. The deadline to ch ..read more

Last week I discovered that an important part of my neighborhood school is gone – the library. My daughter and I were taking a tour of my old alma mater, McKeesport Area High School, when I noticed the huge empty space where all the books used to be. “What happened to the library?” I asked the guidance counselor who was showing us where my daughter’s classes would be this year. Nowhere. Turns out it’s closed – for good. The school board eliminated its last two librarian positions in 2018 to save money. Even then these had been itinerant librarians who jumped between buildings keeping the ..read more