About the BellaOnline School Reform Editor
Maeve Maddox

School Reform
My experience with schools and school reform spans more than fifty years, from my own school days, to my experience as a classroom teacher at every level from pre-school to university, in the United States and abroad.

I’ve seen reforms and innovations come and go, helping some children and hindering others. I’ve seen expensive materials and machines adopted with great expectations and at great expense, only to be relegated to a dusty storeroom within a few years.

The "need for school reform" is an evergreen topic in the United States. Parents need to be informed about it, but they cannot trust their children’s intellectual or moral development to it. Little children grow up faster than effective reforms can be implemented. The objectives of politicians and professional educators change from one election cycle to the next. Their goals may or may not be the same as those of individual parents. For that reason, parents need to take the lead in their children´s education.

When it comes to the crunch, parents are the only reliable "school reformers."

My goal on the School Reform site is twofold:
1. Report and comment on educational innovations and controversies in the news;
2. Provide guidelines for parents who want to monitor their children’s school progress in terms of specific grade level achievement.

In addition to serving as School Reform Editor at BellaOnline, I write about literacy and offer teaching tips at American English Doctor. I´m a long-time contributor to the international language blog DailyWritingTips, where you can find about 1,000 of my posts in the archives. These days, I comment on popular culture and language in the media at my author´s site.

My nonfiction publications include the following:
100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid (a slim style guide for busy bloggers)
So You Want to Write (a guide for writers just starting out)
Word Rage (a collection of essays about usage and how to deal with language bullies)
A Joan for All Seasons (a film guide to six movies about Joan of Arc)

All are available at Amazon.

Professional credentials:
B.A., English and Journalism, Oklahoma City University
B.A. (Honours), English, University of London (England)
M.A., Ph.D., Comparative Literature, University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)

NOTE: In case anyone wishes to verify my academic credentials, I need to say that they, and my academic publications, are in the name Margaret Joan Maddox. "Maeve Maddox" is the pen name I chose when I first began to write online back in 2007. My family and oldest friends still know me as "Peggy." I have so many names that nowadays, I answer to just about anything.

I live in Northwest Arkansas with two cats and a dog. My grown children live nearby. When I’m not writing or reading, I’m gardening, playing with my critters, volunteering in the community, or spending time with family and friends.







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