As American Education Week comes to to an end I believe we are entering an era that requires drastic measures to ensure the success of America's school system. The results of the National Assessment of Education Progress released Thursday display the sames issues that emerge time and time again on other standardized tests. There is a substantial difference between the performance of whites and minorities, between middle class and poor. There are so many external factors affecting a students success. Read More →

Earlier today the Department of Education issued the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics National and Pilot State Results. School LockersToday's report suggests that high school seniors' achievement in reading and math isn't rising fast enough to prepare them to succeed in college and careers. Reading results have improved since 2005, but are still below the level of 1992. Math scores also show only incremental gains over four years ago. Read More →

The 89th Annual American Education Week-Nov. 14-20, presents all Americans with an opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring every child receives a quality education. My mother has always been a source of inspiration and I credit her for my interest and passion for quality education in America's schools. I can't think of a better way to honor educators than to highlight my mother's own contribution to public education. She has taught in the Virginia Public school system for 29 years. Read More →

Even when I was younger I was always questioning the process of everything. This habit led me to seek out and follow the process and those implementing the policies & procedures around me. Who were these people in charge? Whether in university leadership programs or professional associations I have taken an interest in the steering... Read More →

Leadership is about dealing with distractions and staying focused on what's most important. In your work and within your life, have the motivation to deliver with passion and execute with clarity. Read More →

Sometimes a case of writers block takes a change of scenery, a new journal and a nice pen to get my thoughts and ideas onto the paper. As you may have noticed, I write with a rational, cause-and-effect tone. This is me, this is how I write, but often I get stuck in this cause... Read More →

The blending of real world networking and online social networking can be the difference between getting your first interview and getting your first job. Read More →

As I headed to the Kennedy Center last night for a show, I began thinking about the preparation involved in stage production and what an immense undertaking it is. The behind the scenes work takes months to produce a seemingly effortless result; the performance. I was always taught that the trick to acting is to... Read More →

Welcome to the totally redesigned MikeToner.com! This is the third redesign I’ve been through. The first website I created back in June 2002 was a static iWeb site hosted via godaddy with a blog that was really hard to update. I was having to manually update blog posts to my site via FTP. This made... Read More →

I just finished reading “The Four Hour Work Week” By Tim Ferriss while on vacation with my girlfriend and best friends from home. Now -I don’t know whether or not it was necessarily because I was on vacation- but it was- that the entrepreneurial side of me came out in full force. Something about being on... Read More →