The Day I Was Terminated
A few years ago, when I began speaking candidly about the destructive policies that are now called “education reform,” I had the comfort of knowing that no one could punish me. I didn’t want a job, I didn’t want a political appointment, and I didn’t want a foundation grant. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I [...]
The Textbooks in Voucher Academies
There are now three states in which vouchers enable students to bring public funding to religious schools: Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana. Some of these schools will be evangelical schools that use Christian textbooks written specifically for this market, as well as for home-schoolers. The list of schools approved to receive voucher students in Louisiana includes [...]
To Fire or Not? They Report; You Decide
A very interesting, long article in the Washington Post demonstrates how hard it is to determine whether a teacher “deserves” to be fired and raises important questions about teacher tenure. I often point out that tenure in K-12 education is different from tenure in higher education. In higher education, a tenured professor has a job [...]
Some Sure-Fire Ways to Beat the Bracelet
Here are some creative ideas about how to beat the wireless sensor that will be embedded in every child’s galvanic response skin bracelet, if Clemson’s studies come to fruition. Bear in mind that the teacher will be evaluated in relation to the children’s level of excitement, engagement, and anxiety. Are they alert? Are they aware? [...]
Why We Should Care About Galvanic Response Skin Bracelets
A few days ago, I learned from Leonie Haimson who learned from Susan Ohanian about a grant from the Gates Foundation to Clemson University to conduct research into the uses of a “galvanic skin response” bracelet. This is a wireless sensor that tracks physiological reactions. What made this grant of special interest was that it [...]
A Teacher’s Advice for Bill and Melinda Gates
Let’s assume that Bill and Melinda Gates really want to improve the teaching profession. Let’s assume that they have no idea about the negative effects of their current agenda. Let’s assume they want to do what is best for teachers and students and American education. Certainly, they are not in it for the money; they [...]
This Teacher Knows How to Game the GRS Bracelet
This teacher sent a comment; he or she has figured it out. If the galvanic response skin bracelet will give teachers a high effectiveness rating when students are excited, there is an easy way to game the system and fool the bracelet: Can this galvanic contraption distinguish between different types of excitement? Sometimes a beautiful [...]
Do Not Accept the New Normal
Since No Child Left Behind began its reign of error a decade ago, the American public has slowly but surely changed its understanding and expectations of schools. We have come to think that every school must “make” every student proficient, and if it cannot, then the school is a “failing” school. We have come to [...]
This Teacher Asks a Good Question
I received a comment from a teacher of children with high needs. The teacher writes about the challenges she or he faces every single day and the small victories achieved when a child is able to understand expectations or accomplish a limited task. Yet no matter how demanding the job, the teacher will be judged [...]
A Flaw in the Galvanic Response Skin Bracelet
A reader writes: What grabbed me was this part: “electrodermal activity that grows higher during states such as excitement, attention or anxiety and lower during states such as boredom or relaxation.” So, this means that they can’t tell the difference between excitement, attention and anxiety? So all you have to do is keep a class [...]
More about Our Brave New World
Yesterday I posted a blog about the Gates Foundation funding research at Clemson University for something called Galvanic Response Skin bracelets. The project will enable researchers at Clemson to work with researchers in the Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project to measure student engagement physiologically. MET is the Gates program to identify the most [...]
A Teacher Talks About Reality
In response to my blog about the latest Voucher Follies, this teacher wrote as follows: There’s this little thing about miracles. They are miraculous. Now, don’t tell me. I know. That’s saying the same thing. The thing is, miracles are not normal. They are the stuff that converts normal humans into saints. Saints are rare, [...]