Another Strong Contender in Teacher Survivor
Who do you think should be required to teach? We are watching the entries in the teacher survivor contest, and here is another strong contender:
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Is CNN Shilling for ALEC?
A reader wrote this morning to complain about a biased and ill-informed CNN program.
Teachers, parents: When you see shows like this, call the network’s 800 number and tell them you want to complain. Be specific. Next time Rhee is on a program complaining about the “failure” of U.S. schools, tell the network to ask about the cheating scandals in D.C. and the achievement gaps in D.C.
They take notes. If they get hundred of calls, they listen:
Teachers, parents: When you see shows like this, call the network’s 800 number and tell them you want to complain. Be specific. Next time Rhee is on a program complaining about the “failure” of U.S. schools, tell the network to ask about the cheating scandals in D.C. and the achievement gaps in D.C.
They take notes. If they get hundred of calls, they listen:
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Is This a Winner in Teacher Survivor Contest?
The contest: Nominate someone who should be a teacher and see what it is like. Here is a strong contender:
I would nominate my superintendent. He would have to teach according to his allotment of minutes per subject area that he sends out every September. The only problem with his schedule is that it allows no time for snack, transitioning between subjects/ specials, sharing, and sometimes just having fun (I should whisper that last word: fun left the curriculum years ago). I currently teach second grade. One kid coming in upset or eager to
I would nominate my superintendent. He would have to teach according to his allotment of minutes per subject area that he sends out every September. The only problem with his schedule is that it allows no time for snack, transitioning between subjects/ specials, sharing, and sometimes just having fun (I should whisper that last word: fun left the curriculum years ago). I currently teach second grade. One kid coming in upset or eager to
Teacher Survivor Contest: Rural Edition
Earlier today, I suggested a “teacher survivor contest” and invited readers to propose candidates to teach, as well as the rules of the competition. A reader suggests that teaching in an urban classroom is no more challenging than teaching in a rural classroom. I did not specify teaching either in an urban or a rural setting. She proposes a rural edition of the contest:
I’d like to see the contest as the RURAL edition. Bill Gates and the Waltons assigned as the teacher in a 1 or 2 room school, teaching from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, 4 days a week with students in grades K-8. Lunch is a brown-bagger with students. There is a morning nutrition break, which the teacher must prepare, serve, and clean-Science As Taught in Some of Bobby Jindal’s Voucher SchoolsSome of the schools getting voucher students–not all, but a significant number–use textbooks that teach creationism. Jonathan Pelto posted what is found in a science textbook used to teach creationist “science”:
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Is Compromise Possible? Wise?
Nancy Flanagan was a music teacher for thirty years in Michigan and a National Board Certified Teacher. She writes a smart blog at Education Week called “Teacher in a Strange Land,” which is an apt title for the disjointed and bizarre times we live in. Her perspective is rooted in her deep experience. I always learn something new when I read her posts.
Her current post is called “Sleeping with the Enemy.” She asks why can’t we all just get along? Can the lion and the lamb lie down together? She offers James Carville and Mary Matalin as a case in point. It can happen.
And she writes about the pent-up anger among so many teachers, who don’t understand why they are treated so abusively in the media and by the policymakers who have never taught a day or maybe taught for a few months
Her current post is called “Sleeping with the Enemy.” She asks why can’t we all just get along? Can the lion and the lamb lie down together? She offers James Carville and Mary Matalin as a case in point. It can happen.
And she writes about the pent-up anger among so many teachers, who don’t understand why they are treated so abusively in the media and by the policymakers who have never taught a day or maybe taught for a few months
Who Cares about Privacy Rights?
Sheila Kaplan’s organization “Education New York & Information Policy Watch” is zealously devoted to protecting the privacy rights of students.
In response to a post about whether the U.S. Department of Education was overreaching with the latest expansion of its regulatory power, she sent the following comment:
What is this about? The U.S. Department of Education unilaterally rewrote the regulations governing the release
In response to a post about whether the U.S. Department of Education was overreaching with the latest expansion of its regulatory power, she sent the following comment:
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Bobby Jindal vs. Science
Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, knows a good bit about science. He was a biology major at Brown University, one of the nation’s finest universities, and a Rhodes Scholar.
An excellent article in Slate explains how Jindal has sacrificed the principles of science for political expediency.
As the author notes, “…in his rise to prominence in Louisiana, he made a bargain with the religious right and compromised science and science education for the children of his state. In fact, Jindal’s actions at one point
An excellent article in Slate explains how Jindal has sacrificed the principles of science for political expediency.
As the author notes, “…in his rise to prominence in Louisiana, he made a bargain with the religious right and compromised science and science education for the children of his state. In fact, Jindal’s actions at one point
A Better Way to Improve Schools
Our education leaders are in love with ideas that are proven not to work and they ignore evidence that their preferred strategies don’t work.
After a decade of No Child Left Behind, Congress won’t admit that it failed. There are still many millions of children left behind–not “no child”–yet Congress can’t bring itself to ditch its failed program.
Every day brings new evidence that the policies of Race to the Top are hardly different from those of NCLB. They rely on the same strategies of testing, punishment, and choice, with an added dollop of privatization. Why is a
After a decade of No Child Left Behind, Congress won’t admit that it failed. There are still many millions of children left behind–not “no child”–yet Congress can’t bring itself to ditch its failed program.
Every day brings new evidence that the policies of Race to the Top are hardly different from those of NCLB. They rely on the same strategies of testing, punishment, and choice, with an added dollop of privatization. Why is a
This is What People Will Say in 20 Years, I Predict.
When we look back 100 years, or even 50 years, we can see things that people did that seem bizarre to our modern eyes.
How could they have done that? That’s so cruel, that’s so inhumane, that’s so barbaric!
The thought occurred when a friend sent this article from the archives of the New York Times about a plan to “electrify” a classroom for children with special needs (they did not use such a polite term in 1912).
What were they thinking? How could they have thought of these children as lesser human beings, as subjects
How could they have done that? That’s so cruel, that’s so inhumane, that’s so barbaric!
The thought occurred when a friend sent this article from the archives of the New York Times about a plan to “electrify” a classroom for children with special needs (they did not use such a polite term in 1912).
What were they thinking? How could they have thought of these children as lesser human beings, as subjects
A New Contest: Teacher Survivor!
A comment by a reader suggests a new contest. Who would you like to see assigned to teach for a year and under what conditions? What are the terms of the contest and how would you determine the winner?
Put your thinking caps on. The contest lasts for 24 hours only and may be shortened or extended by the decision of the judge (me).
Ready, set, go!
Sounds like a good show but I’d prefer to watch “Survivor Inner City Edition” where in September they put ed reformers like Gates, Broad, various politicians and members of the Walton family in a city like say Newark with
Put your thinking caps on. The contest lasts for 24 hours only and may be shortened or extended by the decision of the judge (me).
Ready, set, go!
Sounds like a good show but I’d prefer to watch “Survivor Inner City Edition” where in September they put ed reformers like Gates, Broad, various politicians and members of the Walton family in a city like say Newark with
