Yes, It Is OK to Teach Literature in English Class!
Kay McSpadden, a high school English teacher in York, S.C., was told by school officials that English classes would have to stop teaching literature due to the new Common Core standards. She knows that isn’t true, and David Coleman (“the architect of the Common Core standards”) has said it isn’t true. But the word reaching the field is that informational text is supposed to replace literature.
For no good reason, the Common Core standards decree that the balance between literature and informational text in elementary school should be 50-50, and in the upper grades it should be 70% informational text and 30% literature.
This is nutty on its face. First of all, the ratios have no rhyme or reason (oops, forget the reference to rhyme,
For no good reason, the Common Core standards decree that the balance between literature and informational text in elementary school should be 50-50, and in the upper grades it should be 70% informational text and 30% literature.
This is nutty on its face. First of all, the ratios have no rhyme or reason (oops, forget the reference to rhyme,
Florida Teacher: A Fruitless Pursuit of My VAM Rating
Please read the link in this comment. Kafkateach has been trying, again and again, to find out what her VAM score for 2011-2012 was. No one will tell her. No one knows. It is being calculated. It is being recalculated.
If it takes two years to find out what your evaluation score is, what value does VAM add?
Will someone be sure to let Arne Duncan and Bill Gates know?
She writes:
The new and improved teacher evaluations in my district have proven to be nonexistent. It’s March 12th 2013 and we still have yet to receive evaluations and our VAMs for the 2011-12 school year. The state, the district, and the union have been tossing around the stinking pile of value added bogosity like a hot potato. Nobody wants to
If it takes two years to find out what your evaluation score is, what value does VAM add?
Will someone be sure to let Arne Duncan and Bill Gates know?
She writes:
The new and improved teacher evaluations in my district have proven to be nonexistent. It’s March 12th 2013 and we still have yet to receive evaluations and our VAMs for the 2011-12 school year. The state, the district, and the union have been tossing around the stinking pile of value added bogosity like a hot potato. Nobody wants to
What Is the Evidence for Common Core?
When No Child Left Behind was passed, the law contained dozens of references to evidence-based policy or practice.
But NCLB itself was not based on evidence. It was based on a political campaign claim about a “miracle” in Texas. The miracle was spin and hype. It didn’t happen. After ten years of NCLB, the nation has not experienced a miracle. It has experienced cheating, narrowing of the curriculum, gaming the system, and amnesia about the
But NCLB itself was not based on evidence. It was based on a political campaign claim about a “miracle” in Texas. The miracle was spin and hype. It didn’t happen. After ten years of NCLB, the nation has not experienced a miracle. It has experienced cheating, narrowing of the curriculum, gaming the system, and amnesia about the
Teacher: Kopp Can’t Connect the Dots
A teacher in California heard Tavis Smiley and Cornel West interview Wendy Kopp, Jonathan Kozol, and me–in separate interviews–and this was her reaction. She wrote a post called “TFA can’t connect the dots.”
Here is a link to the interview with Kopp.
A link to the interview with me.
A link to the interview with Jonathan Kozol. I am not sure if this is the right link, as it is a panel discussion on poverty, not the 2:1 conversation found in the other links.
Here is a link to the interview with Kopp.
A link to the interview with me.
A link to the interview with Jonathan Kozol. I am not sure if this is the right link, as it is a panel discussion on poverty, not the 2:1 conversation found in the other links.
Providence Student Union to Adults: Take the Test
Members of the Providence Student Union persuaded at least 50 adults to take the high school graduation test this Saturday.
One who took it early was State Senator Gayle Goldin. She fears she didn’t do very
well.
This is a stellar example of creative student protest. No one was injured. They are making their point well and getting great media attention.
One who took it early was State Senator Gayle Goldin. She fears she didn’t do very
well.
This is a stellar example of creative student protest. No one was injured. They are making their point well and getting great media attention.
How Many Reformers Does It Take to Fix a School?
John J. Vial has written a hilarious spoof of school reform. You will enjoy reading it
Don’t miss Diane Ravitch next week! « The Progressive Pulse
Don’t miss Diane Ravitch next week! « The Progressive Pulse: Don’t miss Diane Ravitch next week! Post on March 13, 2013 by Rob SchofieldNo Comments [image: Diane Ravitch]America’s leading spokesperson for public education, Diane Ravitch, will be in Raleigh*next Thursday March 21* to headline an NC Policy Watch Crucial Conversation luncheon. Diane is, among other things, the author of several books including “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” a professor at NYU, a former Bush I administration official and a pro... more »
MORNING UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-14-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Big Data and Your Child by dianerav Here is a good account of the plans that Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch have for your child’s personal information. Hey, the data will generate a $20 billion industry. Not for you, of course. Leave a comment, if you are do inclined. Father Sends Email to State: DO NOT RELEASE MY CHILD’S DATA by dianerav Louisiana has agreed to turn over the confidential personal data of all its students to a corporation created by the Gates Foun... more »