UPDATE: GUEST POST: Nipping Dissent + ANNOUNCEMENT: At the Chalk Face and Schools Matter to join forces – @ the chalk face

ANNOUNCEMENT: At the Chalk Face and Schools Matter to join forces – @ the chalk face:

GUEST POST: Nipping Dissent, By Edwin Mayorga and Julie Gorlewski

by plthomasedd

Nipping Dissent: The Hollow Centrality of Neoliberal Democracy and Multiculturalism
By Edwin Mayorga and Julie Gorlewski (with support from reclaimAERA)

“I am weary of the abuse of social media by writers hurling anonymous, venomous insults—a practice that encourages the general retreat to intellectual neighborhoods. Our work and our interactions with one another should model productive conversation about the nature of education, schooling, and reform. The conference gives us an opportunity to demonstrate very publicly how thoughtful disagreements can take place. I hope that in the invited addresses, the presidential sessions, the myriad papers, roundtables, and posters, and in my own presidential address, we will challenge our own assumptions rather than simply reconfirm what we think we know.” – Bill Tierney, President of AERA

Recently, AERA President Bill Tierney sent a mass email to us, the members of AERA, calling on us to engage 

ANNOUNCEMENT: At the Chalk Face and Schools Matter to join forces

APRIL 19, 2013 BY CHALK FACE, PHD LEAVE A COMMENT

To our readers: vaunted education blog Schools Matter is joining At the Chalk Face. The transition is already underway, but will be completed for a Monday “release.” The website will be down for a time on Sunday in order to reorganize our content. We want to preserve the identities of both as we host them both from one place.

I want to thank everyone from Schools Matter for your willingness to consolidate our messages so that teachers, parents, students, and community members can find what they need to know about education reform, without mainstream media complacency, cough cough, Education Week, cough.

Sorry about that fit of sorts. In any case, things might get a little funny here and there as I test out some new functions. But we are very excited about this and thank you for your support.

Teacher/Parent conflicts: how do we resolve these?

by Chalk Face, PhD

Our special episode of At the Chalk Face with a NJ teacher/parent is rescheduled for this evening at 6PM EST.
Appropriately enough, I received an email from another teacher/parent with some frustrations that seem very difficult to resolve. How do other teachers who are also parents negotiate this minefield?
Here’s this teacher’s tale over a few emails that I am permitted to share. Although, identifying details have been removed.

I teach and am being forced to score exams.  My daughter took one and has Asperger’s.  The district is trying to force my compliance with signing a confidentiality agreement that wouldn’t allow me to discuss the exam with my child.  I am really irate and have taken it to the union, who is seeming to support me.
I am frustrated as a parent and a teacher.  By the way, my daughter attends my school.  I can’t 

A thought experiment on #homeschooling… #choice

by Chalk Face, PhD

What if we enacted “choice” for homeschool students and parents? That is, kids and parents could walk into any house they wanted, or join any family they wanted, to receive a “better” education.
I’ve often argued that homeschooling, while a viable option for some, is not for all, and we therefore need a free and equitable system of public education as one of the panoply of options. And public schools must be adequately funded so it is indeed a viable option.
But if a parent, for ideological reasons or perhaps religion, wanted to homeschool but couldn’t because they have