@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:
Good friend “Teacher Nicole” from WI explains common in #commoncore
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 20 hours ago
Here’s her post on CCSS, as an actual educator for ELL/ESL students. We’ve interviewed her on At the Chalk Face, I need to dig those up. Look back here later. She’s great. Tagged: at the chalk face, common core, nicole, WI
education activists gather, talk, strategize: reclaim the conversation
Barbara Madeloni at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 21 hours ago
On May 4, 2013 a group of educators, parents, students, and community activists gathered at Barnard College to share their experiences within the assault on public education, draw connections of understanding, strengthen ties, and plan actions. One of our first actions was to create the video linked below. In it organizers and participants talk about […]
Did Arne Duncan Give “Reformers” Enough Rope to Hang Themselves?
John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 21 hours ago
The Huffington Post’s Joy Resmovits reports that Secretary of Education Duncan announced a voluntary pause in using test scores in teacher evaluations during the transition to Common Core. She explains that the new policy is seen by some as a “tacit recognition of the Obama administration’s overreach into nitty-gritty management of America’s schools.” Of course, I […]
At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd, 6PM EST
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
At the Chalk Face is back, this Sunday, June 23rd at 6PM EST. Educated educators talking education, this time on the recent NCTQ report on teacher preparation. Remember, we are at the helm in the BTR chatroom, live tweeting @thechalkface, and you can always call in to speak with us live, 805-727-7111. Tagged: at the […]
Does this qualify as “intimidation” from NCTQ? Watch out #highered and #teacherprep
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
I received an email message the other day from someone at NCTQ regarding an account I had of a meeting with them in 2011. In my first year as a faculty member, I decided to meet and speak with a number of education policy and advocacy organizations to see how folks in my position could get […]
A Letter to Educators Who Embrace the #commoncore
peggyrobertson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 day ago
Dear Educator Friends, While the common core may not be an issue for you, or your school, do know that for others it will be a major issue. And the problem is this, while the standards might work for you and your school, there are many standards in CC that do not work for many […]
Deborah Carter: The Reality of #Teaching
Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
Maryland Teacher and member of the Badass Teacher Association, Deborah Carter, summarizes the reasons she teaches. This week, a girl called me a bitch. A mom emailed the same day, demanding that her 11th grade son receive full credit for an assignment that did not come close to following the directions (and was turned in […]
#Occupylafayette, happening now, shaking my head
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
Parents, students, and educators occupied Lafayette ES in Chicago, slated for closure. This is a brilliant form of protest, everyone there should be applauded for their courage. This is quite a beautiful building in the picture. I cannot imagine what the city is planning to do with it. Below is an image from a friend […]
Chiefs for #butthurt?
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
I wanted to quickly follow-up with an image and a question based on Jim Horn’s post earlier today about Chiefs for Change. Sorry Jim, I had to do it. Chiefs, are you butthurt? It’s OK, you can tell us. Tagged: butthurt, Chiefs for Change, common core, Duncan, jim horn
Chiefs for Change Angered by Duncan’s Temporary Flirt with Sanity
Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
As pressure mounts from parents, students, educators, and admininstrators against high stakes testing and Common Core Corporate Standards, Team Obama has finally blinked. ED will offer a one year reprieve to those 37 states formerly bribed with RTTT money to adopt the CC and teacher eval based on Common Core national tests. Such a move […]
The End Might Be Near for Common Core
John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
Especially in the last few months, John Merrow has hit some tape-measure home runs. Merrow’s strike outs can be just as amazing. His last whiff is a doozy. Merrow tried to use some humor and experimental prose to criticize the recent trend where, supposedly, “the arrival of the Common Core apparently means the end of the […]
The End Might Be Near for Common Core
John Thompson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
Especially in the last few months, John Merrow has hit some tape-measure home runs. Merrow’s strike outs can be just as amazing. His last whiff, is a doozy. Merrow tried to use some humor and experimental prose to criticize the recent trend where, supposedly, “the arrival of the Common Core apparently means the end of […]
Chief Wonk tells a funny, interesting enough if it wasn’t also milquetoast
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
It’s this guy, Rotherham. Bellwether, or what have you. Some consulting firm. Some kind of professional love affair brewing between Duncan and Weingarten? M-haps. Although, I would have used the Tiffany version instead. Tagged: Duncan, rotherham, weingarten
Breaking Non-News! The Rise of Poverty and the Fall of the Middle Class Affect Schools
Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 2 days ago
The next time you see the world’s richest corporation, Exxon Mobil, trying to use school bashing to divert attention away from their obscene wealth, minimal tax rate, job export plan, and climate change denial positions, be reminded of the other facts that help us understand what may have contributed to our international test score positions–25th […]
Teaching in Dystopia: The Common Corpse
plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
Offred (June) in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale examines a subtle distinction about words: “We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it” (p. 56). In the dystopia of Gilead, Handmaids gradually and then fully conform to their status: “That is what we are now. The […]
Speaking more truth to Parent Revolution plutocrat power
rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
“The resolution by board member Steve Zimmer requires the district to independently verify the signatures and how they’re gathered by Parent Revolution, the group that helps to organize parents in efforts to take over schools. The district will also increase the amount and types of information available, such as an analysis of five years of […]
Using the Los Angeles school privatization pushers’ own propaganda against themselves
rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
“Several studies of Los Angeles schools showed substantial gains from class size reduction. One found that smaller classes increased reading scores by 9.5%, math scores by 13.9% and language scores by 14.5%, with double these gains for “high need” students. Two other controlled studies also show significant gains in Los Angeles, with effect sizes that […]
Robert Skeels Attends a pRev Meet and Greet
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
Reblogged from Diane Ravitch's blog: Robert Skeels attended a "meet and greet" sponsored by pRev (the organization formerly known as Parent Revolution). Read what he learned as he socialized with those who are prepared to close down 50 public schools in Los Angeles. Why? Well, firing people makes better schools. Or does it? We know […]
Barista Kids Aren’t Drinking the Kool-Aid
freetoteach at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
Parents of the Barista Kids in Montclair, New Jersey are Opting Out. Reported by teenage journalists who still know what education should look like. Here’s the petition. Pass it around. The petition states: We are parents and community members of Montclair, New Jersey. We write because we believe in Montclair’s identity as a community of intellect, […]
I’ve visited @NCTQ, we should all be underwhelmed #teacherprep
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
Paul Thomas and Jim Horn have already warned us about NCTQ and its thoroughly biased “advocacy.” There are some updated links in there, here’s a few more on the new report specifically: From NPR; NCTQ’s chief hypocrisy; And MSNBC. and the Wall Street Journal. Kind of a mixed bag here. I’m not sure if there’s […]
Microsoft No. 1–in Turning Over Data to NSA
Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 3 days ago
You might say that Gates got the ball rolling. From the PRISM slide show recently exposed (click to enlarge):
It makes me wonder why all the amateurs have come to education
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago
As promised, my latest at Huff Post Politics. Tagged: amateurs, education reform, huffington post politics
PAR NoT PARCC in New Jersey
freetoteach at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago
Looking to replace the test driven, evaluation and merit pay systems dreamed up by the psycho psychometricians, know-nothing politicians and hacks, who are funding and benefitting from this multi-billion dollar sorting complex and “metric based” profit scheme? I thought so, me too. Montclair, NJ is leading the way against the Common Core Standards in New […]
KIPP in Arkansas Gives “Whatever It Takes” New Meaning
Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago
Recent conversations with KIPP high school teachers reveals many cracks in KIPP’s Five Pillars. Apparently, KIPP’s Helena, AK high school has interpreted “whatever it takes” to include violating state laws for student transcripts and what can count as course credits. From The Inside Scoop Online: The Arkansas Department of Education has determined that the Helena-West […]
An excerpt of a new Huffington Post submission, the cult of amateurs
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago
I don’t know why, but some things I reserve for different audiences, perhaps to speak to a different cohort of people. But for the first time in about two months, I uploaded a new post to the Huffington Post. Hopefully it makes it through. If not, then I’ll post it here. But here’s an excerpt […]
Montclair, NJ Parents Fight to Maintain Integrity of Schools
Jim Horn at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 4 days ago
From Stan Karp: Montclair parents are pushing back against new Supt. Penny MacCormack’s “strategic plan,” which includes a proposal to implement quarterly “common assessments” in all district schools. MacCormack is a former assistant commissioner at NJDOE who was recruited from Connecticut by NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf to oversee implementation of the common core standards and […]
We’re #10, We’re #10 !
Chris Cerrone at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 5 days ago
Ah yes, the public likes lists. We like to quantify even the unmeasurable and know where we stand. Hence the annual ranking of school districts by a publication in the Buffalo area that no one ever reads, except when it publishes a list of “top school districts”. What a great marketing ploy. And it works. […]
#edweek finds Nirvana.
Timothy D. Slekar at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
A new piece of propaganda published by EdWeek and written by Crowe, Allen, and Coble begins with this assertion: Better-prepared teachers and greatly improved teacher-preparation programs are the essential ingredients of stronger academic outcomes for this nation’s K-12 students. It is then followed up with this evidence to support it. ?????????????????? That’s right. Nothing! It […]
News Reel No. 2, Senate HELP and #ESEA
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
Part two of our series. Tagged: ESEA, help, NCLB, reauthorization, senate
Creating Artificial Student Failure in New York @nysed @nysut
Kris Nielsen at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
New York Teacher, Jennifer Fatone, posted some pretty shocking information on the UOO Facebook site recently, along with her comments and a letter to Steven Katz, the Director of New York State Assessments. This is blatant. This is wrong. If there was any doubt that New York has an agenda to show failure in the […]
Accountability for the bottom, immunity at the top, incompetence all around
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
Bill Maher’s recent New Rule is somewhat applicable to our current moment in education reform. Watch it now, or later, and come back here. One of the chief problems in education right now involves the actual workforce: uninspired, supervised, scrutinized, unappreciated, and underpaid. But the individuals populating the bloated bureaucracies of public school systems are […]
@EdWeekComm once again provides valuable line space to the ignorant hordes #teacherprep #highered
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
Education Week is once again serving the interests, via its commentary section, of non-educators. This time, from some fly-by-night LLC called Teacher Preparation Analytics in DC. Judging by the amateurish nature of the website, I can’t say I’d really want their advice or their analytics, whatever those are. But the three founders and partners in this organization […]
Save LAUSD’s SRLDP Preschools for English Language Learners
rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
First published on solidaridad on June 15, 2013 Because we know that language learning doesn’t occur in one year or even in a few months, it’s over time.—Becky Palacios, Ph.D. The School Readiness Language Development Program (SRLDP) is an amazingly effective Pre-K program for English Language Leaners. This isn’t the first time that Broad and […]
Do Not Shake Hands with #commoncore
peggyrobertson at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 6 days ago
Some days it is terribly overwhelming to read the comments of despair and desperation from parents who are trying to figure out how to help their children who are suffering from severe anxiety after being told they will be retained due to failing the state test. Many of these children must take the test multiple […]
Merrow Is a Jolly Fellow (Not)
plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
I hate even to acknowledge John Merrow’s most recent venture into not having a clue, but his attempt at humor is yet more evidence that the evidence doesn’t matter: The Common Core and the End of the World In Merrow’s evidence-free world, all who question the Mighty Common Core are nothing more than end-of-the-world loonies. […]
Report Back from the Trigger Happy Parent Revolution’s “Meet and Greet” with teachers and social justice organizers
rdsathene * Robert D. Skeels at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
What troubles me is what you are doing with the millions you raise. You use it to sow dissension, to set parents against parents, parents against teachers, parents against principals. I don’t see this as productive or helpful. Schools function best when there is collaboration among teachers, parents, administrators, and students. Schools have a better […]
#highered needs some consistency in its #MOOC concerns. Please. #AAUP
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
We don’t really cover MOOCs here all that much. Perhaps we need to get on it. But I was cued into a post on the Chronicle over the AAUP’s concern with intellectual property rights and MOOCs. I like the AAUP. It’s a relatively strong organization that seems to be the last really supporting academic freedom, […]
@educationgadlfy reviews state science standards, but something’s missing #NGSS
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
For the record, a “gadfly” is an annoyance, right? Something that buzzes around, maybe a thorn in the side or a stick in the craw? But this gadfly is the status quo, let’s be clear. Nothing revolutionary coming out of Fordham these days. Nothing subversive. All right. They gave the new Next Generation Science Standards […]
The Lies that Won’t Die (Despite the Evidence)
plthomasedd at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
To embrace the claims and policies of the education reform movement requires ignoring a tremendous amount of evidence to the contrary. The education reform narrative goes something like this: Education is the one true way to overcome all of society’s ills, but our schools are failing, and thus we must take the standards-and-testing accountability reform […]
Thoughts on a teacher in a Catholic school fired for being a domestic abuse victim?
Chalk Face, PhD at @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER - 1 week ago
I’m torn on this issue. Unfair, dispassionate, and further stigmatizes domestic abuse survivors/victims. However, this could definitely be a safety issue for students at the school. Perhaps she could be put on paid leave until this blows over, maternity leave, some kind of leave. Sick leave? But outright termination seems unreasonable. Tagged: catholic, domestic […]