Tennessee Using SAT-10 In 85 Percent of K-2 Classrooms for Teacher Evaluation Purposes
That’s right–high stakes testing is not just for kids who can read and count anymore. Commissioner (M. Rhee’s ex) Huffman is leading an effort to make sure that children in 117 of its 137 districts are provided funding to fully test before the onset of literacy. Had Huffman ever had a course in child […]
My Common Core Compromise | the becoming radical
My Common Core Compromise | the becoming radical.
Courtesy Ceresta Smith, some intelligence flickers at #NEARA13 #optout
Here’s the full text of NBI 24 passed at the NEA RA in Atlanta on supporting parents who decide to opt their children out of standardized testing: NEW BUSINESS ITEM 24 Adopted as amended NEA shall support the rights of parents/guardians to collaborate with teachers in determining appropriate options for assessment of student proficiency if […]
TURN (Teachers Union Reform Network): Agents and Collaborators
The Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN) has been around since 1996, and Adam Urbanski has been running it since the beginning. As the earlier post indicated, TURN received a huge infusion of Eli Broad cash in 2001 to “develop a model collective bargaining agreement oriented toward quality teaching rather than work rules and grievances.” Urbanski […]
Beyond a seat at the table: FOOD FIGHT!!
Teacher union members have been asking for our national and state associations to stand up for our profession as they have capitulated on policies such as teacher evaluations using test scores and cheerleading for the Common Core. Some union leaders have expressed the importance of compromise and negotiation in the political world touting they have […]
The Dog, The Chipmunk and The RACE
Every day for the past few weeks, our dog has had an ongoing contest with a chipmunk. The contest goes something like this: The dog sits at the door, watching and waiting patiently. He studies the chipmunk. He tracks the movements of the chipmunk. When we realize that he’s just about had it, we open […]
The Foolish Bureaucracy of Education Reform
Any fool can make a rule And any fool will mind it. Henry David Thoreau, Journals, February 3, 1860 Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves. Henry David Thoreau, Journals, 1847 The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer. James Baldwin, “Report from […]
More episodes of schooling in a not so “post-racial” America
Imagine the impact if Obama spoke out emphatically against racism in other aspects of U.S. society. Unfortunately, all too often, Obama and others in the Black elite, along with liberals in the Democratic Party, avoid discussing race and racism, even when it is evident and obvious. — Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Neither of these items are breaking […]
7-4-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: NYSED Commish Declares Independence from his own policies.Normally I would subscribe to the idea that the children of public figures , such as politicians, bureaucrats, and celebrities, should be off limits for discussion. I make a strong exception for those in power who advocate policy for “other people’s children” that do not apply to their own. President