@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:
TODAY
NC Tea Party Taliban Requires Health Teachers to Lie to 7th Graders on Later Effects of Abortion
That’s right. The bill passed both legislative bodies and is now on the Governor’s desk, who is expected to sign it–even though he promised during his campaign that he would sign no new abortion legislation. SB 132, AN ACT TO INCLUDE INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM ON THE PREVENTABLE CAUSES OF PRETERM BIRTH, INCLUDING […]
YESTERDAY
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 […]
Full text of the UOO Declaration of Independence
On this holiday weekend, consider reading and sharing widely: IN OPPOSITION, July 4, 2013 The unanimous Declaration of the national United Opt Out, When in the course of educating a nation, it becomes necessary for its people to restrain the political and private powers which have obfuscated the fundamental mission of a public system of […]
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 […]
JUL 04
How AFT and NEA Became Partners of CorpEd
Coming to understand that NEA and AFT have been hijacked by corporate money and the insider machinations of corporate stooges is the first step in reclaiming teacher unions at the national level. As Susan Ohanian notes in comments at the end of the original piece from Schools Matters that is re-posted below, I hold union […]
Eradicating Not Expanding Bad Ed. Policy
” For those who support high-stakes testing and the Common Core, how about we mandate that ALL schools, public, private, or charter use these policies?” (Chris Cerrone) First, why would we want to mandate such garbage for all schools? We must preserve those places which are not a part of the corporatization of schools. Public […]
@unitedoptout Declares Our Independence from Corporate #edreform
United Opt Out National releases its full Declaration of Independence. Here’s what you need to share with everyone: The entire post and introduction to the Declaration; The full-text of UOO’s Declaration in PDF; State by State opt-out or test refusal guides; The Official Get Tough Guide for Education Activism; A short teaser trailer for the Declaration; […]
Full-Page Ad for VAM-Based Teacher Evaluation and Common Core, Paid for by Gates and AFT
BY VICKI PHILLIPS AND RANDI WEINGARTEN [from March 25, 2013 The New Republic] Sponsored content by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and American Federation of Teachers. Some see us as education’s odd couple—one, the president of a democratic teachers’ union; the other, a director at the world’s largest philanthropy. While we don’t agree on everything, we firmly […]
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 Obama, Bill Gates, and New […]
Explicating the Broad Prize Trophy
For second year running, KIPP, Inc. has has been snubbed in their lathered quest for the Broad (rhymes with Toad) Charter Reform School Prize. Last year KIPP clone, Yes Prep, won; this year it was KIPP knock-off, Uncommon Schools, that carried away the trophy and the cash. But, then, as Feinberg mused, it’s a […]
PROPOSAL: The Arne Duncan Reader
Typically, a collection titled a “reader” is a compilation of works by a notable writer or thinker, but this proposal is more like a virtual book shelf created for Secretary of Education (and lifelong political appointee who has never taught) Arne Duncan. I think this should be a community project, so I’ll just get us […]
JUL 03
SKrashen: Van Roekel asks “What do you want instead (of the common core)?” My response.
I usually just provide a link through to Professor Stephen Krashen’s posts, but this one merits full reproduction here. Van Roekel asks “What do you want instead (of the common core)?” My response. NEA president Dennis Van Roekel has asked: “If you don’t want it (common core), what do you want instead?” The question assumes […]
Happy Independence Day from Bill Gates
From Kristen Gwynne, an associate editor and drug policy reporter at AlterNet. Follow her on Twitter: @KristenGwynne Soon your children will hook up their computers to their wrist bracelets. Measuring and monitoring each emotion and blaming the teacher for all of them. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Kindly Fund Research into Student-Worn Bracelets Monitoring Teacher Effectiveness […]
Why the Push for More STEM in American Education?
The Common Core State Standards, Race to the Top, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Educate to Innovate, etc. What do all of these things have something in common:? They are all, at least partially, involved with a huge movement by education reformers and politicians to boost the attention paid to science, technology, engineering, and […]
Change in Union Leadership in DC Signals End to Corporate Appeasement
Looks like we may have another urban center with a real union leader, rather than the kind of corporate stooge and rubber stamp modeled nationally by Van Roekel and Weingarten. Whether the new union leaders in DC will garner the kind of teacher and parent support that we see in Chicago for Karen Lewis will […]
What on GGE is a “teacherpreneur” and why?
The argument from CTQ, if I follow, is that the teacherpreneur impacts teachers, who in turn impact students. So, that means the teacherpreneur impacts all of the teachers’ students. This completely ignores all of the potential mediating variables, or the teacher’s actual autonomy and identity in this entire situation. There is a tremendous fatal flaw […]
NEA’s Van Roekel Uses Duncan Lies to Pimp for Common Core: Calls Critics “Confused”
From AJC: The opposition to Common Core: “If you don’t want it, what do you want instead? And what is in the standards that you don’t want a child to know? One of the things that makes those standards so amazing is that 45 states agreed on the same thing. Democratic and Republican governors came […]
JUL 02
Enduring Cartoon Versions Driving Education Reform
Writing about the Trayvon Martin murder case, Mychal Denzel Smith captures the ugly heart of why George Zimmerman’s account rings true even if it isn’t: Because it’s clear that, whoever instigated the altercation, Zimmerman followed Trayvon that night. He was instructed not to, but he did anyway. That Zimmerman fumbled for an answer when the lead investigator […]
Teacher as Journalist – Faces of the Layoffs
News updates from Philadelphia Ken have been a breath of fresh air while the biggest news story of the century is being played out in public schools all across the country, you would never know it if you get your news from the boob tube. With the latest 24 hour cycle, 7 days a week […]
AFT’s New Action Strategy: Write a Letter Begging Arne to Help Stop What His Policies Have Created
This morning my email box had a copy of a letter from AFT employee, Sabrina Stevens, on behalf of her boss, President Randi Weingarten: Hey, there! I hope this message finds you well. I think we’ve only met briefly (at the first SOS March), but I’m getting in touch to make sure you saw/could share […]
JUL 01
The Revolution Will Not Be Standardized
The Revolution Will Not Be Standardized Owen Davis is a writer and educator who lives in Brooklyn, NY. He currently writes curriculum for IndyKids and works as an intern at The Nation. The conditions of the testing system are the conditions of a well-honed oppressive order. The danger of losing their livelihood turns teachers and administrators into sub-oppressors, […]
War on Teachers and Women is a War on Children
The war on teachers, women and children is in full force — with sequestration in effect as Republicans keep busy finding ways to curtail women’s rights, cuts to the most vulnerable children are looming because apparently there’s just not enough money to go around. Conveniently, there’s plenty of money for more high stakes testing, Common […]
A thought on the NEA blow up. #democracy?
Just a quick thought on the comments about collective bargaining that NEA President Dennis Van Roekel made to a group of retirees at NEA Representative Assembly in Atlanta. How do educators chose our national and state union leaders? Nationally (and at least in my state of New York) each local elects delegates who then go […]
Rewarding the Awful: When the Financially Countable Replaced School Accountability in Ohio
Ohio has had some of the nation’s worst charter schools for years, thanks in large part to to the $3.8 million in state and local political contributions from corporate welfare kingpin and conservative kingmaker, David Brennan. Find many stories about Brennan and his exploitation here. Springfield Sun reporter, Tom Beyerlein, has a terrific piece from […]
Short on money for public schools? INNOVATE!
Today is day one. The new beginning. The start. A new day…blah, blah, blah. So what happened on day one? I got the pleasure of listening to a “politician” say absolutely nothing meaningful about the future of public education. I heard “innovative” used at least 10 times during the 16 minute speech. I heard about […]
Not one person can reasonably explain to me this @pitbull charter school thing. #NCSC13
I learned about this here from Jersey Jazzman. I’ve been having some fun with it here. But I’ve also been following the conversation at #NCSC13 on Twitter as I make my way to Wisconsin for a few days. I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with these people. I’m not trying to be some […]
Accountability? Start at the Top
Prompted by Anthony Cody’s “Teachers Want Accountability From the Top,” let me offer a piece of mine from 2011: Accountability? Start at the Top For nearly two decades, I taught high school English in rural upstate South Carolina. During about the last half of that part of my career, I also served as the soccer […]
NAEP and the Mapping of the School Integration/Achievement Gap
Below are some charts from the most recent 2012 NAEP Long Term Trends Report. They show trends in Reading scores that compare white-black student scores, followed by white-Latino student scores. I ask to examine them to trace the trends in the achievement gaps. What is significant about 1988 on these charts? Now look at […]
Snappy Sound Bites, Lazy Journalists and Teacher Bashing
New Zealand’s education minister, Hekia Parata, said this weekend four consecutive years of quality teaching eliminated any trace of socio-economic disadvantage. In her now typical teacher-bashing way, she went on to say “In New Zealand we provide 13 years. You’d think it would not be too much to expect that four of those are good […]
JUN 30
Apparently, ANYONE can open a charter school now #NCSC13
I’m sure you heard about the wonderful slate of speakers available at the 2013 National Charter Schools Conference, which includes hit hip hop artist Pitbull. Yeah! Well, I have a couple of alternatives. Or, yes, the Kimye National Achievement Academy of the Arts and Media!!
An Open Letter to New Teach for America Recruits
Dear New TFA Recruits, It is summertime, which for those of you newly accepted into Teach for America, means you are enduring the long hard days of Institute. I congratulate you on being accepted into this prestigious program. You clearly have demonstrated intelligence, passion, and leadership in order to make it this far. And now […]
Get a TNTP Math Teacher and Neutralize Poverty Today!
Every time I think I’ve discovered the bottom of the corporate education (Corped) sewer, I find out that there is more down there where that came from. The New Teacher Network, which was managed for awhile by the Queen of Real Pain and Fake Gain, Michelle Rhee, keeps piling it up. With a combination of […]
Gaiman’s Mythical Folding of Childhood into Adulthood | the becoming radical
Gaiman’s Mythical Folding of Childhood into Adulthood | the becoming radical.
Common Core Seuss Standards? Perhaps. #commoncore
From an educator: We do not like the Common Core.It tells us not of what’s in storeUnless the kids don’t pass their testsOur futures will be put to rest. The kids will cry, struggle and fretAnd not learn to THINK, (the worst thing yet)The only thing that will occupy mindsIs finding the RIGHT answer every […]
United Opt Out to release a national Declaration of Independence this Thursday, VIDEO
The group United Opt Out is about to take, what I think to be, a major and much more aggressive stance towards the current regime of Arne Duncan and his sycophants. Please watch the following teaser for the release of UOO’s Declaration of Independence this coming July 4th. Also look ahead to state-by-state refusal guides. […]
JUN 29
What’s wrong with being a “badass?”
Tomorrow at 6PM EST, we’re going to interview Mark Naison, someone who’s been with us in this fight for a long time now. He has recently gathered a group of people in an effort to organize the Bad Ass Teachers association on Facebook. In what, a week, there’s almost 20,000 members? The discussion is lively […]
Thought for the Day
On my WeatherBug smartphone App, the pollen tab notes: This lack of change in airborne pollen will continue to affect those who suffer from allergies and those who live with allergy sufferers. How is it, then, that the “no excuses” education reform crowd is unable to admit that poverty affects those living in poverty and […]