Microtel Inns, Dairy Queens, St. Sensible and Detroit Country Day: Realities and Myths of “Choice”
EDUCATION WEEK recently published “Calculator Use on Exams to Shift With Common Core,” by Erik W. Robelen. In reply to some discussion about the article on a private Facebook page, Wendy Hart wrote, “ I think the real issue here isn’t what is the proper use of a calculator, but that it is being dictated by […]
On The Advocacy of Teacher Unions and High Quality Public Schools: A Labor Day Post
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s funny how politics makes strange bedfellows. Over the past decade I have watched as politicians and talking heads from opposite sides of the political spectrum challenge and undermine each others’ ideas about how to best create […]
BREAKING: Teachers cheer for students to fail.
As children head back to school this week in New York State* they may be subjected to Student Learning Objective assessments in the first week or two of the school year. An SLO pre-test is supposed to determine a student’s prior knowledge of a subject to help calculate teacher growth for an educator’s evaluation. Now […]
Do Not Go for the GOLD (Teaching Strategies GOLD) for Early Childhood Classrooms
I want to begin by giving everyone a quick background on GOLD. I am simply scraping the tip of the iceberg – it has many additional components to it – but the component that is most used and most touted is the assessment component. Please bare with me, this blog is much longer than it […]
Is this TFA and Reality Israel stuff Anti-Semitic? I’m torn.
There’s an article going around about a widow donating to TFA to provide some kind of field trip experience to Israel called Reality Israel. Here’s explanation of the trip via TFA’s website. It’s written by journalist Max Blumenthal and is making the rounds in leftist media like Alternet. When I first read Blumenthal’s original article, […]
EngageNY modules: “So random” is no way to teach.
The New York State Education Department has been pushing Common Core implementation at a rapid pace, even forcing last spring’s new aligned state assessments on schools even though teachers had little opportunity for training and preparation. Giving teachers time to prepare and create lessons on their own is the key to any quality classroom experience. […]
The P&C, Here We Go Again; Or, Let’s Link Journos’ Pay to Doing the Research
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) has yet to see a bad education reform idea it could reject. This time they are endorsing merit pay and linking teacher pay to student test scores. I sent this letter to the editor: It is careless and irresponsible journalism to continue to endorse education reform that has no […]
The Myth of Opting Out of Tests and Losing Money
Time to do a little research. Luckily, the hard-working folks at New York State Allies for Public Education have done much of the groundwork for us! And that groundwork is a solid foundation of information for all states with NCLB Waivers. Did you know that No Child Left Behind originally called for 95% participation since […]
9-1-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face
SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: Tim Tebow and the “Hard Work” Myth: No Excuses? | the becoming radicalTim Tebow and the “Hard Work” Myth: No Excuses? | the becoming radical.by plthomasedd / 8min All Week 8-31-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week 8-10-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTERThe Lingering Legacy of Segregation | the becoming radica