All Week 8-10-13 @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER
Another word on those hi-tech, canned reading programs. #edchat #edtech
I just posted, not ten minutes ago, a little slice about a reading consultant visit. But now, I have some other questions and thoughts. So, these and other programs meant to “teach” “reading” require some kind of technology. With budgets as they are, it looks like I’m not going to see my own device. At […]
The next frontier for #TFA? Warrior training in Kenya?
No analysis necessary. But a vomitous story’s out there about some CA white chick who is training to be a Maasai warrior. Here’s her account. Young, white knights? Are you ready? I mean, what the hell does becoming a “warrior” mean? She’s out there for a few months hither and thither doing some cross training. […]
Edushyster reveals him or herself. Nice. My standards, however, remain unchanged.
Friend of At the Chalk Face, Edushyster, revealed herself this week. The unveiling merited coverage from Diane Ravitch. You can learn more about Edushyster’s true identity here. As others do, I always enjoy her contributions. Her writing and satire are excellent. And I’m sure that, without her wit, opponents of corporate reform would lose a […]
Reading consultants model teaching phonics, “hilarity” ensues
I experienced a visit this week from consultant teachers representing a district mandated phonics program. The visit was meant for me to experience its outstanding awesomeness from two awesome experts. I was told that these activities require 30 minutes of my school day. We only had 20 minutes for me to witness the awesome awesomeness […]
Whatever Happened to Scientifically Based Research in Education Policy? | Alternet
Whatever Happened to Scientifically Based Research in Education Policy? | Alternet.
YESTERDAY
Somerville Teachers’ Grievance Brings Apology and Purging of Evaluations Based on Immigrant Test Scores
Somerville, Massachusetts has just under 3,400 public school students, and 1,700 of them come from homes where English is the second language. Many of these students are economically disadvantaged. This has not stopped Boston Magazine’s racist and classist school rankings from posting Somerville 118th out of 135 systems. In fact, if you look at the […]
Almost Half of Tennessee Superintendents Sign Petition Against Huffman
From the Timesfreepress.com: NASHVILLE – State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman today said he has not moved too quickly on school reforms despite a letter signed by some 60 local school superintendents calling for his boss, Gov. Bill Haslam, and state lawmakers to rein him in. Huffman said he has yet to see a letter that […]
John Merrow Responds, and So Do I
Yesterday, I wrote a post about John Merrow’s decisions to both discontinue his reporting on Michelle Rhee, a damaging reformer whom his media attention helped create, and his creating a documentary in which he declares New Orleans schools a success. I showed that since 2004, Merrow has accepted approximately one million dollars from well-established education […]
Susan O to Vermont Politicos on Common Core
Susan’s op-ed is from VTDigger.org: Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Susan Ohanian of Charlotte [VT], a longtime teacher and author of 25 books on education policy and practice. Her website is at www.susanohanian.org. North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest asked his state Department of Public Instruction 67 questions about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Now […]
SEP 12
NEA Says Its Members “Strongly Support” Common Core?
Here we go again with the CCSS support propaganda from an organization that has accepted millions from Bill Gates to promote the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The National Education Association (NEA) wants you to want CCSS. It conducted a survey. Surprise, surprise. NEA has decided to fully follow in the American Federation of Teachers’ […]
The Weekly Update: Predatory capitalism, privatization, sequestration and our children, Common Core Standards and opting out
Reblogged from Seattle Education: Everyone is back in school, the privatizers are not letting up but parents, students and teachers are fighting back. Diane Ravitch is coming out with her new book on September 18th, a book that is totally awesome by the way. I will have a review posted on September 17th. We've got […]
Merrow and Gates Money: Et tu, John?
John Merrow has decided not to report on Michelle Rhee. He helped promote her, and now he has decided to call it quits. Education historian Diane Ravitch says not so fast, John; you owe us some follow-through in unmasking Rhee. I agree. Merrow owes American education his service in unmasking the monster he helped to […]
KIPP’s Use of Harriet Ball
In an otherwise solid piece of opinionating at Valerie Strauss’s site at WaPo, Mike Rose leaves the impression that Harriet Ball had endorsed the KIPP total compliance reform schools. She did not, and at the time of her death, Ms. Ball felt just as used by KIPP as the thousands of discarded teachers and students […]
As More Children Are Left Behind, CorpEd Turns to Gain Scores to Mask Reform Failure and Increasing Gaps
A new study is out showing increasing inequality based on race, class, and education, and with it comes the non-startling news that poor and minority children are further behind than they were when NCLB became the law of the Land, signaling as it did the full transition from the use of high stakes testing for […]
SEP 11
Teach for America and Noble St Charter Schools: A Dangerous Combination
Recently, the director of Teach for America Chicago, Josh Anderson, wrote a response to the excellent exposé Edushyster posted regarding TFA Chicago’s role in charter school expansion. Edushyster’s–or should I proudly say Jennifer C. Berkshire‘s–piece was entitled “Is TFA Undermining the Chicago Public Schools.” (The answer is “yes,” if you were wondering…) And she writes: When news […]
Gates Money and Common Core– Part III
My first post on Gates and his Common Core State Standards (CCSS) spending includes information on his paying millions to the four key organizations involved in composing CCSS as well as to key education organizations and think tanks for their endorsement. My second post of this series examines Gates money paid to organizations influencing state departments and local school districts for the purpo
Armored Backpacks the Latest Back to School Craze
From a report on MSNBC today: Get your armored backpack and bullet proof vest, it’s sure to provide much value added and raise test scores by taking out the fear of being shot. TODAY | September 11, 2013 Bulletproof school supplies aim to keep kids safe Companies like Hardwire LLC. are introducing a new trend to the […]
Most Credible VAM Argument Is 0%
At the Shanker Institute, a debate about value-added methods (VAM) for teacher evaluation was detailed on Twitter (@shankerinst), including comments from Tom Kane (Harvard) who makes two comments worth noting: Shanker Institute @shankerinst Kane: Need to move from talking about WHETHER to use value-added and more about HOW to do so. #VAMuses Shanker Institute @shankerinst Kane: Nobody […]
Let’s Get Serious and Adopt the Mexican Model for Educator Resistance
How much abuse, derogation, impugning, hostility, and professional savaging will it take for American teachers to respond like those in Mexico, where teachers have been engaged in civil disobedience on an unprecedented scale during the past week. Now in reaction to a corporate education reform plan, the teachers are now calling for a national strike today […]
SEP 10
Bill McCallum Responds to My Post
“How I Spend My Spare Time” I recently wrote a post entitled, “A Sane Reply to Bill McCallum: Why I Cannot Support the Common Core “State” Standards.” I addressed directly some of my concerns and gave some general reasons that I can’t go along with Bill McCallum’s request to join him in supporting CCSSI. As […]
Kansas Charter School Anticulturalism Sends Child Home in Tears
The protests that this situation has aroused is a good thing, but a much better thing would be for parents to get just as upset about the anticultural curriculum and chain gang behavior control as they now are about racist rules regarding hair styles. Tagged: anticulturalism, charter schools
1st Anniversary Repost: Writers Reflect on Chicago Strike (EdWeek) | the becoming radical
1st Anniversary Repost: Writers Reflect on Chicago Strike (EdWeek) | the becoming radical.
What, Me Blog? | the becoming radical
What, Me Blog? | the becoming radical. Tagged: blogging, Twitter
Localized VAM and Nationalized Scam
Part of the story we tell in TMoE focuses on how value-added modeling (VAM) grew up out of the backwoods of Tennessee to become an essential component of the national Common Core testing delivery engine that now appears to be running on fumes way short of its destination. Had anyone at the Gates Foundation or […]
Rick Hess and the Art of Truly Bad Writing
I have been teaching writing now for thirty years. Eighteen of those years were spent in a rural South Carolina high school, and more recently I have been teaching first year writing seminars at a selective liberal arts university. Young writers are quite predictable in their writing. They gravitate toward huge, sweeping claims, but shy […]
Ilana Horn: Recipe for Inequality
Recipe for inequality* 1. Find a metric that correlates to poverty. 2. Use it to measure quality. 3. Find that high poverty schools are bad. 4. Make schools’ resources dependent on quality. 5. Allow affluent to develop other revenue for their schools. 6. Close schools in poverty. 7. Justify school closures in high poverty neighborhoods […]
SEP 09
Float like a butterfly, sting like an SOB
We need a formal welcome for Michael Paul Goldenberg. Take a look at his page here and be sure to follow him here At the Chalk Face. Tagged: at the chalk face, michael paul goldenberg
From my other blog, Rational Mathematics Education: “If We Weren’t Meant to Use Calculating Devices, Why Didn’t We Evolve A Lot More FIngers and Toes?”
Some readers here may be familiar with my much longer-running blog, Rational Mathematics Education. I just posted something there that I believe will be relevant to many readers here: If We Weren’t Meant to Use Calculating Devices, Why Didn’t We Evolve A Lot More FIngers and Toes? Excerpt: Yes, of course handheld calculating devices (with or […]
Why Aren’t The Common Core Math Standards Making Us Mathier?
An 8th grade math teacher commented on Facebook: Here’s what I know about math at the middle school level: when I survey my 8th graders at the start of each year, most of them say that math was their least favorite subject the year before. It is the only subject at our school […]
Who Is Killing Democracy in Education?
Who Is Killing Democracy in Education? by Paul Horton Reblogged from Diane Ravitch’s blog and by suggestion from Prof. Horton
Charterland
From NEPC: BOULDER, CO (September 9, 2013) – “Good schools shouldn’t weed out kids. They should teach everyone.” That’s the bottom line of the new “CharterLand” infographic from the Opportunity to Learn Campaign of the Schott Foundation. Inspired by the venerable children’s game “Candy Land,” the infographic asks players to work their way past Hoop […]
SEP 08
Ask NOT What the Standards Can Do for You…
Instead, make sure you’re reflecting on just how well you, dear teachers, are promoting the Common Core State [sic] Standards in your classrooms. Common Core-aligned lesson plan templates are starting to make an appearance, right alongside the Common Core-aligned lesson modules that are infiltrating ELA and math classes across the country. These templates don’t look […]
From Chris Lubienski: Do Charter Schools Promote Social Justice, Privatize Public Education (or both)?
Some liberals are quite enthralled with the social justice possibilities of school choice. While district and enrollment boundaries reflect segregated residential patterns in the US, in theory, choice allows families to select schools across these artificial barriers, eradicating an important institutional impediment to equity. Moreover, schools then must compete to attract students, just like b
John White Shoots Self in Foot with Loaded SLTs
Former-TFAer and Broad-trained Louisiana “Superintendent” John White must broadcast something data-ish to demonstrate that He Is Right and Reforms Are Working. Mind you, his reforms are not working; they are a repeatedly demonstrated con perpetrated on Louisiana’s education system. Nevertheless, White insists on issuing the following press release regarding the “usefulness” of Louisiana’s first st
John White Shoots Self in Foot with Loaded VAM
Former-TFAer and Broad-trained Louisiana “Superintendent” John White must broadcast something VAM-ish to demonstrate that He Is Right and Reforms Are Working. Mind you, his reforms are not working; they are a repeatedly demonstrated con perpetrated on Louisiana’s education system. Nevertheless, White insists on issuing the following press release regarding the “usefulness” of Louisiana’s first val
Reflections on Amplify’s Core Knowledge Profit Potential
In this post, I would like to offer my response to this information included as part of Diane Ravitch’s post on my exchange with Core Knowledge (CK) founder E.D. Hirsch. Regarding my strong statements on Amplify’s profit motive, Hirsch writes the following: The only way Amplify can make money from CK Pre-K-through 3 is if a school […]
Please welcome the inimitable and pollster’s worst nightmare Mercedes Schneider to @thechalkface
Check out her author bio and page here. Her great analysis joins our team. We are excited. Tagged: mercedes schneider, statistics
A Brief Tutorial on Reading “Miracle” Graphs
On August 8, 2013, Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools (LAPCS) founder and director Caroline Roemer Shirley sent out an email announcement regarding the supposed superiority of the state-run RSD charter schools over non-charters. She even states that her child will attend a charter this year (no specifics provided). Roemer Shirley is the sister of Louisiana Board […]
The AP and Gallup Polls: A Commentary
The theme of this past several days appears to be the national education poll and how much one should (or should not) trust the results. On August 17, the Associated Press (AP) released a twisted version of what they would like for parents to want for their children– high-stakes tests– except that the term “high stakes” does not […]
Why Does a “Turnaround” District Need to Purchase Buildings?
When the Recovery School District (RSD) was formed, it was supposed to “turn around” schools and return the schools to the original districts: Intended as a mechanism for restructuring and reform, the RSD was never meant to be a permanent part of the public school governance landscape in New Orleans. Instead, the RSD was meant […]
What is John White Promoting as Common Core Sample Assessment Materials?
In the four brief videos below, “Dianne X” examines the content of the Louisiana Believes website, including excerpts from the Race to the Top (RTTT) agreement that contradicts White’s “mission in Louisiana to have every child achieve a college degree or professional career” and sample Enhanced Assessment of Grade Level Expectations (EAGLE) test items offered to the […]
A Brief Audit of Bill Gates’ Common Core Spending
This is a post about Bill Gates and his money, a brief audit of his Common Core (CCSS) purchases. Before I delve into Gates accounting, allow me to set the stage with a bit of CCSS background. A Bit of CCSS Background It is important to those promoting CCSS that the public believes the idea that CCSS is “state-led.” […]
Gates Money and Common Core: Part II
On August 27, 2013, I wrote a post about Bill Gates’ financial involvement in advancing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Though CCSS promotes itself as “state led,” in my previous post, I showed that all four major organizations responsible for CCSS from inception for its principal development– the National Governors Association (NGA), the Council of Chief […]
UPDATE: Core Knowledge, Amplify, and “Free” Materials
UPDATE 09-05-13: Don Hirsch, Core Knowledge founder, has provided this link for the free CK ELA K3 materials: http://www.coreknowledge.org/ckla-files#! Note: The links in my post are still live and do not lead to free downloads. These links also contain no message or redirect to the free downloads. They do, however, make it easy to locate […]
AACTE Endorses CAEP; Testing Companies Win.
Once again a major education organization has proclaimed its intention to grade teachers (this time, teachers in training) using student test scores. Talk about “status quo.” Allow me to begin this post by addressing this foolish notion. I realize this topic has been written about repeatedly, yet reformers (and those yielding to reformers) insist that grading teachers using student […]
Who Benefits from Ignoring Poverty and Race? | the becoming radical
Who Benefits from Ignoring Poverty and Race? | the becoming radical.
SEP 07
TEACH Documentary Delivers Same, Tired Infomercial
On the evening of September 6, CBS aired Davis Guggenheim’s latest tear-jerker hack job dedicated to public education: TEACH. While featuring four young and relatively inexperienced teachers, we were told much of the same nonsense we’ve been hearing for years, since the release of the anti-teacher and anti-public-education Waiting for Superman (another Guggenheim assault). The messages […]
You know what’s stupid, what’s really stupid? The academic publishing industry. #highered
I’m in the classroom now. When I was in graduate school and a college professor, I collected PDFs of articles from EBSCO and JSTOR and elsewhere as if I was attempting to stockpile for some kind of intellectual apocalypse. A fraction of a percent were ever really read. But I’ve been scanning for some advice […]
A Sane Reply To Bill McCallum: Why I Cannot Support the Common Core “State” Standards
William McCallum is, by his own description, a man who was “born in Australia and came to the United States to pursue a Ph. D. in mathematics at Harvard University, a professor at the University of Arizona, working in number theory and mathematics education.” He is also the chair of the Common Core mathematics […]
The Indignant Teacher’s Second Letter to Bill Gates
Back in June, The Indignant Teacher published a heartfelt plea directed towards Melinda Gates, via Teacher’s Letters to Bill Gates. As with the letters posted to the site before and after hers, it went ignored. Today she has submitted her second letter to the site: ***************************************************************************** Mr & Mrs Gates, Shame on you. I am sickened […]
A basic assumption about #commoncore that’s insufficient #edtech
Very simple. I’ve heard many arguments about how stupendously awesome common core is and will be. Regarding the tests, I hear frequently that they’re better because, quite simply, they’re on the computer. So, on computer automatically means better. I see. Innovation. Tagged: common core, computer, edtech, technology, testing