All Week @ THE CHALK FACE
Second Grade ELA Modules – It Keeps Getting Stupider
As I continue my ‘journey’ through Module 1 of NYSED’s scripted and paced curriculum guide, I find things that just make me want to scream. First of all, the pace is pretty much a 100 yard dash. I read to my students, they are to listen and learn. In fact, this is the name of […]
#commoncore poem by Jed Hopkins
Common core standards.Standards that are held in common.Standards that will form the core of our education system.Standards that will ensure the quality of the field of public schooling.Standards that will create a level playing field.A measuring stick.A rational tool.A no-nonsense tool.The source of important criteria.A communication tool for clarifying how teachers are doing,how students are […]
This is why the Tea Party can shove their anti #commoncore sentiment #tcot
Tea Party zealots have been rather late to the party, actually. In only the last few months or so have they sought fit to propose anything related to education other than abolishing all public schools and the Department of Education. The latter of the two, for a leftist like myself, is not sounding like an […]
I am “outing” myself… sort of, with the Kinder Chronicles, Part One.
Close friends and associates know me by name, Shaun Johnson. No, I’m not the gymnast. I tried as best as I could to go by a pseudonym because, well, I caught a lot of flak from my former supervisors in higher education because of my views. That is, skeptical and largely against Common Core, critical […]
How Bill Gates Views the World
Money is power. Power is money. Bill Gates has too much of both. Valerie Strauss gets it—that Bill Gates is not what education needs: “Education reform should not be driven by private philanthropists with their own agendas, however well-intentioned.” Ultimately, the problem is Gates’s view of the world. And there is no better way to express […]
YESTERDAY
Words and Deeds: The U.S. Is No Christian Nation | the becoming radical
Words and Deeds: The U.S. Is No Christian Nation | the becoming radical.
SEP 26
Mr. Nielsen Goes “Old School”; Hates It
I feel bad. I kind of lost it with one of my science classes the other day. I didn’t freak out. I didn’t actually lose my cool. I just had to change the lesson midway through and go all “old school” on their butts. That’s how the cool people used to say it. I think. […]
The Doable We Refuse to Do: End Poverty, Confront Privilege | the becoming radical
The Doable We Refuse to Do: End Poverty, Confront Privilege | the becoming radical.
Research proven: School Libraries and Free Voluntary Reading. Unproven and expensive: CCSS and iPads
Research proven: School Libraries & Free Voluntary Reading. Unproven and expensive: #CCSS & iPads. #LAUSD @skrashen pic.twitter.com/Cg2z5Z7uxM — Robert D. Skeels (@rdsathene) September 26, 2013 The former means engaged critical thinking, but the latter leads to more corporate profits and increased market share for PSO, AAPL, MHGE, NWSA, and others. The Power of Reading : […]
To John Merrow, Who Quit
Mr. Merrow, my name is Mercedes Schneider. You answered my post on your accepting Gates funding and the connection between such funding and two decisions you have made: 1) ceasing your investigation of Michelle Rhee and 2) proclaiming New Orleans schools as “reborn” in your documentary. You did not address me by name, but at […]
SEP 25
Cash Cow $tate $tandards
With all due respect to Joanne Yatvin, who has made important contributions to NCTE and to literacy (notably her work confronting the flawed National Reading Panel), this is why we cannot be fatalistic about Cash Cow $tate $tandards: CC$$ advocacy is being driven by corporate interests, the allure of money to be made. If no […]
Microtel Inns, Dairy Queens, St. Sensible and Detroit Country Day: Realities and Myths of "Choice"
Reblogged from @ THE CHALK FACE: 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 […]
SEP 24
Gates Money and Common Core– Part V
This post is the fifth in a series on Bill Gates’ funding of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). As of September 22, 2013, Gates has spent $173.5 million expressly for CCSS according to the Gates grants search engine. The first post includes CCSS background and Gates funding for key players at the CCSS planning […]
Second Grade - Skills Strand Lesson 1: Thanks Engageny
Reblogged from An Antique Teacher: So, today, I did the Core Knowledge Skills Strand Lesson 1 from Module 1. This is the lesson that SHOULD HAVE been taught on Day 1 of Second Grade. There were many materials that I didn't have - flip picture cards (hat, cat, sad, etc), and some things I didn't […]
DC Insiders See Bleak Future for CCSS
Reblogged from Diane Ravitch's blog: This poll of DC insiders shows a deep pessimism about the prospects for Common Core and reauthorization of NCLB. Most interesting observations: • “Any bandwidth Congress has seems to be devoted to re‐litigating the health care act.” • “There’s no sense of compromise and no incentive on either side to […]
Disaster Capitalism and Charter Schools: Revisiting New Orleans Post-Katrina | the becoming radical
Disaster Capitalism and Charter Schools: Revisiting New Orleans Post-Katrina | the becoming radical.
If You Ask, They Will Answer
I have recently asked, Whatever Happened to Scientifically Based Research in Education Policy? And it appears that the USDOE has come forward with an answer, as reported by Valerie Strauss: The U.S. Education Department routinely awards millions of dollars in grants to states and organizations, but it seems that it doesn’t have enough money to maintain its […]
SEP 23
Notice how cut scores are a choice, not a measure of proficiency. #DCPS
I’m sure you’ve heard of this. DCPS, the system in which I teach, “chose” math cut scores to perhaps load more positive results, thus trying to make the argument that prevailing reforms, largely propagated by huckster Michelle Rhee, “worked.” Note that CUT SCORES are political choices, nothing scientific or verifiable. They are subjective. This is […]
Score Reports: Send ‘em Back
In a state-wide effort to protest the lack of validity, loss of instruction time, and educational harm caused by mandated state assessments, New York State Allies for Public Education has called for parents to “send the scores back”. Parents around New York will be sending back to their children’s score reports to NYSED Commissioner John […]
This is the speech I intended to give at the Southern Education Foundation Public Education conference this weekend. . . .
Reblogged from Crazy Crawfish’s Blog 9/23/13 This is the speech I intended to give at the Southern Education Foundation Public Education conference this weekend. . . ..
“evil” @DianeRavitch said do what’s right and save your soul.
Last night Shaun and I had the chance to talk to one of our favorite guests—Diane Ravitch. We talked about her new book—Reign of Error—and the possibilities of ending the reform movement. Diane gave me a brand new kick in the arse! Simple yet powerful. How do we fight the reform movement? We do […]
Is Addressing Different Learning Styles an Unreasonable Demand on Teachers?
Multiple Intelligences or Multiple Pains in the Ass? Periodically, I bump into online commentary that is harshly critical of expecting teachers to address student learning styles. Unfortunately, simply dismissing something as essentially “a bunch of hippie crap” is not the same as offering an argument or analysis that would persuade anyone that the writer isn’t […]
“Word Magic,” Education, and Market Forces | the becoming radical
“Word Magic,” Education, and Market Forces | the becoming radical.
The Indignant Teacher Goes Abroad
Susan DuFresne and Katie Lapham are the women behind the website, Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates; they are experienced public school teachers and amazing authors. Susan recently invited Him to take part in an interview with her, to discuss his role in public education and some of the issues on the table. “After all, public education is […]
SEP 22
My #BammyAwards Victory Speech
First, I have to clarify something: when someone wins an Oscar or an Emmy or a Grammy, is that called a “victory?” Do they give a “victory speech?” If not, then I messed up the title of this post. Wait, according to Google, they’re called “acceptance speeches.” Damn. Fine. This is where I will post […]
I just thought I would let the reader know…
… that while I was making a few Kindergarten literacy centers, I was watching Expendables 2 on Netflix. You read that right. That is all. Tagged: action, expendables, kindergarten, literacy, manhood
EPSLP: College Ready? Alliance Charter Corporation’s big scam
First published on Echo Park Patch on September 20, 2013 “If the American public understood that reformers want to privatize their public schools and divert their taxes to pay profits to investors, it would be hard to sell the corporate idea of reform.” — Professor Diane Ravitch “However, within this market, competition exists in several […]
SEP 21
Lesson Plans? I don’t need no stinkin’ lesson plans!
It’s Saturday, and I sit down to plan my lessons for the upcoming week. Fortunately, I don’t have a template to use, a place to upload them, or an administrator who even looks at my lesson plans. There is a modicum of dignity left for me as a teacher in that. Sadly, too many teachers […]
I applied to be on the DCPS Chancellor’s teacher cabinet. Should I hold my breath?
I whipped up and out some answers to a few essay questions to apply for a seat on Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s teacher cabinet. I’m copying my answers below. There are three answers pasted together, which is why it might read strangely. Will this get me on? I don’t know. I just wrote how I felt. […]
Yet more evidence that #highered is as gutless as it comes
Can an animal survive without a gut? I mean, perhaps a zombie, leaching off its own filth to survive, part of a nameless, nearly faceless horde hunting for their next hunk of gray matter. Did I spoil your breakfast? In my hometown of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, a private and religious institution, is getting some attention […]