Schools Matter:
TURN Chapters of AFT Take Lead in "Share My Lessons" Common Core Marathon
Gates Seek to Flood Job Market with Programmers--Pushes the New Code Literacy
Is TURN Trying to Take Over Your Union?
Schools Matter All Week
Student Achievement Partners is the outfit headed by David Coleman that Achieve, Inc. and Bill Gates hired to write the Common Core corporate standards. Along with his two partners, Susan Pimentel and Jason Zimba, SAP raked in $3,942,566 in tax exempt money during 2011, alone (see 990 here). Coleman has had a number of other pursuits, including helping to found Michelle Rhee's Students First, and
By Doug MartinBy now, most teachers in Indiana know that Mike Pence’s wife Karen is a former art teacher in the public schools. But living in the Strict Father world* dictated by her husband, Pence’s wife hasn’t publically spoken about the corporatization of Indiana education (which is merely another example of abuse against women—in this case, teachers—and children) and has remained silent about
This past week the Pearson Foundation agreed to pay $7.7 million to settle a charge that the Foundation had used charitable and tax-exempt assets to further Pearson profits. The amount of the settlement represents .0077% of Pearson profits for 2012. Following the widespread adoption of Common Core corporate standards that resulted from race to the top incentives, Pearson saw its profits soar in 2
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In the December 13 issue of Inside AFT (yes, I am an AFT member), I found this, which got me wondering: Share My Lesson has been on the move recently. This weekend will mark the third of three Share My Lesson marathon weekends the AFT has hosted over the last month. The sessions are nonstop events where teachers from all over the country come together to brainstorm, share lessons, learn how to assess the extent to which a lesson plan aligns with the Common Core State Standards, and apply that knowledge as they review and rate resources on Share My Lesson. With a marathon in Providence in No
At one time, computer programming was a glamorous occupation in the U. S. All that changed when the corporate race the bottom began chasing the cheapest programming labor in India, and when that became too scandalous, then Bill Gates started lobbying for unlimited work visas in order to import the cheapest programming labor. Think of these exploited workers as high tech gardeners who don't have to hide at night for fear of deportation.So it should come as no surprise that both the left and right aisles of Washington's corporate jet are now calling for, that's right, more programmers:. . . .T
I received the following letter from a teacher in California, who is concerned about her local union in California being taken over by the Broad-sponsored embeds from The Union Reform Network (TURN). If your local has been taken over by TURN, please contact me to share your story. Her letter below is followed by my response:Dear Mr Horn,I am a union rep in __________ California . . . , and my union leadership has begun looking into the possibility adopting TURN in conjunction with the school district. I am, however, having a difficult time finding any resources about TURN and its cohorts, ot
YESTERDAY
Remembering Sandy Hook: Protecting Guns, Sacrificing (Some) Children
On December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, experienced yet another mass shooting at a school in the U.S.While that horror should have stirred the consciousness of us all in this country—especially in regards to guns and children—we appear mostly to have forgotten or disregarded that event, except for a few tributes.I am reposting a blog here as a call not to forget, but more impor
Paul Krugman Cuts Through the BS on Education Spending
Paul Krugman, today's column in the NYT"What has been cut? It’s a complex picture, but the most obvious cuts have been in education, infrastructure, research, and conservation. While the Recovery Act (the Obama stimulus) was in effect, the federal government provided significant aid to state and local education. Then the aid went away, and local governments began letting go of hundreds of tho
DEC 12
Mass Insight into Evansville: Gates, Broad, and Joyce in Indiana
By Doug MartinThe Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation is fighting to keep its recently hired Boston-based Mass Insight Education turnaround company. Mass Insight Education was hired last school year for $600,000 to help “turn around” Glenwood’s Leadership Academy and four other schools in the corporation which have received poor grades over the last few years. According to a recent State
No Excuses for the Poor; Affluenza for the Privileged
What happens when a white rich boy gets drunk, drives, and kills 4 people and paralyzes 1? No jail time--he is suffering from affluenza. Really--that's the defense that worked and now is recorded into case law.From Time:For most people, conviction for vehicular manslaughter due to drunk driving warrants a lengthy sentence, but not in the case of Ethan Couch, a wealthy young man from the state of
Jay Saper on TFA and Subsequent KIPP Recruiting Experience
I talked with an amazing young man the other day about his getting booted out of TFA during the early fall of 2013. His name is Jay Saper, and, despite his recent experiences, he remains articulate, confident, and eager to become a real teacher with real teacher preparation and credentials. From our long conversation, it became apparent to me that he is much too empathetic to be successful in an o
DEC 11
KIPP Using Padded Isolation Room for Disruptive Kindergarten Students
The latest example of why children call it the Kids in Prison Program. Click below to begin CBS News video coverage. Text is below the video.NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A Manhattan mother says her 5-year-old son was locked in a padded room at school, leaving the kindergartner so traumatized he had to go to the hospital.Taneka Hall said the “safe-calm room” at KIPP Star Elementary School in Washington
Colonizing Measures
by Doug Storm:Colonizing MeasuresThe UCR [Uniform Crime Reports which originated in 1929] reveals more about police behavior that it does about criminality. Some law enforcement agencies falsify the reports they submit to the FBI. Once a citizen reports a crime, police must make an official record for the crime to be counted in the UCR. Sometimes, however, law enforcement officers do not complete
MSNBC Leaning Forward into Teenage Prison Programming
This past weekend while channel surfing I found that Microsoft-NBC has reached new lows in its weekend prison programming. It has now moved beyond desensitizing and voyeuristic window-peeping into staged adult prison life to now focusing on a cleansed view of incarcerated teenagers. Below is the a post from almost five years ago, which seems as relevant now as it was then:MSNBC, The Prison Chann
Mark Naison Tells It Like It Should Be: Get Lost, Tisch
To Mark, thank you.From Mark:Bronx Common Core Forum where I call for the resignation of Regents Chair Merryl Tisch
New York City Council Declares Opposition to the Majority of Murders
FromEd Week, followed by my comment:The New York City Council has passed a resolution asking state officials to replace high-stakes standardized tests with multiple measures that collectively gauge student achievement.The city council's education committee approved Resolution 1394 on Monday, and the full council approved it Tuesday by a vote of 49-0, according to a staff member in Councilmember Ro
Seeking Equity: Not “If,” But “How” and “Why”
Fiction offers avenues to Truth, often hard Truths, that remain closed or less often traveled otherwise. While many people associate Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides, with themes addressing sexuality and gender, this novel also confronts readers with a vivid and insightful consideration of class, race, and cultural heritage.* Toward the middle of the novel, the life of the main character, Calliope/
DEC 10
Terry Gross Interview on New ALEC Revelations
From NPR, which includes interview link:A batch of internal documents recently leaked to The Guardian has revealed new insights into the goals and finances of the secretive group called ALEC. The American Legislative Exchange Council is a group that brings together state legislators and representatives of corporations. Together, they develop model bills that lawmakers introduce and try to pass in
Did AFT Offset Costs of Anti-Corporate Crusade with Corporate Cash?
The following is from AFT in 2009, when the future for corporate ed reform seemed ascendant, and Randi was on a wave. AFT has scrubbed the video from their site, but I plugged it in to where it had been previously deleted from the Press Release. Do have a look, and note the venue for this big announcement. Were no dark alleys available?With AFT now spending a million bucks on their new Pretender
DEC 09
OECD Pimping for Common Core Testing Delivery System
PISA chief, Andrew Schleicher was on the PBS News Hour last week to talk about what might be learned from high scorers on the world's most watched international testing derby. He pointed to some interventions that seem to have proved successful that focused on improving teacher quality and more equitable educational opportunities as having particular promise. When Jeffrey Brown asked about the U
Is a New Day Dawning for Education?
Common Dreams and Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post blog are covering today's protests.If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound?In: Physics, Philosophy and Philosophers, Brain Teasers and Logic PuzzlesAnswer:Most basic answer:No, because the definition of sound is "something that you hear." No one's there to hear the tree fall, so the tree
December 10 is Human Rights Day
Tomorrow is Human Rights Day, probably the most neglected day on the school calendar. All teachers should use this opportunity to make children aware of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. I hope you will share this document with all teachers.PREAMBLEWhereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal an
Ending the Achievement Gap With Music Education
Psychology Today Magazine advertises on the Huffington Post. In a recent article, PT reports on how important music education can be for brain development, as well as cognitive and emotional growth for children. Perhaps child psychologists and educators should be talking more.So why has the Department of Education and Arne Duncan and friends who care so much about children implemented policies tha
DEC 08
Add Corruption to Arne Duncan's Shortcomings
Elizabeth Warren calls him a lapdog--I think that is very generous of her. From HuffPo:The U.S. Department of Education risks becoming a “lapdog” as a result of recent actions toward financial companies such as Sallie Mae, Sen. Elizabeth Warren charged Thursday.The Massachusetts Democrat said she was “deeply concerned” by a Huffington Post report that the Education Department had recently told Sa
Beginning to Understand How CorpEd Came to Dominate the National Leadership of AFT and NEA
A couple of piece from the vault, one video featuring Randi and Bill at the AFT Conference in Seattle, and just below that a piece of text that provides some background on the corporate takeover of leadership in AFT and NEA.Originally posted 7/13/13: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 rec