Don’t be such a real, big Madigan
I can assure you that this piece does indeed have to do with really bad pedagogyArticle XIII SECTION 5. PENSION AND RETIREMENT RIGHTS Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. (
How the Snow Snafu Turned Over Into a Snow Job on the Mayor
Mayor DiBlasio and Chancellor Carmen Farina came under a lot of intense fire for their decision to keep schools open on Thursday, February 13, 2014, including apparently an epic war of tweets with celebrity weatherman Al Roker. Beyond a doubt, the situation might have been handled better, but I am most worried that the incident is a distraction from the most pressing issues at hand in N.Y.C.Chanc
Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall (Courtesy of a Suburban Mother Goose)
Below is an excerpt from one of two poems, referencing Greek mythology on a high-school PARCC Common-Core test (http://www.parcconline.org/computer-based-samples).Ovid's poem (and the subsequent one by Anne Sexton) captivate some audiences, but I doubt the selections will do much for my largely foreign-born students. (I'm sure they'd find the use of "regnant" on this test repugnant!)
YESTERDAY
The Dataman at Home, #1
Happy Valentine's Day to all the intrepid Data Men and Data Women of the World, machine men and machine women. They have "machine minds and machine hearts," sadly incapable of understanding anything that does not have some numerical value attached to it.
The Dataman (A Retake on "The Candy Man")
Mr. Geoffrey Canada used data magic to point to 100% graduation rates in 2012 at his Harlem Children's Zone. This very well funded charter should be commended for providing many important services to students, including free health care, dental checkups, class sizes under fifteen and two teachers in every room (http://dianeravitch.net/?s=GEOFFREY+canada+graduation+rate). Wouldn't it be nice if
FEB 13
The Costs of Trying to Game the Systems of the Educational Deformers: For Better or For Worse, For Richer, For "Richerer," In Sickness And In Health?
Since 2007, the Bloomberg administration evaluated N.Y.C. schools by assigning single A-F grades. Due to this junk science, schools were closed, teachers turned into vagrant ATRs and communities split apart. Meanwhile, charter schools gained footholds, pushing the truly public students aside.Schools gamed the system for survival as well as administrative merit pay. Schools worked hard to find w
Let It Not Be Said that the Common-Core Sacrifices Creativity in the Name of College and Career Readiness!
With this new data-based-paint-by-numbers kit, take a few minutes off from test prep and learn that you don't need art classes after all to properly align pixels of color. Let the divine spark of inspiration pulse through your veins. Recreate Michelangelo's priceless masterpiece, painting by numbers, for only $19.99 plus tax.
FEB 12
The Sounds of Failing (Based on Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence")
Governor Andrew Cuomo is tenaciously holding to his APPR schemes to evaluate teachers based largely on student test scores. Last Spring, 70% of N.Y.S. students failed the Common-Core tests. If one believes in junk science, one might seek to fire 70% of the State's teachers. In schools catering to the poorest and the neediest populations, one might fire every single teacher who ever set foot in t
FEB 11
The Common-Core Vending Machine
No need to insert dollar bills or coins at this time. You simply make your selection from the wide array of common cores. Press the button and federal funding will spill from the machine straight to your hand. Don't forget to take the apple, too!
Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" Revised to Meet the Modern Educational Exigencies
We don't need no Gates' Foundation.We don't need no Common Core.No dark sarcasm in the Data.InBloom, leave them kids alone.Hey! InBloom! leave the kids alone! All in all you're just another brick in the wall.All in all you're just another brick in the wall.We don't need no Gates' Foundation.We don't need no Common Core.No dark sarcasm in the Data. InBloom, leave them kids alone.Hey! InBloom! leave
FEB 10
When Grit Hits the Fan
I am increasingly hearing the term "grit" thrown around in relation to education. In January 2014, Michelle Obama elaborated on the concept (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/16/first-lady-michelle-obama-hosts-discussion-education). Discussing some of the obstacles she managed to overcome in life, she said, "It is not your circumstances that define your future--it's your atti
FEB 09
The Perfect Panel: Governor Cuomo's Yes Men and Women?
Governor Cuomo assembled a panel to study the Common Core in N.Y. State. Although some panel members may recommend minor tweaking or delays in implementation, they seem overwhelmingly and whole-heartedly in favor of the Common Core (http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2014/02/taking-closer-look-at-andrew-cuomos.html). Perhaps Cuomo might have chosen a Constitutional lawyer as a panel membe
FEB 08
The Uncommon Brain of a Common-Core Reformer
In the diagram above we see two sample brains. They are basically the same--with one major exception. Brain A is the Common-Core reformer's brain. Notice it is nearly three times the size of specimen B, a public-school teacher's brain. (Of course, there are millions of more B-sized brains in the world; this only goes to prove that democratic dialogue is risky at best). Like an old-style Sovie
FEB 07
If You Live or Work in N.Y.C., You May Suffer from P.M.S.D. and Not Even Know It
P.M.S.D.: Being a Brief Treatise on the Effects of the Ailment Specifically upon N.Y.C. TeachersAlthough far less harmful than post-traumatic stress disorder, PMSD, or Post-Mayoral Stress Disorder, is a very real phenomenon, affecting thousands in N.Y.C. and, thus, a serious cause for concern.What is Post-Mayoral Stress Disorder (PMSD)? If as an educator you had a threatening mayor, manipulating
