Gates and Duncan and Their Common Core “Freedom” Charade
In his purchased keynote at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) (I know, huh?), billionaire-with-zero-teaching-experience Bill Gates insisted that the feds are getting the bum rap when it comes to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). As Huffington Post’s Joy Resmovits notes, Gates went on to address critiques that the Common Core represents a national curriculum, […]
YOU are @thechalkface!
DON’T BE CONFUSED @the chalkface is still the punk rock thrill ride that delivers readers, viewers, and listeners the unfiltered truth about education reform. We don’t take corporate contributions from Gates and Walton. But what about this new Chalkbeat? Sadly they do take funds from Gates and Walton. This is your brain on Chalkbeat. This […]
#WhatCouldGoWrong
Originally posted on Math Minds:On Tuesday, I received a book entitled “Accelerating Learning for All Students” in which all of the teachers in the district will receive professional development in the upcoming week. I cannot speak to the ELA piece of the material, however the math examples made me cringe. I quickly got out…
Common Core As “Technologically Necessary”: A Looming Shift In Sales Pitch?
The term Common Core is so negatively charged that Common Core State Standards (CCSS) proponents are trying their hardest to ditch the term– not ditch CCSS– just the term. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee suggested that states “rebrand” the CCSS product– give it a shiny new name in order to fool the public into thinking its gone. In my […]
Common Core = “College Ready” ?
From New York parent Loy Gross: Why do we need Common Core? Experts tell us it will make kids “college and career ready.” And let me add, potatoes don’t have wings because my bicycle is a 10-speed. Out of those two statements, only one has a measure of truth. Potatoes don’t have wings. And my […]
To our bosses and our bosses’ bosses, the #edreform hiearchy
First, a vocabulary lesson. To the left, the simple Google definition of the word “priority.” It would seem as if thought and policy leaders in many school systems, particularly those in tenuous political climates, try to put schools in low-income communities of color in a position of “priority.” That is, divert the most resources to […]
The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and Cancer
The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and Cancer. via The Self-Defeating South, Words Not Spoken: Racism as a Scar and Cancer.
All Week 3-15-14 @ THE CHALK FACE
@ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER: All Week @ THE CHALK FACE Bill Gates Tries to Fashion Teacher Support for His Beloved Common CoreOne would think that if teachers supported the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), then teachers would take the initiative to rally around said CCSS. Not so. It seems that we need Bill Gates to tell us that we need CCSS. He did so today (Friday, March 14, 2014), i