All Week @ THE CHALK FACE
Jeb Bush: Willing to Emotionally Damage Your Child for a Higher Test Score
Former Florida Governor (and likely 2016 presidential hopeful) Jeb Bush made the following comment, recorded in The Miami Herald, on March 21, 2014. It’s Bush’s undeniably callous perspective on attempting to force American public education to fit a mold that benefits American education corporations such as Pearson (and here, and here): Let me tell you something. In Asia today, they […]
Ignoring Mental Health in the Grit Debate
This week, NPR has (once again) jumped onto the “gritty” bandwagon by playing a number of pieces related to the corporate education reform favorite of “grit.” On my way to work one morning, I heard an NPR reporter share in a perky voice, “Experts define grit as persistence, determination and resilience; it’s that je ne sais […]
46 States Tied to Common Core in 2009??
In June 2009, the National Governors Association (NGA) held an education symposium in which NGA outlined its plans for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) money. Twenty-one governors attended; so did US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The following information is included a part of that June 2009 report: At the Symposium, Secretary Duncan made an […]
What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?
What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?. via What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
MAR 20
Bill Gates’ Sobering 2009 Speech to Legislators
On March 13, 2014, Bill Gates had dinner with 80 senators and other elected officials. Given his keynote the following day to members of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), make no mistake that Gates used his time with the senators and other officials to push the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). However, Gates is more than […]
MAR 19
Who Can Tolerate Bill Gates and His Ignorance and Apathy for Another Minute???
http://theindignantteacher.wordpress.com/2014/03/19/the-indignant-teacher-can-no-longer-tolerate-bill-gates-ignorance-and-apathy/Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
Reading Out of Context: “But there was something missing,” Walter Dean Myers
Reading Out of Context: “But there was something missing,” Walter Dean Myers. via Reading Out of Context: “But there was something missing,” Walter Dean Myers.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
MAR 17
Gates Dined on March 13, 2014, with 80 Senators
Bill Gates has too much power. The following announcement, dated March 13, 2014, is from Politico: DINNER WITH GATES – About 80 senators are expected to attend a dinner discussion at the Capitol tonight with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the NYT’s David Brooks. The 6:45 p.m. dinner, according to an invitation obtained by Huddle, is sponsored by […]
Security theater during high stakes testing. Why? Because security.
I’m advocating for a new government agency, under the authority of the Department of Education or Homeland Security, or perhaps a novel collaboration between the two. This new agency could easily handle the security theater that permeates all schools during the testing window. Actually, it’s apt to call it a theater of the absurd. For […]
Teaching or Testing – Teachers Talk
Surveys and focus groups do not capture the pain and frustration teachers experience under mandates for high stakes testing and teacher evaluations that require the constant proving of ones worth. This video from Educators for a Democratic Union captures some of the devastating impact of testing on teachers, students, and our hopes for public education. […]
Lend a Blend
Filed under: ANGEL CINTRON, JR.: I Think, Therefore I Teach Tagged: blended learning, teaching
Shiny Happy People: NPR, “Grit,” and “Myths that Deform” pt. 2
Shiny Happy People: NPR, “Grit,” and “Myths that Deform” pt. 2. via Shiny Happy People: NPR, “Grit,” and “Myths that Deform” pt. 2.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
NPR Whitewashes “Grit” Narrative
NPR Whitewashes “Grit” Narrative. via NPR Whitewashes “Grit” Narrative.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
Who Is Unprepared? US Students? Or Arne Duncan?
While Arne Duncan continues his ugly swipes at students, parents, teachers, and schools, I believe it is time to turn the focus on the accuser. Are U.S. students unprepared for college? I recommend Carol Burris’s answer: Are American students grossly unprepared for college? Or is Duncan unprepared, noting that he has no experience teaching but lots […]
MAR 16
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.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical