All Week @ THE CHALK FACE
Teach For America and The Nonprofit Industrial Complex
As the controversy around Teach For America grows, it is incredibly important to understand the role of venture philanthropy in education reform. This video provides powerful context in regards to how many nonprofits are used to maintain and exacerbate the injustices and inequalities in our world. Perhaps one of the most ad vanced mechanisms […]
Predatory Reform Strikes Again: Kahn Academy and College Board
Kahn Academy and College Board have joined forced to “revise” college SAT testing! And they’ve brought their buddies ALEC, Gates, and McKinsey along for the ride. Predatory reform strikes again. Kahn Academy is the darling of education “reformers” and entrepreneurs, spearheading the movement to provide online instruction in lieu of bodied and interactive learning, to […]
Washington State Legislature Considers Tying Test Scores to Teacher and Principal Evaluations
Two bills currently under consideration before the legislature in Olympia, Senate Bill 5880 and House Bill 2800, would mandate the inclusion of state test scores in both teacher and principal evaluations. These bills were introduced after US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told Governor Jay Inslee that he would not consider extending a NCLB waiver currently in place […]
A Schneider Debriefing on Weingarten
On Sunday, March 2, 2014, I participated in a much-publicized Common Core (CCSS) panel with four other individuals as part of the Network for Public Education (NPE) first annual conference in Austin, Texas. (A 40-minute video of the CCSS panel can be found here; a five-minute video excerpt of my seven-minute opener can be found here.) One […]
David Coleman’s Latest Khan
Originally posted on the becoming radical:Maybe we need a Khan Academy video series to help the public in the U.S. understand the term “free.” When you are driving late at night, and you are in unfamiliar rural America in need of a hotel, you see a relatively rundown hotel with a sign announcing “FREE…
David Coleman’s Latest Khan
David Coleman’s Latest Khan. via David Coleman’s Latest Khan.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
STANDARDIZED Brings a Suppressed Crisis to the Screen
Daniel Hornberger & Company’s new documentary, STANDARDIZED: Lies, Money, and Civil Rights, finally brings into a clear focus why the testing culture sitting atop national Common Core standards is absolutely dangerous. The film includes testimony and experiences from a handful of very knowledgeable and passionate professors, teachers, activists, and parents. At roughly an hour-and-a half, […]
MAR 06
Here It Is: The NPE Common Core Panel Video
I plan to write a reflection on my NPE Common Core panel experience. However, allow me to first post this 40-minute video, which, I am guessing, includes each panelists’ opening remarks prior to the 30-minute question and answer segment. Each panelist was afforded seven minutes to speak, in the following order: AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks first; […]
Equipping Florida Parents to Expose Jeb Bush’s Florida Education “Miracle”
The purpose of this post is to provide a brief summary for Florida parents regarding the failure of the spectrum of so-called education “reforms” introduced and advanced by former Governor Jeb Bush (1999 – 2007). I have written this brief, two-page “talking points” Word doc to complement the contents of this post. Thus, parents can use the “talking […]
Another brief word on civility in the #edreform debates
I know I’ve commented on this before, so I’ll keep this brief. Within debates for and against corporate education reform, corporate reformers often respond to passionate debate with complaints. “Ouch, you’re attacking me.” “That’s an ad hominem attack, sir, that’s just morbidly ad hominem.” Folks like to throw that word ad hominem around. It’s almost […]
SAT Reboot 2016: “Nonsense It All Is”
SAT Reboot 2016: “Nonsense It All Is”. via SAT Reboot 2016: “Nonsense It All Is”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
Thomas: Don’t link teacher pay to student test scores
Thomas: Don’t link teacher pay to student test scoresFiled under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
MAR 05
Communities of color have been decimated by corporate reform. Now anger spreads when it affects white folk like @RBNLake
Robin Lake of Seattle writes: As the director of an education think tank focused on national issues, it feels indulgent to write about my own kids’ experiences in the public school system. But there’s no better way to illustrate one of the reasons my organization pursues the work it does on behalf of students. Let […]
The Conversation: Moving ‘quality’ teachers between schools will not help disadvantaged children
Moving ‘quality’ teachers between schools will not help disadvantaged childrenFiled under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical Tagged: disadvantaged children
MAR 04
You don’t know the meaning of #dontbackdown
I’m pretty angry. Yesterday, I was on a panel discussing Teach For America with, among others, Josh Anderson- head of TFA Chicago. Overall, I thought the panel went well. Debate was passionate (mostly on my part) but civil. Still, at the very end, when Josh gave the final remarks of the event, he said something […]
Even in mourning, obsessions with our classroom abound.
For four years, I was a college professor in teacher education. I probably reported to work in person about three days a week, worked from home the rest on writing, committee work, reading, and other kinds of professional development. My schedule had a reasonable amount of flexibility relative to most jobs. I could easily take […]
What Does It Mean To Be In Solidarity?
Last weekend the Network for Public Education (NPE) held its first conference in Austin Texas. Now I have attended many conferences over the years. For me they tend to be inspiring, lots of good workshops and information and opportunities to network with colleagues. But something about the NPE conference felt different. Part of it was […]
MAR 03
Some Details on the First NPE Conference
The first annual Network for Public Education (NPE) Conference was this past weekend, on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, 2014. Below is a news brief on the conference: I participated in the NPE conference as a member of three panel discussions, the topics being investigative journalism, philanthropy (as such is undermining the democratic […]
#optout Chicago: Administrator Pledge
Michelle Gunderson: Administrator’s Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out Originally appeared here: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2014/03/michelle_gunderson_shares_an_a.html Filed under: GUEST POSTS Tagged: chicago, chicago boycott, opt out
BATs: Sanitized for Weingarten’s Protection?
On the second day of the NPE Conference in Austin, I was working at home, with one browser tab open to the livestream of the conference and another open to the Twitter feed about it. At one point, I saw a tweet that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, was not going […]
Critical Pedagogy or Core Knowledge?
Critical Pedagogy or Core Knowledge?. via Critical Pedagogy or Core Knowledge?.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
MAR 01
@thechalkface is going mainstream, our official press release #NPEConference
We’re in Austin, TX for the first Network for Public Education conference with an actual radio crew as we find our way towards a mainstream and syndicated radio presence, in particular to topics in education. Here’s a link to our official press release from syndication. If you have a moment, consider helping us by forwarding […]