All Week @ THE CHALK FACE
Let It Go for the test refusers
Originally posted on An Antique Teacher:I was making my way around the internet and found this, which was billed as a “parody”. I guess in the simplest terms, it is a parody, but sadly as I watched it, I realized that it was a video encouraging students to do their very best on the…
Two Americas: George W. Bush and Neil deGrasse Tyson
Two Americas: George W. Bush and Neil deGrasse Tyson. via Two Americas: George W. Bush and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
YESTERDAY
David Brooks, Common Core Circus Performer
Why newspapers hire individuals to regularly offer the public unsubstantiated opinions baffles me. I am a researcher. Unless my posts are grounded in my personal experience, I offer my readers links to document my position on matters about which I write. David Brooks is an opinion writer. He publishes his opinions regularly in the New York […]
Guest post from teacher Mark Butler: Kicking the Common Core Football @parccinfo
On the surface it might seem confusing as to why Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA) would suddenly come out in opposition to the PARCC assessment- and in doing so, undermine the authority of State Superintendent, John White, Jr. Jindal hand-picked White for Superintendent in January 2012, and has until this recent turnabout, remained lockstep with him on […]
Paternalism, Old or New, Blinds
Paternalism, Old or New, Blinds. via Paternalism, Old or New, Blinds.
Rank-and-File Educators Seek Solidarity with Parents, Public
Parents are rising. Students are stepping up. Some lawmakers are even slowly walking away from corporate influences. And now, rank-and-file teachers are organizing to transform their local and state unions in order to move them back into the democratic organizations they were born to be. For teachers, there is power in numbers–there has to be–but in […]
APR 17
Sol Stern and Common Core: Still Disconnected
On April 6, 2014, I published this post, entitled, Sol Stern Thinks Common Core Is About Rich Curriculum. In the post, I rebutted another post of Stern’s entitled, A Sorry Attack on the Common Core. On April 17, 2014, Stern responded in this post entitled, The Real Common Core Story. Hardly the “real” story of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS); nevertheless, […]
See Me After Class, Part II
In a first post on Roxanna Elden’s See Me After Class, I focused on her sage advice for lesson and unit planning. I argued that one reason why the contemporary school reform movement failed is that it ignored Elden’s wisdom on why implementing plans is “easier said than done.” This post contends that reformers also […]
Do private money and Title I money break even?
In a word, no. The two kinds of money don’t represent an apples-to-apples comparison because different rules govern how they can be spent, but the raw totals show that schools that get public money do come out a little bit ahead – especially since they don’t have to raise it themselves. Even though this article […]
APR 16
Roxanna Elden’s Excellent See Me After Class
Rereading the second edition of Roxanna Elden’s See Me After Class is just as much fun as the first read. And it begins with one of the best and truest endorsements I have seen. Dave Berry says, “You know how you’ve always thought if you were a teacher you would go insane? Well, this very […]
Press release from @whitehouse shows some promise for public schools. Seriously.
Just released from the Office of the Press Secretary, American Job Training Investments: Skills and Jobs to Build a Stronger Middle Class. In a nutshell: Today, as part of this effort, the President and Vice President are announcing new federal investments using existing funds to support job-driven training, like apprenticeships, that will expand partnerships with industry, […]
Interesting Teacher Appreciation festivities from a MI charter school, via @eclectablog
A MI charter school decides to humiliate its teachers to appreciate them. Interesting. MANDIVA – Our 3 favorite male faculty members in heels for an hour SAVE MY JOB – 3 faculty members will stand in the parking lot during dismissal and hold a sign. CREAM FACIAL – Students will throw pie in 3 faculty members’ faces during […]
APR 15
Can BESE Save White from Jindal? I’m Thinking… No.
John White’s job is on the line, and the primarily-purchased Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is standing behind its Common Core State Standards (CCSS)- and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC)-promoting talking head. For White’s annual evaluation, BESE gave him a 3 out of 4. I’m thinking White’s BESE […]
South Carolina Withdraws from Smarter Balanced Assessments
In a letter to the Chair of the South Carolina State Board of Education, State Superintendent Mick Zais has exercised his authority to pull South Carolina out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC): SC State Superintendent Letter SBAC This does not release South Carolina from the use of the Common Core State Standards; although it […]
“There’s a Muslim in America Named Muhammad Ali”
“There’s a Muslim in America Named Muhammad Ali”. via “There’s a Muslim in America Named Muhammad Ali”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
Pat Tillman (11/6/76 – 4/22/04): A Decade of Forgetting
Pat Tillman (11/6/76 – 4/22/04): A Decade of Forgetting. via Pat Tillman (11/6/76 – 4/22/04): A Decade of Forgetting.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
APR 14
Jindal to Dump PARCC?
An April 14, 2014, nola.com article has Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal publicly saying he is “willing” to leave the Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers (PARCC)– and even the Common Core State Standards (CCSS): Gov. Bobby Jindal has said he is willing to withdraw Louisiana from a consortium of states developing the assessment associated with the Common Core academic standards if the
The Paradox of Race in the U.S.
The Paradox of Race in the U.S.. via The Paradox of Race in the U.S..Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
APR 13
UOO to CEA: How Can We Help?
Read more at PegwithPen!Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
vox.com: PARCC Tests Are “Working”!
On April 11, 2014, vox.com, a supposedly a “data-driven news site” started this month (April 2014) by Ezra Klein, posted this propagandastic wonder regarding Partnership for Assessment for College and Careers (PARCC) field testing. Note that field testing does not begin to touch the magnitude of actual PARCC testing designed for grades K-12 (see here and here and here), quite the […]
Devaluing Teachers in the Age of Value-Added
Devaluing Teachers in the Age of Value-Added. via Devaluing Teachers in the Age of Value-Added.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical
APR 12
Funny anecdote on the edTPA
I see a few folks here and there starting to talk more about the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), or the Pearson product that will now be used to score and certify student teachers. I scored some of these things. Painfully mediocre stuff. Here’s a quick note about my experience that I shared with some others […]
Blowback question of the day: Are teachers also ceding control of their profession to parents?
I may get blowback for this one, so here goes: is the relative apathy of teachers, and the myopic ignorance of the larger political realities affecting education, forcing them to cede control of the activist narrative to parents? I am part of many activist groups, passively and otherwise. Many of these groups are led by […]
Exiting the Common Core Memorandum of Understanding
In October 2013, I wrote a post examining the details of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) memorandum of understanding (MOU), the agreement that state governors and state education superintendents signed with the US Department of Education (USDOE) in which “states” agreed to be “state led” in developing “common standards” according to the criteria set forth in […]
Interesting thought: Are the corporate reformers lamenting Colbert’s move to the Late Show?
From that Russo guy: For years now, Colbert has been riffing off of education issues, bringing education-related guests on the show, and generally making us all feel like we’re involved in something interesting and important. Fewer “heavy-hitting” and “wonkish” interviews with corporate education reform dilettantes, and intellectual geniuses, like Michelle Rhee and Wendy Kopp, in […]
I am conflicted over teacher resignation letters
The latest from a CO high school teacher, Pauline Hawkins, that has achieved “viral” status. Is this heroic? I think that’s a complicated question. It certainly adds some drama to the destructive potential of corporate education reform. That is, veteran educators are willing to sacrifice their chosen professions in the face of being compelled to […]