CURMUDGUCATION:
Common Core Leads To Use of Food and Air
Common Core Leads To Use of Food and Air
Okay, that headline may be a slight overstatement, but it was my first response when I stumbled upon this item on the engageNY blog.In "Connecting Parents to the Classroom," we meet Michelle Labuski, a twenty-year teaching veteran currently teaching sixth grade in Smithtown. Apparently for all of those twenty years, Labuski has been wondering how to communicate with parents about what is
Computerized Grit & Snake Oil
At last! Students can learn grit on their computers!!EduGuide (Motto: One more company that figured out how to work "edu" into its name!) is proud to announce "The nonprofit, evidence-based online training program that strengthens core learning skills." So, with trembling, excited fingers, I am going to scroll down this very long page and see what the secret of teaching grit wi
YESTERDAY
Duncan Blinks!!! Waivers Crumbling!
According to Alyson Klein at Politics K-12, the US Department of Education told states that it would consider NCLB waiver extension without requiring compliance on the matter of teacher evaluation (this apparently in an email from Deborah Delisle, assistant secretary of saying things Arne Duncan doesn't want to say). The new plan calls for states' extensions to be judged based only on two out of t
Marc Tucker's Federalism
Marc Tucker is the author of the infamous "Dear Hillary" letter which has earned him a reputation in conservative circles as an architect of soviet-style centrally-controlled school systems. He's president and founder of the National Center on Education and the Economy, a group that helped create the New Standards Project in 1992 (the great grandaddy of current Reformy Status Quo). NCEE
MAY 08
The Three Sides of the Battle for Public Schools
We have discussed the battle over American public education as if there are two sides. This is not correct, and people who don't grasp the truth are in for a rude and unpleasant shock further down the road.I. Status QuoI've called these guys everything from Purveyors of Reformy Nonsense to Reformsters. We don't call them reformers any more because 1) they aren't interested in reforming anything an
Standards & Curriculum
So is the Common Core a national curriculum or not? The Common Core is not a national curriculum, because it is not a curriculum at all. It is only a set of standards, and that's completely different from the scope and sequence of curriculum planning.As angry villagers storm the Common Core Castle with pointy sticks and burny things, CCSS defenders keep repeating the curriculum/standards explanat
Testing Does Not Improve Instruction
In an ongoing cultural debate, it is always interesting to watch the shift and change of talking points. The battle for public education is no different.Many talking points are retired voluntarily. Common Core supporters have shifted from "all CCSS opposition comes from the tin hat tea party wing" to "it's those damn teachers and their unholy alliance with the tea party." Just
MAY 07
Oh Nos!! NAEP Sadness!
Wednesday unleashed a torrent of bureaucratic sadness as the newest batch of NAEP numbercrunching shambled out into the light of day. NAEP stands for National Assessment of Educational Progress (and not, as I always assumed, No Actual Educational Purpose), and it involves giving math and science tests to students throughout their educational career.The Big Sadness is because high school seniors ha
Or Else
"Well, my child won't be like that."Are there any more hilarious words to come out of the mouths of not-quite-yet parents? Many an actual parent has enjoyed the spectacle of non-parents making pronouncements about a child they haven't even met yet, combined with criticism of the parenting skills of people whose children are actually here."Well, I would never let my child get away wi
Charter$ & Ca$hing In
Since the President has declared this week National Charter School Appreciation & General Praise Week, you are probably thinking, "How can I be part of the charter school excitement?"In the past, many charters were launched that focused solidly on providing unique and exciting educational experiences for their communities. These schools were innovative. These schools were connected t
MAY 06
Dear Sasha Growick
Dear Sasha;I read your entry in the ongoing Louis CK bloggy wars. Your intro is fine. Blah blah blah Louis CK's twitter rant blah blah as a third grade teacher blah blah I don't want to throw gas on the fire, but I feel compelled to, somehow.You followed that up with what you're doing in third grade math, and underlined that the Core are "a new set of multi-state learning standards that chall
NWEA: Teachers Think Testing Sucks Slightly Less
Northwest Evaluation Association just released some poll-based research about testing. It's not exactly a shocker, but get ready to watch its results get spun like marbles in a blender.NWEA is a testing form that has been around since the pre-computer days, so they are not your typical CCSS cash-in operation, but they have picked up the language quickly, perhaps from some of their corporate partne
Idaho: More Interesting Than You Think
Across most of the US, we don't really think of Idaho as the hotbed of, well, anything. But in the current battle for American public education, Idaho is the stage for some interesting battles.The fight to watch right now is the four-way GOP contest for Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction; it's a battle that includes at least one anti-CCSS candidate. The other bone of contention is the repo
My Teacher Appreciation
It is Teacher Appreciation Week, though you could be forgiven for not having noticed. It's the perfect time for all of us to stop and say a few words about the teachers who made a difference for us, whose work we respect, and whose lives in the classroom (and beyond) inspire us. Here are some of mine:Susie and I went to high school together. She eventually returned to this area as a music teacher,
MAY 05
It's That Week Again
What week is it? Well, of course, it's "Stop Telling Me That It's All Arne Duncan's Fault And President Obama Would Totally Have Our Back If Not For His Evil Advisers" Week.For thirty years, the PTA has celebrated this week as Teacher Appreciation Week, or as they say "Since 1984, National PTA has designated the first week in May as a special time to honor the men and women who lend
Defending the Core in OK
Sherry Labyer is superintendent of Duncan Public Schools out in Oklahoma. She has occasionally taken issue with Reformsters in her state, particularly over the use of letter grades for schools. But she loves her some Common Core, and as Oklahoma has wrangled over the future of CCSS (several bills have been floated to repeal, leash, hamstring and otherwise interfere with the Core), Ms. Labyer penne
An Educated Person
"Don't you think there are things that every educated person should know?"I hear this fairly often, generally in response to my stated disinterest in having Common Core standards in particular and national education standards ever in general. It's an eye-opening question for me , because even just a few years ago, I'm pretty sure I would have answered yes. But the current toxic educatio
MAY 04
NY Explains Worst VAM Ever
A reader pointed me at an extraordinary piece of educational in-house PR from our good friends at engageNY*, the uber-reformy wing of the NYSED.It's extraordinary because, if accurate, it explains clearly and simply exactly how VAM-style evaluation can be made even worse.Carol Newman-Sharkey linked me to this short informational video. You know it's going to be fun, because it's stylish cell anima
A Real Race
My wife is a runner. I love my wife. That's why I woke up this morning at 4:45 in a Pittsburgh hotel.We did this last year, but last year she ran the full marathon; this year she's a first-year first-grade teacher who lacks the time to train, to put in the 147 hours of prep required for six-year-olds, and to occasionally hang out with me. So this year she ran the half marathon instead.I've been to
MAY 03
Not One Size Fits All
I often criticize the core (and other standards-- while I know some decent, intelligent people like the idea of some sort of national standards, I do not) by calling it a "one size fits all" solution.But I'm wrong.It's a handy shorthand phrase-- just four words and everybody knows what you mean. But it's not precisely correct."One size fits all" imagines a world where tailors m
Pearson Eats PARCC
Relax and stop resisting. You will be assimilated.Yesterday PARCC, one of the two giant consortia of high stakes standardized testing, announced that they will become part of the giant corporate beast that is Pearson. PARCC's negotiator described the contract as having "unprecedented scale." Pearson has promised a price cut ($24 per student, marked down from $29.50) but the scale of this