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,
5-5-13 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: 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 y