THE BECOMING RADICAL
EMPATHYEDUCATES!
the becoming radical
A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
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Loss: A Dog’s Life
I was listening to sports talk radio, an interview with Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who characterized an athlete’s career as “a dog’s life,” meaning that career is short. And this spoke to me in the wake of having just lost our first family dog, Hershey, a chocolate lab we had for about 14 years. On the Sunday night just after the U.S. World Cup match with Portugal, Hershey began to bar
Who Are We? We Are the Resistance
Diane Ravitch’s post about the debate over the Gates moratorium includes a comment from John Thompson that deserves close attention: In a note to me, John Thompson pointed out that our side, which doesn’t have a name, cherishes the clash of ideas. The “reformers” march in lockstep (my words, not Thompson’s) in support of test-based accountability for students and teachers, Common Core, and school
JUN 26
Obama Education Agenda and the Tone-Deaf Follies
Early and often, the Obama administration’s education agenda, headed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, has driven the public narrative about public schools, teachers, and students with a relentless claim that everything wrong with education rests in a single problem: Expectations are too low. Impoverished children have low achievement in the U.S. Why? Low expectations! African American and La
JUN 25
Whence Come “The Leftovers”?: Speculative Fiction and the Human Condition
Nora Durst finds herself at the intersection of something routinely normal for middle-class Americans living in the comfort of suburbia and distinctly otherworldly at the same time in Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers, his 2011 novel venturing into speculative/ dystopian fiction.* Visiting the mall with her sister during the Christmas season, Nora confronts the sudden disappearance of her entire family
JUN 24
Will Free-Pass Mainstream Media Clean Up Their Chetty Mess?
The New York Times couldn’t hold back: Big Study Links Good Teachers to Lasting Gain. And for two years now, the so-called Chetty study that claims teacher quality directly causes higher lifetime earnings for their students has been re-released by Chetty and colleagues as well as rehashed by the free-pass mainstream media with a fervor that seems at least over-the-top. When the Chetty numbers (has
JUN 23
Education Reform as the New Misogyny: A Reader
While watching The Wolverine (2013) starring Hugh Jackman, I noticed that along with Wolverine’s adamantium claws, Jackman’s nipples were featured prominently, leading me to search for the film’s promotional poster. And my suspicions were confirmed: The Wolverine (2013) Apparently Eva Green’s thinly-veiled nipples are not only more dangerous than the gun she is holding in the new Sin City sequel,
Interview At the Chalk Face: Critical Free Press
You can listen to my interview from Sunday 22 June 2014 At the Chalk Face. The topic is the need for a critical free press, specifically in education reform. See my two posts: U.S. and Education Reform Need a Critical Free Press My Open Letter to Journalists: A Critical Free Press, pt. 2
JUN 22
Debating the Gates Moratorium, Or Life among the Roadbuilders
As a lifelong fan of science fiction (SF), I want to start by invoking a SF convention that never gets old: time travel (but I’ll spare you the whirlwind prestidigitation mastered by Kurt Vonnegut, who married time travel and non-linear narrative in Slaughterhouse-Five). Once upon a time (well, I must confess, I enjoy a bit of genre-splicing also), Bill Gates, billionaire and burgeoning education
Obama Education Agenda and the Tone-Deaf Follies
By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at The Becoming Radical. June 26, 2014 Early and often, the Obama administration’s education agenda, headed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, has driven the public narrative about public schools, teachers, and students with a relentless claim that everything […]
Why Kids Care More About Achievement Than Helping Others
Seattle Municipal Archives/Flickr With thanks to my parents who often practiced as they preached. Mom and Dad often reflected, in raising a child you need to think – Does my tone of voice, body language, and facial expression, all together, communicate what I believe? If as a […]
JUN 26
18 Things White People Should Know/Do Before Discussing Racism
Americans, for decades now, have aspired to be colorblind, just not completely. Oh we long to see pretty pink crocuses and yellow daffodils flowers bloom in the spring. We want to walk through tall green grasses and bathe in the bright sun. We want to wear colorful […]
JUN 24
Editorial: A Complete Education Includes Humanities
Photograph; Stan Gutiontov, a student at Northwestern University’s Feinberg/Chicago Tribune By Times Editorial | Originally Published at Tampa Bay Times. Friday, June 21, 2013 5:30am The humanities and social sciences have been under attack by Gov. Rick Scott and other politicians who are insisting on a more […]