THE BECOMING RADICAL
EMPATHYEDUCATES!
the becoming radical
A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
by
What has failed in the U.S.? Democracy? No. We have failed democracy. Public education ? No. We have failed public education. The free press? No. We have failed the free press. Capitalism? No. This is exactly how capitalism works–consuming all and laying waste to democracy, human dignity, and equity. Of all that is the U.S., capitalism is working as it is designed to work. And that is our gre
It’s Not Race, It’s Class…And Other Stories Folks Now Tell
By Black&Smart, AKAdemic | Originally Published at Black&Smart July 10, 2014 I have been studying race, racism and its damaging effects for most of my adult life. And I have witnessed the “racial fatigue” of people who don’t have to consciously deal with race. They tell me […]
JUL 15
Why Poor Schools Can’t Win at Standardized Testing
ou hear a lot nowadays about the magic of big data. Getting hold of the right numbers can increase revenue, improve decision-making, or help you find a mate—or so the thinking goes. In 2009, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a crowd of education researchers: “I am […]
100% Error Rate on Student Transfers – A ‘Miracle?’
State Superintendent John White talks with Chateau Estates Elementary School students in Kenner Wednesday, February 20, 2013. White presented the state’s new plan for reform and accountability for the 2013-14 school year during the visit to the school. (Photo by Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) Introductory […]
Colleges Warned They Will Lose Federal Funding For Botching Campus Rape Cases
Hope Brinn and Mia Ferguson stand in front of a blackboard where they have written their complaints about sexual assaults at Swarthmore College (Credit: Michael Bryant/Philadelphia Inquirer) Years ago, while I do not recall how or why it happened I enrolled in classes. The intent was to […]
JUL 13
Perspective: Re-envision CPS as a Democratic Community
Students do their homework during a public hearing in April on the proposal to close Dumas Technology Academy and consolidate the school with Wadsworth Elementary. The hearing was held at Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune / April 25, 2013) By Eve Rips | […]
JUL 12
Anger, Frustration as Hundreds of New Orleans Parents Turned Away From Public School Enrollment Center
Hundreds of parents waited in lines at Lake Area School on Paris Avenue Thursday, July 10, 2014, to enroll their children in a Recovery School District school. (Photographs; by Dinah Rogers, NOLA.com / The Times-Picayune) Perhaps today, we have an opportunity to, once again, realize that Charter […]
O, Free Press, Where Art Thou?
As I have noted, a common thread running through my blogs is the carelessness among the media covering education. Case in point, yet another tone-deaf and completely unsupportable piece has appeared in the The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC): Duncan deserves high marks. With just a modicum of effort, almost every claim made in this piece is easily refuted by something the mainstream press seems
JUL 16
GUEST POST: Denny Taylor, Garn Press
Dear Friends and Colleagues, I am writing to urgently request your help. If you find the political circumstance and the research base for the four propositions that I have outlined in this letter are compelling, and you support the course of action suggested here please send this letter to friends and colleagues. Use your websites, Facebook, and any other means to get the message out. Given tha
JUL 15
“Gravity”: The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Woman
In the film Gravity, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) fulfills what appears to be a prerequisite for women in films: She undresses alone: Sandra Bullock, Gravity As a science fiction film fan, I immediately thought of Sigourney Weaver in Alien: Sigourney Weaver, Alien At the end of the film, when Ryan Stone crawls out of the water, again in her underwear, I was by then struck as well by Stone’s cropped
JUL 14
Debating Common Core Is Proof that Educators Have Lost
Recently, many within and among the AFT and NEA communities have been applauding that summer conventions have devoted time to debating the Common Core, some going as far as hailing that debate as proof of democracy in action. The key problem with those claims is that the Common Core debate has been decided for educators, and not by educators. And thus, debating the Common Core is proof that educat
JUL 13
ESPN, Mansplaining, and the U.S. Media
What do NPR, conservative talk radio/media, and ESPN radio have in common? Upon first blush, likely nothing. And that proves both what they have in common as well as how that unrecognized is the problem. Let’s start with NPR, as Tracie Powell reports: Anya Kamenetz, NPR’s education team lead blogger, used one of the network’s official Twitter accounts to tweet that she reaches out to diverse sourc