All Week @ THE CHALK FACE
@the Chalk Face radio Sunday at 6:00 pm Eastern. #chalktalk #CrazyinCO.
Tomorrow night @the chalk face radio. Another installment of “Crazy in Colorado.” We will be talking to bully journalist Karin Malchow. Karin just doesn’t understand how paid for reports and internal board press releases can be passed off as news to the public. We will try and help her understand “priority journalism.” Also we’ll be […]
Does anyone else struggle with movement in the classroom?
This from the Answer Sheet: In the following post, Angela Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapist and the founder of TimberNook, a nature-based development program designed to foster creativity and independent play outdoors in New England, suggests yet another reason more children are being diagnosed with ADHD, whether or not they really have it: the amount […]
The Problem with the AFT Offer for Teachers to “Rewrite” the Common Core
A very good thing will happen on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention in Los Angeles: The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will be debated on the floor. No behind-closed-doors killing of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) resolution opposing CCSS. As Politico states: Weingarten, for instance, has repeatedly said she supports Common Core, but she […]
JUL 10
Jindal Says No to Roemer, Garvey and Boffy’s 2014-15 Assessment “Offer”
On July 10, 2014, three members of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)– President Chas Roemer, James Garvey, and Holly Boffy– decided that they would make Governor Bobby Jindal an offer regarding a plan for 2014-15 assessments in Louisiana schools. Within hours, Jindal rejected the Roemer et al. offer. The decision to […]
How Can 2004 Data Prove that Reports in 2007 to 2012 on the Damage Done by NCLB Would Be Wrong?
“Estimating the Effects of No Child Left Behind on Teachers and Their Work Environments and Job Attitudes,” by Jason Grissom et. al., uses NCES polling data from 1993-94 to 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to 2007-08. It begins by reviewing and challenging “anecdotal” evidence from great journalists and education writers. As I explained previously, I believe the […]
JUL 09
Ignoring the Job Market (and How We Do Our Jobs) When Studying Teachers’ Job Satisfaction
“Estimating the Effects of No Child Left Behind on Teachers and Their Work Environments and Job Attitudes,” by Jason Grissom et. al., uses NCES polling data from 1993-94 to 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to 2007-08. It begins by reviewing and challenging “anecdotal” evidence from great journalists and education writers. As I explained previously, I believe the […]
JUL 08
New York Magazine Writer Thinks Ravitch Will “Make” Unions “Go Republican”
I just finished writing a post about American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten’s allegiance to the Democratic Party above all else, and what link do I open up next? That of a New York Magazine article by Jonathan Chait, entitled, Teachers Unions Turn Against Democrats. Now that’s funny. Apparently Chait is upset that the two political parties are not […]
Randi Weingarten, Twitter, and “Secret Society” Membership
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is a corporate reformer’s gift. He appointed Stefan Pryor, the co-founder of a major charter chain as state education commissioner. Even as traditional public education in Connecticut is underfunded, the number of charter schools grows. Malloy also believes in evaluating teachers using student test scores. He publicly stated that teachers “only have to show up fo
The Secretary’s 50 State Plan for #teacherequity
I’m reading the original letter sent to state school officers. Is that Times New Roman? This is the best the highest office in education in the US can do, am I correct? Wow. From Education Week: But addressing that problem won’t be easy. States have a limited authority and capacity to ensure that districts distribute […]
Why APPR in NYS has to go.
Why APPR in NYS has to go..Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
Saving a school: Predatory enrollment
The Washington Post discussed recently the immense pressure administrators, and staff as well, are under to re-enroll students in their schools in order to keep and maintain resources. The move is a sign of the tremendous pressure on the District’s traditional public schools. Charter schools, which appeared less than two decades ago, now enroll nearly […]
Mis-Estimating the Effects of NCLB on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction
I expected to have mixed feelings when reading “Estimating the Effects of No Child Left Behind on Teachers and Their Work Environments and Job Attitudes,” by Jason Grissom et. al. On one hand, their finding as summarized in the press was so surprising that I knew a careful and skeptical reading would be required. On […]
Are “Teacher Professional Partnerships” a viable career ladder option?
Dear Teachers, During a school day, have you ever wondered, silently or aloud, any of the following statements: 1) There’s a more effective way of doing ____________________, 2) If we could only change ____________________. 3) I wish we could start doing ____________________. If you answered ‘yes’ to these statements, then this message is for you. Perhaps, there is a more effective way. Perhaps, [
JUL 07
A Chronicle of Echoes Gets Noticed in Salon
This summer, I am writing my second book, this time on the history, development, and promotion of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). On July 4th, I finished writing the ten-chapter body of that book, which means that even though I now turn my attention to proofing, editing, and formatting my references, I do not […]
The collective illiteracy of education reform
I have no idea how any reform conversant can say what follows with a straight face: When people say the education system is too focused on the adults at the expense of the kids, it can be dismissed as a throwaway line. In fact, as our ongoing conversation about stakes and consequences shows, it’s so much […]
Replace Arne Duncan with whom? THIS GUY!
Sunday July 6th kicked off our first in a series of shows on the craziness that is education reform in the counties surrounding Denver, CO, particularly Douglas County, where we’ve featured topics previously on @ the Chalk Face. I’m sure the reader has heard the NEA’s call for the current Secretary’s resignation. I am also […]
JUL 06
Effective Motivation:
EFFECTIVE MOTIVATION:.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
JUL 05
Tomorrow begins a multi-part series from #DougCo Colorado. #talkchalk #CrazyinCO
Here’s the listing for tomorrow’s show at 6PM EST: SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! @the chalk face radio presents “Crazy in Colorado.” We begin a series of Sunday shows devoted to the Rocky Mountain state’s embrace of the failed reform movement and also talking to those marginalized voices that have and are fighting back and suffering tremendous casualties. Joins us at 6 […]
Social networking usage and @ the chalk face
Pew recently updated their facts and information on social media/networking usage. Twitter, as far as I’m concerned, is a cesspool. According to Pew, roughly 19% of all online adults are using it. May seem like a lot. Yeah, it is. Pretty powerful stuff. But it’s not even close to where we @ the Chalk Face, and […]