Schools Matter:
Schools Matter All Week
Newsday Declares Down, Up, as Common Core Curdles
Last year's god-awful results on Common Core tests in New York set off a statewide resistance movement among advantaged and the disadvantaged parents to dump the Gates and Pearson CorpEd plan into the Long Island Sound. This second year, when most new testing regimes usually see big gains, state language arts scores actually went down, while math scores edged up. Newsday headline? "Common C
AUG 14
What Does Ferguson, MO Have to Do With 9-11?
Last night I watched the police in Ferguson, MO as they rolled out their armored vehicles with machine guns on top to confront peaceful protestors and the media. Even though no curfew had been declared by the mayor or any of the other political cowards in the state, the police, bristling with armor bought with unlimited Homeland Security funds, took it upon themselves to decide when people should
Iowa Becomes Latest to Dump the Common Core
from the Blaze:Yet another state has kicked Common Core to the curb.Iowa had implemented much of the Common Core State Standards into its “Iowa Core” education standards, working with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium on a single testing program to measure students’ progress. The testing consortium has been one of the key organizations in helping states fully implement Common Core. But on
Follow-Up on Lee County, FL Board Consideration of Opting Out Entire County from State Tests
from News-Press.com:If the Lee County school board opts out of state-mandated testing, it will be the first district in Florida to do so. But the legality of that defiance remains unclear.Members almost brought it to a vote Tuesday evening at the school board meeting — prompting audience applause at the very suggestion — but it was tabled for further legal consideration.Florida statutes broadly re
AUG 13
Lee County, FL School Board Pledges to Research Opting Out Entire District
From News-Press.com: FCAT. Florida Standards. Common core.No matter what you call it, the school board wants it gone.Board members unanimously expressed their disdain for standardized testing at the school board meeting Tuesday, pledging to research the possibility of "opting out" the entire district from standardized testing."There needs to be a come-to-Jesus meeting ... to talk ab
Pre-K = Childhood's End?
Comment posted following “As the first day of school approaches, the city trains thousands of universal pre-K teachers,” on ChalkbeatPosted on August 12.I wonder how many of those interested in teaching Pre-K in New York have read the "New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core." The document is 62 pages long, filled with an astonishing list of standards that cover Ap
AUG 12
Michael Mulgrew Wants His Common Core Back That He Never Had
Michael Mulgrew is fed up with those billionaires that have taken his Common Core away from him. Or so it would seem. According to Mulgrew's frothing revisionist rant to speak in support Weingarten's continued embrace of the rotted Core, teachers had these standards, see, and these guys came and took 'em away, see, and screwed 'em up, see, and now it's time to take them back, see, and to make th
AUG 11
Charter School Education in the U. S.: It's All About the Real Estate
When ignorant or purchased Ohio politicians jumped on the charter school bandwagon almost 20 years ago to "provide more choices for poor families" and to "cut bureaucratic oversight to allow educational innovation," they opened the floodgates for corruption, larceny, and educational fraud promoted under the guise of helping poor kids. As a result, charter kingpin, David Brennan
AUG 10
Vile opportunist Alex Johnson's shameless accusations of paid Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsements
I would say Marguerite is turning in her grave, but her family hasn't even had time to bury her before the very forces she fought against on the Board and political opportunists are seeking to harm the schools and children she fought so passionately to protect. — Celes King IV Tuesday, August 12, 2014 there is a special election in Los Angeles. It is critical in that it is for the District 1 boar
Australia to require "the phonics method"
Sent to the Sydney Daily Telegraph (Australia) Re the new "phonics requirement": ("Education minister orders universities to teach phonics or face losing accreditation," August 10) "Phonics" could mean "systematic, intensive phonics,": teaching all phonics rules to all children in a strict sequence. Research done by Prof. Elaine Garan shows that systematic
Susan O's Letter to the NYTimes
Posted August 8:To the Editor:I witnessed the educational abuse of South Korean children documented in “How South Korea Enslaves Its Students,” by Se-Woong Koo (Sunday Review, Aug. 3), when I was asked by the Korean teachers’ union in 2007 to speak about the dangers the No Child Left Behind law brought to American schools. I asked if I could go early and visit schools in Seoul.While Seoul kinderga
AUG 09
What's Troubling about Nel Noddings' Interview at Chalkface
I listened to Shaun Johnson's interview with Nel Noddings, and it was obvious that both interviewer and interviewee were prepared for different interviews. After spending a good chunk of time before the interview making a case for his continuing the show in the absence of former co-anchor, Tim Slekar, Shaun sort of got into an introduction to Nel Noddings that encouraged listeners to get one of h
Common Core Inspires New Tests to Further Segregate Children Based on Class
In Tennessee, they call it "personalized learning time" made possible by a "skills-based universal screener" administered three times a year (on top of all the other testing).In Dickson County, all the "screened" children are dumped into a Power Learning Block (PLB) once a day based on their scores screening results. In Cell Power Block 1 we have the black birds, who