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Starve the Testing Beast: Chicago Teachers Show Us How to Organize a Test Boycott
By Michelle Gunderson. We have a saying in the testing resistance movement – don’t feed the beast, starve the data monster. When parents opt their children out of testing they are taking a strong stance against having their children’s data used as a mechanism to sort students, punish teachers, and privatize our schools. When teachers decide to boycott testing – completely refusing to administer te
Administrator’s Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out
by Michelle Gunderson. Imagine you are 8 years old. Your parents respectfully requested that you not participate in standardized testing. Yet, your school system insists on putting the test in front of you, reading the directions, and making you sit quietly for the duration of the test. Now that over a thousand students have opted out of testing in Chicago this is the scenario facing many children
Part Three: The Attack on Teacher Tenure is an Attack on the Black Middle Class
By Paul Horton. Part three of three. Perhaps even more alarming than the Obama administration is the recent campaign headed up by former CNN and CNBC talk show host Campbell Brown and former Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs against teacher tenure. Energized by the apparent success of the Vergara decision, the Partnership for Education Justice was recently launched to disparage teachers, teacher
Duncan Listens to Gates, Offers One Year Delay on New Test Consequences
After five years at his post, Secretary Duncan indicates he is now “listening to teachers on testing.” His statement, released this morning, offers a thorough repudiation of teaching to the test, but little substance regarding federal policies, beyond offering states the chance to request a year’s delay in the use of scores from new tests on teacher evaluations. This reflects, once again, that the
AUG 19
Part Two: Why is the Obama Administration Waging War on Teachers?
By Paul Horton. Part two of three. In the twenty-five years after the Civil Rights Act of 1868, most whites abandoned the Democrats in the South as white flight and the Southern Baptist Convention sought public support for private schools that were created in suburban areas like Cobb and northern Gwinnett counties that ring Atlanta, Georgia. Conservative Republicans demanded vouchers from Presiden
AUG 18
Part One: Past as Prelude in the Still Troubled South
by Paul Horton. Part one of three. My son and I took our annual road trip last week. We listen to books on tape and blues as we travel. He is learning to drive so, for the first time, he was able to take the wheel for hours at a time while I bit my fingernails and chewed my gum. On the morning of our arrival to the Delta that most Chicago south and west siders call home, he put on his Levi’s jean
AUG 17
Activist instrumental in bringing the $15.00 minimum wage to Seattle speaks at Educating Gates rally
Teacher and council member Kshama Sawant, who was instrumental in bringing the $15.00 minimum wage to Seattle, speaks at the Educating Gates rally, on organizing for change. Read about Kshama here. The post Activist instrumental in bringing the $15.00 minimum wage to Seattle speaks at Educating Gates rally appeared first on Living in Dialogue.
AUG 16
New York Graduation Test Describes “Stunning” Gift of Bill Gates
A question on a New York Regents test lauds the “stunning” contribution Bill Gates has made to the global fight against disease. Last week high school students in the state of New York who previously failed their New York Regents exam in June were given a second chance. This test is one of five that students must pass in order to receive their high school diplomas. It was created by State Departme
AUG 10
Ranking and Sorting: The Sordid History of Standards and Tests
By Anthony Cody When critics such as myself point out the very bad effects the Common Core tests are having, as they label more than two thirds of our children unready for college and career, we are accused of “conflating tests with standards.” UFT president Michael Mulgrew was making this argument on the AFT convention floor, when he threatened to punch in the face anyone who might try to take “h
AUG 09
Israel Munoz and Hannah Nguyen at EmpowerEd, 2014
The post Israel Munoz and Hannah Nguyen at EmpowerEd, 2014 appeared first on Living in Dialogue.
Can Teachers Reclaim the Democratic Party?
By John Thompson. Valerie Strauss’s “’Education Reform’ Now a Pejorative Term to Many Progressive Democrats” and Jeff Bryant’s “Education ‘Reform’ Loses the Netroots” are just two of the recent celebrations of the way that Democrats and progressives are rejecting corporate school reform. Bryant began his hopeful post, “Every year Netroots Nation is arguably the most important annual event in the
The iPad Fiasco: “What do the Terms of Service Say About My Rights?”
A high school teacher asks us to consider the techrights and human rights of the underage human subjects of business-imposed edtech experiments and “innovations”, and to reflect on Audrey Watters’ column, Ed-Tech and the Templated Self: Thoughts from the “Reclaim Your Domain” Hackathon. by Mary Porter. Teachers must protect student agency and identity from the “templated self” demanded by edtech
AUG 05
From the AFT Convention, Looking Forward
Notes on building our movement and the AFT following the Los Angeles convention By Kipp Dawson (rank-and-file delegate to the AFT convention from Pittsburgh) This is a life-or-death time for the American Federation of Teachers. The July 12-14, 2014, convention reflected both positive movement, and continuing obstacles, for our union. As we take on the challenges we all face with the opening of sch
AUG 04
Chicago Teachers’ New Political Awakening
By Michelle Gunderson. What would our city look like if it were run by Chicago teachers alongside other labor and community groups? This was the thought that kept running through my head as we gathered to support the launch of the new United Working Families political organization in Chicago. I have strong hope that Chicago would look much different than it does now. It has to. Mayor Emanuel state
School Librarians – Leading Out Loud
By Susan Polos As miners are alerted to dangers from noxious gases when a canary dies in the mine, community members should immediately wake up and take notice when budgets propose cutting school librarians. This is an early sign that the school culture is endangered, that access to information is at risk, and that student-centered learning may well be compromised. School librarians are getting qu