Saturday, August 30, 2014

8-30-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD


THE BECOMING RADICAL

EMPATHYEDUCATES!


the becoming radical 
 A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness 
by 





NPR Whitewashes Charter Schools and Disaster Capitalism in New Orelans
It was bad enough when NPR whitewashed the “grit” narrative, but now NPR is whitewashing charter schools and disaster capitalism in New Orleans. For context please see: Recommended: Hope Against Hope, Sarah Carr Endgame: Disaster Capitalism, New Orleans, and the Charter Scam More to come …

AUG 28

remnant 61: “The right words always seemed to come too late”
remnant 61: “The right words always seemed to come too late”.
The Great Media-Disciplines Divide
Posting at The South Lawn, Robert Reese, a PhD student in sociology at Duke University, confronts the marginalized role of the disciplines in the popular media: Like sports, nearly everyone has an opinion on race, but unlike sports, the training of race scholars is often meaningless in the public’s eye. Our knowledge is often attributed to mere opinion rather than theories and facts drawn from yea
Denying White Privilege Has an Evidence Problem
If I had to guess, I suspect Bill O’Reilly fancies himself more akin to George Will, Newt Gingrich, or Cal Thomas than Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. But speculating on that self-delusion isn’t really necessary because the reality is that all of these white, male pundits share a single quality: privilege. And thus, it is all the more baffling when O’Reilly holds forth on denying privilege, prompting

AUG 26

“Other People’s Children” v. “They’re All Our Children”
Optimism, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel—these are not my proclivities. And while I wallow in the self-delusion that I am a Skeptic, the truth is that I have long ago slipped over into the abyss of cynicism. There are moments, however, when I hope. One such moment was during the Sandy Hook school shooting tragedy—when I wanted desperately to believe that President Obama’s call for seein
Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death | Alternet
Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death | Alternet

AUG 25

Confessions of an Outlier in the Aftershock of Ferguson
This is a reposting (slightly revised) from Daily Kos (16 December 2011), and offered in the context of the media and political demonizing of Michael Brown after he was shot, although unarmed, by a police officer. — Confessions of an Outlier in the Aftershock of Ferguson Megan McArdle has confronted Gene Marks’ “If I Were a Poor Black Kid” and drawn a much different conclusion: Sum it all up and

AUG 24

Diagramming Sentences and the Art of Misguided Nostalgia
Having been a serious competitive and recreational cyclist (not “biker”) for all but a handful of years over three decades, I cringe and must bite my tongue every time people refer to their bicycle “seat” (it is a “saddle”). During those years committed to cycling, I have also become well acquainted with the history of the professional sport and a fairly accomplished bicycle mechanic. I can take a
Truthout: The Gates Foundation Education Reform Hype Machine and Bizarre Inequality Theory, Adam Bessie and Dan Carino
The Gates Foundation Education Reform Hype Machine and Bizarre Inequality Theory, Adam Bessie and Dan Carino
Howard Zinn: “education cannot be neutral on the critical issues of our time”
24 August 1922—Howard Zinn was born. His life and career spanned the twentieth century and into the first decade of the twenty-first. It is his memoir, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times, for me, that speaks to the enduring power of Zinn’s metaphor, particularly for teachers. Historically and currently, teacher remain under the demand that their teaching—and ev


Here’s the New Meme for White People
One big happy family.Shutterstock By Christian Lander } Originally Published at Quartz. August 29, 2014 A few years ago, I wrote about white people and their love of “awareness” on my blog Stuff White People Like. The post talked about how white people loved awareness because it […]

AUG 28

Governor Bobby Jindal’s Commitment to Common Core Gone With The Wind
Remember when the National Governors Association told us that Common Core was our friend? It was not that long ago. The year was 2010. Way back then a states-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards was adopted. For near a year, state leaders, including governors […]

AUG 27

I’m Black, My Brother’s White … and He’s a Cop Who Shot a Black Man on Duty
It’s one thing to have to ask this of the police. It’s another to ask it of your brother. Photograph: Steve Eberhardt/Demotix/Corbis By Zach Stafford | Originally Published at The Guardian. August 25, 2014 07.30 EDT My white brother loved black people more than I did when […]
Illinois School Bans Discussions of Michael Brown’s Death
Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia via Shutterstock.com By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at AlterNet. August 26, 2014 When faced with tragedies like the shooting of Michael Brown and the community unrest that followed, there are many hard questions to be asked. Why did this happen again? […]
Ferguson’s Schools Are Just as Troubling as Its Police Force
By Tracey Meares | Originally Published at The New Republic. August 22, 2014 A day after his visit to Ferguson, Missouri, Attorney General Eric H. Holder stated in a press conference that, “History simmers beneath the surface in more communities than just Ferguson.” To what history was […]

AUG 26

Study; Police Often Provoke Protest Violence
Photograph; Demonstrators supporting protesters in Ferguson, Mo., hold up mirrors to police during a march Wednesday in Oakland. Photo Credit: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Beginning at birth we teach our children. We teach them how to talk, how to walk, and how to act with other children. […]

AUG 25

Back To Schools White People Cannot See
Failure to see race correlates to a failure to see the funding crisis. The School Reality White People Cannot See is that education is not equitably funded. (Image: flickr / cc / cortonflow)By Jeff Bryant | Originally Published at Our Future. August 21, 2014 As the season […]

AUG 24

Wisdom from Ferguson’s Children
What is education? Is it testing? Teaching? Is it the Common Core Curriculum? Is it the possibility of opting-out? Is education the search for wisdom? And what about the children? Where might they be in this equation? Educators, reply; “A Whole Child education is essential.” But what […]

AUG 23

St. Louis Artists Respond To Ferguson With Chalk
What have we done to our children? We express distress over their education. All those tests, a standardized curriculum. Our schools are “failing,” or so some say and charter schools are scamming in countless ways. We try to opt out