Schools Matter:
Schools Matter All Week
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
Indy Corporate School Complex Gearing Up for IPS School Board Buyout
by Doug MartinEven though the filing deadline is not until the end of the month, the Indy Chamber has already handpicked candidates to elect to the IPS school board to completely turn the city’s schools over to the greedy. Readers who have read Hoosier School Heist know exactly what this means and are well aware of the group of billionaires and lapdogs who desire to turn Indianapolis into New Orl
Ed Delaney’s Son's 2012 Senate Race Funded by Corporate Ed
by Doug Martin Although state representative Ed Delaney has been a friend to public education so far, we better keep a close eye on his son, Democrat Edward Timothy Delaney—or simply Tim, if he decides to run for the Indiana state Senate in the future. Although he lost the election, Edward Timothy Delaney's 2012 campaign was highly funded by many of the hedge fund managers and billionaires acro
AUG 07
Listen to teachers, read the research
Sent to the Jewish Journal, August 7, 2014Ellie Herman ("To save education, listen to teachers," August 6) points out that many of those driving education policy in the US have never taught. The situation is even worse: Education policy makers are also ignorant of educational research: They are unaware that scientific studies published in professional journals provide no support for the
Failure at An Early Age
Fourteen years ago Louisiana had the dubious distinction of being the first state in the Union to require elementary school students to pass a state test, the LEAP, to be promoted to the next grade. Parents, teachers, and principals in high poverty neighborhoods all over Louisiana knew what was coming, and all the "Lean on Jesus" test prep rallies that could be staged by parents and chu
AUG 06
Rahm Slashes Schools to Funnel Cash to Corporate Pals
The reptilian Rahm Emanuel has a conscious strategy to allow profiteers and privatizers to take over Chicago Public Schools, and he is using the money saved by starving the schools and cutting teacher pensions to provide corporate subsidies to his cronies. David Sirota has the story:Months after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said budget constraints forced him to push for pension cuts and mass school
AUG 05
Odds and Ends, first week of August 2014
The main difference between the Gates Foundation funded Common Core and Dr. Maria Montessori's method is this: Montessori did not create educational theories and then try them out on children. She did the opposite. — Jeffrey Katz It's been a very busy summer. Here in Los Angeles we're faced with a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school board special election to replace my dear friend,
Matt Ubelhor, the Walmart/Amway Family Greeder
by Doug Martin With $106,000 of in-kind contributions from Mitch Daniels’ school privatizing Aiming Higher PAC (page 7), $13,000 of in-kind contributions (page 11) from Brian Bosma, a $1,500 direct deposit from Mike Pence’s committee (page 10), and $53,000 (page 8) in hard cash from the anti-critical thinking Indiana Chamber’s Indiana Business for Responsible Government PAC, Matt Ubelhor, Indian
KIPP Foundation's 990 for 2011
The closer I get to the KIPP story, the more bizarre and disturbing it gets from every angle. Let's take a peak at administrative costs first. Prior to 2011, the KIPP Foundation's administrative costs averaged 18 percent of its operating expenses every year. According to Nonprofit Investor, which, by the way, rates KIPP a "Buy," that percentage improved in 2011, so that administrative
Get Visas for the Entire Family with $500,000 to a Charter School
I came across this Reuters story yesterday while researching funding for charters. Don't know how I missed this in October 2012, when it was first printed:. . . .Wealthy individuals from as far away as China, Nigeria, Russia and Australia are spending tens of millions of dollars to build classrooms, libraries, basketball courts and science labs for American charter schools.In Buffalo, New York, f
AUG 04
Would Elizabeth Green Approve of A Book I Might Write on the Art and Craft of Journalism?
Somehow I doubt it, especially since I am not a journalist, haven't studied or practiced journalism, and know almost nothing about the origins, history, theoretical base, or conceptual understanding and shared knowledge of the craft and art of journalistic writing.I hope Elizabeth will forgive me, then, for being skeptical about her finally-published Columbia journalism research paper on pedagogy
Profiteers on the Move in MA to Expand Charters in 2016
From Lisa Guisbond at CPS:Charter proponents may have been shocked to be handed a rare legislative defeat, but they are not sitting back on the heels of their designer shoes. The State House News Service reported this week that charter advocates "are already eyeing the 2016 ballot" and "reaching out to supporters in the business and education communities, as well as potential donors
Campbell Brown Clip from Colbert Show
Campbell Brown has been named by George Schmidt to the Ann Coulter Chair of Right Wing Punditry. Congrats, Campbell. Below is George's commentary from Substance News. George N. Schmidt - August 04, 2014From one point of view, you could say that Campbell Brown just got a promotion. From an obscure "reporter" at CNN, she has been elevated to what Substance will call the "Ann Coulter C
AUG 03
Do American rich kids do worse on international tests than rich kids from other countries?
Do American Rich Kids do Worse on International Tests than Rich Kids from Other Countries? Stephen KrashenHanushek, Peterson and Woessmann (2014) claim that when we examine students from "advantaged" families, American students do poorly in math: Our rich kids do worse than rich kids from other countries. Hanushek et. al. conclude that this shows that poverty is not the only fact
From Korea to KIPP: "production, performance, and obedience"
Reading the essay by Se-Woong Koo on the South Korean system of educational child abuse, I was struck by how much of what he said could have come from former teachers of KIPP who have since let their conscience be their guides: incredible stress, diminished affect, clumps of hair falling out, physical and psychological breakdowns, enraged screaming teachers, incredibly long hours, constant demands
AUG 02
Temple Goes SAT-ACT Optional
From http://articles.philly.com/2014-07-30/news/52192626_1_temple-university-minority-students-standardized-test-scores:In an effort to cultivate talented students who don't test well, Temple University says it will become the first national public research university in the Northeast to make standardized test scores optional for admission.The university expects as many as 150 to 200 students who
Eric Turner's Corporate School Handouts
by Doug MartinNursing home crusader and Cicero, Indiana’s Republican Eric Turner loves the corporate school crowd in Indiana. Here are a few of his funders. LILLY To add to the $1000 it gave him in 2013 (page 9), the $1000 (page 13) in 2011, the $500 in 2010 (page 6), and the $1,000 in 2009 (page 8), recently the corporate school pushers at Eli Lilly handed Turner $1,000. WALMART/DEVOS Then, on
Weird Al, My Hero
He's back to help us understand the missions of CorpEd, CorpMed, CorpRead, CorpFed, CorpTED, and even CorpDead. More at Alternet.
School Board Says No to Lily-White Charter
Fayette County, Georgia is over 70 percent white and its median household income is almost twice the state average. But that is still not white enough or rich enough to suit some Fayette Countians who want their home-schooled or privately-educated children now supported with state funds intended children who choose public education. The only vote for the segregated charter came from Tea Party fa