Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, August 2, 2014

All Week 8-2-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : 
All Week @ THE CHALK FACE 

About the radio show
Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 
LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 
on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 
You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.
Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.




Fordham’s Michael Petrilli: Manufacturing “Emotion” for Common Core
I am sitting in my easy chair on this Saturday afternoon, and I am trying not to write any posts. I know that I need a rest. Sure enough, though, I come across Common Core State Standards (CCSS) promotional slant from the brand-spanking new, non-teacher-practitioner president of the Gates-funded Fordham Institute, dedicated think tanker Michael […]


David Greene Reports on the Excitement of the BAT Rally in D.C.
David Greene Reports on the Excitement of the BAT Rally in D.C..

Pretty Campbell Brown and Her Ugly, Misguided Anti-Due-Process Crusade
Over the past several weeks, I have read only a little on the situation of former CNN news anchor Campbell Brown’s sudden interest in forming a nonprofit in order to advance a lawsuit in New York purportedly to “save” public school students of the (surely) inept teachers currently protected behind “tenure” (i.e., due process rights). […]
A Passion For Teaching Evokes A Passion For Learning
A PASSION FOR TEACHING EVOKES A PASSION FOR LEARNING. An excerpt from DOING THE RIGHT THING: A Teacher SpeaksFiled under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

JUL 31

What National Group Is Funding the Pro-Common Core Lawsuit in Louisiana?
On July 29, 2014, the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted 6 to 4 to become plaintiffs in the pro-Common Core (CCSS) lawsuit whose plaintiffs include nine individuals and the charter management company, Choice Foundation. (Click here for Choice Foundation’s home page. However, the information on their schools has not been updated […]
Concerns About the Focus on “Grit” in School Improvement
My approach was to focus on my students’ strengths. To do so, it could be said that I needed to “get inside the mind(s)” of my students. To help my students master a legitimate college prep curriculum, I would prefer to say that I needed to listen to my students. In my experience, if teachers […]
Thought experiment on teacher evaluation and high-stakes
This from a Twitter convo a few minutes ago. High-stakes obviously creates a culture of cheating on assessments. Broad evidence for that. Good, bad, or indifferent, teachers learn to play this unfair game to their advantage. Call it cheating, or not. Call it survival. Nevertheless, teachers do reap the rewards of an unfair system, while […]
Join us this Sunday at 7PM EST with Nel Noddings
Of all the criticisms of corporate education reforms, one that gets short shrift is the concept of “care.” Emphasis on testing, accountability, high stakes, and competition don’t sound caring. The ethic of care seems to be lacking. We should instead emphasize the “whole child.” There is an abundance of information and skills and dispositions that […]
@andreperryedu tells us to stop blaming black parents
An important article from the Washington Post. Clearly, there is widespread belief that black parents don’t value education. The default opinion has become “it’s the parents” — not the governance, the curriculum, the instruction, the policy, nor the lack of resources — that create problems in urban schools. That’s wrong. Everyday actions continuously contradict the […]

JUL 30

The Turn Of The Century Blues
THE TURN OF THE CENTURY BLUES.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
A Batty 36 Hours
A BATTY 36 HOURS.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
Stop the Media Madness.
Stop the Media Madness..Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

JUL 29

Pisssed Off.
PISSSED OFF..Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face
I will be in-studio for an interview on @EmpowerDC radio show today
Here’s the show’s synopsis for my visit: Topic: Malcolm X elementary was slated to close at the end of the 2012-2013 school year, however, it was removed as DCPS chancellor Kaya Henderson had other plans for it.  These plans included co-locating Achievement Prep charter school in the same school building and eventually blending the two […]
Alex Johnson’s corporate SuperPAC run by Eli Broad’s Dan “students must pledge to capitalism” Chang
“Financed by conservative billionaire philanthropists like Bill Gates and Eli Broad, charters willingly carry out the indoctrination their benefactors seek.” — Professor Ralph E. Shaffer Corporate candidate Alex Johnson and his backer Mark Ridley-Thomas have already raised incredible amounts of money in their attempt to seize a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School (LAUSD) […]

JUL 28

Revisiting the Common Core Math Content and Practice Standards (sort of)
I think there is a great deal of monocular vision when it comes to issues surrounding the Common Core Standards themselves (as opposed to the overall CCSS-Initiative, which I find execrable and irredeemable), and this narrow viewing through emotionally-charged lenses causes a lot of confusion while leading to little insight. I started out 95% opposed […]

JUL 26

Why Editors Should Never Put The Phrase Common Core In A Title:
WHY EDITORS SHOULD NEVER PUT THE PHRASE COMMON CORE IN A TITLE:.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face