Curmudgucation Week
The Other Conservative Reform Argument
If you've been scratching your head and wondering why several prominent conservative ed writers and thinky tankists have been turning on the Common Core lately, we have an reminder of where a new argument could be headed.Over at SFGate, we find Vicki E. Alger, a thinky tankist from the Independent Institute (libertarian) in Oakland, presenting this article-- "American Education Needs Competit
Out Standing In Our Field
It's something that every teacher can do for all teachers. Get out into the communityI've heard the speech from fellow teachers-- "When I walk out of here at the end of the day, I don't want to see any students again until I walk back into school tomorrow." I have known teachers who deliberately bought homes well outside the district limits so that their home life would never, ever inter
Efficiency Report Is Only Mostly That Bad
The edublogonewsphere buzzed a bit this week about a report from GEMS Education Solutions regarding educational efficiency and the fact that it finds the US somewhat lacking. It is, however, a large report, and some reporters made the mistake of skipping through to just the shiny, sexy parts. I'm not sure that the report has anything useful to tell us, but I don't think it's quite as outrageous as
YESTERDAY
Rick Hess Joins the Resistance
This week Rick Hess took to the National Review Online to punch Common Core in the nose.Hess has always been a well-connected reform advocate. He's the education guy at American Enterprise Institute, and an executive editor at Education Next, an outfit run by Paul Peterson and sponsored by the Thomas Fordham Institute, the Hoover Institution, and the Harvard Kennedy School. He's a conservative wri
Prof. Pearson Goes To College
On Thursday, Gabriel Kahn at Slate reported news that is not actually news to anybody who pays attention to education these days, but it's still worth noting.Pearson has made it possible for colleges and universities to do away with those pesky professors entirely by providing a Course in a Box. Students who sign up for an Intro to Psychology course at Any University, USA, may very well find thems
SEP 04
The Broad Academy Makes a Change
Last week the folks at the Broad Academy (motto: "You're a superintendent because we say you are") dropped some news on the education world. If you need a refresher (or just a fresher) on what the Broad Academy is, just click over to this tutorial. In the meantime, just remember that a dream is a wish your heart makes, and if your heart is wishing you were a school superintendent, you do
What Is The Broad Academy?
If you're going to truly appreciate the news from the Broad Academy of Made Up Superintendent Qualifications, you need to know a bit about the Academy. For those who need a refresher, here you go.Whence Came This Academy, Pray Tell You see one of the things that any ordinary teachers can learn from the Broad (rhymes with "toad") Academy is that you can do anything if you have enough mone
SEP 03
Can We Renew "The Conversation"?
There has been a renewal of calls lately to refresh, renew, restart, and otherwise rehabilitate the conversation about Common Core.It has taken a variety of forms. In the Washington Times, Mike Petrilli and Neal McClusky put out a call to retire some of the standard talking points, admitting that the Core is after all kind of curriculummy and probably not the product of a commie conspiracy or of t
McClusky and Petrilli Reboot CCSS Debate
In Monday's Washington Times, Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Institute and Neal McClusky form Cato made an attempt to reboot the debate about the Common Core by writing a list of basic points on which folks from all sides ought to be able to agree. It's a worthy effort from two men who share a conservative sensibility but not an identical point of view about the Core, and it deserves a serious look.
SEP 02
Grit Not Solution To Everything
In EdWeek, Sarah Sparks reports that a new study suggests that grit might not actually be the dirt from which all flowers of success may grow. It's a study to file in your Captain Obvious folder, and yet such is the world we live in these days, such studies need to be both performed and noted, because Captain Obvious cannot always vanquish his arch-enemy, Commander Oblivious.When I was in high sch
A (Not So) New Education Conversation
A new website debuted September 1st, devoted to bringing a "new conversation" to the world of education. Education Post is here to create this new conversation by relaunching some old familiar reformster talking points. Just four articles in on Day One, and you know that we've seen this movie before. Let me walk you through it so that you don't have to bother.INTRODUCTIONPeter Cunningham
SEP 01
The Only Road to Happiness
I'll warn you up front-- this is more about politics and culture than actual education, because apparently I'm having one of those days. But if you stick with me, I think we've got insights here about how a certain sort of reformster mind works.This all starts with a GOP poll report leaked to Politico. The poll reveals that a whole lot of women, particularly single, educated ones, see the GOP as a
How To Spot Lies
It is easy to get caught up in the wrong conversation. If someone locks you in a room without food and tells you, "I'm doing this to make you a better person," it's easy to get caught up in a whole argument about how this will actually hurt you and why would going without food make you a better person, anyway?But let's not have that conversation. Instead, let's reverse engineer the premi
A Great Labor Day Story
If you live in New England, or were paying attention to supermarket labor news this summer, you already know this story. Almost a hundred years ago, Greek immigrant Arthur Demoulas founded what would become the grocery chain Market Basket. For the last few decades, the company has been run by two grandsons-- Arthur T. Demoulas and Arthur S. Demoulas.The chain had grown to 71 stores with 25,000 emp
Squeezing Labor For $$$
If your goal is to get rich in business, labor is a problem you must solve.I mean, there's that big stream of money. You can see it, right there, fat and full and flowing right toward you and then BAM-- it suddenly gets diverted because you have to pay workers their wages.Early in human history, rulers established the ideal base level for wages-- $0.00/lifetime. But most countries (even the US-- t
AUG 31
PDK & Marketing for the Core
One of the features of Common Core has always been the ability to market materials on a national scale. A national set of standards should help edubizes get away from having to marker fifty different sets of materials, but it only partially solves the problem of millions of individual teachers who think they have the professional expertise to think and choose for themselves.We've already covered t
7 Reasons To Send $$ To Teachout/Wu NY Campaign
Why contribute to a New York gubernatorial campaign when you don't live in New York?Zephyr Teachout is challenging Andrew Cuomo for the Democrat position on the ballot. While a victory is unlikely, it's not impossible. And you, dear reader, are probably not even a New York resident. Here's why you should support Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu anyway.Send a message to the Democratic PartyThe Democratic
Why Aren't More Women in Tech? Here's One Thought...
If you need a reminder just how bad misogynistic behavior can be in our current culture, there is news this week to remind you.Anita Sarkeesian is someone you should know. Her vlog series "Tropes vs. Women" has over the last few years dissected and explained the sexism of the video gaming world. Her videos are thoughtful and scholarly. Situated on the website Feminist Frequency, they pro
AUG 30
NEA Gets It Wrong Again
I would probably not pick at NEA so much, were it not that I am paying them enough money each year to buy myself a nice toy, support a local food pantry, or get a bit ahead on paying off my kids' college loans. But never have I forked over so much money for the privilege of belonging to an organization that annots me so much.I say all that because I'm about to bitch about something that, on its fa
First Loser in NY Anti-Tenure Lawsuit
In the end, there can be only one.Even though it's all about the kids, according to the NY Post only one group gets to stand center stage for the big New York Tenure Takedown Lawsuit. Previously the Campbell Brown nameplate case was going to have to share the big Caring for Kids spotlight with Mona Davids (of New York Parents Union), but Davids is now saying, none too cheerfully, that her law firm