Krazy TA Explains the Meaning of TAGO
To those of you who regularly read the comments on this blog, you will frequently encounter pithy, funny, learned comments by reader KrazyTA. He is as likely to quote a Greek philosopher as to quote Groucho Marx. And he constantly reminds us to laugh. Here is his latest, in which he explains the mysterious acronym TAGO, first written here by Señor Swacker. . “Special Educator NY: all credit to D
Jersey Jazzman Marks Labor Day in a Sad Time for Our Nation
Jersey Jazzman quotes Frank Sinatra and George Carlin to mark Labor Day. Sinatra made more sense than our Harvard-educated pundits. Sinatra said: “All I know is that a nation with our standard of living, with our Social Security system, TVA, farm parity, health plans and unemployment insurance can afford to address itself to the cancers of starvation, substandard housing, educational voids and se
Laura H. Chapman: Who Speaks for Teachers?
A regular reader, Laura H. Chapmam, curriculum consultant in the arts, asks: Who speaks for teachers? And, who is paid to appear to speak for teachers? Chapman writes: A collective teacher voice has depended on unions. The billionaires are recruiting teachers who are not friendly to unions, with the blessing of PR firms that USDE put in charge of helping states and districts comply with RttT requi
Ken Previti: Same Poo-Poo in Different Bags?
Ken Previti explains Governor Rick Scott’s Dilemma: he wants to denounce Obama and disassociate from the Common Core, but he wants to keep everything about the Common Core because his mento Jeb Bush loves it. So what does he do? He rebrands Common Core and calls it something else. But everything remains “aligned” with Common Core. To avoid offending my sensibilities, Ken referred to “poo-poo” ra
A Parent-Teacher in Lee County to the Board: “Seize the Day”…Don’t Back Down!
The Lee County school board will meet tomorrow at 8:30 am, a time that will exclude many parents, students, and educators. Public meetings should be scheduled when the public is not at work or in class. This letter was written by a parent and teacher who can’t attend the meeting because she will be working. It is a plea to the board not to back down. Regarding Lee County School Board decision to
Peg Robertson: Be Reasonable? First, Do No Harm!
Peg Robertson, a mother and teacher, responds to those who tell the Lee County Board of Education to be reasonable and to rescind their historic vote to opt out of testing. Peg wants them to stand strong and defend the children. She is one of the founders of United Opt Out. She writes: “As this common core and high stakes testing war comes to a head I am watching lots of folks trying to mediate
Mercedes Schneider Debates Common Core with Two Advocates
Mercedes Schneider, high school teacher, debates Common Core with a state representative and a representative of the pro-voucher group Black Alliance for Educational Options. Mercedes explains who BAEO is, then engages in 6 minutes of debate in which the two men were pro-Common Core and Mercedes was critical. Does 2 vs. 1 sound unbalanced? At least there was some disagreement. A few days ago, ther
A Principal in Rochester Joins the Honor Roll
Today, Marge Borchert, principal of West Seneca Elementary School in Rochester, Néw York, joins our honor roll. She loves the children who attend her school. She sees each of them as beautiful human beings, growing and learning, not as data points. Many of her children opted out of the state tests. This caused Ms. Borchert to get a zero growth score. She is so proud of her children that she wears
Labor Day, 2014
I recently saw photographs of John F. Kennedy giving a Labor Day speech in New York City during his Presidential campaign in 1960. He spoke in the center of the Garment District, on the west side of Manhattan. He spoke to tens of thousands of garment workers. Today, the Garment District has been replaced by luxury high-rise residences. Following NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), the
Peter Greene: Will This Be the Year That Educators Say “Enough”?
Peter Greene sees signs that educators are fed up with the top-down mandates from non-educator Arne Duncan, fed up with the failed punitive policies of NCLB and Race to the Top. Now we know that Washington cares about one thing only: test scores, and now we know that the beneficiaries of Washington’s obsession are the testing companies. We have now had nearly 15 years of test-based incentives and
Words of Wisdom from President of Lee County Teachers Association
Mark J. Castellano, president of the Lee County Teachers Association, explains in this post that the Lee County school board defended a love of learning when it took a stand against the testing frenzy that has engulfed our schools. He writes: “Our state and our nation have become obsessed with standardized testing of students in public schools. Obsessed to the point it has changed what our publi
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-31-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Ohio: When Does Public Money Turn into Private Assets?Bill Phillis, a veteran warrior for public schools and equitable financing of them, wrote the following in response to a court case that will be heard on September 23. Does a for-profit private corporation own all the assets of the schools it manages? Who owns school facilities,