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Monday, December 26, 2016

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Christmas Digestion Edition + Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Christmas Digestion Edition:
ICYMI: Christmas Digestion Edition


Yes, it's Christmas day, but I am a creature of habit, so for those of you who, for whatever reason, have some time on your hands, here's this week's list of read-worthy writing. Have an excellent day!

When It Comes to Charter Schools, Facts Matter

Wendy Lecker's interview with Robert Cotto, Jr. about some of the claims being made by charters in Connecticut (and elsewhere) 

Anatomy of a Failure: How a Promising LA Charter Came Apart at the Seams

One more look at how the world of charters really works. Or rather, how it doesn't work at all. 

The Complicated History of America's First Union-Backed Charter Effort

The title is a tiny bit misleading, but here, again, a story of exactly how a charter effort comes off the rails.

The Charter School Profiteers

Allie Gross was going to teach in a Detroit charter to make a difference. What she found changed her mind. This piece is from 2014, but it's yet another good look inside the charter machine. 

The Movies That Doesn't Exist and the Redditors Who Think It Does

This is not directly related to education at all, but it's still a fascinating look at how we spread and hold onto "facts" that just aren't so.

Protect Public Ed

44 teachers of the year have combined forces to speak up for public education. There isn't much at this site yet, but it's worth paying attention.

China Helps Game SATs

Reuters continues to be teh go-to source for journalism about the SAT. Here's a closer look at how China maintains a thriving cheating industry for the venerable test.


Is This The Most Dangerous Member of Trump's Cabinet

The Big Think, a website outside the education community, with a consideration of Betsy DeVos as the most destructive proposed cabinet member

What School Grades Really Say

An editorial from Evansville, Indiana takes a cold hard look at which school grades actually tell us (hint: not how good the schools are) CURMUDGUCATION - http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/

Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

 


Is Common Core Gaining Ground with Teachers?
by Peter Greene / 19min
In October, a bit over 500 registered readers of the EdWeek website took a survey about the Core . The results from these elementary, middle and high school teachers are not earth-shattering, but we might tease a few conclusions out. You want me to do what??!! First, it's worth noting that using EdWeek registered readers means a certain amount of self-selected bias. While I'm not particularly put
Privatized Freedom
by Peter Greene / 1h
Joseph Natoli has a piece at Truth-Out has a piece that's well worth reading, but for all the explication and coverage of the deliberate destruction of Detroit school " The Great Unwinding of Public Education: Detroit and DeVos " has some keen insights into the underlying pathologies fueling the privatization movement. Here's the line that reached out and whacked me right between the eyes: We have

YESTERDAY

ICYMI: Christmas Digestion Edition
by Peter Greene / 21h
Yes, it's Christmas day, but I am a creature of habit, so for those of you who, for whatever reason, have some time on your hands, here's this week's list of read-worthy writing. Have an excellent day! When It Comes to Charter Schools, Facts Matter Wendy Lecker's interview with Robert Cotto, Jr. about some of the claims being made by charters in Connecticut (and elsewhere) Anatomy of a Failure: Ho
For Your Christmas Listening
by Peter Greene / 1d
Here's hoping today is a great day for you and yours. For your listening pleasure, here's an assortment of traditional and not-so-traditional holiday music. May today be an excellent day!

DEC 24

The Only Subjects That Matter
by Peter Greene / 2d
There's a message that has been delivered loud and clear for the last decade-- only two subjects in school matter. Only reading and math affect a school's rating. Only reading and math scores factor in teacher evaluation. Only reading and math come with state-approved Official Standards. Only reading and math are on the all-important Big Standardized Test, now believed by an entire generation of s

DEC 23

12 Reasons To Evaluate Teachers
by Peter Greene / 3d
Like giving students standardized tests, evaluating teacher is one of those things that the vast majority of people believe that you do because, well, of course you do. Reasons. You know. Federal policy has required it, and required it with fairly specific provisions, for the past few administrations. Reformsterism focused for quite some time on collecting teacher data in order to fix education. M

DEC 22

DeVos's Inconvenient Truths
by Peter Greene / 3d
Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post turned up a 2015 speech from billionaire heiress and Education Secretary Designee Betsy DeVos in which Devos lays out her six "inconvenient truths," the guiding principles by which her vision of American education is powered. Ed Patru, a self-identified spokesperson for Friends of Betsy DeVos (so I guess that's a thing-- damn), indicates that the speech is a

DEC 21

Unavoidable Costs
by Peter Greene / 4d
I have libertarian friends (it's true). And one of them posted this particular meme Now I don't think either of these statements is accurate on its own; if something is a right, it's a right and there is no "should be," and libertarian "no one has a right to your labor" talk stops the moment money changes hands, thereby buying the right to that labor. But that's beside the point. Health care and e

DEC 20

A Terrifying Look at the Future
by Peter Greene / 5d
Do you want to see just how bad data mining + gamification + creating a data-based profile for every citizen, just how terrifying this idea is? Meet Sesame Credit -- and realize that Big Brother was an absolute pliant wimp by comparison. Just watch this. I don't even know where to begin, but you need to watch this.
Trump-Fueled Cyber Boom
by Peter Greene / 5d
Pundits and the commentariat may not be able to say what exactly will happen to education under Herr Trump, but at least one group thinks they have a pretty good idea-- investors. Molly Hensley-Clancy covers business for Buzzfeed (yes, that's apparently a real job) and she reports that since election day, investors have been expressing some exuberance about K12 , the infamous major player in the c

DEC 19

Teaching in the Machine Age (Or Not)
by Peter Greene / 6d
The Christensen Institute is devoted to "disruptive innovation," or as a five-year-old might put it, new and creative ways to kick over the big stack of blocks. For the big stack of blocks that is public education, Christensen has the big boot of personalized computer-driven education-favored product. And a new part of their pitch is the recently released report/PR prospectus, " Teaching in the Ma

DEC 18



Gerrymandering Charter Success
by Peter Greene / 7d
Once again I'm reading a spate of charter fan fiction in which charters are lauded for out-performing the rest of the schools in their city. That one right there near the center is where I've been smacking my head "Out-perform the rest of the 
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