Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils

Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils:

Trump and “higher national standards”

“The President-elect and Vice President-elect then met with Ms. Michelle Rhee and enjoyed an in-depth discussion about the future of public education in our country. This included the possibility for increasing competition through charter and choice schools. They also brought the idea of merit pay for teachers going above and beyond in their classrooms into the conversation. 

Their discussion with Ms. Betsy DeVos was focused on the Common Core mission, and setting higher national standards and promoting the growth of school choice across the nation.”

Higher national standards. Ah, anti-Common Core people who thought Trump was their answer- you just got as screwed as those who realized today that Social Security might be gone soon….

Source: Readout from Saturday, November 19 Meetings with President-Elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect Mike Pence and National Leaders

 Trump and "higher national standards" | BustED Pencils:

DeVos’ Michigan schools experiment gets poor grades

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 14h

More on the experiment that is the nuclear option for Western civilization. “Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Education Department, Betsy DeVos, has spent two decades successfully pushing “school choice” in her home state of Michigan — a policy that she and her husband vowed in 1999 would “fundamentally improve education.” Except the track record in that state shows that it hasn’t.” Read Politico’

A Nashville School Board Member Figures Out the Secret: How Charter SchoolsGet Rich Off Public Tax Dollars

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 23h

An excellent article. Even though it’s out of Tennessee, it’s spot-on true for anywhere. Share it with the pro-charter legislator you love to hate. “I explained that there are many ways non-profit charters make money, including: (1) a 39% federal tax credit that allows investors to double their money in seven years; (2) all sorts of land deals, including using taxpayer money to fund land investme

Trump, DeVos, Eugenics. Oh Yeah It’s that bad says @slekar.

BustED Pencils / by Tim Slekar / 23h

What’s in store for public education come January? Here’s my take. Is RESISTANCE FUTILE? The post Trump, DeVos, Eugenics. Oh Yeah It’s that bad says @slekar. appeared first on BustED Pencils .

DEC 04

Now is the time to talk about what we are actually talking about

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 5d

A fair statement to say that Chimamanda Negozi Adichie has become a voice that I turn to when I need my soul recharged. Her piece in the New Yorker on Friday needs to find its way on to everyone’s reading list. While the piece in its entirety speaks to our current shift in society towards instability, these words hit home as education activists gear up for an even bigger fight than the one which

DEC 03

Betsy Devos and Public Education: The Coming Storm

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 6d

In which blogger Michael Lambert summarizes all of the articles about Betsy DeVos that have been passed round the last week, and includes the wise warnings of Alison Hawver McDowell: “What’s so scary about DeVos is that she may fast forward and jump over charters by offering lean “value” private schools that rely on cyber education and Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs). The issue most people

DEC 02

Stop blaming teachers for falling results and give them the trust and time to actually teach

BustED Pencils / by Michael Peña / 7d

I am so sick of this shit. I don’t really understand, I guess, how hard it is to understand: the more stupid crap I have to do to prove that I’m a good teacher takes away from my time to actually be one. I know, I know- it’s a political thing meant to frame the discussion around “accountability” and “bad teachers”. It’s