Listening to CNN. Sean Spicer said that British intelligence wiretapped Trump Tower on behalf of the Obama administration. British intelligence said the claim was nonsense, and the British Prime Minister demanded an apology. When
Hat tip to Bill Moyers’ website for this article in The Intercept: Zaid Jilani reports in The Intercepr that Trump’s budget is copied from the Swamp-dwelling, Establishment, Beltway right wing Heritage Foundation. https://theintercept.com/2017/03/16/trump-the-outsider-outsources-his-budget-to-insider-think-tank/ Nothing in the budget protects the blue-collar and rural people who voted for him. In
Count on Mercedes Schneider to review Trump’s budget proposal. It is as bad as you heard. She says, “At least he doesn’t call himself an ‘education president.'” True, he is the anti-education president. He is the first who wants to tear down
The Network for Public Education is launching a campaign to fight back against the Trump-DeVos budget cuts to public schools and budget gains for privatization. Open this link , join our action, and send it to your friends!
Peter Greene has a remarkable facility to read dreary documents and sum them up, so that we don’t have to read them. This is a public service that he does on behalf of all of us. He reviews Michigan’s blueprint for the next 30 years, created at the behest of Governor Rick Snyder. The essential problem Michigan has is that it spent the last 10 years or so following the DeVos blueprint for change a
Tom Ultican teaches physics in San Diego after a career in the private sector. He likes evidence. He reviews the failure of various privatization schemes. Vouchers have failed to “save” children, and voucher schools are often far worse than public schools. Charters are scandal-ridden, supported too often by profit-seekers. He writes: American Schools Rock! Don’t be fooled. “By the middle of the 2
The privatization steam roller continues to move through the Republican controlled states. The Missouri House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill to expand the number of charter schools in the state. The bill now moves to the Senate. After more than five hours of debate Wednesday and more than an hour of debate Thursday, the measure advanced to the Senate on an 83-76 vote. Charter schools
Media experts warned that the elimination of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will bring an end to public media in small and rural communities. The giants in large markets like New York City will survive, but not the smaller markets. “Public radio and television broadcasters are girding for battle after the Trump administration proposed a drastic cutback that they have long dreaded: the de
The federal government has long been a major funder of basic and advanced research, but if Trump’s budget cuts are sustained, science and basic research will be gutted. Research on climate change will be eliminated. Let’s face it. The people in charge of the federal budget are ignoramuses, anti-intellectual, and hostile to science, creativity, and culture. To call them Neanderthals would be an in
The links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government continue to emerge. Here is a story in the New York Times reporting that Michael Flynn received $65,000 from Russian firms for speaking fees. One was a payment of $45,000 to deliver a speech at the Russia Today dinner, where he was seated next to Putin. If you look at the photo accompanying the story, you will see Green Party preside
This is a great column by Nicholas Kristof, recounting an imagined conversation between Jesus and Paul Ryan. Jesus tells Ryan (here called “Pious Paul”) why he has an obligation to help the needy, and Ryan tells Jesus that he doesn’t want people to become dependent on handouts. A must-read.
Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory is having trouble landing a job because he is so closely identified with HB2, the bill that said that transgender persons had to use the bathroom aligned with their birth certificate rather than their choice. Samantha Bee said that McCrory needed to broaden his resume . “Sorry you’re having trouble finding a new job,” the “Full Frontal” Twitter account w
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University issued the following statement: We at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University denounce the continuous assault by the Trump administration on the communities that we are committed and dedicated to serve. We reject the harmful actions of President Trump’s divisive policies and hateful rhetoric, which are in direct c
AASA Executive Director Responds to President Trump’s FY18 Budget Proposal Alexandria, Va. – March 16, 2017 – Earlier today, President Trump released details for his FY18 budget proposal. It is a “skinny budget,” in that it only covers discretionary funding, and within that, doesn’t fully list the impact on all discretionary programs. The proposal cuts funding to the U.S. Education Department by
Thanks for Jim Harvey of the National Superintendents Roundtable for this breakout of Trump’s budget cuts: On Thursday, March 16, the Trump administration released a preliminary budget plan for Fiscal 2018 that proposed huge increases in defense-related spending and corresponding cuts in domestic programs, including education. According to stories in The Washington Post, the budgetary impact acro
The Washington Post has some of the details of the DeVos-Trump budget for the U.S. Department of Education. It is a bloodbath for public schools and teacher education, and a bonanza for school choice and privatization. “The Trump administration is seeking to cut $9.2 billion — or 13.5 percent — from the Education Department’s budget, a dramatic downsizing that would reduce or eliminate grants for
Imagine Betsy DeVos giving the morning announcements. It might sound like this: It starts like this: Good morning, students of the Goldman Sachs Holy Trinity Lehman LearningFirst Inc. Elementary School! I am thrilled to be delivering your morning announcements today, which I am currently delivering outside using a megaphone because protesters have blocked me from entering your building. Before we
Gary Rubinstein has a peculiar habit of insisting on integrity of reporting. He gets hot and bothered when people claim “miracle achievements” but hide the facts or distort them. He noticed an article in USA Today that both appeared to criticize charter schools and at the same time to claim that some of them had achieved astonishing college graduation results. The bottom line, said USA Today, was
The Trump administration offered a budget that would deeply cut the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department, eliminate the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as the Legal Services Corporation. There will be cuts to the Department of Education but it is not clear which programs will be hit. The cuts fall heavily eve
Trump has proven himself to be a true barbarian by proposing to eliminate the modest federal funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Why should there be a
Bribing for PARCC
-
Since the days that No Child Left Untested Behind first mandated the Big
Standardized Test, teachers and administrators who work in actual schools
have rec...
2017 Medley #25
-
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Preschool, Teachers Subsidizing
School Programs, ALEC, DeVos, Charters, Can We all Agree on This?
DEVELOPMENTALLY A...
The Isolation of Being an ATR
-
A few weeks ago I touched on, and broke down the idiocy, of Chalkbeat's
latest ATR missive. In the last few days, Chalkbeat again showed it's
cluelessness...
Trump and the Strategic Use of “Whataboutism”
-
Dan Zak explores Donald Trump’s strategic use of “whataboutism,” a
rhetorical device to deflect attention from the issue at hand. Ask him
about the Mueller...
Trump's ICE Agents Operate Within Schools
-
It’s been an excruciating six months since 14-year-old Fatima Avelica
watched, sobbing, as immigration agents picked up her father on their way
to school.
...
-
*The New York State Chapter of The Badass Teachers Association Responds to
Release of Test Scores*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
MARLA KILFOYLE, ...
Public Schools and Texas Priorities
-
Texas has their share of students in poverty, so why did the Katy
Independent School District spend $72.1 million on a new football stadium?
Remember a few...
A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
-
Yesterday was one of the most spiritual day of my life. I’ll be honest with
you, I was one of those people that didn’t understand what all the fuss was
abo...
Tuesday Open Thread
-
I was reading an article at Edutopia about resources for teachers with readers
at different ability levels and they were recommending this software,
Reword...
Jersey Jazzman: The Secrets to Their "Success"
-
Jersey Jazzman: The Secrets to Their "Success"
"THE" Jose Vilson had a Twitter thread up this past week about an encounter
with a parent whose child is en...
Another Day, Another ATR Hatchet Job
-
The NY Post today has yet another assault on the Absent Teacher Reserve.
Naturally, all blame is cast on the United Federation of Teachers and those
who f...
Not As A Mere Test Taker
-
*Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they
have never failed to imitate them.* ~James Baldwin
"I wonder if the blocks ...
ATR Assignments Are On SESIS
-
Thanks to a comment on my previous post I checked the DOE's SESIS page and
sure enough, the September assignment was listed under my na...
Do You Wonder Why There Is a Teacher Shortage?
-
“Lynn Sorlls started teaching 26 years ago because she loved seeing the
light-bulb moment when a kid grasped a new concept. She still does. But as
princ...
Procurement in Child Nutrition Programs
-
Federal and state information for the procurement of food service related
goods and services across all federally funded child nutrition programs and
the U...
Who Is the Ideal Teaching Candidate?
-
Where do good teachers come from? How do we pick promising candidates out
of the crowd? What is the secret to putting the right people in the
classroom?
The Secrets to Their "Success"
-
"THE" Jose Vilson had a Twitter thread up this past week about an encounter
with a parent whose child is enrolled in one of the Success Academy Charter
Sch...
The People’s School Board?
-
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the...
Blow: "Failing All Tests of the Presidency"
-
Charles M. Blow is a powerful writer, who has been on the attack after
Trump since before the election. Thus one might be inclined to ignore
column tit...
Cartoons on Beginning of School Year
-
Yep, it is that time when children and youth return to school. This
month’s cartoons celebrate that momentous time celebrated every year by
parents and c...
Who Invented Compehensible Input?
-
Stephen Krashen (the author of this paper, not the answer to the question)
International Journal of Language Teaching (in press)
On page 49 of his new b...
After Bannon, Do Hawks Rule the Roost?
-
For all the harm Steve Bannon has done, he was right to point out that
there’s no military solution to North Korea. After Bannon, one has to
wonder who wil...
CORPORATE GREED- I'M BLACKING YOU OUT!
-
What has regrettably become the sole motivation for the use of technology,
when it comes to communicating with customers, is not giving them better
service...
The Interregnum Mile: Chapter Four
-
Chapter Four Was going off script the right thing for our community? What
is the future of decolonized zones? Those were the questions scribbled in
faded g...
High Expectations? Yes, But...
-
About the time that the No Child Left Behind legislation went into effect
in 2002, then President George W. Bush famously decried the "soft-bigotry
of low...
The Cold Truth About Personalized Learning
-
Originally posted on Save Maine Schools:
In just a couple of weeks, my older son will start preschool. Here are a
couple of things, in no particular order,...
MARTIN LUTHER KING SAID:
-
“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and
immoral. It is impractical because it is a …
Continue reading →
The Cold Truth About Personalized Learning
-
In just a couple of weeks, my older son will start preschool. Here are a
couple of things, in no particular order, that I hope he learns while he is
there:...
On Conditional Bias and Correlation: A Guest Post
-
After I posted about “Observational Systems: Correlations with Value-Added
and Bias,” a blog follower, associate professor, and statistician
named Laura Ri...
CPS buys into the Covey Hustle
-
Reposted from Fred Klonsky's Blog
A parent wants to know why an expensive corporate training program is being
implemented at his neighborhood CPS school.
...
Headline Says Don’t Protect Worst Teachers
-
Another editorial in the San Diego Union attacks teachers and the
California public education system. The author has a personal work history
of harming Cal...
Race Raise Rays Raze
-
The tough bond of white supremacy over changing times and reorganized
systems is the thick white glob of Elmer’s glue binding slavery to Jim Crow
and then ...
Were George Washington and Robert E Lee Equivalent?
-
Here is an exchange on something called Quora. The question below was
(IMHO) quite stupid, but the answer was excellent. I’m quoting the whole
thing becuas...
CNN: Education is not Uber
-
Charter schools, discrimination, education funding, Betsy DeVos and yes
Uber, are some of the topics Lily discussed in this CNN interview. More…
This is our Sputnik moment.
-
School’s all across the nation are either starting or about to start a new
academic year. It’s suppose to be an exciting time for students and
teacher. How...
Get inspired by Helen Gym…PAA Week Day 3
-
We had a great teleconference earlier today with the amazing Helen Gym, a
founding member of PAA who is now serving as a Philadelphia City
Councilperson. Y...
OSPP Pushing At Racine School District
-
Commissioner could take over Unified schools if District fails again,
unless amendment passes RICARDO TORRES ricardo.torres@journaltimes.com Aug
10, 2017 ...
OSPP Pushing At Racine School District
-
Commissioner could take over Unified schools if District fails again,
unless amendment passes RICARDO TORRES ricardo.torres@journaltimes.com Aug
10, 2017 ...
Education Reform: A Celebration of Ignorance?
-
Do these tweets clarify how we arrived at the disaster known as education
reform? Where states must go to the mother (USDOEd) to ask permission on
how bes...
Now Is the Time to Stop It
-
In a speech to an American Legion gathering, a lieutenant who had lost his
leg in service spoke against the alt-right. He argued, among other things,
that ...
Ravitch Doubles Down on NAACP Charter Embrace
-
Last October the NAACP passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on the
approval of new charter schools. The resolution did nothing for the
millions o...
Touching the Elephant
-
You know the old fable about blind men touching different parts of an
elephant to determine its true nature. The guy who feels just the ear draws
one concl...
Grit by any other name is torture
-
Angela Duckworth and her "academic" mentor Martin Seligman helped develop
torture models that the CIA uses in places like Iraq. The very same
elements o...
Free Speech and the University Battleground
-
Introduction The university has been a free speech battleground reminiscent
of the 1960’s. Right wing elements are trying to get a foothold in
traditiona...
The NAACP Tells It As It Is
-
An English teacher friend of mine was a finalist for Connecticut Teacher of
the Year in the mid 90’s. As one of the culminating steps in the selection
pro...
Literacy East and West of the Anacostia
-
We Act Radio broadcasts from east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC.
A short distance to the east on Good Hope Road is the Anacostia branch of
the p...
The “Bad Kid” Label Sticks: Let’s Remove It!
-
Sometimes, ok many times, she could be loud. She rolled her eyes and
twirled her neck. Often. Her behavior was everyone else’s fault, never
hers. But as th...
The "Bad Kid" Label Sticks: Let's Remove It!
-
Sometimes, ok many times, she could be loud. She rolled her eyes and
twirled her neck. Often. Her behavior was everyone else's fault, never
hers. But as th...
Student of the Month Nightmare
-
*This is something I wrote for a monthly gathering to honor some of the
best students at our school. I figure most teachers will relate:*
I was grading pap...
99 Years of Progress Erased – unless we fight back
-
Public healthcare for all? Public education for all? What is being done to
our monetized children regarding their potential healthcare and their
existing e...
You Can Be an Astronaut, but You Can't Be Black
-
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question I always
imagined every kindergarten student hearing.
“I want to be a doctor!” declares Sally.
...
Who’s Afraid of Professional Teachers?
-
New York’s charter school sector, apparently. Politico reports that the
charter sector has potentially won a much desired prize: permission to
“certify” th...
Beyond Testing
-
Dear Friends and Family, I want to let you know that my new book, Beyond
Testing: Seven Assessments of Students and Schools More Effective Than
Standardize...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
-
Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
THE COUP TO DESTROY THE AMERICAN DREAM
-
Within the core of our freedoms, lie the avenues powerful individuals use
to take away the rights of citizens and the controls of government designed
and e...
Parent/Educator EDU
-
I have long been a guest blogger for Edutopia, which has been both a
challenge and an honor. I have always found it challenging to be
provocative in promot...
Should We Be Grateful?
-
In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
The Sweeny-Prieto School Aid Proposal: An Analysis
-
Source: The Sweeny-Prieto School Aid Proposal: An Analysis Mark Weber
Doctoral Candidate Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey POLICY
BRIEF: Weber_Sw...
Support Room 134!
-
*Friends, family, even public education supporters I don't know on social
media are always asking about how they can help given the constant madness
of the...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
-
An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
Class of 2017: When you see a chance…
-
The price to pay for never acting on the things you want out of life can be
heavy. You miss opportunities. You wonder what might have been. Regretting
inac...
Don't Like Chris Christie? Blame the Democrats.
-
Yesterday Diane Ravitch published a piece in The New Republic, titled Don't
Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats.
If you care about public education at al...
We Opted Out, Now What?
-
Your family made the decision to "refuse" or opt out of the state
assessments. By taking this action you are standing up for your child's
education. You ...
-
*Countering Islamophobia in Classrooms and Schools: A Workshop for
Educators*
In the US, fear of terrorism has been used to justify the racial and
relig...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Jewell Elementary & Aurora Public Schools Skirt Law
-
Letter sent to Colorado State Board of Education, as well as media,
senators who sponsored bill, Aurora Education Association, Aurora
superintendent office...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
-
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
What Works Can Hurt: Side Effects in Education
-
This medicine can reduce fever, but it can cause a bleeding stomach. When
you buy a medical product, you are given information about both its effects
and s...
Bad Hair Day
-
It’s winter time. It’s cold — okay, not for anyone outside California and
Florida, but still — I’m wearing hats in the morning. Lovely knitted hats
that I’...
Capturing the Spark
-
It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
-
Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
-
My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
All Aboard the Opt Out Bus
-
The #OptOutBus is currently traveling the country giving away free books to
children! Follow their progress at their Facebook page and donate to their
FR...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
-
Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
