How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? | Thoughts on Public Education:

How can the content of character be measured? And should it be? - by Jeff Camp

By Jeff Camp

My daughter’s first-grade report card came in two sections, one related to her academic work and the other for her teacher’s feedback about the character she displayed in school. Did she play well with others? Did she participate in class? Did she take risks?

In a few years, my daughter’s report cards will become less personal, and probably less interesting. Letter grades and test scores will assume for her the central role that they play for just about everybody in education.

“I HAVE A DREAM THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER.” – MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., I HAVE A DREAM, 1963.

For the past decade or so, the most pursuedgoal of K-12 education in America has been pretty clear: Ensure that all children master essential academic content, and do so in a way that can be verified through tests.

One premise of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was that predictable patterns of

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds - NYTimes.com:

Students’ Knowledge of Civil Rights History Has Deteriorated, Study Finds

By SAM DILLON

Published: September 28, 2011

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When Julian Bond, the former Georgia lawmaker and civil rights activist, turned to teaching two decades ago, he often quizzed his college students to gauge their awareness of the civil rights movement. He did not want to underestimate their grasp of the topic or talk down to them, he said.

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“My fears were misplaced,” Mr. Bond said. No student had heard of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama, he said. One student guessed that Mr. Wallace might have been a CBS

A film on education that gets it right - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

A film on education that gets it right - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

A film on education that gets it right

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Mark Phillips, professor of secondary education at San Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal. In this post he wrotes about “American Teacher,” a new feature-length documentary based on the bestselling book “eachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers,” by Daniel Moulthrop, co-founder of the 826 National writing programs Nínive Calegari, and writer Dave Eggers.

Read full article >>

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education | Seattle Education

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education | Seattle Education:

Op Ed by Henry A. Giroux on Larry Summers, the corporate media and public education

by seattleducation2011

In Truthout for September 27, 2011

Corporate Media and Larry Summers Team Up to Gut Public Education: Beyond Education for Illiteracy, Vulgarity and a Culture of Cruelty

A must read. Below is an excerpt:

Since the early 1970s, the rich, corporate power brokers and right-wing cultural warriors realized that education was central to creating a viable populist movement that served their interests. Over the last 40 years, the financial elites and their wealthy accomplices have not only mobilized an educational anti-reform movement in the name of “reform” to dismantle public education and turn it over to hedge-fund managers and billionaires; they have also taken a lesson from the muckrakers, critical public intellectuals, left-wing journals, progressive newspapers and educational institutions of the mid-20th century and developed their own cultural apparatuses, talk shows, anti-public intellectuals, think tanks and grassroots organizations. As the left slid into organizing around mostly single-issue movements since the 1980s, the right moved in a different direction, mobilizing a

Schools Matter: Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

Schools Matter: Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty:

Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

by skrashen

Arne Duncan's position on education and poverty

Stephen Krashen and Susan Ohanian

Council Chronicle 2

Posted on the NCTE connected community; OK to share

"The way you end cycles of poverty is through educational opportunity …" (Arne Duncan, in "A conversation with US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan," in the NCTE Council Chronicle, 2011).

The US Department of Education says that with better teaching, we will have more learning (higher test scores, according to the feds), and this will lead to major improvements in the economy. This is a core concept that drives US Department of Education policy. It also suggests that our economic problems are because of low-quality education.

The US DOE philosophy is identical to Bill Gates' view: "There's a lot of uncertainty today about our nation's

The Educated Reporter: Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students

The Educated Reporter: Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students:

Daring to DREAM: Rhode Island Opens Higher Ed Door to Immigrant Students

by Emily Richmond

Rhode Island's state higher education board took a big step Monday toward opening the doors of higher education to undocumented students, according to this story by the Associated Press.

The DREAM Act is a long way from reality, and so far there's no federal initiative that's been approved to solve the question of what to do with undocumented students. Federal law requires they be provided equitable public education opportunities through the 12th grade. After that, they're on their own.

There are plenty of states wrangling with the same issue as Rhode Island: What to do with students who graduate from local high schools only to face barriers because of their immigration status. In some cases students can enroll, but only at the (significantly) higher out-of-state tuition rate.

What's interesting about this particular instance, as AP reporter Erika Niedowski explains, is that Rhode Island's

Daily Kos: why we remember and make the effort to celebrate

Daily Kos: why we remember and make the effort to celebrate:

why we remember and make the effort to celebrate

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

This was originally written as a comment on my diary earlier today, yet one more romantic anniversary - I thought I would put it up separately in case it might speak to those unlikely to see it in its original location

it can bring some real joy back into life

we have the day we encountered one another at the train station

we have the day of our first "date" - today

we have the day I told her I loved her

we have the day she told me she loved me

we have the day we officially decided to get engaged and after explaining why we really couldn't afford the star sapphire with which she had fallen in love, I went in and bought it as her engagement ring

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful « InterACT

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful « InterACT:

Exhausted, Discouraged, and Thankful

by David B. Cohen

I don’t know how many people noticed, but I haven’t posted in a while. I know a few people noticed some comments I made on Twitter recently about my current state of mind around education politics and media coverage, and it’s that state of mind that has contributed to my writer’s block. Add to that the adjustment to a new school year and new work arrangements (I’m now doing two part-time jobs), and well… it’s been an unusual few weeks.

While we're busy in the classroom, the debates go on without us. (photo by the author)

What’s bugging me is the sense that education reform debates and policy wrangling are constant and in high

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education | Scathing Purple Musings

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education | Scathing Purple Musings:

Ending Florida’s “Fad Oriented Approach to Soultions” in Education

by Bob Sikes

The University of South Florida has released what s perhaps the most comprehensive look at what Florida schools have been doing. The David C. Achin Center‘s report, titled Florida’s First Comprehensive Comprehensive Conditions of Education Report, is in a five volume package which is separated by the state’s regions. “A foundation of data on which to base necessary changes is required because getting the results you want requires knowing what you already have,” said Anchin Center Director Bruce Jones. “But you can’t know that until you have the numbers at your disposal.”

Jones indicates that the data is bot clear and troubling for African American males:

A few disturbing snapshots are emerging from the data. The often spoken of achievement gap has solid numbers and trackable trends. Jones says it doesn’t take a crystal ball or mathematical computations to figure out why.

Dropout and graduation rates among African American males are particularly alarming and reading

Some thoughts on Education Nation | Taking Note

Some thoughts on Education Nation | Taking Note:

Some thoughts on Education Nation

As always, remember that John’s book The Influence of Teachers is for sale at Amazon;you can also check out a Sacramento Bee editorial he co-authored with Esther Wojcicki, the Learning Matters Board Chair.

Although I left before the final event — an appearance by former President Bill Clinton — I was on hand for almost everything else, and I am comfortable declaring Education Nation 2011 a success, a 180-degree turn from last year’s disappointment.

Last year, education wonks will remember that Education Nation was badly tilted in favor of charter schools and against unions and the ‘bad teachers’ they protect. It was as if everyone running the show drank the Kool-Aid poured by “Waiting for ‘Superman’”, Davis Guggenheim’s well-made but

Test Scores, Multiple Measures, and Circular Reasoning | Edwize

Test Scores, Multiple Measures, and Circular Reasoning | Edwize:

Test Scores, Multiple Measures, and Circular Reasoning

by Christina Collins

Anthony Cody’s recent reflection on this year’s Education Nation program on MSNBC offers an important caution to those trying to develop “multiple measures” for student learning and effective teaching. If the decision to use a given measure is determined solely by whether or not it’s linked to higher standardized test scores (as with theGates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching study), then you don’t really have “multiple measures.”

Tracking test scores can be an important tool in helping students make progress, and it is useful to know which elements of classroom practice have a significant impact on students’ performance on end-of-the-year tests. For example, teachers in Chicago who had high ratings on Charlotte Danielson’s framework for evaluating effective teaching have also been shown to have higher value-added scores. However, when test scores are used as the sole measure of effective teaching and learning — or when valuable aspects of effective teaching and important types of student learning are discarded or ignored because they don’t align with standardized test results — our

I Am Special Ed | The Jose Vilson

I Am Special Ed | The Jose Vilson:

I Am Special Ed

by Jose

Special Ed of "I Got It Made" Fame

I have a confession to make: at one point or another, at some point in my life, maybe even this one, I am “special ed.”

No, not the rapper, but the title we give to students who have specific needs that can’t be met in a 30 student to 1 teacher classroom. As I look around my classes over the last few years, none of the “special ed” kids looked any different from the other kids in my class. Only by looking at their IEPs (Individual Educational Program) and using my own assessments do I realize that certain students needs a little more attention than most … which is to say that I pay a lot of attention a lot of the time to even my most self-motivated students.

Thus, my mother added another layer to what I do in the classroom when my fiancee and I sat down with her and her friends for dinner. She started telling her friends that, in my youth, my school informally assessed me and

Sargent Shriver American Exceptionalism at it's BEST

Sargent Shriver: Welcome:

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• PHOTOS
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• TRIBUTES
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• LETTERS
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• PRESS ROOM

• Sargent Shriver was an American peace builder, political leader and activist. He was the first leader of the Peace Corps under President John F. Kennedy. The husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was also a beloved father.
  Read more about Sargent Shriver's Life
• While writing his biography of Sargent Shriver, Scott Stossel had an awakening. Moved by Shriver's work, he felt pushed to work harder, to do more, to dream bigger about working for peace and social justice.
  The Author's Moving Tribute to His Hero
• Sargent Shriver deeply supported the civil rights movement throughout his life. He played a key role in integrating Chicago schools in the 1950s, and encouraged John F. Kennedy to support Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s.
  His Fight for Society's Oppressed
• John F. Kennedy leaned on him; Lyndon Johnson relied on him. Sargent Shriver's political work for both Presidents was historic, groundbreaking and impactful - and shaped the political landscape of America today.
  Programs He Led -- and Made Successful
• When President Kennedy needed a leader to help establish the Peace Corps, he turned to Sargent Shriver -- who responded by bringing the program to life, almost overnight. That same energy and commitment live on today.
  The Story of the Peace Corps in Photographs
• As the Director of the War on Poverty under President Lyndon Johnson, Sargent Shriver helped to create a variety of programs - including Head Start, Job Corps, and VISTA - that continue to serve Americans today.
  His Pioneering Work in Fighting Poverty
• Today, Special Olympics is active in 170 countries - thanks, in large part, to the tireless efforts of Sargent Shriver, who believed the organization could be an agent of change, as well as an agent of peace.
  His Work as an Ambassador of Change
• First and foremost, Sargent Shriver was a public servant - to his country, to the world and to his family. Throughout his life, he challenged Americans to serve. Now, with his passing, Shriver challenges us again - to serve, serve, serve.
  Learn More About Shriver�s History of Service
• Sargent Shriver's spirituality and faith in God cannot be separated from his work and life. He was a faithful, devoted Catholic who served in politics and law; he personally believed we must all be servants to fully express our love for God.
  Learn More About Shriver�s History of Service
• To Sargent Shriver, almost everything in life was a family affair, but no group of people was as dear to him as his family at home -- his wife Eunice and their five children, Bobby, Maria, Timothy, Mark, and Anthony.
  Their Love Shows in Touching Family Photos
• The Sargent Shriver Peace Institute was founded to serve a big idea - that by paying attention to his achievements, we could advance peacekeeping, not just in the U.S., but abroad.
  How Shriver's Work Guides the Peace Institute
• Established in 1993 in honor of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver, the Shriver Center has transformed the lives of thousands. Its mission: Create a new generation of leaders who can affect policy on a national level.
  Learn More About The Shriver Center
• The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law is dedicated to Shriver's goal of providing fair and equal access - including legal services - to low-income people and communities. Today, the Center continues to advocate on behalf of these groups.
  Vision Behind the Center on Poverty Law
• Words are powerful tools - to motivate, to inspire, and to encourage - and no one wielded words the way Sargent Shriver did. A highly gifted public speaker, he always knew the right turn of phrase to captivate his audience.
  His Most Inspiring and Powerful Quotes
• The film "American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver" tells the story of his life as a public servant, and also documents how critical events in modern American history - from the Depression through the Vietnam War - shaped his worldview.
  A Deeper Look at This Unique Film