9-20-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: 

 Schools Matter All Week

Andre Agassi's New Passion: Corporate Welfare

Andre Agassi is touring the country checking out the 27 charter schools he has built with real estate tycoon, Bobby Turner. Agassi says its all worth the effort to make his millions from taxpayer dollars just to see children so "engaged in learning," as they are below in the East Nashville Rocketship charter school.Story from WSMV.

2 by Jim Horn / 23h 

SEP 18

Textbooks and the Texas Taliban

a clip from Alternet:. . . .The latest battle in the ongoing war to turn public schools into propaganda machines for the right is being fought in the state of Texas. The state is often at the center of conservative-fomented education controversies, as right-wingers there keep trying to sneak creationism into the science classroom. Texas also continues to maintain its abysmally high teen pregnancy

by Jim Horn / 1d 

Reprise: Re-Review of Paul Tough's Biggest Hit

When I looking this morning for the publication date of Paul Tough's neo-eugenics manifesto, How Children Succeed . . ., I saw that it is #1 at Amazon in the area of Educational Psychology. I felt the need to re-post this review, which appeared first at Substance News.Paul Tough, KIPP, and the Character Con: A Review of How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of CharacterWhen w

1 by Jim Horn / 1d 

SEP 17

Are Standardized Tests Helpful?

from the most recent PDK/Gallup poll:

2 by Jim Horn / 2d 

New Group Forms PAC to Fight Charter Takeover in Nashville

From the Tennessean:Parents in East Nashville are moving quickly to fight Director of Schools Jesse Register’s far-reaching plan to close low-performing schools, hand others to charter operators and let families in that area choose where their children will attend.Their request: Start over.Since Register unveiled his intentions last week, parents and other East Nashville residents have organized a

1 by Jim Horn / 2d 

SEP 16

Here's What Standing Up Can Do!

Are you, too, a heroine or hero waiting to act?

by Jim Horn / 3d 

SEP 15

Will Dog the Bounty Hunter Save School Enrollment in a Dying City?

Every day brings a new reason to wonder why anyone would ever move to Memphis to teach.  Salary schedules are a thing of the past, and pay raises are now bonuses that are based on test scores.  Teachers are in constant fear of being surplussed or excessed or some other term to disguise the ugly truth of teacher firing. Pay for advanced degrees has been eliminated, and the oligarchs are pouring mil

3 by Jim Horn / 4d 

To Chris Barbic: There Will Be No Civility for Child Abusers and Corporate Profiteers

4 by Jim Horn / 4d 

SEP 14

Legal Rights of Linguistic Minorities

First submitted September 13, 2014 to Peoples College of Law "We therefore live in a period where the prevailing Zeitgeist is at least receptive to the notion that we do not have to be identical ethnically or linguistically." — Dr. Fernand de Varennes In an era where right-wing millionaires use their obscene wealth to finance arch-reactionary legal firms like Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

15 by Robert D. Skeels ... / 5d 

Indy's John Harris Loflin and José Evans' Big Gig at International ED Conference

By Doug MartinBelow is, first, a press release from public school activist John Harris Loflin, director of education and youth issues at the Black and Latin@ Policy Institute.  (Loflin's research has appeared here at Schools Matter in various forms, in my blogs, as well as a guest blog posted by Douglas Storm which was picked up by the Washington Post Answer Sheet.)  Following Loflin's press relea

6 by Doug Martin / 5d hide  //  save

SEP 13

Common core doesn't fix the real problem of education– poverty.

PUBLISHED in the Christian Science Monitor Weekly Magazine, September 15, 2014Common core doesn't fix the real problem of education– poverty.Arguments for opposing the common core presented by Gov. Jindal ("Common Core: Bobby Jindal says Obama forcing a national curriculum," August 27) do not include the reasons many professional educators and researchers oppose it. A central argument

6 by skrashen / 6d 

All Week 9-20-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : 

All Week @ THE CHALK FACE 

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

Patrick Walsh Reviews A Chronicle of Echoes

On September 19, 2014, New York teacher and United Federation of Teachers (UFT) chapter leader Patrick Walsh published the following review of my book, A Chronicle of Echoes: Who’s Who In the Implosion of American Public Education, on the online news site, Truthdig. Patrick Walsh, 2012   My heartfelt thanks to Patrick for his interest in my work. […]

1 by deutsch29 / 9h 

Questions And Answers

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. via QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

6 by David Greene / 18h 

SEP 18

Burris Calls Out Common Core; Duncan-friendly EdPost Indignant

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are really good for American education, but sadly, non-foundation-financed, public school administrators like New York principal Carol Burris seem to have trouble coming around to falling in line with those *higher standards*(c). In fact, Burris had a fantastic opportunity on September 9, 2014, to Embrace the Common Core. Unfortunately, she decided […]

25 by deutsch29 / 1d 

Not Your Grandparents’ Mathematics: Good Mathematics Education Drives Americans Crazy

  “The proof of Theorem 3-6 is elementary but rather complicated; that is, we have used quite basic results, but we have used them in an involved sequence. You might contrast this proof and the skills you need to follow it with the numerical computations you once considered typical of mathematics. This proof provides a […]

9 by Michael Paul Gold... / 1d 

Are We Ready To Move Beyond Our Reform Wars?

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, the ability to hold opposing opinions in mind is a sign of intelligence. Similarly, we should welcome Patrick Riccards’ call for dialogue, as we also explain why efforts to bridge differences must be pursued as teachers step up our counter-attack against corporate reform. Riccards calls for a practitioner advisory board. […]

5 by John Thompson / 1d 

SEP 16

NY Common Core Debate: Dissecting Pro-CC Petrilli and Martin

On September 9, 2014, Intelligence Squared hosted a debate on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which it entitled, Embrace the Common Core. The title is based upon the position that the organization assumes on the issue. In this post, I consider CCSS support connected to the Intelligence Squared debate as well as address given statements by both pro-CCSS debaters. The […]

2 by deutsch29 / 3d 

SEP 14

Weingarten Hearts Cuomo (By Proxy); Willing to Undercut Teachout via Last-minute Robocall

On September 9, 2014, New York State democrats voted in a primary election that turned out to be an embarrassment for incumbent Andrew Cuomo. His most viable opponent was a relatively unknown Fordham University professor with no political machine behind her, Zephyr Teachout. Teachout lost, but not without taking a notable bite out of Cuomo support. As […]

9 by deutsch29 / 5d 

In an era of the “Clipboard Culture.”

I can’t say for sure if I invented this term on the fly or not. I lamented to my colleagues that the “clipboard culture” needs to end. Those of us subjected to daily and weekly observations from insiders and outsiders, each with their own rubrics and requirements, we teachers tire immensely of the “visitor.” They […]

22 by Shaun Johnson / 6d 

SEP 13

School Board Privatization: Committee for a Better _________ (Your City Here)

Not far from my home, on a vacant lot next to a major highway, I noticed an advertisement for our upcoming local school board elections. The name of the candidate is not familiar to me, but each time I pass the board, I wonder, “Who is funding you?” The purchasing of local school board races […]

2 by deutsch29 / 6d hide  //  save

The Qualities Of Good Schools Are No Secret.

THE QUALITIES OF GOOD SCHOOLS ARE NO SECRET.. via THE QUALITIES OF GOOD SCHOOLS ARE NO SECRET..Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

5 by David Greene / 6d