9-27-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: 

 Schools Matter All Week

The Unbearable Lightness of Neo-Liberal Historical Revisionism in Education

Dana Goldstein studied intellectual history at Brown before she became a reporter, then a grad student at Columbia, and now another author among the growing tribe of young, privileged white folks with new books intended to make the world safe for corporate education reform.Goldstein joins Cornellian Amanda Ripley, Yalie Anya Kamenetz, and fellow Columbia alum, Elizabeth Green, in offering their no

2 by Jim Horn / 17h 

On Rhonda of the Hamptons

A nice piece from Perdido Street School:Lyndsey Layton reports the Center for Union Facts is attacking AFT President Randi Weingarten again:The 11-page mailing, on expensive paper stock, was sent first class to 125,000 households across the country this week. “I’m writing to you about Randi,” the letter began. “You probably don’t know who Randi is. Most people don’t. The terrible impact Randi has

6 by Jim Horn / 1d 

SEP 25

Aspire Charter Schools: Busing to Maintain Segregation

When parents showed up last week to enroll their children at the Aspire (Coleman) charter school in Memphis, they were told there were no more seats, due to plans to expand next year to take in 6th grade.  Even if there were no expansion plans, you can't have too many children of parents who weren't there months ago to squeal with delight at the prospect of getting their children into a new segreg

1 by Jim Horn / 1d 

SEP 24

Peg Robertson Says No to Common Core Testing in CO

Posted here earlier:Citizens of Colorado, I address this letter to you, because you are my community, my people. You have the power to shift the momentum in our public schools – where our students are increasingly being taught to the test under the intense high stakes conditions created via Race to the Top. Meanwhile, child poverty is ignored. I send this letter to you because I have made attempts

32 by Jim Horn / 2d 

Teacher Preparation Matters for Teacher Attrition

from Ingersoll, Merrill, and May (2014), available here:

4 by Jim Horn / 3d 

SEP 23

New NC Standards Commission Headed by IBM Offshoring Expert and Tea Party Darling

From WRAL:IBM executive Andre Peek of Wake County and longtime Forsyth County school board member Jeannie Metcalf were named co-chairmen of the commission.Jeannie Metcalf is Tea Party school board member.  Andre Peek's LinkedIn page has his expertise listed as Outsourcing/Offshoring (really!).What can go wrong?

2 by Jim Horn / 3d 

SEP 22

KIPP Teaching: "Sprinting a Marathon for Two Years"

At some KIPP schools teachers ride the buses so that children come to school ready to learn and go home ready for homework. What can be effect on children who have to remain silent from when the leave home until the time they return?From a former KIPP teacher: It was ultimately unsustainable.  It felt like sprinting a marathon for two years.  Probably worked somewhere between 80 and 100 hour

3 by Jim Horn / 4d 

Responding to "Why Poor Students Struggle"

My response to this at the NYTimes:James Horn Cambridge, MA Pending ApprovalI think you might trust many of the souls to come along when you put some weight on their end of the economic tug of war that most poor college students are losing. The Ivy League's Raymond and Caitlin will always be who they are, as tangible examples of a the clueless classist and racist system we have created. You might

2 by Jim Horn / 4d 

SEP 21

Will Humans Allow Capitalism to Destroy Life on Earth?

Today 400,000 say No in NYC.   What do you say?

2 by Jim Horn / 5d 

The Plan Is Working: Real Teachers Quit

with links to research study, from MSU website:Contrary to popular opinion, unruly students are not driving out teachers in droves from America’s urban school districts. Instead, teachers are quitting due to frustration with standardized testing, declining pay and benefits and lack of voice in what they teach. . . .

2 by Jim Horn / 5d 

Paying Off Time on the Lazy River with Lives on the Corporate Treadmill

The New York Times has a piece today about the latest in the recreational arms race at the second and third tier colleges that are educating the next generation of America's corporate drones.  It's called the Lazy River, which allows students to totally relax between fraternity/sorority parties and football weekends.Meanwhile over at the VA and the homeless shelter, the online colleges are aggress

3 by Jim Horn / 5d hide  //  save

SEP 20

Breaking Non-News: All 4 of MA's New Low-Scoring Schools Have High Poverty Scores

And the planned cultural sterilization and segregation turnaround plans continue. . . .At first glance, we may want to blame the educators and their teaching methods. They are primarily responsible for the material that each student learns everyday. However, looking deeper into this issue, each of the six new schools contain students with underpreviledged families.The National School Lunch Program

3 by Jim Horn / 6d 

All Week 9-27-14 @ 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.

Remarkable Idiocy: “Economically-driven Education”

On October 2, 2014, I will be speaking in Indiana to an audience chiefly comprised of university students who have a passing understanding of the intentions of moneyed interests to usurp control of public education. With a mind toward preparing for my upcoming engagement, I happened to read three pertinent (and powerful) articles: This one on September 26, 2014, […]

1 by deutsch29 / 1h 

To La.’s Accountability Commission, As They ReVAMp Teacher Evals

In 2010, Louisiana Representative Frank Hoffman authored the bill to include student test scores as part of teacher evaluations. Hoffman said that he “would never do anything that would hurt good teachers”– an irony, since via his bill, Hoffman had decided that the definition of a “good teacher” is one whose value can be assessed […]

2 by deutsch29 / 1d 

SEP 24

My Two Speaking Engagements in October

I will be speaking in Indiana and Maine in October. On Thursday, October 2, 2014, I will be in North Manchester, Indiana, at Manchester University (Cordier Auditorium, 7 – 8 p.m.). The title of my talk is, “When Education Reform Becomes ‘Erroneous Ideology Well Funded.” I will include information from my book, A Chronicle of Echoes: […]

1 by deutsch29 / 2d 

SEP 23

@homedepot foundation rejected my small grant application. We don’t have enough needs, apparently.

I put in for a $750 grant for the Home Depot Foundation to get some start up funding for a school garden, meeting space that would eventually generate revenue at a local farmer’s market in Ward 8, DC. I get the automatic reply: Dear Applicant, The Home Depot Foundation appreciated the opportunity to consider your […]

3 by Shaun Johnson / 3d 

_____________________________________?

I am about six weeks into the new school year. You may have noticed, maybe not, that my personal contributions here, and to the “radio” show, dropped off precipitously. Teaching is a busy job, as you know. I have hobbies, a personal life, and other interests that supersede the old education reform commentary. Beyond the […]

2 by Shaun Johnson / 3d 

Obsessions with the f-word. I mean, FRUSTRATION

I saw this posted today from the Answer Sheet on reading in our current standards-obsessed era. The article poses an interesting question: is cultivating frustration in children something we should embrace? My instincts tell me no, and I’ll let you debate that answer for yourself. But what I will say is that I’ve seen this word, […]

1 by Shaun Johnson / 3d 

Bronx Tales

BRONX TALES. via BRONX TALES.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

1 by David Greene / 3d 

On the BUS: First-Hand Tales of Teaching, Speaking Out, and Consequences

Originally posted on WeActEd:What happens to teachers who speak out about problems they see in their work? Join the next Education Town Hall BUS as two educators tell first-hand stories and discuss the larger issues, including whistle-blowing, teachers unions, job protections, and the impact of school reform policies on teachers of color. Tune in…

6 by denishanjones / 3d 

SEP 22

La. Legis Auditor Steps Into Common-Core-Promoting Game

On September 22, 2014, Louisiana Auditor Daryl Purpera issued a report on his objective opinion (?) of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Whether Purpera intended it or not, he is now part of the game. Purpera’s report is little more than another brochure for CCSS, one that glosses over issues such as who actually […]

1 by deutsch29 / 4d 

SEP 21

AIR and Fordham Institute Grade Standards; Common Core Wins!

This is the story of two organizations that took diverging roads to grading state standards: American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Fordham Institute. Let’s start with AIR. In a report released September 2014, AIR has “internationally benchmarked” state education standards. Now, this is not to be confused with the famed-yet-elusive “international benchmarking” of the Common […]

2 by deutsch29 / 5d 

Why Liberals Hate Arne Duncan

WHY LIBERALS HATE ARNE DUNCAN. via WHY LIBERALS HATE ARNE DUNCAN.Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face

10 by David Greene / 5d