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Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/22/17


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/22/17

Featured Post

One Teachers Union Is Talking to Betsy DeVos. The Other One Isn’t. Which Is Right? | New Republic





BAT Cheryl Binkley - The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life
by mike simpson / 3h
Badass Teachers Association: The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life by Cheryl Binkley : The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life by Cheryl Binkley Originally posted at: http://3rdmillenniumteacher.blogspot.com/2017/02/the-metaphor-of-school-as-business-how.html The metaphor of schools as businesses h
CURMUDGUCATION: The Decline of Accountability
by mike simpson / 2h
CURMUDGUCATION: The Decline of Accountability : The Decline of Accountability It was just a few years ago that outcomes were all the rage with the reform crowd. The problem with public schools, they said, was that we focus too much on inputs. Outfits like the Rand Corporation produced big reports on giving more weight to outputs. Or here's a paper by Mike Petrilli (Fordham Foundation) telling the
Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process - Wait What?
by mike simpson / 2h
Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process - Wait What? : Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process As more and more parents understand, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Testing program unfairly discriminates against poor students, students who aren’t fluent in the English language an
It's Not About Them (It's About Us) | Blue Cereal Education
by mike simpson / 3h
It's Not About Them (It's About Us) | Blue Cereal Education : It's Not About Them (It's About Us) The class after lunch is always a colorful time. Students have just had a rowdy half-hour of the most freedom they’ll experience during the school day, and most are loaded up on sugar, caffeine, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. It’s in that hour that I have Dalton, a fascinating young man who’s often dressed
One Teachers Union Is Talking to Betsy DeVos. The Other One Isn’t. Which Is Right? | New Republic
by mike simpson / 3h
One Teachers Union Is Talking to Betsy DeVos. The Other One Isn’t. Which Is Right? | New Republic : One Teachers Union Is Talking to Betsy DeVos. The Other One Isn’t. Which Is Right? Big Education Ape: Betsy DeVos called me. I sent her this letter - Lily's Blackboard - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/02/betsy-devos-called-me-i-sent-her-this.html Big Education Ape: DeVos to tour schools w
CURMUDGUCATION: The Lessons of Fordlandia
by mike simpson / 4h
CURMUDGUCATION: The Lessons of Fordlandia : The Lessons of Fordlandia This week in the New York Times, Simon Romero took a fascinating visit (with photos) to one of Henry Ford's most monumental failures. It's reminder that billionaires who want to remake the world in their own preferred image are nothing new-- and their failures frequently come back to the same old lessons. In the 1920s, Fordland
So far, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is just what her critics feared - The Washington Post
by mike simpson / 4h
So far, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is just what her critics feared - The Washington Post : So far, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is just what her critics feared Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos has been U.S. education secretary for only a few weeks, but already she has shown herself to be exactly what her critics feared. In her brief time running the Education Department she has (among oth
Have We Lost Sight of the Promise of Public Schools? - The New York Times
by mike simpson / 5h
Have We Lost Sight of the Promise of Public Schools? - The New York Times : Have We Lost Sight of the Promise of Public Schools? In the days leading up to and after Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as secretary of education, a hashtag spread across Twitter: #publicschoolproud. Parents and teachers tweeted photos of their kids studying, performing, eating lunch together. People of all races tweeted abou
John Thompson: Questions for candidates as OKCPS runoff begins - NonDoc
by mike simpson / 6h
Questions for candidates as OKCPS runoff begins - NonDoc : Questions for candidates as OKCPS runoff begins Stanley Hupfeld and Paula Lewis will square off in the OKCPS runoff election for chairperson on April 4. (NonDoc) T he top two candidates for the Oklahoma City Public Schools Chairperson were Elizabeth Warren and Betsy DeVos — or so it sometimes seemed based on what the voters asked about. S
You’re Fired! – Have You Heard
by mike simpson / 6h
You’re Fired! – Have You Heard : You’re Fired! The idea that schools can be fixed by firing teachers has become a fixation. In this episode of Have You Heard, Jack Schneider and I discuss the origins of the idea, which he has helpfully distilled here in this amazing graphic. We hear from three Boston teachers whose schools are about to be turned upside down, the lives of their immigrant students
School management linked to teacher turnover :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet
by mike simpson / 6h
School management linked to teacher turnover :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet : School management linked to teacher turnover (N.Y.) The high rate of teacher turnover in most schools serving low-income neighborhoods has generally been perceived as the result of the problems students from low-income families bring to class. But an examination of s
UT/TT Poll: Education is pretty good, but Texans have some suggestions | The Texas Tribune
by mike simpson / 6h
UT/TT Poll: Education is pretty good, but Texans have some suggestions | The Texas Tribune : UT/TT Poll: Education is pretty good, but Texans have some suggestions Texans don't like the standardized tests required of public education students, and they support a number of changes from higher spending to more pre-K classes, according to the new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. More Texans t
DeVos praises virtual schools, but new research points to problems - The Hechinger Report
by mike simpson / 6h
DeVos praises virtual schools, but new research points to problems - The Hechinger Report : DeVos praises virtual schools, but new research points to problems A new study adds to the body of research showing that online-only schools don’t serve low-performing students It was the best of times and the worst of times for virtual schools, which allow students to go to school without ever stepping in
It’s not who controls the schools that matters, it’s whether they care about equity - The Hechinger Report
by mike simpson / 7h
It’s not who controls the schools that matters, it’s whether they care about equity - The Hechinger Report : It’s not who controls the schools that matters, it’s whether they care about equity New Orleans has had plenty of school choice in the last decade, but vulnerable students have been left behind On President’s Day, a town hall was convened by the Orleans Parish School Board to update the co
Op-Ed: What Regaining Full Control of Schools Means for the People of Newark - NJ Spotlight
by mike simpson / 7h
Op-Ed: What Regaining Full Control of Schools Means for the People of Newark - NJ Spotlight : OP-ED: WHAT REGAINING FULL CONTROL OF SCHOOLS MEANS FOR THE PEOPLE OF NEWARK Students will be counting on us — the parents, residents, teachers, and leaders — to create a school environment that prepares them to succeed as adults Shanell Dunns Since 1995, the state of New Jersey has held full control of
Teachers of color: Student diversity is up but not educators | ABC10.com
by mike simpson / 7h
Teachers of color: Student diversity is up but not educators | ABC10.com : Teachers of color: Student diversity is up but not educators As an African-American teacher, David Joiner is a rarity in education. Growing up in Louisiana, Joiner said he didn’t see many teachers who looked like him. Instead, he saw what many students see: a teaching workforce that has not kept up with the ever-changing d
School Asks Teachers To Take Down Pro-Diversity Posters, Saying They're 'Anti-Trump' | The Huffington Post
by mike simpson / 8h
School Asks Teachers To Take Down Pro-Diversity Posters, Saying They're 'Anti-Trump' | The Huffington Post : School Asks Teachers To Take Down Pro-Diversity Posters, Saying They’re ‘Anti-Trump’ Now, the students are fighting back. WASHINGTON ― School administrators in a 93 percent white 93 percent white Maryland county recently asked high school teachers to take down pro-diversity posters from cl
NYC Educator: Fordham U and Me
by mike simpson / 8h
NYC Educator: Fordham U and Me : Fordham U and Me Last night I was honored to be included in a panel at Fordham University discussing mostly the welfare of our students. There was great discussion from both the panelists and the audience. In retrospect, it probably would've been smarter to write about this before it happened so more people would know about it. But better late than never. I had an
Clueless Betsy DeVos Blames School Teachers, Doesn’t Get that Test-and-Punish Is Core Problem | janresseger
by mike simpson / 8h
Clueless Betsy DeVos Blames School Teachers, Doesn’t Get that Test-and-Punish Is Core Problem | janresseger : Clueless Betsy DeVos Blames School Teachers, Doesn’t Get that Test-and-Punish Is Core Problem After our new U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos visited a Washington, D.C. middle school last week, she insulted the teachers there. She said the teachers were “in receive mode,” and continued
Data driving me crazy. | Fred Klonsky
by mike simpson / 8h
Data driving me crazy. | Fred Klonsky : Data driving me crazy. As an artist and retired art teacher I believe that classrooms, like all the built environment, should reflect good design principles. But what are those? A tweet by Michael Antonucci intrigued me. Follow Mike Antonucci @UnionReport74 Is Your Classroom Overdecorated? http://www. eiaonline.com/intercepts/201 7/02/21/is-your-classroom-o
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More on Betsy DeVos' love affair with Florida's charter school system
by mike simpson / 9h
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More on Betsy DeVos' love affair with Florida's charter school system : More on Betsy DeVos' love affair with Florida's charter school system Here's a follow-up on yesterday's post about Betsy DeVos' love affair with Florida's "choice" system, a system of charters and vouchers that she's practically paid for. DeVos recently named Florida's "choice" system as her "mo
Louisiana Research: When Tenure Ends, Teachers Leave. | deutsch29
by mike simpson / 9h
Louisiana Research: When Tenure Ends, Teachers Leave. | deutsch29 : Louisiana Research: When Tenure Ends, Teachers Leave. In 2012, the Louisiana legislature passed Act 1, commonly known as the “teacher tenure law.” Moreover, the Louisiana State Department of Education (LDOE) has translated Act 1 into an evaluation system whereby 50 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is connected to “student learni
Population Puzzle Problems Beyond Kasich Razzle Dazzle
by mike simpson / 9h
Population Puzzle Problems Beyond Kasich Razzle Dazzle : Population Puzzle Problems Beyond Kasich Razzle Dazzle Ohio’s 69th governor has left the state again, this time to hop the pond for a few days to schmooze with German and English businesses. Odds are slim that the 64-year old supply side governor will learn anything about how important unions are to German companies. Called co-determination
W.E.B. DuBois and Dual Consciousness For Teachers of Color | The Jose Vilson
by mike simpson / 9h
W.E.B. DuBois and Dual Consciousness For Teachers of Color | The Jose Vilson : W.E.B. DuBois and Dual Consciousness For Teachers of Color In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois posits: It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and p
Bad News for the Office for Civil Rights and the Students It Serves? - Education Law Prof Blog
by mike simpson / 9h
Education Law Prof Blog : Bad News for the Office for Civil Rights and the Students It Serves? A Chronicle of Higher Education story indicates the likely nominee for the Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights will be Gail Heroit, who may take the Office in an entirely new direction. As discussed here and here , the Office has recently done incredible work. It seems that the task of t
Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon – Live Long and Prosper
by mike simpson / 10h
Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon – Live Long and Prosper : Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon Words of wisdom appropriate to our time. …from George Washington, America’s first President, on the occasion of his 285 birthday. ON EDUCATION “A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And

YESTERDAY

Feds won't file charges after investigation of LAUSD iPad program | 89.3 KPCC
by mike simpson / 21h
Feds won't file charges after investigation of LAUSD iPad program | 89.3 KPCC : Feds won't file charges after investigation of LAUSD iPad program Federal investigators have closed their inquiry into the Los Angeles Unified School District's troubled iPad program without charging any of the current or former district officials involved, according to a statement from the head attorney for the schoo
Actions Speak Louder than Words – Have You Heard
by mike simpson / 23h
Actions Speak Louder than Words – Have You Heard : Actions Speak Louder than Words Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says she wants to empower teachers to make them great. Detroit teacher Stephanie Griffin isn’t buying it… By Stephanie Griffin When teachers in Detroit organized sick-outs last year, we weren’t in *receive mode,* as Betsy DeVos would say, waiting to be told what to do. The protest
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/21/17
by mike simpson / 1d
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/21/17 Featured Post Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Why DeVos is making Florida's charter system her 'model'. She practically owns it. 3 Simple Ways to Counteract Internalized Bias 

Top Posts This Week


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Fewer Decisions = More Energy - Teacher Habits

Fewer Decisions = More Energy - Teacher Habits:

Fewer Decisions = More Energy


Every teacher I know wishes they had more energy at the end of the day. They want to give their best to their family, just like they gave their best to their students. They want to exercise, work on a hobby, play with their kids, talk with their spouse, and some of them even wish they had more energy for checking papers and planning lessons.
In my last post, Why Teachers Are So Tired, I wrote about the four reasons teachers are so drained at day’s end.
This week and next, I’ll look at what teachers can do to reduce decisions, use less willpower, avoid emotional peaks and valleys, and handle worry so that they go home with more energy. In this article, I’ll tackle the first of those: making fewer decisions.

How to Make Fewer Decisions

It sounds simple enough: just make fewer decisions. And for some people in some jobs, it might even be possible to simply, through force of will, decide fewer things at work. But as teachers, we are inundated with situations that require us to decide. Planning is nothing but a Fewer Decisions = More Energy


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BAT Cheryl Binkley - The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life

Badass Teachers Association: The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life by Cheryl Binkley:

The Metaphor of School as A Business & How It Has Narrowed Our View of Learning and Life 

by Cheryl Binkley




The metaphor of schools as businesses has become the dominant way of describing Education these days. It is difficult to find a conversation about schools in which business terminology and ideas do not pop up. Terms like emerging markets, global competitiveness, and monopoly are ever present in considerations about what our schools should be like and what they should do.  

The result of using business as The Metaphor (not just a metaphor) extends even beyond schools to most of the conversations about our society and culture in today’s academic and policy making circles. Our policymakers and policy advisers even see business in a particular light. Business in its contemporary neoliberal iteration is Competition, made up of winners and losers. Business is no longer a method whereby we share goods, develop products, or provide purpose and support for our communities, but is focused almost solely on making money for the investor class.





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CURMUDGUCATION: The Decline of Accountability

CURMUDGUCATION: The Decline of Accountability:

The Decline of Accountability


It was just a few years ago that outcomes were all the rage with the reform crowd. The problem with public schools, they said, was that we focus too much on inputs. Outfits like the Rand Corporation produced big reports on giving more weight to outputs. Or here's a paper by Mike Petrilli (Fordham Foundation) telling the state of Wisconsin how to look at those all-important outputs for quality control. The basic sales pitch for charters, repeated again and again, was that charters traded greater autonomy for greater acountability.


But there's a new breeze a-blowin', the same breeze that brought Betsy DeVos, Poppins-like, into town. As has been noted repeatedly, DeVos was never really on board with that accountability thing. Her faith is in God, the free market, rich corporate leaders, and parental choice (well, as much as the first three allow for)-- and that's all we need. In her spate of early interviews, she allowed as how there's not really any issue on which the feds need to intervene. The invisible hand will fix everything.

We don't need accountability. The only part that matters is choice. That is the output that matters.

You can see this new attitude sneaking into the reformsters themselves.

Every year the Fordham Foundation holds a wonkathon, in which they solicit policy ideas and proposals. Last year they also held a design competition in which they solicited ideas for accountability systems under ESSA (I entered that one but, shockingly, did not win). Last year's wonkathon was about looking for a choicy silver lining in the ESSA. 

This year?

This year the Fordham is looking for ideas about how to spend the Trump $20 billion in voucher money. There are three requirements that the submission must meet:

  • It promotes the expansion of parental choice in education
  • It could reasonably be included in a tax reform bill and passed via reconciliation (since, as Politico is reporting, that appears to be the vehicle the Administration and leaders in Congress will try to use)  
  • It includes the number “$20 billion” (though of course it need not start there and might not grow to there)

Notice what's not here? No accountability requirement. No component to make sure that the $20 CURMUDGUCATION: The Decline of Accountability:





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Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process - Wait What?

Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process - Wait What?:

Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process
As more and more parents understand, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Testing program unfairly discriminates against poor students, students who aren’t fluent in the English language and students who require special education services.  It serves no useful purpose in today’s classrooms and certainly should not be used as a “high-stakes” test and punish program.
To make matters worse, as part of Governor Dannel Malloy’s “education reform” initiative, the SBAC test will be used as part of Connecticut’s teacher evaluation system despite the fact that the test is developmentally inappropriate for many students and fails to adequately measure what is really being taught in Connecticut’s classrooms.
As Teacher Development Specialist, Kate Field, explained in a an April 2016 CT Mirror article,
Even the best standardized test is unable to measure the sizable domain of knowledge acquired over a year of study, and contains only a small sample of questions. Selection bias may unintentionally skew the sample of test items, which could result in some students scoring lower than others, not necessarily because they know less, but because they did not understand the way a question was worded.
Standardized tests also do a poor job of measuring important skills like creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Standardized tests tend, to varying degrees, to be culturally and linguistically biased against English language learners and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Field added,
Using SBAC [to evaluate teachers] undermines the integrity of teacher evaluation, because the test was not designed to Opt Out FACT – SBAC test will be unfairly used in Connecticut’s teacher-evaluation process - Wait What?:




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It's Not About Them (It's About Us) | Blue Cereal Education

It's Not About Them (It's About Us) | Blue Cereal Education:

It's Not About Them (It's About Us)

The class after lunch is always a colorful time. Students have just had a rowdy half-hour of the most freedom they’ll experience during the school day, and most are loaded up on sugar, caffeine, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 
It’s in that hour that I have Dalton, a fascinating young man who’s often dressed more professionally than I am and who I adore. I assume he’s somewhere on “the spectrum” – a little Asperger’s and a dash of OCD, maybe? Whatever, it’s all good – he’s genuinely warm and friendly, despite an ongoing, irresistible itch to provoke. It keeps the day interesting. 
Also in that hour is Tiandra, a theatrical young lady who will likely change the world, but who in the meantime occasionally falls prey to melodrama and emotional exhaustion. Her random outbursts in the name of social justice are technically dead-on, but her timing and presentation lack… refinement. She and her circle periodically break into explosive laughter over things no one else understands. But the joy – who can resent that?
Both of these young people are antagonists in their own ways – hence my particular affection for each. And they drive one another crazy in the most volatile ways. What starts with muttered comments or provocative grunts easily escalates into locked eyes across the room. Emotions escalate and volume rises. It can get ugly if I don’t find some way to redirect or quash it – Every. Flipping. Time. 
Teacher ScoldingThe conversations I’ve had with them individually in an effort to avoid actual disciplinary action (which I prefer to reserve for overt defiance or repeated, intentional disruption) are built on the same non-negotiable premise: your choices – your behavior – is not about them. It’s about you. We are not gracious or patient because someone else deserves it; we strive to walk with character and style because of who weIt's Not About Them (It's About Us) | Blue Cereal Education:




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