Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/17/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/17/17

Featured Post

School Choice, Neoliberalism Hurt Public Goods and Education - The Atlantic

La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 8min

La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here | deutsch29 : La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here On March 29, 2017, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) held a 6 1/2-hour special meeting on the state plan to be submitted to the US Department of Education in April 2017 in compliance with the Ever

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatization of Public Schools

by mike simpson / 3h

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatization of Public Schools : Privatization of Public Schools I previously posted the long memo called Real Choice vs. False Choice: The Repercussions of Privatization Programs for Students, Parents, and Public Schools that Senator Patty Murray sent to her colleagues in late March about the privatization of public schools. She does credit in laying out real wo

"Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump

by mike simpson / 3h

"Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump : "Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump Weather Underground Organization founding members Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn speak in San Francisco, California, February 20, 2009. (Photo: Steve Rhodes ) Those of us living within the borders of the United States currently find ourse

Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? - NonDoc

by mike simpson / 5h

Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? - NonDoc : Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? O ur Monday editorials are written on Sunday. Hence, this examination of SB 81 was crafted on Easter. That bill (embedded below), authored by Sen. Ron Sharp ( R-Shawnee ) and Rep. Jadine Nolan ( R-Sand Springs ), would lower the minimum grade level from sixth to third for certa

In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 5h

In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher. | Fred Klonsky : In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher CPS teacher Sarah Chambers at an opt-out rally in front of Saucedo Academy, 2014. Photo: Fred Klonsky On a cold February afternoon in 2014, dozens of parents, teachers and students gathered on the front steps of old Harrison High School in L

Kindergartens fail to let kids play - Business Insider

by mike simpson / 5h

Kindergartens fail to let kids play - Business Insider : I've been in education for 20 years, and there's a disturbing trend afoot in kindergartens around the US Being a kindergartner today is very different from being a kindergartner 20 years ago. In fact it is more like first grade. Researchers have demonstrated that 5-year-olds are spending more time engaged in teacher-led academic learning ac

Educating the Disadvantaged | National Affairs

by mike simpson / 5h

Educating the Disadvantaged | National Affairs : Educating the Disadvantaged Rising social and economic inequality has become a national preoccupation. The growth of inequality is held at least partly responsible for everything from the recent increase in racial tension to anti-immigrant sentiment to the election of President Donald Trump. Most Americans also view inequality as a problem in itsel

CURMUDGUCATION: EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You?

by mike simpson / 5h

CURMUDGUCATION: EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You? : EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You? If you want to see a fully-refined expression of edtech disdain for actual teachers, check out this article by Dr. Karen Beerer, "Greatest Lesson: Teacher Buy-in Is Overrated ." Beerer is VP of Professional Development for Discovery Education. She's held that job since 2012-- before that she was Asst. Super at

Monday Monday Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by mike simpson / 6h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Monday Monday Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Gary Rubinstein: “College or Die” by dianeravitch / 56min Gary Rubinstein has become a master at unmasking “miracle” claims, you know, the schools where 100% of the students in a poor neighborhood (formerly served by a public school) graduate or 100% go

Democrats link party rivals to DeVos as 2018 fights emerge - POLITICO

by mike simpson / 6h

Democrats link party rivals to DeVos as 2018 fights emerge - POLITICO : Democrats link party rivals to DeVos as 2018 fights emerge Teachers unions and others are attacking charter supporters in California, New York and New Jersey for doing the administration's 'dirty work.' LOS ANGELES — It’s rare that Democrats are cast as puppets of the Trump administration. But on the issue of education, many

Education Reform That Works | tultican

by mike simpson / 7h

Education Reform That Works | tultican : Education Reform That Works The Teacher Powered Schools (TPS) movement has a history of success and is now in more than 100 schools. It won’t make anyone rich but it just might bring a new area of positive growth in the teaching and learning process. It could be argued that TPS has been around since Socrates. More recently, Debra Meier’s efforts to democra

School Choice, Neoliberalism Hurt Public Goods and Education - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 7h

School Choice, Neoliberalism Hurt Public Goods and Education - The Atlantic : How School Choice Turns Education Into a Commodity Schools are a public good that extreme market proliferation would eventually destroy. Buoyed by Donald Trump’s championing of a voucher system—and cheered on by his education secretary Betsy DeVos—Arizona just passed one of the country's most thoroughgoing policies in f

Corporate childcare looks like an Arby’s. Put in the middle of the worst traffic arteries. But it’s all about the money. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 7h

Corporate childcare looks like an Arby’s. Put in the middle of the worst traffic arteries. But it’s all about the money. | Fred Klonsky : Corporate childcare looks like an Arby’s. Put in the middle of the worst traffic arteries. But it’s all about the money. It will be a Learning Experience, for sure. Now that it is almost summer I will bring my old Schwinn up from the basement and start riding i

Beware the “Miracle” School Claim | radical eyes for equity

by mike simpson / 8h

Beware the “Miracle” School Claim | radical eyes for equity : Beware the “Miracle” School Claim Published on Easter Sunday 2017 in the Post and Courier , Paul Bowers offered what I suspect will be a slow and painful series of unfortunate evidence that will discredit claims of educational miracles at Meeting Street Elementary @Brentwood; in this case, the public/private partnership elementary scho

Using busing to combat kindergarten truancy | 89.3 KPCC

by mike simpson / 8h

Using busing to combat kindergarten truancy | 89.3 KPCC : Using busing to combat kindergarten truancy A study released last week reveals an unexpected approach to help schools reduce chronic student absenteeism: making sure kids ride the school bus. “A lot of the work done that’s been done in absenteeism focuses on looking at characteristics of the child or the family,” such as poverty or student

Connecticut has spent upwards to $1 Billion on corporate welfare programs with limited oversight - Wait What?

by mike simpson / 9h

Connecticut has spent upwards to $1 Billion on corporate welfare programs with limited oversight - Wait What? : Connecticut has spent upwards to $1 Billion on corporate welfare programs with limited oversight Since taking office, Governor Dannel Malloy and his administration have shoveled hundreds of millions of dollars in “corporate aid” to dozens of companies as part of their ongoing efforts to

More Comments on Personalization Continuum (Tom Hatch) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

7by mike simpson / 9h

More Comments on Personalization Continuum (Tom Hatch) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice : More Comments on Personalization Continuum (Tom Hatch) Tom Hatch is an Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. I met Tom at Stanford University when his wife, Karen Hammerness, was a graduate student and took one of my classes. Hatch had worked closely with Ted Size

NaughtyBots Part 3: Advocacy and Marginalization | Truth in American Education

5by mike simpson / 9h

NaughtyBots Part 3: Advocacy and Marginalization | Truth in American Education : NaughtyBots Part 3: Advocacy and Marginalization This is the third part in a four-part NaughtyBots series about the #commoncore Project: How Social Media is Changing the Politics of Education . Advocacy The BotNet, or naught, issue was addressed in the previous installment so there is no need to address it again. Thi

College Or Die | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

6by mike simpson / 9h

College Or Die | Gary Rubinstein's Blog : College Or Die Chalkbeat Tennessee recently reported that the new director of charter schools in Memphis is the former principal of the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated charter school in Indiana. I went to the school’s website and found that the school’s motto, which they have painted in large letters on the walls of one of their hallways is, “College Or Di

Why Are You Looking For The Living Among The Dead? | The Jose Vilson

7by mike simpson / 9h

Why Are You Looking For The Living Among The Dead? | The Jose Vilson : Why Are You Looking For The Living Among The Dead? “While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them. As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!” – The Gospel According to

Badass Teachers Association: Rahm Suspends Teacher For Fighting Injustice by Jake Jacobs

6by mike simpson / 10h

Badass Teachers Association: Rahm Suspends Teacher For Fighting Injustice by Jake Jacobs : Rahm Suspends Teacher For Fighting Injustice by Jake Jacobs Originally posted at: https://truthagainstthemachine.com/index.php/2017/04/13/rahm-suspends-teacher-fighting-injustice/ A day before spring break, Chicago teacher Sarah Chambers was fired without being given an explanation. An email from the Chicag

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/16/17

2by mike simpson / 23h

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/16/17 Featured Post Dept of Ed Hires Anti-Civil Rights Crusader to Protect Student’s Nonexistent Civil Rights | gadflyonthewallblog NYC Public School Parents: The push for privatization 

Top Posts This Week

• 

  DeVos Pick to Head Civil Rights Office Once Said She Faced Discrimination for Being White - ProPublica
• 

  New Study: Why Teachers Created a New Genre: The “I Quit” Letters | Diane Ravitch's blog
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/15/17
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/13/17
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  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/16/17
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/14/17
• 

  We Were Warned: The DeVos Family: Meet the Super-Wealthy Right-Wingers Working With the Religious Right to Kill Public Education | Alternet
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/11/17
• 

  Charter School Builds Wall of Shame to Hide the Truth
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 4/10/17

La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here | deutsch29

La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here | deutsch29:

La. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here

On March 29, 2017, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) held a 6 1/2-hour special meeting on the state plan to be submitted to the US Department of Education in April 2017 in compliance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Most attendees thought the plan was being rushed without having been properly vetted, including the Louisiana School Boards Association.

One of the components of Louisiana’s ESSA plan is a phasing out what White calls the school performance score “curve” in two years, and a raising of the criteria for school grading year by year until 2025. (In 2015, White called the school grading a “baseline year,” to be raised over ten years. That was when the state still used the term “Common Core” and when students took a “Common Core exam” that was PARCC-like.)

Despite school performance score/ letter grade modifying and phasing, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) unequivocally promotes school letter grades, including the measuring of “improvement,” on its school letter grades page:

SCHOOL LETTER GRADES

Since 1999, the state has issued School Performance Scores for public schools, which are based on student achievement data. To clearly communicate the quality of school performance to families and the public, Louisiana adopted letter grades (A-F). All schools with sufficient data receive school performance scores.

• Elementary schools (K-6):
  • 100 percent of the school grade is based on student achievement on annual assessments in English language arts, math, science, and social studies
  Schools may also earn points for significant improvement with students who are academically behind.
• Middle schools (7-8):
  • 95 percent of the school grade is based on student achievement on annual assessments
  • Five percent of the school grade is based on credits earned through the end of students’ 9th grade year.
  Schools may also earn points for significant improvement with students who are academically behind.
• High schools (9-12): Half of the school grade is based on student achievement on state assessments and the other half on graduation performance.
  • 25 percent is attributed to student performance on the ACT or WorkKeys
  • 25 percent is attributed to student performance on End-of-Course assessments
  • 25 percent is attributed to the strength of diploma index, which rewards achievements like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exam credit
  • 25 percent is attributed to the cohort graduation rate, or the percentage of students who started 9^th grade and graduated on-time within four years

Schools may also earn additional points for significant improvement with students who are academically behind.

Note that BESE approves the school performance scoring system and associated school letter grading system.

Note also that bias and inflation in the Louisiana school grading system has beenLa. BESE Member James Garvey’s School Grading “Lie”: Read His Full Speech Here | deutsch29: 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatization of Public Schools

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatization of Public Schools:

Privatization of Public Schools

I previously posted the long memo called Real Choice vs. False Choice: The Repercussions of Privatization Programs for Students, Parents, and Public Schools that Senator Patty Murray sent to her colleagues in late March about the privatization of public schools. She does credit in laying out real world examples of how privatization has not worked in the U.S.

Her most basic point?

Privatization efforts provide a false sense of choice for many students and families. 

From the Network for Public Education comes the NPE Toolkit: School Privatization Explained

on Privatization.  There are a variety of topics covered about charter schools as well as tax credit and voucher programs.  They give Washington State a "C" for school privatization. 

 Here's some of what Senator Murray's memo says:

Under school privatization programs such as private school vouchers, tuition tax credits or deductions for private school, and education savings accounts for elementary or secondary education, families and students are promised a better school experience. But the reality is that private schools receiving taxpayer funds lack accountability and transparency, can deny students and parents basic rights, and are inaccessible to students in rural areas and students who cannot afford to pay the difference in cost between the voucher and private school tuition. These programs are particularly concerning for our nation's children who need additional supports and services in school, including students with disabilities who are often forced to sacrifice their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in exchange for a voucher. 

The Trump Administration and some in Congress are pursuing an education agenda under the guise of providing students and families with so-called “school choice.” Though, on its face, this Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatization of Public Schools:

"Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump

"Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump:

"Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump

Weather Underground Organization founding members Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn speak in San Francisco, California, February 20, 2009. (Photo: Steve Rhodes)

Those of us living within the borders of the United States currently find ourselves living inside the churning engine of a hyper-militarized corporate-fascist farce of a democracy that is spiraling into darkness. The blades of this death-machine are grinding what is left of our precious planet into dust.

Now, think back nearly five decades ago to the late 1960s. The Vietnam War was escalating dramatically and imperialism was lurching forward rapidly enough to cause ongoing demonstrations and political activism to spread like wildfire across the seething country. Some were fueled by a hunger for justice great enough they engaged in armed struggle against the US government.

It was they who comprised The Weather Underground Organization (WUO), a faction of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) that took up arms in solidarity with the Black Panthers and other militant groups with the aim to "Bring the War Home." Going underground to escape the relentless pursuit of the FBI and other law enforcement, the group managed to carry out several high-profile bombings -- including one of the Pentagon -- over a span of several years. Each action was tied to an act of imperial aggression abroad or within the US.

The Weather Underground's bombings targeted symbolic infrastructure: The group went to great lengths to make sure that no human was ever harmed in the bombings, and none ever was.

Our current political moment brings to mind resisters like the members of the Weather Underground. How might they view the current crisis of imperialism the US has brought upon itself and the planet? How would they connect today's struggles for justice with those of the past? What advice would they give to those working for social justice today?

Truthout caught up with several former leaders of the Weather Underground to find out.

Revolution "Was in the Air"

When it comes to mainstream perceptions of the 1960s, former Weather Underground member David Gilbert says, the struggle against imperialism is often given short shrift.

"We have to remember that the source of imperialism’s strength, the global scope of intense exploitation, is also its greatest weakness."

"People looking at the 1960s through today's lens see only the horrors that had to be stopped -- the napalming of children and the massacres of villagers in Vietnam, the jailings and assassinations of civil rights activists at home," Gilbert, who was a founding member of the Columbia University SDS chapter, told Truthout in a letter from prison. "Yes, that was horrible; yes we were furiously fighting to stop that, as well as the many other military and economic atrocities imperialism rains down. But that's only half the story."

Gilbert, was arrested in 1981for his role in a Brink's armored car robbery. Gilbert and other white activists were part of a group they named the Revolutionary Armed Task Force. They were acting in solidarity with the Black Liberation Army, with whom they worked to rob the vehicle with the aim of acquiring funds for the movement. During the attempted robbery, two police officers and a Brink's security guard were "Storm the Heavens": Notes From the Weather Underground on Resistance to Trump:

Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? - NonDoc

Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? - NonDoc:

Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend?

Our Monday editorials are written on Sunday. Hence, this examination of SB 81 was crafted on Easter.

That bill (embedded below), authored by Sen. Ron Sharp (R-Shawnee) and Rep. Jadine Nolan (R-Sand Springs), would lower the minimum grade level from sixth to third for certain mandatory and optional school suspensions.

Functionally, that means Oklahoma schools would be required to suspend fifth-, fourth- and third-graders who “attempt to cause physical bodily injury” to any school employee or volunteer. Such a suspension would last for at least the current semester and at most the entire subsequent semester, too.

The bill would also mean third- through fifth-graders could face suspension for “violation of a school regulation.” They could also be suspended for possessing Bud Lite, a dangerous weapon or a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of school property.

As SB 81 could be heard on the House floor in the immediate days after Easter, the most infamous bracelets of the 1990s beg the question: How many third graders would Jesus suspend?

An ineffective way to help children

While we have a number of theological contributors who could answer this question more biblically than our editorial board, trying to unpack the potential effects of SB 81 remains important.

Children with disruptive, injurious or violent tendencies are often the victims of abuse themselves. Their pain, trauma and anger — when combined with additional stress factors Editorial: How many third-graders would Jesus suspend? - NonDoc:

In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher. | Fred Klonsky

In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher. | Fred Klonsky:

In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher

CPS teacher Sarah Chambers at an opt-out rally in front of Saucedo Academy, 2014. Photo: Fred Klonsky

On a cold February afternoon in 2014, dozens of parents, teachers and students gathered on the front steps of old Harrison High School in Little Village. The Harrison building now houses several small schools including Saucedo Academy where CTU member Sarah Chambers taught special education,

Until last week.

300 Saucedo parents had signed letters opting out of the standardized state test, then known as ISAT.

“The Saucedo educators have taken a bold step in refusing to administer a test that is of no use to students and will be junked by the district next year,” said CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey. “Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has already said the ISAT will not be used for selective enrollment, and therefore this serves no purpose other than to give students another standardized test. We know that parents all over the city are opting their children out of this unnecessary test, and we commend them for doing what is in the best interests of their children.”

Sarah Chambers was a union teacher and activist in that fight, and for battles over testing and special education.

Barbara Byrd-Bennet, by the way, is now facing 7 years in prison for corruption.

Sarah Chambers has now been suspended by the CPS board and faces termination for In a city of corruption at the top, they go after an activist teacher. | Fred Klonsky:

Kindergartens fail to let kids play - Business Insider

Kindergartens fail to let kids play - Business Insider:

I've been in education for 20 years, and there's a disturbing trend afoot in kindergartens around the US

Being a kindergartner today is very different from being a kindergartner 20 years ago. In fact it is more like first grade.

Researchers have demonstrated that 5-year-olds are spending more time engaged in teacher-led academic learning activities than play-based learning opportunitiesthat facilitate child-initiated investigations and foster social development among peers.

As a former kindergarten teacher, a father of three girls who've recently gone through kindergarten, and as researcher and teacher-educator in early childhood education, I have had kindergarten as a part of my adult life for almost 20 years.

As a parent, I have seen how student-led projects, sensory tables (that include sand or water) and dramatic play areas have been replaced with teacher-led instructional time, writing centers, and sight words lists that children need to memorize. And as a researcher, I found, along with my colleague Yi Chin Lan, that early childhood teachers expect children to have academic knowledge, social skills and the ability to control themselves when they enter kindergarten.

So, why does this matter?

All work, and almost no play

First, let's look at what kindergarten looks like today.

As part of my ongoing research, I have been conducting interviews with a range of kindergarten stakeholders — children, teachers, parents — about what they think kindergarten is and what it should be. During the interviews, I share a 23-minute film that I made last spring about a typical day in a public school kindergarten classroom.

The classroom I filmed had 22 kindergartners and one teacher. They were together for almost the entire school day. During that time, they engaged in about 15 different academic activities, which included decoding word drills, practicing sight words, reading to themselves and then to a buddy, counting up to 100 by 1's, 5's and 10's, practicing simple addition, counting money, completing science activities about living things and writing in journals on multiple occasions. Recess did not occur until last hour of the day, and that too for about 15 minutes.

REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

For children between the ages of 5 and 6, this is tremendous amount of work. Teachers too are Kindergartens fail to let kids play - Business Insider:

Educating the Disadvantaged | National Affairs

Educating the Disadvantaged | National Affairs:

Educating the Disadvantaged

Rising social and economic inequality has become a national preoccupation. The growth of inequality is held at least partly responsible for everything from the recent increase in racial tension to anti-immigrant sentiment to the election of President Donald Trump. Most Americans also view inequality as a problem in itself, perhaps most importantly as a damper on mobility. A New York Times/CBS News poll from 2015 reported that only 35% of Americans believed that "anyone can get ahead." A Gallup poll from the same year found that 63% of Americans thought income should be more evenly distributed.

But inequality is about more than just income. Lower- and upper-class communities have separated geographically and diverged in family structure, habits, outlook, and criminality. One source and effect of these trends is disparities in educational attainment. Children growing up in poor families and neighborhoods, including many black and Hispanic children, complete less schooling and acquire fewer academic skills than those from more affluent backgrounds, which severely limits their potential for social mobility.

The origins of existing achievement gaps, and potential strategies for closing them, have been the subject of research and study for decades, generating a complex theoretical and empirical literature. Numerous innovations and programs, involving large expenditures of public and private funds, have been devoted to increasing and equalizing achievement. Despite sustained efforts on multiple fronts, socioeconomic gaps in educational indicators have barely budged overall, resisting repeated waves of school reform and a multitude of initiatives designed to improve prospects for low-income students.

Two approaches in particular have received wide popular attention and strong professional advocacy for addressing inequalities in K-12 education. Both are motivated by a genuine desire to make headway against racial and economic inequalities in Educating the Disadvantaged | National Affairs:

CURMUDGUCATION: EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You?

CURMUDGUCATION: EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You?:

EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You?

If you want to see a fully-refined expression of edtech disdain for actual teachers, check out this article by Dr. Karen Beerer, "Greatest Lesson: Teacher Buy-in Is Overrated."

Beerer is VP of Professional Development for Discovery Education. She's held that job since 2012-- before that she was Asst. Super at Boyertown School District  for seven years, and before that an "educator" at Quakertown Community School District for twenty years (that apparently breaks down to stints as principal and teacher). She was hired by Discovery to handle things like their Common Core Academies. Presumably their mission statement was not "Learn from professional development or don't-- we couldn't care less."

And yet, here she is to explain how implementing ed tech can be done via a big bus that just drives over your professional staff.

The stock photo for the piece is a woman at a desk, eyes closed, hand to forehead. One must assume it's a superintendent thinking, "OMFG those damn teachers." The subhead notes that while collaboration is nice and all, waiting for teacher buy-in can be "paralyzing to innovation." And we are off and running.

Almost immediately, Beerer hedges her bets and adds a "sometimes" because, she says, there is a time and place for it.

She notes that teachers have a right to feel innovation fatigue as fads like Madeline Hunter come and go (but she would like you to know, parenthetically, that she still loves Hunter-- are you getting a picture of Beerer now?). But as she travels the country as a sales rep with a fancy title VP of CURMUDGUCATION: EdTech To Teachers: Who Needs You?:

Why the Attack on Sarah Chambers Matters

Every day, from all over the country, we hear stories of teachers whose jobs are, for one reason or another, are on the line. Sometimes we hang back, correctly assuming that we don't have the whole story, that there are local issues that we don't know about. But sometimes these local stories deserve all the attention we can give them because they are an early warning of kinds of problems we could all face. So that's why I think you should keep reading when I tell you--

Sarah Chambers is under attack.

Chambers is a special ed teacher in the Chicago Public School system, serving students at the Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy for the last eight years. She has been rated "distinguished" by six different principals. And as recent events have shown, she is much-beloved by her students and their parents, not because she's all warm and fluffy, but because she is a fierce advocate for those students.

CPS just suspended Chambers, and has served notice that they want to take her job.

Here's why we should all care.

Testing before teachers.

According to Chambers, the stated reason for her suspension was that she was encouraging students to opt out of taking the PARCC.

Let that sink in-- of all the possible kinds of professional misconduct that a teacher could be guilty of, the one that the district was willing to move quickly and forcefully on was not a matter that 

Why the Attack on Sarah Chambers Matters