Friday, February 21, 2014

Do Bill and Melinda Gates have the right to affect our childrens’ lives for an eternity? | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates

Do Bill and Melinda Gates have the right to affect our childrens’ lives for an eternity? | Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates:



Do Bill and Melinda Gates have the right to affect our childrens’ lives for an eternity?

Dear Bill and Melinda,
You and Melinda went to school.  You have kids in school. You, Bill — are anexpert at developing a software company, despite having never graduated from college. Melinda, you are an expert at business, per your Duke University degree.  You are both experts at running a foundation.  Arne Duncan has expertise as a basketball player, albeithe was not good enough for the Boston Celtics’ cut.
You are experts – yes – but not at teaching or education, because you didn’t ever teach and you are not qualified to do so.
Yet, your corporate reform education policies are going to affect our children for an eternity.
Public schools aren’t taught by people with merely the limited skill sets you possess - expertise in software, business, or basketball.  While teachers may share some of those skills too, instead – public schools are taught by those of us who are professional teachers.   We’ve gone to college specifically for the profession of education. We completed our student teaching experiences successfully. We were observed and evaluated to be proficient by our field supervisors. We passed highly qualified status state exams. We jumped through all of the required hoops.  We earned our degrees in very specialized skill sets – the profession of education. And now, we have earned the right to teach because we are experts.  Even then, we continually take on professional development, like doctors  - to improve our expertise.
After all, public schools are required to have highly qualified teachers because as Henry Brooks Adams says:  ”A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his 

The Spring of Resistance: More learning, less testing | Seattle Education

The Spring of Resistance: More learning, less testing | Seattle Education:



The Spring of Resistance: More learning, less testing

Opt out postcardI and others around the country came together last summer to discuss the over testing of our students. We knew that there are parents, students and teachers coming together around the country in large cities and small townships, resisting the high stakes testing, demanding more class time with teachers instead and opting out of testing altogether.
We decided to pull together our resources and provide a website that will provide information on events, workshops and actions that are happening around the country in respect to testing, the common core standards that are pressuring school districts to increase the amount of testing done and opting out or standardized test that do not accurately measure a student’s understanding of the subject matter or how well a teacher is able to provide the information in a way that aids in a student’s understanding of the subject.
The website will also provide links to information on tests, opting out of high stakes testing, the truth about the Common Core Standards and anything else related to these subjects.
To follow is an excerpt from the press release that was sent out yesterday:

Nite Cap 2-21-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2




James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."


A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP




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Morning Wink 2-21-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2
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