Dear West: Your "Age of Monsters" Has Begun
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Antonio Gramsci was not a professional philosopher. His intellect was
refreshingly situated within an inherent bias towards the common people,
the ‘su...
Covid Sucks!!!!
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So here I am on a beautiful day laying on my couch feeling like my head is
going to leak everything out of it. I want to sleep but I can’t. Four and a
half...
Restorative Practices and School Discipline
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Restorative practices can contribute to the development of a positive
school climate and discipline policies that are humanistic and inclusive,
while incre...
Trump Party's "Project 2025" on Education
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Media Matters has a great synopsis of the major policy changes that in
store beginning next year if convicted felon and malignant narcissist,
Donald Tru...
Fact-Checking What Vance Said about Kamala
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The anticipated barrage of misleading ads about Kamala Harris has begun.
Expect nasty racist and sexist tropes as well as inflammatory exaggerations
both o...
This and That
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Update: it appears that former SPS senior staffer *Keisha Scarlett* is out
as superintendent of St Louis Public Schools. Just after a year in that
positi...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
How Should Teachers Teach (Part 2)
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“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”* Novelist William Faulkner’s
quote captures the connection between “progressive education” in public
schools ...
The UFT is Hard at Work for You
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*A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to
carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting
it, b...
Say No To VP Shapiro
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Josh Shapiro has been a swell governor of Pennsylvania, certainly far
superior to some of the far right wingnuts that we've had running in this
state. Bu...
The Undermining of Rhode Island Public Schools
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By Thomas Ultican 7/23/2024 Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island’s unpopular
governor, appointed the clearly unqualified Angélica Infante-Green as
Commissioner of E...
RIP, Lynn Harrill
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Strands of the webs of my life keep breaking. That is an inevitable
consequence of living into your 60s, and hopefully beyond. I received a
text message th...
antiracismdsa: Mass Deportations _
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antiracismdsa: Mass Deportations _: Left unity is more important than ever
around this issue. Now is the time for US socialist organizations to come
togeth...
Its All Looking A Little Hazy
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“There are no self-proclaimed villains, only regiments of self-proclaimed
saints. Victorious historians rule where good or evil lies.” ― Glen Cook,
Chronic...
What Is the Essence of Good Government?
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The good news is we do have leaders in Washington who come from our
communities and fight for our values. Let’s be honest. It’s hard to get
excited about o...
July’s Parent Engagement Resources
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Nuestro nuevo Playbook para Familias sobre disciplina, suspensiones y
justicia restaurativa en @ChiPubSchools comparte hallazgos importantes y
formas en qu...
Dear Mr. President
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July 11, 2024 Dear President Biden, You have been the most consequential
and effective American president since FDR, and I believe that you will
eventually...
Project 2025: Politicking for Jesus.
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Project 2025 identifies itself as “The Presidential Transition Project,”
further described as “an agenda prepared by and for conservatives who will
be read...
Project 2025’s Plan for Public Education
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Project 2025 has an agenda for public schools: Destroy your neighborhood
public schools and make parents shop for schooling using vouchers. Even as
that ...
of violence and force
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Those who have read my posts over the past 2+ decades since joined DK know
that I am by choice, and after a long period of exploring and wandering
throug...
Hiding, Disappearing, and Getting Lost
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People are often surprised when I say or write that safety is our number
one responsibility when it comes to our work with young children. After
all, hum...
15 Questions for the Candidates
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Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified
compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a
modern bur...
Won in court, won at the ballot
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No matter what anyone says... Medicare Advantage for UFT Retirees was
defeated, by retirees, In the courts and In the Retired Teachers Chapter
election.
No Lie!
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In reply to:To be clear, are you really claiming that NLT is building a
TopGolf in Rock Creek? Because that’s not just misleading, it’s blatantly
false. I ...
They’re Still Not Like Us (Math and Our Values)
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In 2015, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal invited me to discuss education reform
and my book, This Is Not A Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, ...
Read Mor...
No more student data sales by College Board/ACT!
-
Here is the presentation we gave to parents from many states throughout the
nation, with tips on how to ensure their children’s data is not sold by the
Col...
Bibliography for History Posts on This Blog
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I remember when school reformers insisted the biggest problem
in education was that teachers didn't come from the best colleges.
Bibliography
VER...
March 5, 2024: The time for delay has passed
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It is time to open the ballot sitting on my kitchen counter. Only, the more
I learn of politics, the…
The post March 5, 2024: The time for delay has pass...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
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In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
Volunteer in 2024
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Be the change, volunteer and make the difference! Let’s face it, the world
is in turmoil, and divisive politics in our country is threatening our
democracy...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
Skin Deep
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She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
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*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Updated: May 2024*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good a...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
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There is a teacher shortage.And just to be sure you understand, it's not
that teachers don't want to teach.It's not that there aren't enough
teachers certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
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NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Hello world!
-
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then
start writing!
The post Hello world! first appeared on Just another WordPress site.
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
On the Edge of Silence
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“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
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Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
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I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle
this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the
city o...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
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Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
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*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
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Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
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A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
Déjà vu: 2019 ELA Assessment: Dear Board of Regents
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Dear Board of Regents,
I have copied below an email I sent to you almost a year ago, after the
2018 ELA assessment's computer-based testing failures and mo...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
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Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
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I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
-
An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
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Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
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Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
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Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
The MAP Test
-
Teachers will be voting this afternoon on the contract that has been
tentatively agreed upon. I am asking all teachers to not allow an
evaluation system th...
Trying desperately to shop at small local stores, and it's a real challenge right now. And what has to be ordered comes with the special When Will It Actually Arrive suspense. Happy holidays, one and all. In the meantime, some reading....
Thomas Ultican peels back the layers on yet another assault on public education, this one out in California. Interesting to see how several groups' interests converge on one goal--dismantling public education.
I know I've been heavy on the need to get public education expertise in the department of education under Biden, but at Hechinger, Andre Perry makes a good case for other skill sets that the next secretary will need.
This piece at Edutopia leaves lots of room for debate--are the reading wars over, and is handwriting a key part of learning, and did Fordham really release a study that contradicts some of the ideas behind its beloved Common Core? But it's an interesting conversation piece of a list.
Nancy Bailey takes a look at what McKinsey, the 800-pound gorilla of consulting, has to say about the children "falling behind," and what policies they're using the big fear to push.
Hey, remember how some school systems were using foreign teachers to fill the spots they couldn't convince US citizens to take? And remember how Trump has been slowly choking off the stream of even legal immigration? Turns out those two things ran into each other. From the Intercept.
Nancy Flanagan has an exceptional gift for connecting her own personal experience to larger ideas, and that's on display here. Do we need calls for civility right now--or is something else needed to move past these Trump years?
Betsy DeVos (who will soon not be a humble servant in the education secretary's office, but will instead be a very rich lady who wants to dismantle public education) likes to compare her vision of education to the same kind of disruption offered by outfits like Uber, a comparison that many folks like to make . I've written before about what a lousy comparison that is , focusing on problems like a
Last week the New York Times decided to offer one more glowing portrait of Melinda Gates , unintentionally underlining the work of rich folk critic Anand Giridharadas and explaining, again, that she doesn't get the problem of Gates riches in education. She opens with an Emerson quote from her valedictory high school graduation speech about success being the knowledge that one person has breathed
Aaron Churchill, the Fordham Institution's Ohio research director, popped up in the Columbus Dispatch today as a "guest columnist." It's worth noting that his job is "aimed at strengthening education policy in Ohio," which is of course not the same thing as improving education and certainly not the same thing as supporting public education. Churchill's previous job was program manager at Junior A
There are plenty of reasons to focus attention and concern on President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Secretary of Education. After all, VP Biden was part of the administration that gave us Arne Duncan as secretary, a choice universally panned by teachers. Public education advocates are hoping that Biden will give us a career educator with the leadership chops to manage a federal department that h
Compliance culture in the classroom has always, always been a problem. This is the teacher who demands compliance, in fact, grades on compliance. Most folks have a story about That Teacher--the one who wouldn't accept a paper because it was ten minutes late, or who took off a letter grade because the paper had the "wrong" heading on it. For some people, compliance is practically the whole point.
I donate locally when I can identify a need, and for a few weeks I've also been donating to teachers across the country on Donors Choose, because it makes me feel slightly less helpless in these crazy days. I've been blogging about it here to encourage you--if you can--to offer some help to someone. Maybe you know of worthy causes or programs local to you. But if you're just not sure where you can
Still trying to take care of all the places the cold gets into our house, because apparently the season is serious about things. Still counting down to the magical day when I can go many days at a time without asking, "Well, what has the President done today?" But there are still some good things to read from this week, so here's your list. How DeVos May Have Started a Counter-Revolution in Educa
So, if you need a little something to jumpkick you into the season, here's a playlist challenge for you. Yes, that's roughly 76 minutes of various versions of "Jingle Bells," carefully selected, curated and ordered for your listening pleasure. "Jingle Bells" is a curious song to become a Christmas standard, mostly because it has nothing to do with Christmas but is instead the mid-19th century anc
In some quarters we seem to have cycled back around to the old argument that the Big Standardized Test provides an assortment of necessary data with no actual downside, so let's trot those puppies out here for this already-