No Learning Without Feeling - NYTimes.com

No Learning Without Feeling - NYTimes.com:

No Learning Without Feeling

Jon Han

By CLAIRE NEEDELL HOLLANDER

Published: June 8, 2013

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“IT’S sad,” the kid at the far table told me, “but it’s my favorite poem we worked on.” He was talking about “The Weary Blues,” by Langston Hughes, and although his emotional language was rudimentary, his response was authentic. “So we should read literature that makes us sad?” I asked. He laughed. “Well, sadness, Ms. Hollander, is something people pretty much feel every day.” He looked up at me and smiled incredulously. The connection was obvious to him.

Related in Opinion

• Opinion: Who’s Minding the Schools? (June 9, 2013)

I like it when my students cry, when they read with solemnity and purpose, when the project of making meaning becomes personal. My middle school students turn again and again to highly charged young adult novels. The poems and stories they receive enthusiastically are the ones that pack the most emotional punch. Just as teens like to take physical risks, they are driven to take emotional risks. For teachers, emotion is our lever. The teen mind is our stone.

Put another way, emotion is the English teacher’s entry point for literary exploration and for the development of the high-level skills outlined in the Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted in 45 states. Unfortunately, the authors of the standards are not 

Who’s Minding the Schools?

Jon Han

By ANDREW HACKER and CLAUDIA DREIFUS

Published: June 8, 2013 Comment

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IN April, some 1.2 million New York students took their first Common Core State Standards tests, which are supposed to assess their knowledge and thinking on topics such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and a single matrix equation in a vector variable.

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Common Core Sample Questions for New York State

Related in Opinion

• Opinion: No Learning Without Feeling (June 9, 2013)

Jon Han

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Students were charged with analyzing both fiction and nonfiction, not only through multiple-choice answers but also short essays. The mathematics portion of the test included complex equations and word problems not always included in students’ classroom curriculums. Indeed, the first wave of exams was so overwhelming for these young New Yorkers that some parents refused to let their children take the test.

These students, in grades 3 through 8, are taking part in what may be the most far-reaching experiment in American educational history. By the 2014-15 academic year, public schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia will administer Common Core tests to students of all ages. (Alaska, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia have so far held out; Minnesota will use only the Common Core English test.) Many Catholic schools have also decided to implement the Common Core standards; most private, 

Professional Development Goes Rogue | InterACT

Professional Development Goes Rogue | InterACT:

Professional Development Goes Rogue

by David B. Cohen

Robert Pronovost (@pronovost) shows off his #brewcue sign (photo by the author).

My last professional development experience occurred at a bar, with a pitcher of beer passed among participants at the table. Don’t worry – no district funds were misspent. It was my second time joining an informal eveningtweet-up (i.e., organized on Twitter) of Computer-Using Educators (CUE) in the San Francisco Bay Area. These gatherings go by hashtag #brewcue. There’s an occasional afternoon version – same idea, more caffeinated – called #coffeecue, with gatherings popping up in a wider variety of locations.
I won’t be able submit any paperwork from these experiences, won’t be reimbursed or move up the pay scale – but I have benefitted from the experience.  At my first #brewcue I talked with peers about how we manage paperless assignments and grading, and even had a chance to talk with someone working on the technical side of this matter, developing a product called Voice Comments. Then I heard about how different schools organize 

Blue Jersey:: NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/8/13

Blue Jersey:: NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/8/13:

NJ Education News Round-Up, 6/8/13

by Jersey Jazzman

Let's get right to it:Debunking Propaganda on Teacher Evaluation
I have a post over at Jersey Jazzman on how the rhetoric out of NJDOE on teacher evaluation is becoming increasingly like propaganda:

Again: I am not going to criticize the motivations of any of the members of EPAC. But this op-ed piece is not helpful: it evades addressing the central concerns with AchieveNJ, and it asks teachers to happily sign on to a system of evaluation that has no support in research. Unless and until the NJDOE is prepared to seriously and substantively answer the criticisms leveled against these rigid, top-down, unsupported regulations, no teacher should buy into what comes across as little better than propaganda.

The truth is that NJDOE still has not addressed the serious, substantive criticisms about AchieveNJ. Education Commissioner Chris Cerf and his staff talk about "giving administrators information," but they are subverting the 

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

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

Why Failing Charters in Michigan Are Not Closed

by dianerav

This comment was posted in response to a report by Education Trust Midwest about Michigan’s expansion of low-performing (and failing) charter schools. The irony is that the original theory of charters was that they would either meet their goals or lose their charter. twenty plus years ago, no one considered the possibility that for-profit and even nonprofit charters would make political contributions and assemble a political base that outweighed the quality of the schools.
The reader writes:
“Yes, there are charters of varying quality. The problem in Michigan is that the state has no real authority to 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 6-8-13 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG 

DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 5 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Karen Lewis on Ben Austin’s Letter by dianerav A comment on Ben Austin’s open letter to me: “Why would Ben Austin insert his own and his brother’s story in an open letter to you? And just for good measure, the annoying phrase, “…kids trapped in failing schools…” I am so sick of this refrain because it sounds like the rich and powerful really care. The parent tricker law is an outrage as are so many of these ALEC- Randi: Philadelphia Superintendent Demolishes Pub... more »

More tweets from the weird mind of Park Ridge school board member, Dr. Dathan Paterno. | Fred Klonsky

More tweets from the weird mind of Park Ridge school board member, Dr. Dathan Paterno. | Fred Klonsky:

More tweets from the weird mind of Park Ridge school board member, Dr. Dathan Paterno.

by Fred Klonsky

Park Ridge District 64 board member, Dr. Dathan Paterno.

Park Ridge psychologist Dr. Dathan Paterno was recently elected by a huge number of Park Ridge residentswho didn’t vote.

Paterno, who frequently represents parents in cases against the Park Ridge school district, loves Twitter.
It is there that he reduces his right-wing rants and goofy scientific theories to 140 characters.
Here are some more of his now-infamous tweets:
Shorter, please. McCain: Women should avoid military svc. until sexual misconduct crisis solvedhttp://nbcnews.to/19HkX7z 
Nonetheless, the “chemical imbalance” model remains culturally pervasive, taking the place of common sense, 

That Way Madness Lies - Reformy-to-English Dictionary, Volume Two

That Way Madness Lies - Reformy-to-English Dictionary, Volume Two:

Reformy-to-English Dictionary, Volume Two

[Note: for an introduction and Volume One, please see the previous post.]

Accountability (noun): The act of holding children responsible for choosing to be born into the wrong families or in the wrong geographic locations.  Alternately, the act of penalizing teachers who do not advise at-risk students to quit school quickly and avoid wasting everyone’s time and money.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) (noun): A number pulled out of a hat by a politician or political appointee which schools must earn on standardized tests.  Alternately, the number on a dartboard hit by a politician or political appointee which schools must earn on standardized tests. 

Achievement Gap (noun): Synonym for wealth gap.  Achievement correlates to poverty. SHHHH! Don’t say poverty!

High-Stakes Test (noun): An assessment in which the margin of error is often greater than the desired gains; nevertheless, such assessments have the power to close schools, fire teachers, cause children to repeat a grade, defund districts or schools, cause states and municipalities to lose funding, fire administrators, shame 

Reformy-to-English Dictionary, Volume One

The late, great George Carlin had a bit that constantly evolved and became a staple of his books and stand-up routines.  The bit focused on the idea of euphemistic language, which is used to hide truth from plain sight.  Controlling language is a way to control the message.  So much of what plagues modern American society is a direct result of the fact that we are incapable of having a dialogue about anything.  Why can we not have a conversation?  Because political discussions in this country have been scripted and we have been given lines.  The scripts have been written by those with an economic stake in the outcome of the “dialogue.” 

We have been left adrift in a sea of words that mean one thing to us and another to those who stand opposed to us (or which mean nothing at all), just as a 4th grader would be lost trying to portray Hamlet without any research into Elizabethan English.  Our hands have been tied because our tongues have been tied. 

This is the reason that so many regular folks regularly vote and speak against their own interests.  Many things that are dangerous sound like great ideas because a lot of work went into making bad ideas sound like good ideas.  There is a whole 

Daily Kos: words on a Saturday from two Black men I admire

Daily Kos: words on a Saturday from two Black men I admire:

words on a Saturday from two Black men I admire

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

As I write this, I am working the bookstore at the Shirlington Village (in Arlington VA) branch of Busboys and Poets, the chain of restaurants named for Langston Hughes.  As it happens I was just, as is my wont, rereading an older post, written in response to Mitt Romney saying some things should be discussed only in "quiet rooms."  I am proud of this post from January 2012.
In it I found occasion to quote two of the poems of Hughes  -  "Let America be America again." and "What happens to a dream deferred?"  In that post I pondered and reflected upon the meaning of the poetry of Hughes.
But it was also the occasion of the celebration King Day, and I also reflected on some of his words.
Below, I want to revisit some of those words by King, and, along with the words of Hughes, see how they apply right now, in a time when once again we are discovering what the apparent real values of the administration in power might be.

Philly fires nearly 4,000 teachers and district employees. What will Weingarten do? | Fred Klonsky

Philly fires nearly 4,000 teachers and district employees. What will Weingarten do? | Fred Klonsky:

Philly fires nearly 4,000 teachers and district employees. What will Weingarten do?

by Fred Klonsky

Good statement. What will she do?
Philadelphia has announced the lay-offs of 3,700 school district employees.
AFT President Randi Weingarten issued this statement:

“What was Superintendent Hite brought in to do? Mass close schools even though it makes the corridors and streets less safe for kids and destabilizes neighborhoods? Make draconian budget cuts that strip schools of nurses, libraries, guidance counselors, art, music and after-school activities, and rob children of the rich learning experience they deserve? And now impose nearly 3,800 layoffs so that public schools can’t function?
“This is a travesty. We are watching before our very eyes the evisceration of public education in the City of Brotherly Love. And instead of an all-hands-on-deck approach, instead of investing in our children’s futures, we see Gov. Corbett and Mayor Nutter sit on 

"There are no new taxes" - Governor Dannel Malloy 6/6/13 - Wait, What?

"There are no new taxes" - Governor Dannel Malloy 6/6/13 - Wait, What?:

“There are no new taxes” – Governor Dannel Malloy 6/6/13

by jonpelto

On Thursday, Governor Malloy and Lt. Governor Wyman held a press conference to address issues surrounding the newly adopted state budget.  Malloy told reporters, “I think that there are no taxes in this budget that were not present previously…There are no new taxes.”

That is, the Governor is suggesting that the following are not “new taxes”…

• The largest gas tax increase in Connecticut history that will take effect on July 1, 2013.  At present wholesale prices, the additional gas tax will add about 4 cents per gallon.  This increase will bring in about $60 million to Connecticut’s Transportation Fund.  However, as the CT Mirror noted, “the new budget then shifts $91 million from that fund into non-transportation programs next fiscal year.”

• $17.5 million more from extending the $2.50 per megawatt-hour tax on power plants from July 1, 2013 to October 1, 2013 (Malloy had wanted a 2 year extension).

Thinking About Schools: Reform "WarGames"-style

Thinking About Schools: Reform "WarGames"-style:

Reform "WarGames"-style

tick, tick, tick....

The opening scene of "WarGames."  Two men in the missile silo.  The alert comes in.  One man refuses to comply launching a missile, the other pull out his gun and orders, “Turn your key.”

 

A subsequent scene shows the furniture being removed from the silo and the men replaced by robotics.  All missiles would all be controlled centrally based on running infinite global conflict scenarios of data into the WOPR.

 

Enter Matthew Broderick, a high school kid searching for games, only to find out he has accidentally started the clock ticking for the WOPR to fire missiles on Russia. 

 

While the silo metaphor may be sadly accurate for too many classrooms, too many teachers are being replaced by robots.  And, instead of leaders and practitioners making vital system-wide decisions, the President and Governors have turned the schools over to their State’s version leadership and decision-making to the WOPR.   

 

The movie script in the Department of Education’s war room might read something like this.  “Here’s the plan…

 

·         Dismantle local schools to create highly centralized, county-wide and state-

Schooling in the Ownership Society: A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon

Schooling in the Ownership Society: A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon:

A look at Philly layoffs from Lisbon

by Mike Klonsky

At Lisbon University: "General Strike"

It's a strange feeling sitting here in Lisbon, reading about austerity in Philly.

Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Friday that the School District had begun mailing layoff notices to 3,783 employees, informing them they will lose their jobs July 1 because of the district’s financial crisis. The list includes 676 teachers, 283 counselors, 127 assistant principals, and 1,202 noontime aides. -- Inquirer

Change the names of the cities and the school administrators and the same story can be read in papers here, in Madrid, or in Athens. Why would anyone think this has anything to do with education reform?

Mass school closings along with thousands teacher and staff firings are part a global crisis which the one-

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education

NPE News Briefs ← from The Network for Public Education:

NPE News Briefs

In L.A. a shift at the top of school takeover group | Schooling in the Ownership Society

Outgoing Mayor Villaraigosa pulled a fast one on newly-elected mayor Eric Garcetti. He brought in a new manager, trained by the Broad Foundation, to run the corporate reform/school privatization group,  Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, less than a month before Garcetti was to be sworn in as mayor. Joan Sullivan, currently Villaraigosa’s deputy mayor for education ...read moreThe post In L.A. a

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Two Tenure Law Sponsors Now Seek Delay in Tougher Teacher Evaluations | New Jersey Spotlight

by John Mooney – Concerns about the upcoming launch of a new teacher evaluation system in New Jersey have caught the attention of some high-ranking legislators, with two Assembly leaders offering up a resolution to delay some key pieces of the new requirements. Related Links Resolution Calling for One-Year Delay in Full Implementation of Tougher ...read moreThe post Two Tenure Law Sponsors Now See

31min 

Camden Schools Takeover: Day One, and Counting | New Jersey Spotlight

by John Mooney – The president of the State Board of Education yesterday characterized the formal approval of the takeover of Camden’s public schools as “historic.” Related Links Camden Schools Takeover Resolution To the teachers in Camden High School, however, the event was less than momentous. “That happened today?” said one, as she climbed into ...read moreThe post Camden Schools Takeover: Day

31min 

The New York Times Claims ‘Better Teachers for New York City’ | Susan Ohanian Speaks Out

by Susan Ohanian – The New York Times editorial board is enthusiastic about the new teacher evaluation system imposed on New York City teachers by the New York State education commissioner because, in their words, this represents an important and necessary step toward carrying out the rigorous new Common Core education reforms. Translation: Another Bill ...read moreThe post The New York Times Clai

31min 

My experience at a #TFAListen event | Teach For Us

by Gary Rubinstein – TFA has two new co-CEO’s, Elisa Villanueva-Beard and Matt Kramer.  Since they have started a few months ago, they have been going on a ‘listening’ tour around the country.  Based on Tweets I had read about the tour and also from a montage video I had seen, the tone of the ...read moreThe post My experience at a #TFAListen event | Teach For Us appeared first on NPE News Briefs.

31min 

Teacher Inquiry Gives Students a Voice Too | Living in Dialogue – Education Week

by Anthony Cody – Teachers in Oakland, California, continue to shed light on what happens when you give them autonomy and support for deep, open-ended professional growth. I have written before about the work of the Mills Teacher Scholars, a program that has been in existence for a decade. With guidance from Mills College education ...read moreThe post Teacher Inquiry Gives Students a Voice Too |

57min 

A Proposal for Real School Choice in New York State | With A Brooklyn Accent

by Mark Naison – Instead of “Common Core” How about “Uncommon Children Deserve More’- A Proposal for Real School Choice Driving back from Eastern Long Island this afternoon , I  had a vision of an educational revolution in New York State  that would replace the insane barrage of tests, teacher evaluations and cooker cutter curricular ...read moreThe post A Proposal for Real School Choice in New Yo

57min 

A Revenue First Agenda: Open Commentary to Triggermen Ben Austin and Bruce William Smith | @ The Chalk Face knows Schools Matter

by Robert D. Skeels – These myths falsely portrayed desegregation’s failures as the product of autonomous individual choice. Meanwhile, these myths obscured inequalities in desegregation. A new, but parallel, kind of mythmaking about choice is underway in today’s charter school efforts. — Ansley T. Erickson Parent Revolution’s executive director, wealthy white Beverly Hills lawyer Ben ...read more

57min 

CPS enrollment figures unreliable, so we should probably rethink this whole school funding scheme, no? | @ The Chalk Face knows Schools Matter

by Chalk Face, PHD – The Chicago Tribune is reporting today that the enrollment proportion offered by CPS to tout progress of the massive closure plan is, well, bunk. Bottom line: Chicago Public Schools touted a smooth start to the school closing process this week by announcing that 78 percent of students at schools being ...read moreThe post CPS enrollment figures unreliable, so we should probabl

57min 

The One Type of Data That is Off Limits (For Now) | @ The Chalk Face knows Schools Matter

by Kris Nielsen – Health history and information is protected at a Federal level by HIPAA (Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act) laws.  This provides a challenge for education data collectors that are trying to gather health records and information on students under Arne Duncan’s P-20 program.  And, unfortunately, Arne isn’t allowed to mess ...read moreThe post The One Type of D

57min 

New KIPP:Care Will Include Child Doping Benefit | @ The Chalk Face knows Schools Matter

by Jim Horn – Since corporate school cult leader, Mike Feinberg, left his KIPP superintendent’s duties in Houston for the full-time pursuit of national brand saturation, KIPP teachers report chaos at a number of the KIPP stores schools around Houston, with mass retentions, administrative meltdowns, faltering test scores, and mass teacher resignations. What will it ...read moreThe post New KIPP:Car

57min 

Superintendent challenges Virginia Gov. McDonnell’s A-F school grading system | The Answer Sheet | The Washington Post

by Valerie Strauss – Virginia lawmakers approved school reforms earlier this year that included a new A-F system of grading individual schools. Gov. Bob McDonnell championed the change, saying it was an easy way for parents to understand how well their children’s schools were actually doing. Critics think otherwise. In the following important post, Mark ...read moreThe post Superintendent challeng

57min 

“There wasn’t a lot of choice, but there was some” | the becoming radical

by PLThomas EDD – In the June 2013 newsletter for the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), Board of Directors Chair Fayneese Miller makes this case about Common Core States Standards (CCSS): What should be our message? What do we stand for? For starters, we need to stand resolved in supporting the implementation of the ...read moreThe post “There wasn’t a lot of choice,

57min 

Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes | The Answer Sheet | The Washington Post

by Valerie Strauss – A coalition of education organizations and unions that support the Common Core State Standards issued an open letter on Thursday backing a moratorium of at least one year on the high stakes associated with new standardized tests being given to students that are aligned with the Core. The letter was issued ...read moreThe post Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests

1h 

Teacher: Reflections on Deborah Gist’s New Contract | Diane Ravitch’s blog

by Horace Manic; posted by Diane Ravitch – This post was sent to me by a teacher in Rhode Island who uses the nom de plume Horace Manic. Mr. Manic writes: The recent renewal of the contract of Deborah Gist, the Commissioner of Education in Rhode Island, brings to light some interesting political dynamics. Considering ...read moreThe post Teacher: Reflections on Deborah Gist’s New Contract | Diane

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