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Sunday, March 22, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 3/22/15



Special Nite Cap Catch Up on Today's Post 3/22/15


Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM





Peg with Pen: Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?: Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?Last Thursday night I addressed the Littleton School Board. See video here. Here are my comments.My name is Peggy Robertson. My son, Sam, is a sophomore at Littleton High School. I am a teacher in the Aurora Public School Di
by mike simpson / 37min 
Hello Superintendents - Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy laws. - Wait What?: Hello Superintendents – Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy  Reading the misleading letters that Connecticut parents are still receiving from some local school superintendents it remains clear that Governor Dannel Malloy’s administration more than a handful of
by mike simpson / 39min 
Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data - NYTimes.com: Bill Would Limit Use of Student DataSpeaker John A. Boehner, right, administering the oath of office to Representative Jared S. Polis in January. Mr. Polis, a Colorado Democrat, is co-sponsor of the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act. Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press Is the digital revolution in the classroom giving t
by mike simpson / 45min 
Teachers, Parents Challenge Deal’s School Takeover Plan Ahead of House Committee Vote | Atlanta Progressive News: TEACHERS, PARENTS CHALLENGE DEAL’S SCHOOL TAKEOVER PLAN AHEAD OF HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTE(APN) ATLANTA — The House Education Committee will soon decide whether to advance Gov. Nathan Deal’s controversial proposal to allow the state to take over and privatize struggling schools.At a hearing
6 by mike simpson / 1h 
Badass Teachers Association: Teach for America – What a Stupid Idea! (Or is it?)By:  Steven SingerOriginally posted on his blog  https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/teach-for-america-what-a-stupid-idea-or-is-it/Welcome to the Hall of Stupid Ideas!I’ll be your guide through this section of the museum.Moving past the hall of phrenology, past the flat earth wing and the newly renovat
1 by mike simpson / 2h 
Great teacher = great results? Wrong | Jack Marwood | Comment is free | The Guardian: Great teacher = great results? Wrong‘Some children find school and learning easy and some don’t, often for reasons out of their, and our, control.’ Photograph: Jeff Morgan/AlamySir Michael Barber, once a chief education adviser to Tony Blair, introduced one of the enduring modern myths about education when he quo
by mike simpson / 3h 
List of Student Protests Against the PARCC | Teacher Under Construction:List of Student Protests Against the PARCCThis entry was posted on March 22, 2015, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a commentAbout 11 student protests against the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam have sparked in 5 different states across the country. These states inclu
21 by mike simpson / 3h 
Privatization of public resources and services - Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for Mayor of Chicago: Toward Fiscal Sustainability: A New Approach in Prudent Fiscal Management of Chicago The city's primary responsibility is to ensure that the public has equitable access to its services and assets, and my responsibility as Mayor will be to protect these for future generations. Therefore, I am genera
1 by mike simpson / 4h 
BustED Pencils Online Radio by Busted Pencils | BlogTalkRadio: BustED Pencils Trending News: Pearson and Spygate.Too much sugar? Too much TV? Too much testing? Live from Next Door BrewingLiterally join Jed and Tim at 5:00 pm CST  live from Next Door Brewing Company as we talk public school activism with parents, teachers, and citizens prior to Too much sugar? Too much TV? Too much testing?  We wan
1 by mike simpson / 5h 
Uncategorized | Student Privacy Matters: Student Privacy MattersOur letter to Reps. Polis and MesserFebruary 11, 2015February 11, 2015 Dear Representatives Polis and Messer: We write on behalf of the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, a nationwide network of parents, citizens, and privacy advocates, concerned with the widespread, rampant, and poorly regulated data collection, data-sharing, data
3 by mike simpson / 5h 
Marie Corfield: Can God save the children from #PARCC?: Can God save the children from #PARCC?This is the worst PARCC story I've heard:A friend of mine who lives in one of New Jersey's many wealthy suburbs with excellent schools and parents who routinely hire tutors for their children as early as first grade was with her daughter at a children's Stations of the Cross event at her church. The 14 St
1 by mike simpson / 7h 
Action Now endorses Garcia for Mayor - Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for Mayor of Chicago: Action Now endorses Garcia for MayorAction Now, one of the City’s largest grassroots organizations, has announced its endorsement of Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in the April 7election for mayor of the City of Chicago.“I know first-hand the power of grassroots groups to hold politicians’ feet
1 by mike simpson / 8h 
Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE, Hespe Turn Blind Eye to Segregating Charter Schools:NJDOE, Hespe Turn Blind Eye to Segregating Charter Schools  I've said before that Hoboken, NJ is one of the most interesting case studies of charter school expansion in the country. Charter school parents have amassed significant amounts of social, political, and financial capital for their children's schools, making them e
1 by mike simpson / 9h 
These are not the tests we took as children. | lacetothetop: These are not the tests we took as children. These are not the tests we took as children. These are tests designed to produce massive failure rates and propel a harmful agenda.  Take a look at the two 3rd grade samples currently posted on engageNY:On the left (pre- Common Core 2005) is A Winter Surprise.  The readability average through
1 by mike simpson / 10h 
Award-winning principal urges legislators to say ‘no’ to Gov. Cuomo - The Washington Post: Award-winning principal urges legislators to say ‘no’ to Gov. CuomoHere is a letter that an award-winning New York high school principal is sending to every member of her state’s legislature in regard to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposals to reform teacher evaluation (for the second time in three years). Among Cu
by mike simpson / 10h 
The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr | BBS Radio: Pearson and Spygate: The Story Continues (Who Done It?)The War Report on Public Education with Dr James Avington Miller Jr | BBS RadioBob BraunJoin host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he continues to expose how Pearson is invading the privacy and taking away the first amendment rights of our students.Bob Braun of th
8 by mike simpson / 11h 
The Axe is grinding: Is PAR teacher evaluation discriminatory? | Cloaking Inequity: The Axe is grinding: Is PAR teacher evaluation discriminatory?Julian Vasquez Helig gave no statistical rebuttal to my data, therefore his comments are meaningless. Brian CrowellI am usually up for a challenge. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and Brian Crowell was up to his usual schtick critiquing Peer Assistance
1 by mike simpson / 11h 
How To Sell Off a City - In These Times: How To Sell Off a CityWelcome to Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago, the privatized metropolis of the future. In June of 2013, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made a new appointment to the city’s seven-member school board to replace billionaire heiress Penny Pritzker, who’d decamped to run President Barack Obama’s Department of Commerce. The appointee, Deborah H. Quazzo, is
1 by mike simpson / 11h 
30 Reasons to Be Thankful You're a Teacher | Roadtrip Nation in EducationRoadtrip Nation in Education: 30 Reasons to Be Thankful You’re a TeacherPosted: November 25, 2014 by: KatrinaThe blaring alarm at 6 AM, the papercuts from trying to quickly grade tests, struggling to find a balance between caring-too-much for your students and not-caring-enough about your own need for sleep. Teaching comes wi
1 by mike simpson / 11h 
'Take Back the PARCC' event to raise awareness of controversial standardized test | NJ.com: 'Take Back the PARCC' event to raise awareness of controversial standardized testThe fight against the PARCC testing system is still rippling throughout New Jersey as the exam period enters its last week on Monday, with the largest district in Gloucester County set to bring even more awareness to the contro
1 by mike simpson / 11h 
Wolf, legislators push for charter school reform - GoErie.com - Erie, PA:Wolf, legislators push for charter school reformGov. Tom Wolf addresses the media March 18 in the lobby of General McLane High School in Washington Township during a visit to promote his 2015-16 budget and specifically his plans to increase funding for public education in Pennsylvania. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWSLegi
by mike simpson / 11h 
Standardized Tests | The Crucial Voice of the People: Standardized TestsStandardized Tests (aka assessments, measures, sometimes included as “indicators”)SUMMARY of inappropriate uses of standardized “achievement” tests include:1) Evaluating schools because “both socioeconomic status and inherited academic aptitudes [individual abilities] reflect what children bring to school, not what they learn
1 by mike simpson / 20h 
Mayoral Tutorial - Pensions for Citizens: Pensions for Citizens by Don Washington on 2013/12/21Our pension situation is not a crisis in the sense that pensions will suddenly run out of money or not be able to pay benefits. - Don Washington – Paul Krugman – Dean Baker – Richard Wolff – Joseph StiglitzGood people as the year ends and various bankers, conservatives, libertarians and Sith Lords are sa
by mike simpson / 22h 
Special Nite Cap Catch Up on Today's Post 3/21/15Charter Schools Players Ball EditionSpecial Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMHedge fund execs' money for charter schools may pay off - NY Daily NewsHedge fund execs' money for charter schools may pay off - NY Daily News: Hedge fund executives give 'til it hurts to politicians, especially Cuomo, to get more charter schools Outside the Harvard Club in Midt
4 by mike simpson / 1d 
Hedge fund execs' money for charter schools may pay off - NY Daily News: Hedge fund executives give 'til it hurts to politicians, especially Cuomo, to get more charter schools Outside the Harvard Club in Midtown, a group of parents from the Alliance for Quality Education picketed as they chanted, “Public schools are not for sale!”But the hedge fund chiefs inside had other ideas.The title of the he
by mike simpson / 1d 
No Child Left Behind Is a Cheats’ Charter: No Child Left Behind Is a Cheats’ Charter Although re-authorization is still politically complicated, 2015 appears to be the year the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) will bereformed.Popularly known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), ESEA promised to close the achievement gap and herald an era of evidence-based education policy by giving federal
by mike simpson / 1d hide  //  save
More California parents exercise right to skip standardized tests | Local News - KCRA Home: More California parents exercise right to skip standardized testsState launches its newest student testing programSACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —California launched its newest student testing program Tuesday. Superintendent of Instruction Tom Torlakson made the announcement at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento
2 by mike simpson / 1d 
PARCC Consortium Protects Pearson Using “Best Practices” Co-authored by Testing “Nonprofit” | deutsch29: PARCC Consortium Protects Pearson Using “Best Practices” Co-authored by Testing “Nonprofit” On March 20, 2015, I published a post about the lately-produced Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) “Test Fairness and Security” statement.Included in that statement i
1 by mike simpson / 1d 
She gets $250,000 a year to spearhead Rauner education plans - Government News - Crain's Chicago Business: She gets $250,000 a year to spearhead Rauner education plans(AP) — A former Chicago charter schools executive is earning $250,000 a year to spearhead Gov. Bruce Rauner's top education initiatives, a salary that is more than double what her predecessors received and places her as the highest-p
1 by mike simpson / 1d 


2015 National Conference – Chicago

The Countdown to Chicago Has Begun!

The Network For Public Education | 2015 National Conference – Chicago 
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Peg with Pen: Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?

Peg with Pen: Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?:

Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?


Last Thursday night I addressed the Littleton School Board. See video here. Here are my comments.

My name is Peggy Robertson. My son, Sam, is a sophomore at Littleton High School. I am a teacher in the Aurora Public School District and I am also one of the founders of United Opt Out National, an activist group which works hard to end the privatization of public schools. I want to thank all of you tonight for doing your civic duty to support public schools and to support  children, teachers, and the communities within the Littleton School District.

Tonight I want to talk about the truth. I want to talk about what is really happening in our public schools today and I am going to ask that everyone here consider this truth, and consider our civic duty, our moral obligation, to expose this truth and educate the Littleton school community.

The truth is this. The truth is that our public schools are using high stakes testing to punish students, school communities and now, under SB191, the testing will punish teachers. The testing creates an environment that is fear-based, shaming, and demands teaching to the test.  In Aurora, where I work as  a literacy coach at an elementary school, I have had only 4 weeks of the year which were uninterrupted by testing.   The tests consume our year and create a system which develops compliant test takers. These tests deny our children authentic learning experiences. They deny our teachers the ability to teach.

I would ask that the school board and the administrators take a lead in exposing this testing profit machine for what it is.  It is a system that profits corporations on the backs of children and teachers. The common core standards and the national tests are a cash cow for the corporations. The profit of the testing industry has increased 57% in the last three years.  Under SB191, this system will demand teaching to the test like never before. These high stakes testing mandates  reward  only the very privileged – yet even these rewards are hallow – as these test scores simply point to zipcode. 

Littleton Public Schools has done quite well under this high stakes testing regime. Children from affluent neighborhoods often do well on these high stakes tests.  It doesn't mean that these children are smarter than other children, it simply means Peg with Pen: Littleton Public Schools, Colorado: Will You Stand on the Right Side of History?:




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Hello Superintendents - Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy laws. - Wait What?

Hello Superintendents - Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy laws. - Wait What?:

Hello Superintendents – Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy 






 Reading the misleading letters that Connecticut parents are still receiving from some local school superintendents it remains clear that Governor Dannel Malloy’s administration more than a handful of local school superintendents need to take a deep breath and actually read Connecticut’s State Statues…and then consider those statutes in the context of their moral and ethical responsibility to Connecticut’s students and their parents.

Parents throughout Connecticut, and across the nation, continue to inform local school officials that they are opting their children out of the Common Core Testing program because they understandably refuse to have their child take the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory tests.
But rather than handle the situation in a professional, dignified and respectful fashion some local school superintendents, using memos provided by Malloy Department of Education, continue to mislead and harass parents into believing that they do not have the fundamental, inalienable and constitutionally protected right to determine what is best for their children.
A typical example of the arrogance of these education autocrats can be found in the recent letter authored by New Haven’s Superintendent of Schools Garth Harries who writes,
“…please understand that federal and state laws require that all public school students be tested, so New Haven Schools has no degree of freedom in this matter.”
As if he has no choice but to “follow orders,” Superintendent Harries adds,
“…the state law also does not allow parents to exempt their children from taking the state assessment.”
A little honesty on the part of Connecticut’s State Department of Education and these local school officials would make a huge difference in this debate about a parent’s right to refuse to have their children participate in the Common Core SBAC Testing Scheme.
If superintendents would take their blinders off for a moment they’d realize the following:
Their authority to try and force a child to take the SBAC test, or punish a child who does not, is not like the authority they have to deal with the issue of truancy, which is clearly and concisely laid out in state law.
When it comes to the so-called “mandate” that children must take the Common Core SBAC Test, Connecticut State Statue 10-14n. reads,
Mastery examination. (a) As used in this section, “mastery examination” means an examination or examinations, approved by the State Board of Education, that measure essential and grade-appropriate skills in reading, writing, mathematics or science.
10-14n (b) (1) For the school year commencing July 1, 2013, and each school year thereafter, each student enrolled in grades three to eight, inclusive, and grade ten or eleven in any public school shall, annually, take a mastery examination in reading, writing and mathematics.
Putting aside the fact that the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) Test is not a true mastery exam because it does not measure “grade-appropriate Hello Superintendents - Common Core SBAC Test “Mandate” is not like Connecticut’s truancy laws. - Wait What?:
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Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data - NYTimes.com

Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data - NYTimes.com:



Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data

Speaker John A. Boehner, right, administering the oath of office to Representative Jared S. Polis in January. Mr. Polis, a Colorado Democrat, is co-sponsor of the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act. Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press


 Is the digital revolution in the classroom giving the education technology industry carte blanche to exploit student data?

That was the question some teacher and parents groups have posed in their public responses to the news last week that Pearson, the education publisher, had been covertly monitoring social media sites to identify students who might have disclosed questions from its assessment tests.
In an effort to ease parent and teacher concerns, two congressmen are planning to introduce a bill on Monday that would place limits on how education technology companies can use information about kindergarten through 12th-grade students.
Called the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act, the bill would prohibit companies that operate school services — like online homework portals, digital grade books for teachers or student email programs — from knowingly using or disclosing students’ personal information to tailor advertisements to them. It would also bar them from collecting or using student data to create marketing profiles.
In phone interviews, Representative Jared S. Polis, a Colorado Democrat, and Representative Luke Messer, an Indiana Republican, the bill’s sponsors, said they hoped to increase trust in education technology companies.
“This is a first step in providing a framework that can address the concerns of parents and educators and, at the same time, allow the promise of education technology to transform our schools,” Mr. Polis said.
But the bill is likely to be opposed by education privacy advocates who seek stronger consent mechanisms for students and parents — as well as by industry groups that favor self-regulation.
“All this bill does is add additional legal hurdles for innovating educational services,” an executive at a technology trade group wrote to associates on Friday in a private email that was forwarded to a reporter with the stipulation that the writer of the email not be named.
As school districts across the country turn to powerful new digital education tools, efforts to increase teacher and parent buy-in have been multiplying. Industry executives say that so-called adaptive learning products seem particularly promising. These are apps and sites that can collect and analyze a wealth of student information with the idea of tailoring lessons on the spot to the abilities of each child.
“The world of big data has hit the classroom,” Mr. Messer said. “We want to preserve the positive benefits the technology can bring to student outcomes.”
Some parents have started warning, however, that school districts lack the resources to monitor how technology vendors use and secure their children’s records. These parents say they’re troubled by the risk of everything from data breaches and identity theft to the possibility of companies sharing sensitive details like students’ grades, disciplinary actions or health data with college or job recruiters.
Although there is a federal education privacy law that requires schools to maintain control over students’ educational records, critics say it has not kept pace with the practices of educational technology companies.
“As a parent, I’m concerned that there are vast amounts of academic, physical and behavioral information being acquired on children that could have negative implications for our children’s future,” said Anna Shah-Bomba, a mother of an elementary school student and a college student in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Last year, for instance, ConnectEDU — a career planning site with listings on the academic, personal and career details of millions of students — sought to sell its databases as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
After federal regulators intervened, the acquiring companies notified the site’s account holders that they could choose to have their information deleted.
Partly in response to such incidents, President Obama in January announced a proposal for a new student digital privacy law.
“We’re saying that data collected on students in the classroom should only be used for educational purposes,” Mr. Obama said in a speech at the time.
The Messer-Polis bill incorporates that principle. In addition to prohibiting Bill Would Limit Use of Student Data - NYTimes.com:
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Teachers, Parents Challenge Deal’s School Takeover Plan Ahead of House Committee Vote

Teachers, Parents Challenge Deal’s School Takeover Plan Ahead of House Committee Vote | Atlanta Progressive News:



TEACHERS, PARENTS CHALLENGE DEAL’S SCHOOL TAKEOVER PLAN AHEAD OF HOUSE COMMITTEE VOTE




(APN) ATLANTA — The House Education Committee will soon decide whether to advance Gov. Nathan Deal’s controversial proposal to allow the state to take over and privatize struggling schools.
At a hearing on Wednesday March 18, 2015, State Representatives and members of the public expressed both deep concern and some enthusiasm over the proposal, which, as Atlanta Progressive News previously reported, calls for the creation of a statewide Opportunity School District (OSD).
The OSD would take the place of local school boards in managing “failing” schools.  The Governor would have the power to appoint the OSD superintendent.
“I’m concerned with what kind of experience will be needed for that so-called Superintendent who answers only to the Governor,” State Rep. Tommy Benton (R-Jefferson) said during the hearing.
“We get all bent out of shape when the federal government tells us what to do, and now we’re trying to do that to the local systems,” Rep. Benton said.
Benton has received over three hundred emails from constituents who oppose the OSD plan, saying it represented “one more poke in the eye for public education,” he said.
The OSD is based on a model pioneered in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and touted by an education reform movement comprised largely of wealthy foundations, venture capitalists, charter schools, and education technology companies.
A constitutional amendment would be required in order to make the OSD a reality in Georgia.  To that end, SR 287 proposes to put the question to voters on the 2016 ballot.
Currently the ballot language reads: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended to allow the state to intervene in chronically failing public schools in order to improve student performance?
But the ballot language is incredibly simplistic compared to that of SB 133, the enabling legislation that actually outlines how the OSD would work.
At the hearing, State Rep. Christian Coomer (R-Cartersville) and Erin Hames, Gov. Deal’s Deputy Chief of Staff, gave an overview of the current version of SB 133.
Under the plan, schools would be eligible for takeover if they scored an F rating three years in a row.  The Georgia Department of Education currently uses a rating system called the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI), which launched as a pilot in 2013 and has undergone changes since then.
However, the CCRPI uses number, not letter grades.  It also uses stars to indicate a school’s “climate.”  The legislation does not specify what number grade, or number of stars, constitutes an F when determining whether a school qualifies for OSD takeover.
According to the Governor’s office, 139 Georgia schools are failing and eligible for takeover.
SB 133 stipulates that the OSD would take over no more than 20 schools per year and would have no more than 100 schools under its jurisdiction at one time.
Schools would remain in the OSD for a minimum of five years and a maximum of ten years, unless they managed to Teachers, Parents Challenge Deal’s School Takeover Plan Ahead of House Committee Vote | Atlanta Progressive News:
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Teach for America – What a Stupid Idea! (Or is it?) - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:



Teach for America – What a Stupid Idea! (Or is it?)

By:  Steven Singer

Originally posted on his blog  https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/teach-for-america-what-a-stupid-idea-or-is-it/
im_with_stupid_button_busy_beaver_button_museum
Welcome to the Hall of Stupid Ideas!
I’ll be your guide through this section of the museum.
Moving past the hall of phrenology, past the flat earth wing and the newly renovated rotunda of climate change denial, we come to one of my favorite displays – Teach for America or TFA.
This really is a very dumb idea.
Imagine, if you will, a country besieged by an education crisis! In this case, a shortage of teachers.
To meet the needs of this deficiency, we hire a slew of poorly trained college grads to fill-in the gaps.
Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Young go-getters ready to take a stand and help the country by devoting themselves to our little children.
Yet it’s just so much bullshit.
You see the problem is real. We DO need more teachers – especially at our poorest schools. However, the same people who are promoting TFA are the ones who caused this shortage in the first place.
As public school budgets are slashed at both the state and federal level, local districts are forced to furlough more-and-more educators. Students are stuffed into larger classes and forced to do without the arts, foreign languages, technology courses, anything that isn’t on our federally mandated standardized tests.
So there IS a real shortage of teachers in the classroom, but there is NO shortage of unemployed teachers.
More than 300,000 teachers are out of work. These are people with at least a bachelors degree in education – many of whom have even more experience in the classroom actually teaching kids.
You might think that we could just allocate funding and hire them! Right!?
Wouldn’t that be better?
We could fill our public schools with dedicated education professionals instead of lightly trained temps.
Because this is what Teach for America is providing. TFA recruits get 5 weeks training and only have to sign on for a two-year commitment.
So those advocating for TFA insist it’s somehow better to give a child an instructor who has a few weeks training versus someone with a 4-or-5-year degree and who has real life experience on the job!
It’s staggering isn’t it?
Now this would never fly in most neighborhoods. Imagine trying to convince the rich that their children would be best served by this kind of scheme. They’d riot!
But this scam is almost exclusively perpetrated in poor neighborhoods because that’s where our state and federal governments cut funding. In rich neighborhoods, they can just raise local property taxes to give their children all the best that money can buy. In poor neighborhoods, this isn’t an option. They rely on state and federal tax dollars to give their kids a fair start in life so they can equally compete in the job market.
Well, the joke’s on you, poor people!
Rich folks are selling you substandard teachers and pretending like it’s philanthropy!
You’d think this scheme would be laughed out of existence but many national news sources praise it to the sky! They even make excuses when research proves how ineffective the whole scheme is!
Take this report from March 2015 concluding that students taught by Badass Teachers Association:
BAT




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Great teacher = great results? Wrong | Jack Marwood | Comment is free | The Guardian

Great teacher = great results? Wrong | Jack Marwood | Comment is free | The Guardian:

Great teacher = great results? Wrong

Pupils being taught maths by teacher in primary school classroom
‘Some children find school and learning easy and some don’t, often for reasons out of their, and our, control.’ Photograph: Jeff Morgan/Alamy


Sir Michael Barber, once a chief education adviser to Tony Blair, introduced one of the enduring modern myths about education when he quoted an unnamed South Korean policymaker in 2007, who said: “The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.” This great teacher myth is often presented as a simple equation: great teaching gets great results. It’s a view that is widely held, tremendously appealing and completely wrong.
It sounds plausible. After all, children spend a lot of time at school and, collectively, we spend a great deal of money on education. By the time they are 16, children have been at school for 10,000 hours, the figure often said to be the minimum necessary to master a skill, and we spend around 5% of our GDP on education. Surely teachers must be the biggest factor in ensuring that all this effort is worthwhile?
David Cameron spoke “as a parent, not just a politician” when he recently introduced yet another plan to “deliver the best teachers” to “make Britain the best place in the world to learn”. “The best teachers” has become a common refrain in the ongoing narrative about schools, and it is very clear that many parents, pundits and politicians assume that the prime driver of attainment in schools is teachers themselves. So embedded is this idea, in fact, that when we hear that teaching is in crisis it is often assumed that this is because we don’t have enough good quality teachers. And often, we hear that by removing the bad teachers from the system, we will see improvements in future.
There is a huge problem with this view. Just how do you know who are bad teachers? For the past 40 years, a movement now known as “school effectiveness research” has promoted the idea that good teachers get good outcomes for children. Those who believe this also believe that, by removing bad teachers from our schools and replacing them with better ones, the crisis will be averted.
The key issue with this line of thinking is that teachers aren’t actually directly responsible for the learning in schools. Because, when it comes down to it, children are the ones who actually have to do the learning. Unfortunately, much to the frustration of every teacher – and parent – in the land, children don’t always do what they are told, or learn what we attempt to teach them. What’s more, children are by definition immature, and they don’t always know what is best for them. To further complicate matters, some children find school and learning easy and some don’t, often for reasons out of their, and our, control.
While teachers have to take responsibility for providing the very best circumstances in which to learn, any parent will know that children have their own ideas regardless of what we have to say about the matter. Children, sadly, are not all passively waiting to be filled up with facts and knowledge like empty vessels. The resistance of some children is legendary. Others overwhelm us with their eagerness to learn. But trying to teach anyone anything is tricky unless they actually want to learn, and are in a position to do so. What’s more, learning is hard work; it requires effort, repetition, practice, mental and physical exertion.
All this adds up to a picture of complexity ill served by the great teacher = great results myth. As is well known in the world of educational research, the variation in outcomes within any school is much, much larger than the variation between schools. In the same school, with the same teachers, some children learn a lot and others not so much, because while teachers teach, children are ultimately Great teacher = great results? Wrong | Jack Marwood | Comment is free | The Guardian:


Big Education Ape: What If Education Reform Got It All Wrong in the First Place? - Pacific Standard http://bit.ly/1x6Cfdn
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