Innovator (n.) – A person with no experience, expertise, education, or training in a field, but an abundance of ideas and an endless compulsion to share those ideas. See also entrepreneur. FREE definition sponsored by i2 i2: The Innovative Innovator “Monetizing my megalomania from outside the box!” About: Having no background or experience in innovation, […]
Mayor Rahm Expands Corporate Footprint on Chicago Children and Parents
May 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Well, it worked like it was supposed to work: the mayor’s appointed stooges on the “Board of Education” voted to close 50 Chicago public schools to make way for corporate charter reform schools. Never mind that communities barely held together will lose their lifelines, never mind that violence is almost guaranteed to increase (as it […]
Nashville KIPP Caught Dumping Problem Students at Test Time
May 23, 2013 By 1 Comment
We have known for a long time that what former students refer to as the Kids in Prison Program (KIPP) has used various machinations to reach those high test scores–from menacing management styles, to constant test prep, longer hours, behavioral sterilization, burning through teachers who leave with mental and physical health problems, to dumping problem […]
Signs of the Coming Revolution in America’s Education System
May 22, 2013 By 2 Comments
Alternet publishes “real” education news for those who still remember what a “real” education is. Signs of the Coming Revolution in America’s Education System The recent revolt against standardized tests as well as legislative concern over testing corruption are just some of the of the signs of an approaching education “revolution.” http://www.alternet.org/signs-coming-revolution-americas-education-system
NZ Government to introduce charter hospitals
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Reposted from this brilliant NZ satirical website The Civilian. This beautifully captures the ideological nonsense behind charter schools. ————– These minimum wage surgeons may be unsure what to do next, but with enough private funding, the Government is confident they’ll figure it out. The National Government has today announced plans to introduce a number of […]
New Zealand’s national standards in education are not national or standard.
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
By Allan Alach Reposted from The Daily Blog At the end of this month the New Zealand government will release the national standards data that will a) ‘prove’ that their education policies are ‘raising achievement’ and b) ‘prove’ that there is a wide variation of school effectiveness and that teachers’ performance is therefore deficient. All […]
Does the Common Core really motivate? Seriously.
May 22, 2013 By 3 Comments
The Common Core promoters are always in constant motion, but something has really struck a nerve with me lately. Does the Common Core motivate and inspire teachers? Two items have come my way recently that caused me to ask that question. The Common Core cheerleading started with an email from Commissioner John King linking to […]
Games? We Don’t Have Time for #Games!
May 22, 2013 By 4 Comments
I’d like to share the moment I realized that school was no longer a place for learning, but had instead become a place for training. In 2009, I taught math in a middle school in Oregon. It was close enough to the Common Core implementation that we were starting to hear the buzz and receive […]
The First #Finland Comparison I’ve Cared About in Months
May 22, 2013 By 4 Comments
I’ve told people that I’m tired of hearing the ongoing, back-and-forth debate about Finland’s educational model. Christine McCartney is a New York teacher currently teaching and researching in Finland, which means I’m more likely to listen to her. She has been putting together some pretty great material and resources to help put both sides in […]
The Pearson Test
May 22, 2013 By 5 Comments
From Stan Karp: Take the Pearson Test: See if you qualify for millions in tax breaks too! 1. NJ is giving over $60 million in tax subsidies to the British-based test publishing giant Pearson, even though the company: A. is sending over 500 jobs out of NJ to NYC B. made profits of $1.4 billion last […]
DC schools bet the farm and then some on #commoncore. Good luck with that.
May 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment
DC loves its reform. Especially those based on faith, not evidence. Education Week writes about what they call the “common core era.” Wow, I thought, you know, at least six months had to pass before we’re officially in an era. In a year, it might be an epoch. How well the school district can reach […]
I have a question for all of the media concerning #cpsclosings
So many questions about yesterday’s stunning example of disaster capitalism in Chicago. Remember when CTU went on strike in September and the media blamed the greedy teachers of harming the children? Yes, much pearl clutching ensued. Where is the media on this one? Who’s the real threat to “the children” in this case? Yeah, that’s what […]