Story below the video from NYTimes. More details on rally in video are provided here by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. JEFFERSON, S.C. — It has been nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that officially sponsored prayer in public schools violated the separation of church and state. But in some corners of the […]
Religious Indoctination Provides Break from Test Prep: "It’s a great day in South Carolina."
December 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Unpacking TFA Support: Twisted Logic and Assumptions
December 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Teach for America (TFA), like Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) corporate-charter schools, finds opportunities where they least expect resistance—cities devastated by natural disasters (New Orleans) or communities ravaged by poverty. As I have detailed HERE, HERE, and HERE, TFA has now leveraged itself into Charleston, SC schools. Three articles in The Post and Courier present […]
"nothing left to do but opt out"
December 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
From Tim Slekar posted at HuffPo: “If you oppose state testing, please contact your Senator and Representative… they can change, what we cannot.” Superintendent. Since our district’s superintendent has decided to actively fight the opt-out movement I have tried to engage him by sending him articles that document the folly of high stakes testing and […]
That @alexanderrusso, kind of a knucklehead, perhaps a pouting baby as well? That right @teacherken?
December 29, 2011 By 1 Comment
I wish I could take credit for the pouting baby meme, but I think that’s Firedoglake. But I think SA’s Alex Russo gets the pouting baby merit award this week for starting a little online cat fight. So, the original catalyst was here, where in a post Mr. Russo complained that the “reformers” were the […]
Gingrich Chooses Keegan for Her Strong Corruption Credentials?
December 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Lisa G. Keegan has come a long way since her feature in the Peoria Times in 2006, which followed many months of avoiding questions emanating from a federal audit that noted the missing millions that someone raked away while she was running the Education Leaders Council during the champagne popping days for the ed industry […]
Russo Off by 4 Months (UPDATED)
December 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If Alexander Russo had penned this near April 1, instead of January 1, and ended with “April Fools!” I would have enjoyed the irony, but instead, Russo appears serious with “Media: Reform Opponents Are Winning Online (For Now).” The list of problems with this post are extensive, but a few major points include: (1) The […]
When Bribes Don’t Buy Buy-In, New York Ed Commish Tries the Extortion Route
December 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
From the NY Times, by Fernanda Santos: New York State’s education commissioner threatened on Tuesday to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to struggling schools in New York City and nine other districts statewide if they do not prove by Saturday that they will carry out new evaluation systems for teachers and […]
Follow up: TFA in Charleston SC
December 28, 2011 By 2 Comments
I posted before about TFA coming to Charleston SC schools: http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2011/12/holding-journalists-media-accountable.html And the journalist did write a follow-up piece, with some challenges included to TFA: Teach for America has supporters, critics By Diette Courrégédcourrege@postandcourier.comWednesday, December 28, 2011 I am quoted, and solid comments against TFA are included, but the supporting comments are baffling, misguided, and […]
Social Context Reform: Where to Start
December 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Social Context Reform: Where to Start In a recent commentary on whether or not education reformers on all side have accepted the powerful impact of poverty on the educational outcomes of students, I suggested that the reform debate appears to be a struggle between two perspectives (although I again concede within each perspective there remains […]
Bilingual education, yes. But high levels of English requires access to books.
December 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
Helping Language Minority Students Develop a Reading HabitSent to the Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA), Dec 26Re: Non-English speakers’ failures hit schools (Dec 24): Bilingual education works. Children in bilingual programs consistently do better than children in all-English programs on tests of English reading. Also, studies have shown that the dismantling of bilingual programs in California […]
Occupy the Schoolhouse!
Time magazine has named the Protester as 2011’s Person of the Year. However, as I read the Time article reviewing the year in protests and revolutions, I found one critical protest missing from the narrative: the Save Our Schools movement. Aside from some limited coverage around the national march in July, the national media has […]