With the release of the National Education Policy Center‘s 2011 Bunkum Awards, I feel the need to join in the spirit of NEPC’s excellent work to highlight the gradual unmasking of the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). Jim Horn warned about NCTQ here (February 2, 2010): “To demonstrate that enough funding can buy exclusive […]
Who Owns Stock in Pearson?
May 30, 2012 By 1 Comment
Sometimes the comments are more profound than the story: Comment on CommonDreams to Valerie Strauss story on High Stakes Standardized Tests The question, reported by the New York Daily News, referred to a story similar to the famous Aesop fable about the tortoise and the hare, but in this version, a talking pineapple challenges a […]
America can’t wait until middle school!
May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Sent to the Columbus Dispatch, May 30, 2012 High school credit for middle-school courses is of course a step in the right direction, but doesn’t go nearly far enough (“Middle-schoolers get additional shots at taking high-school courses,” May 30). Why wait until middle school? We should strengthen instruction in the earlier years as well. Back […]
Crisis in PA Cracks Ed Privatization Scheme Wide Open
May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Some good journalism coming out of privatization scheme for Phildadelphia public schools. The lead is at the top of the article for a change: The fiscal crisis facing our public schools is being exploited by a movement to privatize public education, break unions and subject students to high-stakes test-prep regimes. The story is there, not […]
How many other #edreform conflicts of interest are out there that demolish public schools? #soschat
May 30, 2012 By 6 Comments
I’m not much of a journalist. I can use teh Google. Maybe I should turn to lexis-nexis next. Perhaps later today. In any case, per the #soschat last evening there the AFT prez Randi Weingarten was a guest, there was some speculation that she had some ties to Broad, which has a reputation for supporting […]
Very evocative conversation on #SOSchat last evening with the prez of #AFT
May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Wide and Deep: High Stakes Testing Protests Escalate
May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
From Valerie Strauss at WaPo: Opposition to high-stakes standardized testing is growing around the country, with more parents choosing to opt their children out of taking exams, more school boards expressing disapproval of testing accountability systems and even a group of superintendents joining the fight. Just last month I wrote about the growing resistance, noting […]
I hereby declare that the official #classsize for K-6 is…
May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
… 13. No more, no less. But how did I arrive at such a capricious and arbitrary assessment? Funny you should ask. According to President Obama, Secretary Duncan, and all of the charter-pushers out there, and now Romney, class size just doesn’t matter. Well, if it didn’t, then President Obama would not be sending his […]
Summer Reading in Champaign: An Easier and More Effective Way
May 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
Published in the News-Gazette (Champaign, IL), June 5, 2012 The summer reading programs in Champaign for high school students have a worthy and sensible goal: Increase interest in recreational reading. This goal, however, can be achieved far more efficiently. The new program described by the News-Gazette (“Champaign high schools now require summer reading,” May 28) […]
An excellent round up of links and stories on the #edreform crisis in #philly
May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I’ll refrain from mentioning the person for now, but I was sent an email with a bunch of great links and updates on the battle for Philly schools. Here they are, pasted below. Pennsylvania Education Crisis Highlights – May 29, 2012 Pa. school districts anticipate further cuts More than half of Pennsylvania’s school […]
Naison: What is Lost When Teaching as a Lifetime Calling is Undermined: A Personal Reflection
May 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
With A Brooklyn Accent by. Mark Naison Today, teachers, from elementary school through the university, are the targets of a ferocious effort to force them to conform to private sector norms of accountability, productivity, and market driven competition. The assault takes two major forms- an effort to quantify student leaning so that teacher effectiveness can […]
Wireless internet: A good investment for schools?
Is wireless internet a good investment for schools?Sent to Seattle Times, May 30, 2012 Re: “Seattle construction levy may include wireless Internet for all schools,” May 28, 2012. By the time voters in Seattle decide whether they want to spend $11.5 million (that’s about $200 per student) largely to install wireless internet in Seattle schools, […]