Over the past few weeks author and journalist Paul Tough and his new book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character have been making a splash in the world of education reform. The book has been highlighted in the New York Times, on NPR, and on various other news outlets. And […]
Dismantling The Atlantic Monthly Reform Manifesto2nd Installment I. I introduced the The Atlantic’s Reform pamphlet (“22 pages…”) by focusing on the presentation of content. But, I regret to say I left out what might have been the most important part: the “cover” of the section. It’s a TEST BOOKLET! Surprised? II. Now, this is clearly […]
“Ms. Kopp’s husband, Richard Barth, was an Edison executive before taking over as CEO of KIPP’s national foundation, where he has sought to decertify its New York City unions.” — Jesse James Alred One thing I’ll concede to the corporate education reformers is their uncanny ability to use anything as a sales pitch for neoliberalism […]
I have heard several stories emanating from elementary schools in my area and around the nation about the primary grade levels that concern me. Here in New York because of Race to the Top requirements, including teacher evaluation and value-added measures, our children’s elementary days are broken into attendance blocks. These periods must be a […]
The following piece was written by Doug Martin back on May 11, 2011. You can find the orignial post here. Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett sees teachers and their unions as worse than Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) snaking throughout the locker rooms and hallways of Indiana’s public school buildings. Yet, after setting out on his […]
Despite a summer smackdown on a planned budget increase for teacher bonus pay based on test scores, and despite the Vanderbilt study that demonstrated that perf pay is a divisive waste of time and money, Eli Broad’s poodle superintendent, Jim McIntyre, forges on. The question Knox County taxpayers should be asking: Which legitimate programs are […]
From the Civil Rights Project at UCLA: –Los Angeles–In the latest of its widely-cited reports analyzing segregation trends in the nation’s public schools, and the first since the beginning of the Obama Administration, the Civil Rights Project today released three new studies showing persistent and serious increases in segregation by race and poverty, with very dramatic results […]
In many states, the influence of Federal and state departments of education is considerable. In contrast to how universities are “supposed” to work, it seems as if a lot of state DOE’s want colleges to work for them. Additionally, there is this assumption that since surrounding school systems hire former teacher candidates, then schools of […]
It’s now official, at least according to Pennsylvania’s premier education specialist and Secretary of Education (no degree in education) Ronald Tomalis and his highly credentialed (no degree in education) press secretary Tim Ellis. Increased test security caused test scores in Pennsylvania to drop (Even though the committee that did the investigation said they were not […]
This begins a series of readings concerned with the articles and images found in the October Atlantic Monthly which promote the “Reform Agenda” of both conservatives and liberals (as power has no pure politics). I will primarily be concerned with the conveyance of ideology. However, I have asked my Errant collaborator Doug Martin to offer investigative analysis […]
A brief note on the #ccss from a trusted source
A direct quote. I Recently learned that my district is going to lay off 70 teachers next yr to buy computers for CCSS. Sad that not one organization has had the balls to come out in opposition to CCSS. Sh!t is totally phucked up. Priorities anyone?