It is not a secret that I am no fan of Teach for America. The very idea of the organization I find absolutely baffling. (Let’s cure educational inequality by exacerbating the inequality of placing poorly trained, inexperienced teachers in our neediest classrooms? Huh?) But TFA’s recent actions have sent me over the edge. Last night, on twitter, I was […]
A Shout-Out to Education Activists
February 1, 2013 By 5 Comments
There are times when I feel overwhelmed by my good fortune to know so many powerful parent, teacher, student, and community activists across the country and the globe. We have come together through the fight against corporate education reform and the call for education justice, equity, and democratically-run schools. I feel lucky to have met so many amazing […]
Why Can’t I Opt Out of the GREs?
November 18, 2012 By 3 Comments
Cross-blogged at http://mskatiesramblings.blogspot.com/2012/11/why-cant-i-opt-out-of-gres.html I have dropped off the face of the blogging world. The reason is two-fold. First, life at the psychiatric hospital where I work has become unbearable. From where I stand, there is a mental health crisis happening in this city which is being exacerbated by the continued cuts and privatization of mental […]
Paul Tough Is Way Off-Base. And Stop Saying “Grit”.
September 30, 2012 By 33 Comments
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 […]
The Lowest Expectation of Them All
Corporate education reformers love to rave about how schools that “beat the odds” are full of teachers with “high expectations”. There are echoes of George W’s “soft bigotry of low expectations” in this mantra implying that in the past, teachers–stifled no doubt by those innovation-hating unions–all had “low expectations” for their students and somehow THAT is why students […]