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 […]
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 […]
According the local paper in Albany, New York, the teacher of the students has been put on administrative leave and the investigation continues. http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/School-s-exams-under-scrutiny-4527051.php If the Test Security Unit decide that cheating took place, the teacher could be charged with a misdemeanor. Let me repeat that: a misdemeanor. I want to know more. The state […]
A little more light-hearted way to sum up the reality. Yes, I need a little brain break.
Read the update to this story here. On the heels of the largest test boycott in American history, there comes the other testing phenomenon that has swept the media lately. When kids exercise their rights as citizens, no one cares. When there’s even the slightest, itsy-bitsy hint that they might be cheating (even without any […]
I’m going to take a short break from my activism to honor the world’s best teacher. Seriously! THE best teacher. In. The. World. When I was 18, I went to a huge graduation commencement ceremony at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Arena to watch the graduating class of 1993 (or was is 1992? I’m […]
AFT’s leadership has been on quite the crusade, which is reminiscent of the crusade pushed forward by the likes of David Coleman, Exxon-Mobil, Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, and many others. It can be summed up in six words: Current tests bad; Common Core good. I have 4 problems with AFT’s current rally cry, which includes […]
The union’s statement is misguided, and I would suggest that is purposely so. The call for a moratorium on standardized testing is a call for a temporary quieting of the teachers and parents while the next-level of state (nationally) mandated assessments makes its way down the pipe. AFT’s rally cry to put the brakes on […]
Diane Ravitch, not too long ago, wrote a blog post about her stance regarding the Common Core State Standards, basically suggesting that she could not support them because of their lack of evidence of effectiveness. I also don’t support the Common Core for that reason, but I’m not “agnostic” about them. I have seen more […]
There it is again! Arne Duncan and John King said it at almost the same time! “College and career-ready.” If someone would give me one dollar for every time I hear that phrase come out of some Common Core supporter’s mouth, I could probably leave work an hour early every day. Arne Duncan, Barack Obama, […]
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