The more and more I see how the education “reform” movement is operating, the more it makes me ill. I wish I were exaggerating with that statement, but I’m not. Every time I hear about some millionaire telling us to increase class sizes, or some high-paid wannabe teacher tells us that teachers are the problem […]
Kerfuffle over a title or something @edsurge seems to be resolved. Meh, ok I guess.
October 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
This pops up on Facebook. Yeah, I don’t get it either. Whose ass was kicked? Here was my initial take on the matter, which has been deleted because, well, no one found my use of “jackhole” funny, even though self-identifying as a “venture capitalist” really is, well, very, very funny to me for some reason. […]
@anthonycody urges us not to be divided on the #commoncore
May 7, 2012 By 2 Comments
Agreed. I’ve been told over and over again that this train has left the station. That’s tough to hear. However, the standards themselves are pretty benign or harmless, really. I’ve read them and honed specifically on fifth grade because that’s where I have the most experience. Nothing earth shattering. It’s what will be done with them […]
@johnkuhntx makes a passionate speech against #HST and how it’s ruined #education
March 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I think John Kuhn, a district superintendent in Texas who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting during the SOS March, made perhaps one of the most passionate cases AGAINST test-based reforms that I have seen in recent memory. Here’s a good quote below, click here for the rest. This government has allowed state testing to […]
#Teaching sucks right now, it sucks real bad, right?
March 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I commented on this before, the MetLife survey about teacher job satisfaction falling fast. Anthony Cody at Edweek takes up the issue. He asks this at the end: If you are a teacher, what keeps you in the classroom? What makes you want to leave? Are you considering a career change? I was just talking about […]
Man, @johnkuhntx hits it out of the park again at #edweek
February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I only wish more superintendents were this clear and courageous. I’ve been in several conversations lately that make me think all is lost, that the statisticians and accountability hounds are going to win the day. Here’s John: I’ll ask a question I’ve asked before: if accountability is good for our schools, then isn’t it also […]
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 […]
Connections between income distribution and PISA scores
November 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
Anthony Cody at Education Week put out a piece this weekend on various indices that the US doesn’t measure up, ones that might be more important than test scores. We rank relatively low in income distribution, for instance, and scales measuring compassion. You can’t test compassion or creativity for that matter. It will take me […]
No excuses and John Thompson
September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A guest post by John Thompson discusses the NYT magazine article on character that came out this weekend. I’m inclined to support Thompson’s writing, but here’s an idea I’m not sure sits well with me: In inner city schools, there is plenty of failure but rarely is there an effort to cultivate grittiness, resilience, and […]
So, my boy Tim Slekar is up on #education week about opting out
September 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
#Teach Plus? More like minus. #lamejoke
July 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Yeah, pretty lame. In any case, based on a note from Anthony Cody, I decided to look up this Teach Plus organization that seems to have a good bit of influence on education legislation. I don’t have any bombshells to provide, only my unvarnished opinion. In examining its mission, a couple of quick items. First, […]
Interesting conversations continue via @anthonycody, this time on #VAM
An exchange on VAM and seniority based layoffs with a reform neoliberal. Nothing sticks in the craw of a neolib more than the issue layoffs. Man, they like to fire them some teachers. But, according to Mitt Romnah, we can’t “kill” our way out of this. Absolutely. If we persist in the conference upon teachers perpetual […]