Jason Stanford on Jared Polis on Diane Ravitch...

http://jasonstanford.org/2013/09/go-home-congressman-youre-drunk/

So, there's this Colorado congressman who has turned out to be quite the internet troll, having started a flame war on Twitter over Diane Ravitch's new book. He's called her evil, her ideas damaging, etc. Oh, well, guess you can't please them all, right? So, Jason Stanford has a few things to say. Have a look. My favorite is the part from Polis where he says
You cite the performance of these schools on standardized tests, but I don’t believe that standardized tests give the full picture. Your attitude that the test scores mean somehow that the school isn’t doing a good job is part of the problem.

Well, now he understands how the rest of us non-charter school teachers feel, hearing for years that the test scores 'prove' we are just a bunch of lazy slackers feeding at the public trough. My annual evaluation will depend heavily on test results this year, even though I'm teaching some of the most needy kids in my school, and many of them can't read well enough to succeed on the standardized tests.

Jersey Jazzman: @jaredpolis: America's Worst Congressperson

Jersey Jazzman: @jaredpolis: America's Worst Congressperson: What a schmuck : Yes, 75 year old Diane Ravitch -- grandmother, author, and historian -- is "evil" in the eyes of this sittin...

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/09/how_public_is_the_public_school_system.html

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/09/how_public_is_the_public_school_system.html


HMM.....

Delta Scape: Why do we need celebrities to fix education?

Delta Scape: Why do we need celebrities to fix education?: Director M. Night Shyamalan is the latest celebrity to take a turn at telling us how to fix the education system in the United States.  I ...

For the record, I LOVED Lady in the Water, Signs, Sixth Sense. But on this, he's lost me. Off the rails, totally.

Be sure and watch the interview. Listen for how little he really says.
Then, watch the parody down the page. and roar with laughter.

BTW, it's after hours, and i'm at the public library on their late night...
Update, 28 minutes later:
Excerpt of Shyamalan's book, on NPR, here:  http://www.npr.org/books/titles/221422419/i-got-schooled-the-unlikely-story-of-how-a-moonlighting-movie-maker-learned-the-?tab=excerpt#excerpt

And, here's SLATE, with predictions for the ending of the book: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/09/09/m_night_shyamalan_s_new_book_i_got_schooled_about_how_to_fix_the_education.html

The real status quo?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/29/how-school-reform-preserves-the-status-quo-and-what-real-change-would-look-like/

Wow, I'm a 1-percenter!

So says Charles Koch, (of the Koch Brothers, Koch Foundation, Tea Party, free-market economics, etc). Of course, his reference is the entire world. Which does me a fat lot of good, since I earn and spend my teaching salary here in the US, where it ain't even close. Too bad the commute from Bangkok or Calcutta is such a bitch. My money would stretch a LOT more there, or any number of other places around the globe. But, again, I live HERE, and it just doesn't go very far, with rising costs for, well, EVERYTHING, and no cost of living adjustments in years. And, in this 'right to work' state, I have no union protection, no collective bargaining. My well-being and ability to earn a living depends entirely upon the whims of the state legislature every January.

Read up on Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics if you're interested in background on Koch's position. I'm trying to get through Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, but it's depressing to read and realize these jerks are calling the shots. Have your heard about the

What a school year, already

I've been snowed under, managing students, contacting parents, trying to plan properly with my co-teacher, teaching and reteaching, while planning time is eaten up with the new state evaluation system for teachers. It'called TKES. Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. Sounds impressive. Really it's VAM dressed up. And our training for it is in the form of these boring, repetitive videos that we have to watch and sign off that we've watched. Imagine if I taught class this way...