What a relief!

Turns out, I don't have to like teaching to be good at it. That's fortunate, because many days, I can't stand teaching, or more precisely, what it has become. The endless rounds of meetings and documentation while nothing of substance changes and little of substance is accomplished. The total lack of administrative support. The complete apathy of certain parents and students, usually those who can least afford to be apathetic. So, it's a good thing that good teaching and misery are not mutually exclusive.

Life is not a multiple choice test

Those are the words of Ron Maggiano, an award-winning Fairfax County (Va) teacher who has resigned after a career of 33 years. He's fed up and has  had enough. Valerie Strauss has his refelction on the decision and reasons for it. It all boils down to: testing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/24/life-is-not-a-multiple-choice-test/

What a depressing look at 'return on investment'

It turns out I'm not getting a good return on the cost of my college degree. That sucks.
Of course, my students might have a different view of it. Personally, I'm tired of shopping at thrift stores for everything but undergarments. Are you listening, state legislators who've denied cost-of-living adjustments? Are you listening, board memebers who've slashed the local supplement to nothing and reduced my 403b match to almost nothing? Are you listening?

Anthony Cody on defeating Common Core

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/06/lesson_for_our_leaders_the_bes.html

Cody is fantastic, and tells it like it is:

We need to be absolutely clear. The Common Core is NOT a new paradigm.

It is old wine in a new, high tech bottle. If you want to give teachers a set of

loose standards and the time to work together to make them come alive

for their students, fantastic. However, if you want to create a seamless

system of cradle to college expectations, measured in all sorts of high stakes

tests, we are not interested, and will fight you every step of the way.

So, that's how the studios do it.

Can't wait to see someone try and leverage this model for education.
from Bloomberg

Obama, in his own words

Thank goodness for Valerie Strauss digging this up...
He actually sounded like he was against expanded standardized testing. That's not how it sounds these days...  What happened?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/27/what-obama-said-back-then-about-standardized-tests/

How to kill a school and a community

Break it up, install 'magnet' programs, require the teacher to re-apply for their jobs and then only "School reform", LA-style.  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-adv-crenshaw-teacher-20130701,0,1041818,full.story

Why are teachers made to feel isolated?

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/06/11/fp_greene_coffee.html?tkn=TXZFkU3OS2F39RmtHM9AlvlobZ4uCqFd9w%2FP&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

In schools where I've worked in the past 10 years, the teachers' 'lounge' or 'break room' has been rebranded 'Teacher Work Room'. Apparently we aren't meant to take breaks.
Free cup of coffee? Haven't seen such in forever. Teachers who want some java generally keep a pot going in their room, or in the supply area behind the room, and maybe share with friends/teammates.

Why all this? It keeps us isolated, insecure, submissive.

Hunger affects decision-making and perception of risk

Hunger affects decision-making and perception of risk

It's like the ocmmercial says, "You're not yourself when you're hungry". I know I'm not, and my decision-making and reactions under stress aren't rational when I'm hungry.

back to that value-added study

About a year or so ago, the NY Times ran a big, splashy article about a new study that purported to quantify the value added by a great teacher over the earning lifetime of his/her class. Well, just like the Texas Miracle, the Atlanta Debacle, and the Rhee Makeover, it seems maybe it wasn't quite such a good study in the first place. Bruce Baker has been looking at it, and concludes the numbers were overstated, to say the least.


http://dianeravitch.net/2013/06/13/bruce-baker-another-look-at-the-much-hyped-chetty-rockoff-freidman-study/comment-page-1/#comment-187587

Assorted images... they tickle me.

Get ready to say good bye to paid sick leave in Florida

ALEC-sponsored legislation has passed in Florida that prohibits local regs requiring employers to provide paid sick leave...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/paid-sick-leave-florida-disney-alec

The Ministry of Information

Yes, I am old enough to have read 1984, as well as Brave New world. Don't get me started on the parallels between their visions and our developing reality. I'll just say this: the BS coming from the CCSS/Charter/Broad/TFA/Gates/Walton/Duncan/Bloomberg/Klein/Walcott 'reform' crew reminds me of the Ministry of Information, which, as we all know (those of us who were required to read thought-provoking fiction, that is), was in the business of disseminating propaganda. They might just as well drop flyers from airplanes for all the value in their statements.
http://www.cato.org/blog/whos-misinforming-exactly

Ealum pushes School Bd. pay raise - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Ealum pushes School Bd. pay raise - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Just like our elected officials at other levels, wanting to increase their own pay while the rest of us struggle.
I would ordinarily agree that the stipend is not enough, but in an economy of furloughs, layoffs, pay cuts and school closings, it is utterly ridiculous to propose quadrupling the amount. It reflects a short-sighted and self-absorbed character. To quote those who respond to my comments on salary, if you don't like the pay, take your skills elsewhere...


UPDATE: The school board has already voted on this 4 to 3, and raised their stipend of 300%. All that's needed now is the stamp of the General Assembly. Upside: the General Assembly does not meet till Jan, so this can't go into effect till next July. Their is a slim possiblity that the GA could refuse approval on this, but somehow I doubt it.
http://www.walb.com/story/22697686/dougherty-county-school-board-members-approve-pay-raise

To their credit, "Carol Tharin, Lane Price and Robert Youngblood voted against the increase, saying it's not the right time.
"With the financial's in the condition that they're in and the multiple needs that we have in the school system, it seemed to me that the timing was not correct," said Price."

Too bad the other 4 board members didn't see it that way.

This resonates on so many levels...

From Susan Ohanian's blog :



Translation is given as: 'Despotic officials and shyster underofficials, may they feel ashamed!'

She saw it on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It dates to the time of the Monghol Khans. The man who wrote it, Yelu Chucai, was a Chinese survivor of Ghenghis Khan's seige of Beijing. He submitted to Monghol authority and became the Khan's soothsayer, and later Prime Minister of northern China under the Monghols.

Parents banned wholesale from school event- UK

It's not specific unruly or dangerous parents discussed in this article. It's all the parents. They've asked parents not to attend Sports Day (what we in this area know as Field Day, i guess), so as to minimize the stress of being watched by a large crowd. Apparently, the concern is that the kids can't enjoy themselves if their parents and the parents of their classmates are around. Uh, excuse me? What kids doesn't want to perform, or even show off, for parents? And those that don't care to participate shouldn't be required to. Simple. I'm with the parents who want to boycott and organize their own event.

Some comments on Common Core

This is Robert Shepherd on what is lacking in the Common Core.

“One could implement the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts perfectly and have students entirely miss what reading literature is about. They would not come away from their literature classes with the understanding that when they read a literary work well, they enter into an imaginative world and have an experience there, in all its concreteness and specificity, and it is then THAT experience that has significance, that matters, that has “meaning.”

Campaign to let Georgia girl play football goes worldwide

Campaign to let Georgia girl play football goes worldwide

She was good enough to make the team and play this year, but suddenly, it's not a good idea anymore. Tell you what, when she gets tired of taking shit from the boys on the team, either she'll give up playing or she'll kick their asses for being dummies. either way problem solved. He prayed on this, and he know's it's right. arrogant ass.

Another Day, Another Trashing of Teachers

Another Day, Another Trashing of Teachers

The New York Daily News has apparently declared open season on teachers, trumpeting every accusation with or without evidence, testimony, witnesses, or due process, as a foregone conclusion. Having been on the receiving end of what some folks can dream up, I'm more careful than I was about passing judgement on someone whose name comes up on the news. Aaron Hernandez comes to mind. I was willing to accept it might be coincidence, and then they found his gum and the shell casing, and the security video from inside the house. They've got something to work with. Before that, it was just words.

So, who attends those schools being closed?

Opportunity to learn has posted the following graphic:

Why wouldn't we wnat this?

Georgia scores low grade for content preparation of elementary...

More on the NCTQ report. I love the reader comment about how we shouldn't be taking the lowest scoring students for teacher prep. But, how to attract the 'best and brightest' to this dismal, failing, low-paid, low-prestige/respect profession? They have already decided they want to make a killing on Wall Street or some such.

Georgia scores low grade for content preparation of elementary...

Get your geek on. Support the library. | geekthelibrary.org

Get your geek on. Support the library. | geekthelibrary.org

The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction

The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction

Funny, I feel the same way as an educator. If I don't continually improve and evolve (or maybe, in some instance, devolve), I can't survive in the classroom.

Well, duh!

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/06/sunscreen-new-rules-uva-uvb

Is your sunscreen lying, says the headline. Silly question in this hands-off, free market environment.

Good advice

http://lctablog.wordpress.com/

Make sure to leave a mark.

Love it.

Geography could save you in the Zombie Apocalypse

Kids always ask, 'Why do we have to learn this?" Here's a possible response: If you learn geography, you might have a better chance of surviving when the zombies come after you... 

If we resolved all our disputes the same way...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BjexNXJYblQ

Maybe we'd be better off?

disconnect on policy

so if we aren't talking to each other, what are we doing?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/teachers-and-policy-makers-troubling-disconnect/

science on facebook

Rare whale spotted by Canadian Coast Guard

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/19/haida-gwaii-whale-watching-rare-species_n_3469244.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Evaluation of Next Generation Science Standards- final review by Fordham Institute

"In the final evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Thomas B. Fordham Institute grants the standards a C grade. The NGSS grade is clearly superior to grades we granted to the science standards of sixteen states and the PISA framework in the State of State Science Standards 2012 but clearly inferior to those of twelve states and the District of Columbia, as well as the NAEP and TIMSS frameworks."
http://www.edexcellence.net/publications/final-evaluation-of-NGSS.html?goback=%2Egde_1791816_member_250891980

For more details, the full report is available.

just like many of my students...

from I Fucking Love Science

on testing

from Save Our Schools

science teacher joke

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/

when parents don't do their job...

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/04/opinion_when_parents_do_their.html

Frank Breslin on demonizing teachers

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/03/opinion_why_america_demonizes.html

How would Commissioner King fare?

What if 20-25% of his rating were based upon factors beyond his control, such as successful and complete funding of all schools and programs? Would he get to keep his job, I wonder? It fascinates me that those who advocate these schemes for you and me wouldn't dream of abiding by the same expectations for themselves...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/opinion/better-teachers-for-new-york-city.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Lightning strikes twice

Another from Fox News. This time it's Judge Andrew Napolitano. Love his books.

In 30 years, from 1979 to 2009, the legal standard for searching and seizing private communications -- the bar that the Constitution requires the government to meet -- was lowered by Congress from probable cause of crime to probable cause of being an agent of a foreign power to probable cause of being a foreign person to probable cause of communicating with a foreign person.

The NSA says that Congress knew about all this, but its members were prohibited from telling the American people. What kind of a democracy is that?

The modern-day British soldiers -- our federal agents -- are not going from house to house; they are going from phone to phone and from computer to computer, enabling them to penetrate every aspect of our lives.

If anything violates the lessons of our history, the essence of our values and the letter of the Constitution, it is this.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/13/liberty-in-shambles/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2W6JtRbxd

I never would have thought I would be reposting something from Fox News, but here it is: Rand Paul on Constitutional protections.  He points out:

President Obama says, “You can't have 100 percent security and also then have 100 percent

privacy and zero inconvenience.” But we couldn’t have 100 percent security even if we

 turned America into a total police state—something too many seem eager for—because

 there’s no such thing as a risk free society.

He also says "Anytime we give up our liberty—we lose."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/12/sorry-mr-obama-constitution-is-not-negotiable/?cmpid=GoogleNewsEditorsPicks&google_editors_picks=true#ixzz2W6GxBBmk

What is wrong with people?

Local kid gives fantastic rendition of the National Anthem at the NBA finals in San Antonio. Better than most adult professionals, I might add. Video goes out, Twitter blows up, and bigots come out of the woodwork. Holy stupidity, batman! Who the hell are these troglodytes? Find their rock and stick them back under it, for heaven's sake!
Actually, they remind me of some of the narrow-minded folks I encounter around here. I'm just waiting for someone to go there with me; I'm so ready for it.

 http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/watercooler/mexican-american-boy-sings-national-anthem-at-nba-finals-game-criticized-faced-racist-comments-sebastien-de-la-cruz-061313

https://www.facebook.com/sebastien.delacruz.3

http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/06/sebastian-de-la-cruz-racism-national-anthem/

University of Minnesota researchers control flying robot with only the mind : UMNews : University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota researchers control flying robot with only the mind : UMNews : University of Minnesota

A whole new category of drone...

Yertle meets the Common Core

" It was a plain, little turtle doing a plain, little thing that brought liberation to the turtle citizenry. "

http://kidsinthesystem.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/teachers-in-their-own-words-a-plain-little-thing-2/

trying to reach "noise-addicted, distraction-ridden, pumped-up poseurs and video-gamers"

According to Frank Breslin, these are the audience we are trying to bring on board. And we wonder why it doesn't always go as planned?

Most "super" supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 | Tonight | EarthSky

Most "super" supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 | Tonight | EarthSky

Hartsfield concourse evacuated following explosion in...

Hartsfield concourse evacuated following explosion in...

There's been an outrageous amount of energy spent on reporting this live, as if it were a terrorist act. In fact, it so far sounds like an electrical overload.
Add to that, there were a couple of bomb 'threats' in the Capitol area this morining,and two buildings were evacuated for police clearance. Seems like nothing significat there, also.

Gates Foundation looking to make nice with teachers | Education | The Seattle Times

Gates Foundation looking to make nice with teachers | Education | The Seattle Times

But it's too little, too late. Gates has already done more damage to education in this country, and teachers specifically, than he can possibly repair in a lifetime of make-nice events. Don't know what his personal beef is, but I wish he'd discuss it with a professional before going in front of the microphones.

Brave, stupid, or crazy?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance?CMP=twt_gu


Edward Snowden is holed up in Hong Kong, waiting to see what NSA,CIA, etc throw at him.

100 Clayton students intending to take ACT turned away

100 Clayton students intending to take ACT turned away

Can't wait to hear the "explanation". Why wasn't there even a custodian around? Someone would need to be there to open the building for the ACT folks, right? Rumor has it the exam was cancelled. If so, why, and shouldn't registered students have been notified?

take one for self-pity. repeat as needed

Bret dunlap nearly died as a child. It's been a rough road to carve out a life for himself. When feeling pitiful, this puts it back in perspective. http://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/bret-dunlap-discovered-running-and-it-changed-his-life?page=single

get ready and be accountable?

http://edushyster.com/?p=2539

On the purpose of a college education

There's been a lot of hype about college. go to college and get a 'good' job. Go to college and you'll be assured of a high paying job. Get out of the minimum wage trap by going to college. Unemployed? Go to college and learn a new field to get a job. on and on. We sell it to our kids all the time. There is now discussion of whether colleges should offer courses of study that are not geared to current employment needs/targets. Should students major in something that doesn't guarantee them employment? Etc. Here comes a former student, who majored in drama, who is employed, to answer a remark by the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/01/chancellor-students-choosing-wrong-areas-study-inc/

ITHAKA

As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them: you’ll never find things like that on your way as long as you keep your thoughts raised high, as long as a rare excitement stirs your spirit and your body. Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. Hope the voyage is a long one. May there be many a summer morning when, with what pleasure, what joy, you come into harbors seen for the first time; may you stop at Phoenician trading stations to buy fine things, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, sensual perfume of every kind— as many sensual perfumes as you can; and may you visit many Egyptian cities to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars. Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you are old by the time you reach the island, wealthy with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to make you rich. Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard

(C.P. Cavafy, Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Revised Edition. Princeton University Press, 1992)

There Aren’t Happy Endings for Teachers in the Trenches | Teach4Real

There Aren’t Happy Endings for Teachers in the Trenches | Teach4Real

Having bbeen assured (I saw the schedule) that my assignment would remain the same for next year, I was resigned and almost optimistic about teaching math again. It was a nightmare this year; I'm not the caliber of math teacher my kids needed, deserved. I'm much stronger in almost any other area but math.

School let out, and when I returned for post-planning, I was looking forward to getting to stay in the same classroom for a change. In five years at thsi school, this was my 5th room. In the last 16 years, I've changed rooms or schools every year but one. I've only stayed in the same room once, and that was a last-minute change.

On the first day (of two) of post-planning, I learned that once again, things had changed, and I was not only being reassigned to a different grade(s) and subject, but had to relocate to another room. In a day and a half I had to move all of my shit to the new location. I've now put my energy into building rapport with the person I'll be coteaching with, but now there's an opportunity to interview for a different job at another school. Right now I'm not sure I even want it.

Such is the professional life of a teacher of students with disabilities.

Silicon Valley's 49%

Technology, the great equalizer. With 21st Century Technology, it doesn't matter who you are, because you can get the job done from anywhere. Right?

So why is Silicon Valley still a bastion of white males, where women earn 49 cents on the dollar compared with their male counterparts?
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/06/silicon-valley-race-gender-problem-income-inequality

cloaking inequity on early childhood education

http://cloakinginequity.com/2013/04/09/cis-first-infographic-perks-of-preschool/

Teaching machine, or Zombie Apocalypse?

Way back when, as early as the turn of the 20th century, there was a dream that one day we could develop a machine that would replace teachers and make learning painless, effortless, and efficient, as depicted below:

From Taylor, Thorndike, and Pressey, to Skinner, and now, the Dreambox, the idea has resurfaced multiple times over the past 100-plus years. Now, the dream is revived, like a zombie that keeps coming back. It takes the form of computers, filled with data, that will 'deliver instruction', assess progress, record and analyze results, and ultimately, replace the live teacher in the room.

I wish...

Finally, someone has opened their eyes!

Charter school are notorious for being unwilling or unprepared to serve students with disabilities. Some actively discourage enrollment of such students. In Milwaukee, the schools have gotten their hand slapped for their shenanigans. Diane Ravitch picked this up recently. The ACLU filed a complaint in 2011, and the USDOE responded in May:

"The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs," DOJ officials wrote in the letter to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Tony Evers.
In the letter, the DOJ firmly establishes that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to voucher programs, with potentially far-reaching impact across the country. Twenty states and the District of Columbia currently offer taxpayer-funded voucher programs or tax credits permitting students to use public funds for private school education.
"The Department of Justice has affirmed that private schools that receive taxpayer dollars do not operate in a civil rights vacuum," said Courtney Bowie, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Racial Justice Program.

Hallelujah!!!

Here is why teachers aren't speaking up

If even someone at Peter DeWitt's level can be subjected to intimidation, what about the rest of us?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/02/the-story-of-an-offending-blog-post/

Our governors at work

attempting to extricate their feet from their mouths...  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/04/mississippi-governor-educational-troubles-began-when-mom-got-in-the-workplace/

Maybe we should be more like Ontario

http://www.edsource.org/today/2013/california-looks-to-ontario-schools-reformer-for-guidance/30644#.UYZjUsu9KSP


http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/what-america-can-learn-from-ontarios-education-success/256654/

http://www.edsource.org/today/wp-content/uploads/Fullan-Wrong-Drivers1.pdf

Here's what's wrong with Race to the Top

Turley hits the nail on the head. I'm grateful to Diane Ravitch for linking this.

This is what it was like teaching common core math this year

My students lacked the foundation skills to be successful with grade level material, and now under common core they are expected to master linear equations, direct variation, etc. They are struggling with basic math facts, so many days our lessons sounded like the philosophy class in this article. Using textbooks written (and not corrected/updated) by the College board complicated matters.

UDPATE: $122M school budget adopted, 44 positions less

This is a district in the metro area. There are 3 high schools in their system, I think, with one hosting a magnet program for math/science.

UDPATE: $122M school budget adopted, 44 positions less

Reader View: In U.S., cheating runs rampant - The Santa Fe New Mexican: My View

Is anyone really surprised? Seriously, you'd have to be living in a monastery to have missed the facts.

Reader View: In U.S., cheating runs rampant - The Santa Fe New Mexican: My View

And, along the same lines, schools/districts/states are.... *GASP*... gaming the system. Shocking news? Not to those of us in the trenches. APS is amatuer hour by comparison.

I know the feeling.

 

I felt the same way during testing...

Wow, a district that is not handing over the keys to charter operators

York, PA is in financial trouble. One of the two choices available to them was to go all charter. They recovery board voted overwhelmingly NOT to do that. They looked at the data, like the pundits keep saying, and saw that charters do no better than neighborhood schools. It's not a solution. They will have to come up with a plan for 'internal transformation'. At least they are not going charter. Yet.

What does it take?

This school has run afoul of multiple layers af authority and 'accountability' and yet remains open. All in the name of "choice", perhaps. It is a charter after all. They have fired the (now former) employee who alerted the DOE to financial mishief. She has sued, and they have managed to delay the court proceedings on the grounds that they are the subject of a crminal investigation. Seems like that should make it an easy case to decide, but what do I know? I'm just part of a jury pool.

http://articles.philly.com/2013-05-14/news/39231059_1_joseph-proietta-anna-duvivier-community-academy

AZ conference about VAM

Check it out. They explain why this nonsense can't/won't/doesn't work. BAsically, you can't compare apples to oranges. Not even if you change their names to the same word.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7RE6E48118&list=PLMrsYOKrP2J_-cmqi5PpHI4hS_&noredirect=1

Diane Ravitch discusses the same here.

Here's a better idea for teacher appreciation

Amy Prime teaches and writes in Iowa. She has suggestions for her state's governor for making education better. Surprisingly, she does not include 'accountability', 'choice', or any of the other reforms du jour in her list.

http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2013/01/21/prime-teachers-not-the-main-problem-with-education-shortfalls/

Online, adaptive testing for Common Core

Let's see. These "tests" are meant to be used to determine the success or failure of students, effectiveness (of lack thereof) of teachers, rank and sort schools, decide school closures, and who knows what else they'll pile on. But, it didn't work properly. How are the kids supposed to maintain composure, keep from panicking, and do their best when the damned thing glitches and hiccups during testing? Can you imagine remaining calm during a medical diagnostic test gone awry? How valid would the findings be? And better, I want to know why we shouldn't go back to pencil and paper. At least there is a minimum of shit to hit the fan that way.

Teachers, find your own perfect harmony and match

“What if there was a way to combine the idea of online dating with human capital in education?”

Apparently, while cruising a dating website, this was the thought of a TFA executive director who started edMatch.com
Yes, you read that correctly. A teacher-school dating service model of job hunting. The website sounds like one of those commercials for online dating sites. It even talks about finding your perfect match based on "seven core dimensions".
Too bad the company doesn't seem te recognize that people are sometimes (often?) less than honest in their online dating profiles, and this will be no different.

http://edushyster.com/?p=2502
http://www.facebook.com/myEDmatch
http://myedmatch.com/about/teachers

Common Core not exactly grassroots effort

Not when Bill Gates is spending millions (150M) to promote and encourage adoption of CCSS. I keep thinking of The Net, which centered on a conspiracy by a top software company to expand its influence and control in the marketplace. This is rather more insidious, I think.

Anyone of a certain age will remember 1984 and Brave New World.
Remember Big Brother? Forget about it. Now you have to worry that Bloomberg is Watching.

incredible

Since when do we allow schools to go broke? Does aanyone find it interesting that this is a majority black district? Ridiculous.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/08/buena-vista-school-district-closed_n_3240613.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications

Finally, the Times has taken notice

of the destructive policies imposed by Bloomberg under the guise of 'improvement', NCLB-style. and even more amazing, the editors are CRTICIZING Bloomberg. Wow.  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/opinion/education-and-new-york-citys-mayoral-race.html?_r=0

NY Daily News calls out the dummies at Pearson

For a change, the Daily News published something critical of both Pearson and the Schools Chancellor. Usually they are too busy drinking the KoolAid to think for themselves.

Teacher appreciation

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/may/07/national-teacher-day-instead-mug-teachers-want-tru/

Here's what would help- quit treating me like a garment working in a Bangladesh sweatshop.

BAD NEWS FOR GA TEACHERS

http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/may/07/governor-signs-bill-linking-teacher-evaluations-st/

Under this half=baked legislation, at least 50% of the evaluation/ranking must be based on test scores. How's that for "multiple measures"?

And what about other people in the same situation?

Here, we've been treated to regular, even daily updates about this patient. Nothing personal, but there were at least two other patients at the same time she was in ICU, with the same infection, who got no press. How many others have had to have amputations for this, but aren't benefitting from 'bionic' prosthetics?
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/17/us/georgia-aimee-copeland/?hpt=hp_t2

Why is this not getting any ink in general press?

All I hear/read is the scandal of the hour. Thhis is buried somewhere.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/moon-explosion/

yay, Carol Burris

This brave principal is speaking up and will not be silenced.
http://roundtheinkwell.com/2013/05/18/why-the-ny-vam-measure-of-high-school-principals-is-flawed/

self-preservation, in conflict

The Hasidim are trying to preserve their culture, but so are the immigrants trying to preserve their opportunities and futures. Each feels that the other is a threat or burden.
http://nymag.com/news/features/east-ramapo-hasidim-2013-4/

Teachers silenced

Here is why we NEED unions/professional organizations/whatever. Here is why we NEED due process protection. To keep experienced veterans from being railroaded. http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/concord/2013/05/teachers_association_president.html

And you ask why teachers remain silent adn anonymous?

Here's why: speaking out, openly, can get you fired.

http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-joplin-school-districts-charges.html

Remember, this is one of the benefits of doing away with due process protections ("tenure") and unions. Living in a right to work state means you can lose your job because someone doesn't like your opinion. (Remember, opinions are like assholes... everybody has one.)

And this is the best example of utter ignorance and stupidity I've seen in years:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fahad-hassan/teacher-pay_b_3135114.html?utm_hp_ref=@education123
You have NO knowledge of what the conditions are like. You have no experience on the subject. So SHUT UP about it. You have nothing useful to say.

No matter what BP says in their commercials,

Louisiana Gulf fisherman can see the difference.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/27/us/gulf-disaster-fishing-industry/index.html

Interesting that they did not appear to interview an aquatic biologist or environmental scientist.
That said, it doesn't take a lot to figure out some of this. Insect populations are down- the aquatic habitats that many of them need in early stages are contaminated. Crab catches are down- well, they feed on all sorts of little critters in the marshes, where the insect larvae and nymphs are not surviving, leading to a food shortage for the crabs, who then are either not surviving or not growing to catch size. It's a food web, folks, and when you take one of the elements out of the web, you disrupt the feeding patterns of the other organisms in the web. Not rocket science.

New milestone

A student called me "Bitch" today. In fromt of his peers. Ten feet from the Assistant Principal. He disguised it as a sneeze into his arm, but we all heard it. As if I'm too stupid to get it.
Either I've done something right, or I've done something terribly wrong. Remember that the word bitch is code in our society.
He's way overdue for disciplinary action, but TPTB won't do it.

so much for the talent search

Apparently, success is not best achieved by seeking out the 'best and brightest' (think TFA), but by creating an environment where everyone can perform at their highest level. OMG, you mean it rests on the shoulders of the managers/administrators to actually DEVELOP the 'talent' they seek!? Damn, who would have thought....
Now I have a couple of new books to add to my list of titles to find and read.
http://shankerblog.org/?p=8146

It's Greek to me, too

No, ma'am, you and your son can't sit together on the plane

Absolutely, if she had left her son in the airport for that long the police would be involved. If he'd been left in her car, she would be arrested on the spot. In a mid-flight emergency, how is she supposed to watch out for him? Rely on someone else to do it enstead? Idiotic.

Gee, I wonder

why we would need product placement on standardized tests?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/learn_abc_ibm_VZNV1GuerwMfPVezW2BuRP

So, when did Rhee know there was a cheating problem?

Besides the obvious, that is?

At least January of 2009, at which time she had a district official who was working on "the erasure study". That is how it is described in the so-called 'lost memo' which has finally been provided to John Merrow (PBS, The Education of Michelle Rhee, Frontline) by an anonymus source.
Let's be clear here, it's the same kind of pattern of evidence that is the basis of 35 criminal indictments in the Atlanta Public Schools, announced in early April. Highly improbable rates of 'wrong-to-right erasures' were observed. Someone was given the task of studying the issue. At least two audits (dog-and-pony shows, or shell games, take your pick) were carried out, with a minimum of direct information from teachers, and without looking at test documents. Not surprisingly, they found nothing to substantiate suspicions. Well, that's like asking me if I ran that red light. I'll say no. If you take me at my word, without checking the red-light camera, or talking to witnesses who were at the corner, then you are an idiot and have earned the label. That's basically what happened in DC. That's also what happened in the first 'investigation' in Atlanta. Until Governor Perdue (not Deal, but Purdue before he lost the election) appointed an outside, unbiased commission to REALLY look into it. They did a thorough job, unlike the prior team which hit miltiple schools in a single day an proudly announced that they found nothing. It has been slow going since then, with almost 180 educators coming under suspicion, and now 35 indicted. When will DCPS take this seriously?

BRandenberg connects the dots

He notes that 100 years ago, a gorup of wealthy people with a social agenda (keep down the 'less desirable' classes and control the workers) supported the develpoment and use of new tests of intelligence. Supposedly the tests gave incontrovertible proof that certain ethnic groups were inferior.
Sort of like how kids in some neighborhoods will always come up short in the absence of resources, experiences, and adeqquate support.
http://gfbrandenburg.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/billionaires-public-insanity-and-racism-there-is-in-fact-a-connection/

wow, what a pair

this guy is priceless. He wants to make money 'managing' public pension funds, while at the same time is cofounder and board member of Students First. Students First, you may have heard, is AGAINST defined-benefit pensions for public employees like teachers. Remember Students First? It's Michelle Rhee's new gig. Where she accuses public school teachers of riding the gravy train at a fee of $50,000 plus travel expenses while also collecting a salary in excess of 100 grand. I can only hope to one day be so honestly and accountably employed...  What a matched set of hupocrites!

But, which games?

Researchers at UC Berkeley have done studies that appear to show students can learn from video games. So, which games did they use? My kids could use lots of  practice to develop their proportional reasoning, one of the skills mentioned in this article.

someone should rip off his bandaid

Dennis Walcott is a real piece of work. He's the NY schools chancellor, Bloomberg's second-choice (after the uncertified, unqualified Cathy Black) replacement for the Wizard of Chambers Street, Joel Klein. Apparently he has no more of a clue than his predecessors. He is practically bragging that test scores will drop as Common Core rolls out, claiming that it's time to rip off the bandaid. Whose bandaid is he ripping off, I'd like to know? Is he referring to kids, or teachers? And does he not realize that whichever one he's after, it will affect the other group? Complete idiot.

Bring your own device?

In Litchfield, CT, the school board pulled the plug on BYOD in grades K-6. I don't agree with the reasoning; there are much better reasons to restrict this. But, i do question the usefulness of this as the latest shot in the arm for 'engagement' in the classroom.

But, can the programming be fine-tuned?

There is new software, brought to us by the EdX folks, that supposedly uses artificial intelligence to grade essays and short-answer items, thus freeing up instructional time for more worthy endeavors. My question: If I'm looking for specific elements in an essay or short-answer, can the software be tweaked for that? Otherwise, it's generic and useless in many instances.

Steubenville, 2.0?

In Torrington, CT, two 17 year-olds and two 18 year-olds have been arrested for statutory rape. It appears they had intercourse with two 13 year-old girls. The case has exploded in the local press and in social media, as the teen culture holds the two under age girls responsible for the choices made by the much older 'boys' who've been arrested. Adults are mystified by the perspectives of the young people who are defending the accused. The victims are being blamed for ruining the lives of the accused, as if these guys had no say in what they did. Before it was even brought up in the Times article, my mind automatically called up the recent coverage of the Steubenville rape case. From what I see so far, at least 3 of the 4 defendants are football players, and one of them has other charges pending separate from the rape. But the girls who reported him are presumed at fault? Torrington High School students, friends and teammates took to social media in the wake of the arrests of Gonzalez and Toribio, attacking the victims in the cases via Twitter. Sickening.
But wait, there's more of this disgusting drivel. Seems the police have publicly made statements that seemed to minimize the facts, at least as stated in the arrest warrants. These are the people that your 13-year old daughter has to rely on if an older boy gets hold of her.