According to this story in Philadelphia’s Notebook, the Gates Foundation has been generously funding a teacher-training program tailored to test prep.
Philadelphia schools need higher scores, so the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact wants more, please, of this test-prep teaching training.
The city is also investigating dozens of schools for cheating on tests.
Step back a minute and ask yourself.
How did these tests become the goal of education instead of one measure?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It couldn’t be a profit opportunity, could it?
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Well, Duh …
As penetrating as many of the analyses and insights on this blog may be, the majority of them still fail to penetrate to the root cause.
It’s like people are still trying to speak the truth to tobacco companies, as if the tobacco companies didn’t already know the truth and are doing their darnedest to hide it from the public.
They public doesn’t understand that there really is that kind of evil.
They will have to recognize their addiction to quick fixes.
They will have to wake up and see that self-serving con artists are tricking them into destroying something vital, something they won’t be able to get back — the very health of the nation.
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Jon, I’ll even go as far as to say many teachers don’t know there really is that kind of evil. Or maybe that’s the outcome of living in “untouched” Washington State (oh, the irony of living in Bill Gate’s homeland). After facebook posting a timely article on for-profit schools and a request to vote down the charter initiative on our ballot this fall, teacher friends are posting, “I had no clue…” THIS scares me more than anything. What would be the most logical way to get this information out to teachers? The union, of course! Oh. Wait…
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yes, yes, yes!
I’m 52 & will be starting year 8 teaching high school math in a few weeks. At best, teachers are approaching political enemies as wayward 6 year olds or recalcitrant 16 year olds – ‘more love! more chances to succeed!’
at worst, we have hordes of the purposely, inexcusably, politically clueless who are on the fast track to be joining rustbelt industrial workers in the competition for those junk – mart greeter jobs.
oh well, I’ve had a pretty good run, I’ve tried and I’ll keep trying !
rmm
p.s. TeacherFromTheWest – please ping me – I’m in Seattle, not complacent and not clueless.
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Isn’t it amazing how far we have slid backwards so quickly. Many of us teachers, getting ready to return to our classrooms (those lucky enough to still have jobs after the last slash-and-burn rounds of cuts) are feeling dazed. This time of year the excitement returns for seeing our students, for getting to know the full humans behind those bright eyes. The rush we get just imagining the joys of interacting with those young people — it quickly gets dampened by the memory of what has happened to teaching, and what will be expected of us by our administrators. Managed (standardized-test-based) curriculum, VAM, so-called “professional development” centered on how we’re being watched and “evaluated,” media attacks on our profession, all with a backdrop (seldom mentioned) of the crumbling social fabric so badly hurting our children and their families — all of this has changed our schools and our profession so drastically, and so quickly.
So now we walk back into our classrooms with an additional responsibility, IMO. That is to stand up for our kids and schools and colleagues, and to work to build strong alliances with our parents and community organizations and unions.
Thank goodness for the Chicago Teachers Union showing us that this can be done. This, too, will be a job for all of us this school year — to support and publicize and support some more the CTU and others who will be taking the front lines in the fight that belongs to all of us.
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The question is who are these teacher “coaches” going to be? Master Charter is one of the largest charter companies in Philadelphia. Like all charters, they resist transparency about their schools. Are these “coaches” going to be certified teachers? Are they going to be people with classroom experience?
What is clear is the overt hostility to teachers and teaching as a profession. Just look at this quote from the article:
“Mastery’s coaches, who work with a group of nine to 12 teachers over six or seven weeks, give them a series of techniques for running a tight, focused classroom, such as circulating regularly around the room and promoting student participation. The coaches then monitor how well the teachers use the techniques through forms and checklists based on different levels of observation and feedback.
Each lesson has a measurable objective around student outcomes and teacher actions, such as counting how many students are actively on task or have answered verbal questions.
There are different levels of observation and feedback – up to and including real-time, in-person coaching sessions in which the coach gives the teacher instructions through an earpiece. Teachers can also opt for wearing a device called a “motivator” that buzzes them at preset intervals as a reminder to repeat certain activities, such as circulating around the room, until they become habitual.”
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Sounds like a scientist monitoring and controlling a lab rat through a maze.
They don’t get teaching; they never will.
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Mr. Pavlov and Mr. Skinner, call from Mr. Gates on line one.
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Thank you, Michael. I needed a good laugh today!
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I’ve been saying that with the Constructivism that pushes the pedagogy that has kids learning from each other instead of the teacher, it’s a great lesson in COLLECTIVISM. Group think/ group projects.
Goodbye rugged individualism, hello collectivists.
I believe the term is: systems thinking. Systems thinking is all about interconnected and interdependent systems and how that a “collective” or “holistic” view must be taken in everything…
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Gates is interested in getting employees, no matter where or how. That’s why he’s interested in the Visa program. Further, he’s not interested in educated employees, but trained employees.
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Gates funds Nellie Mae who funds other grant organizations. Honestly, I’m surprised no one has done any real investigation into these grant organizations. How they bypass the local and state legislators/DOE’s and go directly to the schools to implement policy changes.
Nellie Mae’s focus on “community organizing” is enough to warrant an investigation and exposure. Is the goal to develop political activists via ACORN or educate students?
Nellie Mae funds grant org. in our area and one of the classes offered to administrators was on selling reforms to the school boards and community.
You see this garbage would be questioned by logical thinking people SO the administrators have to be trained in sales techniques.
Here comes Nellie Mae to the rescue!
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This sounds like more of Match and Relay teacher training. Popping up everywhere under different names. I think Mr. Gates is taking our children’s test scores personally. They are his new bottom line profits. I wish he would use his money to help doctors cure cancer.
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I wanted to write this directly to you but couldn’t find your email address. Your recent writing in the Washington Post in regard to the Governor’s Conference in New York was outstanding. As a retired teacher, I am in awe of how you stand up for your teachers! Thank you for all your efforts.
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