Recently the American School Counselors Association held a conference in Philadelphia.
At one session, the NCAA representatives explained the requirements for young athletes to become eligible for scholarships.
A woman stood in line to ask a specific question.
The person who shared this story with me asked her what school or district she was from. She said I am at Martin Luther King Jr. High School right here in Philadelphia. The NCAA representative was shocked. He said, but didn’t Philadelphia lay off all its counselors?
She said, yes, it was true, she no longer had a job, but she wanted to make sure that “her kids” wouldn’t lose their hopes for a college scholarship and would not be hurt by the budget cuts.
The NCAA representative, who shared this story with me, wrote,
“I was so in awe of her. There is no guarantee that ANY counselors will be hired back at that school, and certainly no guarantee for her even if they do hire any back. Yet there she was still fighting, still advocating. Urban school counselors do incredible work and are an often under appreciated heroes of public education.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
‘News’ article on a local TV station site:
http://www.wbir.com/news/article/281793/2/More-than-60-teachers-could-lose-jobs-over-low-test-scores
Now, for additional reading pleasure:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2743034/
The above article link ‘explains’ the formula(s) for determining teacher effect data. Even the leaders handing down the pink slips cannot explain it, let alone do the math!! THIS is what determines who gets cut?? A device for selective culling, perhaps?
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We make decisions about what kind of society we want. Pennsylvania has decided to de-fund public education, refuse billions for Obamacare, give gas companies a free ride, and build new prisons. (i suppose the new prisons will be for kids we don’t educate.) Blaming the poor and poverty stricken while enriching the wealthiest Pennsylvanians seems to be the republican trend. I suggest that we as a society kick out the republicans from the governors office, state house and state supreme court. Vote Novemmber 5th for a start.
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Dilbert on standardized testing and ethics:
https://blu174.mail.live.com/#n=1086936402&fid=1&mid=ca793514-f4ee-11e2-b1dd-002264c2496c
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The link takes you to microsoft corp. WTF????
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To teach, really teach, is to love. That can’t be measured except by the glow in the students’ eyes.
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Deb: I think some school staff match the following:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” [Mother Teresa]
Thank you for your posting.
🙂
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I believe that the reason so many of us are stunned and hurt by the disrespect that has been doled out out is because so many teachers love the students and love watching them learn and grow.
So many of us live for those “Aha” moments and that gleam brought to the child’s eyes. It is that same feeling a parent gets when a child takes its first step, says “mama” or “dada”. When a student really “gets it” brings a thrill down your spine.
I don’t believe top-down, test-based education allows for that.
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Top-down based educaton does not allow for real taching or real learning to take palce period. I just LOVE going through each of my first grade students’ writing portfolios in the spring with each child and my students love doing that as much as I do. Here;s to hoping that the school counselor gets her job back or at least gets a position at another school even if it is in another city/state. We need school counselores in Alabama and from what I can tell, our state superintendent sees school counselors as a necessity to help prepare our students for the future regardless of what standards are being followed or what curriculum is being used.
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From Ohio Educ Assoc. http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-the-common-core-state-standards_519691e75aeef.png
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