Nancy Carlsson-Paige, professor emerita of early childhood
education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
prepared this short
guide for parents about child-rearing. It was written in
collaboration with United Opt Out.
Archives for the month of: September, 2013
I know that it is hard to feel hopeful when the corporate reformers have so much money and are in control at the top of both parties.
But never lose hope.
The fact is that corporate reform policies have failed wherever they are applied.
Here is something from Fred Smith, a testing expert who now advises the anti-testing group Change-the-Stakes:
In the words of Langston Hughes:
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And this too has stayed with me, ever since I saw it.
Realists vs. Idealists
Call the “reformers” profiteers, one-percenters, privatizers, corporatists, powers-that-be, smart-money guys–call them realists. And call us parents, teachers, dreamers, organizers–yes, call us idealists. But don’t call us losers. Because in the end we’re going to win.
~fred
The candidates endorsed by the Network for Public Education and the Connecticut Post won a stunning upset victory over the Democratic machine candidates in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
This is another loss for the corporate reformers who tried to abolish the elected board and give control to the mayor.
“The challenger slate won by a two to one margin over the party’s endorsed slate, easily winning in all districts, in unofficial and incomplete results.
Andre Baker Jr, Howard Gardner and Dave Hennessey received 3,409 votes, 3,284 votes and 3,308 votes, respectively.”
If the challengers prevail in the November election, Superintendent Paul,Vallas may be out. That is, if he survives a court challenge over his lack of credentials to serve.
Bill de Blasio won an amazing victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Not long ago, he was in fourth place but last night he ran decisively ahead of former Comptroller Bill Thompson (the UFT’s candidate) and Christine Quinn (who was tarnished by her close association with Mayor Bloomberg).
In exit polls, voters said their leading concerns were jobs and education. Of the three leading candidates, de Blasio was the sharpest critic of the mayor’s education policies.
The election was a clear repudiation of Bloomberg’s strategies of test-based accountability, closing schools (despite community opposition), and charter schools. .
The New York Times polls showed that only one in four New Yorkers approved of Bloomberg’s education policies. The Quinnipiac poll showed approval at only 22%.
One thing is clear:
The national reform movement just took a big hit. New Yorkers rejected it as stale and oppressive. They don’t like the status quo. They want change. They want leadership that cares more about children than about data. They want leadership that values education more than testing.
A public school parent and former local school board member, Bill de Blasio is poised to bring a fresh vision to the city’s schools.
Paul Thomas has an incredibly wide-ranging intellect. In this article, he takes pundit-blogger Rick Hess to task for his sloppy effort to put down books he does not agree with, namely, my new book and those of David Cohen and Chris Lubienski and Sarah Lubienski. Hess has decided we are opposed to reform because we have actual evidence-based solutions, as opposed to his belief in the magic of the market.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has an unfortunate habit of spouting off about education, a subject where he is woefully uninformed.
When New York won a Race to the Top grant, the original proposal called for a 20% cap on test scores as part of teachers’ evaluations. Cuomo insisted, after the deal was struck, that it had to be 40%. If he knew anything about research on teaching, he would have said 20% was too high.
Last week, he said that low-scoring schools should have a death penalty, again parading his ignorance. He meant replacing democratic governance with state takeover or mayoral control or chartering. All are failed remedies.
Peter Goodman here predicts that Cuomo’s ill-informed policies could derail his presidential ambitions.
New York State has done a miserable job running the Roosevelt school district.
Voters in NYC are sick of mayoral control.
Cuomo needs better advisors. His lines are stale.
This question comes up again and again, and different studies reach different conclusions. Typically, TFA teachers get better than usual results in math, but not in reading, which is less susceptible to test prep and more influenced by home life.
Mathematica Policy Research released a new study today, saying that TFA and TNTP teachers get better results in math than traditionally prepared teachers. But Dana Goldstein analyzes the findings and learns that the headline oversimplifies.
For one thing, the gains were modest: “For the average child in this study, who scored in just the 27th percentile in math compared to her peers across the country, having a TFA teacher will help her move up to the 30th percentile–still a long way off from grade-level math proficiency.”
For another, the study shows that experience matters: “The bias against first-year teachers is borne out in the data. The students of second-year teachers outperformed the students of first-year teachers by .08 standard deviations–a larger gap than the one between the students of TFA and non-TFA teachers. And even though TFA recruits did well in this study, that doesn’t mean teachers reach their pinnacle after two years on the job. To the contrary, the researchers found that for teachers with at least five years of experience, each additional year of work was associated with an increase of .005 standard deviations in student achievement. ”
And Goldstein notes that 89% of the TFA teachers in the study were white, which causes concern because there are many reports of urban districts losing teachers of color, especially African Americans. That may be as big or bigger a problem in the long run that a few percentage points up or down.
A regular reader informed me about an amazing charter
school teacher in North Carolina. Chris Weaver was selected as
“The Best Teacher” by Mountain XPress, a local newspaper,
and he rejected the honor. Read here to learn why he rejected it.
He is committed to the common good, not to self-interest. He
understands that educators must work together towards common goals,
not compete. Congratulations, Chris. You have joined the honor roll
of the blog. Please do not reject this honor. You deserve it for
your courage, your integrity, and your dedication to your
profession and children!
The real Best Teacher
By Chris
Weaver on 08/13/2013 01:00
PM
Weaver on 08/13/2013 01:00
PM
While I
appreciate the community value of the Best Of WNC and the shout-out
from the Xpress readers in my school community, I am
writing to relinquish the title of Best Teacher, because I know who
the real Best Teacher is. I teach at a public
charter school. While my school grapples with the low per-student
allotment and the dismal state teacher salary scale, I know that it
is our children and teachers in our district public schools who are
taking the biggest hit from the budget passed by the extremists in
the North Carolina General Assembly and the governor’s
office. I want district public school teachers
to know that public charter school teachers are standing with you.
Your students are our students. Teaching assistants are a
necessity. Small class sizes are a necessity. Compensation for a
hard-earned master’s degree is essential. A state government that
offers underpaid teachers $500 of taxpayer money to sign away their
due process rights is an aberration.
Xpress readers, the Best Teacher in WNC and
elsewhere in our great state in 2013-2014 is the teacher in your
local public school who will not be demoralized and who does
everything he or she can to meet the needs of every child, with
less help, less money and more demands than ever before.
The Best School is the public school down the street or
up the road. Our Best Administrators are struggling with being
required to implement misguided decisions in the least-damaging way
they can find while striving to sustain morale in their
schools. I know that [Mountain Moral Monday
speaker] Rev. William Barber is right about the temporary nature of
the current state political ideology, because we will go forward
together and the power of our unity will be self-evident. But right
now, as school opens this year, I encourage people of all
persuasions to go to our city and county public schools and say,
“Thank goodness you are here. What do you need? How can I
help?” — Chris Weaver
Asheville
I can’t wait to read Jersey Jazzman’s review of “Reign of Error.” Here is an excerpt from the book.
It appears next week.
Can’t wait!
While the adults struggle over the future of education in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the students are tested and tested and their voices are seldom heard.
This student’s voice will be heard, thanks to Jonathan Pelto.
The student feels buried in a deep hole while adults keep shoveling dirt on him.
Today is Election Day for the school board in Bridgeport. Time to elect those who extend a helping hand, not a test or a shovel full of dirt.
Diane Ravitch's blog 