This post reminds us that literature speaks to us about life in ways that informational text can never do. That is why a story like Yertle the Turtle resonates with us long after we first read it and long after the informational text has been forgotten.
The post is about a kindergarten teacher. He is worried about how the Common Core will affect the children with the greatest needs.
High school teacher Frank Breslin explains how the constant distractions of our society undermine students’ ability to concentrate or even pay attention to what happens in school.
Breslin reminds me of Diana Senechal’s wonderful book “The Republic of Noise.” If you haven’t read it, you should.
Breslin writes:
“A factor over which teachers have no control and that plays an enormous role in making it hard for children to learn is the restlessness of American society itself, its lack of self-discipline, its inability to sit still, its constant dashing about, its hatred of silence, its disregard for rules, its absence of manners, its inability to engage in civilized discourse and the public’s blithe acceptance of such boorishness as a matter of course. These habits of mind infect children even before they enter school.”
The schools must struggle to capture the attention of students who are accustomed to nonstop entertainment and noise: “The classroom today is in a losing battle for the attention of noise-addicted, distraction-ridden, pumped-up poseurs and video-gamers in an America that breaks down all sense of boundaries, decorum and self-restraint. This overstimulated culture makes students virtually incapable of being receptive to the deeper substance and structures of learning, which assume inner calm, monastic silence, attention to nuance, sustained concentration, Job-like patience and endless hard work. Very few students are equal to this, while many cannot even sit still and listen.”
The legislators demand high test scores, but teachers must deal with the reality of our society:
“The essential problem teachers are up against today is a form of national schizophrenia, a radical disconnect between what the public wants of its schools and an American culture of bedlam and bluster, which does all in its power to undermine students’ ability to focus and learn.”
In effect, the public expects the schools to create the conditions of a different world, a world that is fast disappearing, in large part due to the combination of commercial avarice and public indifference. And the policymakers are all too willing to blame teachers for the disconnect.
If you are within driving distance of New York City, please come to the Skinny Awards.
I will be there, along with many other friends of public education.
The Skinny Awards are the opposite of the Broad Awards, which are given to urban districts and charter schools that raise test scores. The Skinny Awards recognize character, courage, valor, and integrity in support of sound education ideas.
Leonie Haimson is the genius behind the Skinny Awards.
Benefits go to Class Size Matters, which advocates for reduced class size, opposes invasion of student privacy, and supports teachers and public schools. Leonie runs Class Size Matters on something less than a shoestring.
Here is the announcement:
Please attend our Fifth annual “Skinny Awards” Class Size Matters fundraiser
And enjoy a four-course dinner with wine
When: Tuesday June 18 at 6 PM
Where: FAGIOLINI ON 40TH, 120 E. 40th St. (betw. Lexington and 3rd Ave.)
Purchase your tickets here.
Each year we give an award to the individuals who provide the real “Skinny” on NYC schools. Past recipients of the award include Diane Ravitch and Juan Gonzalez. This year, our “Skinny” award will go to two brilliant teacher/bloggers:
Arthur Goldstein, who writes the NYC Educator blog and is an ESL teacher
at Francis Lewis High School in Queens
Gary Rubinstein, who blogs at Teach for Us and is a math teacher
at Stuyvesant HS in lower Manhattan
This dinner is always a highlight of the year, with delicious food, good wine, and great company.
This year, it is especially important to attend and/or contribute to our work. As always, Class Size Matters relies on your donations to keep our organization going. We have continued to advocate for smaller classes and an end to school overcrowding, as class sizes swell throughout the country. We also have become leaders in the fight against high-stakes testing, privatization, and the violation of student privacy.
Nationally, we spearheaded the battle against the sharing of confidential student data with a corporation called inBloom Inc. inBloom Inc. plans to put children’s personal information on a vulnerable data cloud, and share it with private vendors without parental notification or consent.
For the last few months, the tabloids and corporate reform blogs have featured attacks against me personally, evidence of the prominent role that Class Size Matters plays in the debate over education policy. One of the best ways to show your support for our work is to contribute whatever you can to keep our organization alive.
If you believe that class size matters, and that it is important to keep our public schools and children’s personal information out of the hands of private corporations, please make tax-deductible contribution now to Class Size Matters and/or purchase a seat at our fundraiser dinner June 18 by clicking here or here: http://www.nycharities.org/events/EventLevels.aspx?ETID=6292 .
Please forward to others who care and hope to see you there, Leonie
Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
212-674-7320
leonie@classsizematters.org
http://www.classsizematters.org
http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonie-haimson
Follow me on twitter @leoniehaimson
Make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters now!
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Anthony Cody reports on legislation prepared by Colorado Senator Michael Bennet that would decimate teacher professionalism. He wants federal funding for new teacher and principal academies that would lower standards for entry into education.
There is the usual blather about “excellence,” “great teachers,” standards and accountability, but the heart of the legislation is what it does not require:
“(B) shall not have unnecessary restrictions on the methods or inputs the teacher preparation academy will use to train teacher candidates or teachers teaching on alternative certificates, licenses, or credentials, including restrictions or requirements–
(i) obligating the faculty of the teacher preparation academy to hold advanced degrees;
(ii) obligating such faculty to conduct academic research;
(iii) related to the physical infrastructure of the teacher preparation academy;
(iv) related to the number of course credits required as part of the program of study;
(v) related to the undergraduate coursework completed by teachers teaching on alternative certificates, licenses, or credentials, as long as such teachers have successfully passed all relevant State-approved content area examinations…”
Cody concludes,
“So anyone with a bachelor’s degree – actually it does not even specify that – can open a teacher preparation “academy.” They need no building, no trained faculty. The credential candidates need have no preparation whatsoever – all that matters is that they pass the state content exams.”
These federal academies might not have a single faculty member who held an advanced degree or had ever conducted research. There might not be a physical campus. The prep academies would eventually be judged–someday–by the test scores of their graduates.
This approach would eliminate professional training for teachers.
Contrast this with Finland, where only eight universities award teacher degrees, and competition to get into these institutions is highly competitive. Only 1 of every 10 applicants is accepted into them, and they are expected to conduct research, study academic and pedagogical courses, and practice teach.
Finland has very high standards, but Senator Bennett’s bill would eliminate all standards for students and faculty.
Need I add that the bill is supported by a veritable “Who’s Who” of the corporate reform world, including TFA, Stand for Children, and a multitude of charter schools, all of whom are committed via this document to lower standards for teachers..
The Red Queen in LA offers a brief tutorial on the meaning of the astonishing electoral victory of Monica Ratliff—and before that, the remarkable upset win of Steve Zimmer.
Both ran against a barrage of out-of-state millions. Zimmer had the support of UTLA, Ratliff did not.
No one thought that either had a chance. Ratliff raised about $50,000 in small donations. Her opponent had millions.
Both won by the same 52-48 margin.
What does it mean?
It means the board has a majority that will rein in John Deasy. It may mean the board will slow down or stop the wildfire growth of unaccountable charters. It may mean a careful review of teacher evaluation methods.
It certainly means that the board will slow down the rush to privatize public education in LA.
That’s great news.
In a guest post for Anthony Cody, Katie Lapham calculated that 26% of her school year is spent NOT teaching.
Data inquiry, data analysis, professional development, etc. took time away from teaching.
If you teach, what proportion of your time is spent not teaching?
How much time is devoted to test prep, testing, and data analysis?
Bridgeport parent leaders responded forcefully to an attack on their schools by Jennifer Alexander, the leader of ConnCAN.
Alexander claimed that charters in Connecticut outperform public schools and that 65,000 students are trapped in failing public schools. She certainly knows the corporate reform script.
The parent leaders wrote:
“As Bridgeport public school parents and elected parent leaders, we find it insulting that a paid charter school proponent is attempting to speak on behalf of a community she has no involvement with. Ms. Alexander does not have a child in the Bridgeport public schools, does not reside in the city of Bridgeport and does not pay Bridgeport taxes.
To Alexander’s claim that charters outperform public schools, the parents wrote:
“In reviewing the data of the six state charter schools that service Bridgeport students, it is abundantly clear that these six schools do not reflect the demographics of our traditional public schools. These six schools collectively underserve children with disabilities, English language learners and students receiving free/reduced-price lunch. By underserving these student populations, in some cases by double digits, they are able to claim that they achieve higher test scores.”
Bridgeport parents understand that ConnCAN represents fabulously wealthy individuals who use the public schools as a plaything. They wrote:
“ConnCan is funded by some very wealthy individuals. Their main purpose is to advocate for charter schools and their expansion. We are Bridgeport public school parents and elected parent leaders who volunteer our time and service. We do not receive a dime in compensation for the advocacy work that we do.
“Until Ms. Alexander can say the same, we recommend she speak for herself and not for those of us that are in the trenches fighting and advocating for our children’s education every day.”
The heartening aspect of this letter is that regular parents are seeing clearly what the game is. They understand that ConnCAN doesn’t care about their children. They recognize that the end game will be a publicly funded dual school system, with one free to exclude or push out kids it doesn’t want.
They are fighting for their children, for their community, for public education, and for democracy.
As an earlier post showed, Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota vetoed $1.5 million earmark for Teach for America, noting that the organization has $300 million in assets and thus no reason to be charging the state for its bright but poorly prepared recruits. But TFA scored big in North Carolina, where the reactionary legislature handed over $6 million a year to TFA. This from a parent activist in North Carolina:
What happened when the head of the biggest charter chain in Illinois had a frank conversation with Wall Street investors?
EduShyster listened in. This is what she learned.
The good work of many parent organizations and local school boards achieved a positive result yesterday when the Legislature passed a bill reducing the number of tests needed to graduate high school from 15 to five.
Public sentiment was strongly opposed to the massive testing regime that had grown out of control and beyond reason.
More than 80% of the state’s local school boards had passed resolutions opposing high-stakes testing.
And the parent groups led the charge to persuade the legislature that testing had become a burden, not a means of improving student achievement.
The parent group called TAMSA (Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment) was also known as “Moms Against Drunk Testing.”
However, do not believe for a minute that the Texas Legislature has turned wobbly overnight. At the same time that they passed House Bill 5 to reduce the number of tests needed for graduation, they also passed a bill that will vastly increase the privatization of Texas public education by lifting the cap on charter schools. Another bill opens up the state to unlimited expansion of online corporations, the predatory companies that take dollars away from public schools while providing inferior education.
This is the language opening the door to exploitation of public dollars by the online industry:
TAMSA issued the following press release after the testing bill passed:
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