This should be interesting. President dent Obama will deliver
the commencement address at Worcester Tech High School in
Massachusetts. Many Worcester parents are opting out of the Common
Core tests funded by the Obama administration. Secretary Duncan
visited Massachusetts last week and said its students–with the
nation’s highest scores on NAEP–are not prepared for global
competition. Wonder whether the President will echo his Secretary’s
sour comments about kids today.
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Principal is principal of the year. Made it clear at our meeting at NASSP that she was not a fan of reforms. Wonder if she will make that known….husband is a supe. It is a voc school w/ big buck investment. Still has cosmetology and other low skill professions…just in a fancier setting.
Your assessment of the Worc Tech School is very Unprofessional.I’d think better coming from a principle !
PLEASE!
Obama will probably catch several cold sores and cancel his appearance there in Worcester.
My money says he will not show up once he finds out about the opt-out there.
He is an empty shell of a leader, but knows how to fill his own personal coffers . . . .
Who knows…maybe the students and parents won’t show up and he’ll be talking to himself.
My guess is he will do what he always does when dealing with education, as perfected by his state of the union addresses. He will praise teachers and caution against standardized tests. He will speak out against the cheapening of education. He will, that is, speak out against everything his radical corporatist policies demand and do so with passion and eloquence. He will, therefore, once again convince a good deal of the nation who hear his words that he is a man of measure, wisdom, and vision. The only people who will know he is speaking nothing but lies are teachers and enlightened parents, the former demonized for a decade, the later marginalized for the same. This is the way the man has operated since day one. And almost no one in the main stream media has called him on it.
Patrick Walsh, I know of no one in the mainstream media who has called out the President for praising behaviors that his policies forbid and condemning behaviors that his policies mandate.
precisely
Nor do I, Diane. I was simply being careful so as not to be called out. You’re right. And that this happens repeatedly in the land of the free and the home of the brave is deeply, deeply disturbing. But there is nothing to do but to call it out as often as we can to as many as we can reach. This you do better than anyone I know of.
Mainstream media continually gives President Obama a pass. The majority of public school parents and educators’ concerns are continually being ignored by our president and by the media. For our president to remain silent while allowing the foundation of our democracy to crumble without voicing concern or even acknowledgement of these discouraged voices , should be front page news. For many of us who once believed in hope and change, Obama’s lack of action in supporting public education is inexcusable. I fear and worry for the direction of our country as I weep for innocent children, educators and parents who are being subject to these abusive policies.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Obama to “voice concern” about this. He is school privatizer in chief. He is doing everything in his power to bring an end to the public school system in the United States. His Department of Education is doing precisely what he wishes for it to be doing.
Please read my recent Commentary published in Education Week. I argue that CTE programs and the skilled trades have been marginalized by the reformers’ perception of “college and career readiness.”
For 10 years prior to entering the education profession, I was a hairdresser. I believe strongly in the power of career technical education and a livelihood in the skilled trades. During my 22 year career in public education, I also was in charge of English, Language Arts, Reading, and Library Media in the central office of the Connecticut Technical High School System.
Students have the right to map out their own conception of a rewarding career. You do not have to go to college to be successful. I’ve lived both sides of the coin. I know the rewards of both types of career paths. Let’s give students the support to map their own version of a fulfilling lifestyle.
Here’s the link to my piece:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/12/24davila.h33.html
Great article.
It is my sincere hope that Obama will use his executive privilege to ban the term CTE, and return to Votech.
For those of us who are AI* please explain CTE.
acronym impaired (it’s a genetic thing Jim)
Hi, Duane,
CTE is the preferred term for what we used to call shops, trades, or vocational education. The acronym stands for Career Technical Education.
I believe corporate reformers have ignored that the trades are viable options for graduates. Their version of career readiness that they talk so much about seems biased toward careers requiring a four-year college degree at minimum.
Jean,
Thanks for the help on the acronym!
Duane