Tag: Education

from: https://today.ucf.edu/deal-moves-teaching-simulator-developed-at-ucf-into-private-sector/

The “Brave New World” of Teacher Evaluation

Just when you think the masters of the universe who run the corporate reform movement can’t be even more clueless, you catch wind of the newest effort to turn education into a profit-generating endeavor–this time, a hare-brained scheme to evaluate student teachers, by…and I swear I’m not making this up…observing them as they pretend to teach…wait for it…a fake “classroom” […]

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The media’s infatuation with “data”, and why it’s so wrong

The media’s infatuation with “data”, and why it’s so wrong

The Hartford Courant recently published a stunningly uninformed editorial on the Connecticut State Board of Education’s decision to eliminate the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations–a move widely praised by most of the education community. The Courant’s position was clear–and a blend of equal parts ignorance and arrogance: The state Board of Education recently agreed not to include […]

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Gig Economy Graphic | by Senator Mark Warner

Beware the “Gig Economy” version of education

A recent blog post by Morna McDermott at Educationalchemy.com connects the dots between the recent surge in popularity of the new “Gig Economy” and unsavory influences from the usual suspects in the corporate education reform agenda, ALEC and Pearson. McDermott points out the K12 aspects of this connection (i.e., Competency Based Education (CBE) as an “alternative” to actual classroom learning, […]

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Secretary Betsy DeVos at CPAC 2017 Feburary 23rd 2017 by Michael Vadon

Betsy DeVos flip-flops on school choice

What happens when the evidence showing that vouchers do not improve student learning, or “fix failing schools”, becomes too obvious to ignore? Well, if you’re Betsy DeVos, you just flip the rhetoric (i.e., lie). Just as Ms. DeVos and President Donald Trump are poised to dump $20 billion into a federal voucher program, a new study shows that students receiving […]

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Myths and facts about opting out of standardized tests

Myths and facts about opting out of standardized tests

We have a saying in Michigan: There’s really only 3 seasons in our state: Winter, summer, and Road Construction season! To that I would sadly add a fourth: Testing season. And we are now firmly entrenched in the middle of this, the worst season of all in our neck of the woods. I’ve been seeing high levels of anxiety, stress, […]

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What you need to know about accountability, tests, and music

What you need to know about accountability, tests, and music

In the past couple of days I’ve seen a number of troubling statements about education and policy-related issues, like standardized testing, from a variety of political leaders. And I keep coming back to the same word to describe how I feel after reading their ideas about the state of public education. Disappointed. One of these statements was from a hopeful […]

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When teacher silencing becomes dangerous…

When teacher silencing becomes dangerous…

Since publishing my post on teacher silencing yesterday, my mailbox has been inundated with stories from teachers about being harassed, threatened, and intimidated by school district administrators for posting their opinions about standardized tests, opting out, and other issues of education policy and practice. One teacher wrote: I was having a discussion this morning with a colleague and we weren’t […]

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The biggest loss in education is the loss of teachers’ voices

The biggest loss in education is the loss of teachers’ voices

I received the note below from a former student who is now a teacher. For obvious reasons, I won’t identify her or where she teaches, but–shockingly–her story is becoming all too common… We had a union meeting yesterday where they warned us that the governor is going after the certificates of teachers that opted out their kids (of the state […]

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A tale of two schools…

A tale of two schools…

Recently, I spent the day observing two student teachers. Both were teaching instrumental music in middle and high schools, and each was assigned to an experienced, master teacher. But that’s where the similarities end… One of the student teachers was placed in an urban school and the other in a rural school. The differences between these two schools were stark, […]

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Koch brothers front group still promoting ZERO income tax in Michigan

Koch brothers front group still promoting ZERO income tax in Michigan

Last week, the Koch brothers-funded group American for Prosperity held a “Day at the Capitol” event in Lansing, Michigan where they spelled out their corporatist agenda for Michigan (you can see the agenda HERE.) Numerous Republican legislators were on the agenda: House Speaker Tom Leonard Speaker Pro Tempore Lee Chatfield House Majority Floor Leader Dan Lauwers State Representative Lana Theis […]

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Graphic credit: Gerd Leonhard

Are “Big Data” and “metrics” the new religion in education reform?

As anyone watching the corporate education reform movement can attest to, Big Data and metrics have become the coin of the realm to the reform community. Let any conversation between reformers and defenders of public education go on long enough and the reformer will eventually blurt out the magic words: “But…accountability!” This worldview seems informed by the belief that any […]

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