Aaron Pallas at the Earth School Feb. 7: What's in a Grade?

Jia Lee, MORE candidate for Exec. Bd, elementary school, is one of the organizers of this event at the school where she is chapter leader. Having the decade long teacher, parent and activist working with MORE is a real feather in our cap and Jia is one of the new generation of union activists. I am constantly impressed with the people running with MORE (including the great Gary Rubinstein who will be working on VAM stuff for MORE) and Jia, who is also fierce critic of high stakes testing and brought an entire crew from the Earth School to the MORE rally at the Jan. DA, will increasingly be heard from.

In case you are not familiar with the always fascinating Aaron Pallas, he used to be the notorious Schoolboy who at times blogged with the famed Eduwonkette - Jennifer Jennings. Aaron was Jennifer's prof and mentor. Aaron who comes across like a professor on the surface, happens to be one of the funniest people if you subscribe to his facebook page. I'm hoping I can get to this event to tape it.

(How much do we miss the work of Eduwonkette, one of the first academics (along with Aaron) out of the box tearing down the fabric of ed deform? That was in pre-Diane Ravitch days so Jennifer was a major voice. I don't even think we can find the remnants of her blog anymore, a real shame.)

Jia informs us they will be showing this film posted on you tube where she documented "the work we do as educators (descriptive reviews of practice and of children, curriculum development, the real role of administrators, work with students with special needs, etc.) to present to parents, general public,  that is being denied in the name of high stakes testing and compliance based reform."

What’s in a grade? 

How is our school’s grade determined? What do they measure?

What is the impact on our children? 

Guest Speaker: Aaron Pallas Professor of Sociology and Education at Teacher’s College

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, discuss and ask questions regarding school progress reports. 

When: Thursday, February 7, 2013 @ 6:00 p.m.

Where: Neighborhood School Auditorium (lower level)

121 East 3rd Street, NYC 10009 **Childcare and Refreshments Provided 

Aaron Pallas is Professor of Sociology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has also taught at Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University, and Northwestern University, and served as a statistician at the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education. Professor Pallas has devoted the bulk of his career to the study of how schools sort students, especially the relationship between school organization and sorting processes and the linkages among schooling, learning and the human life course. He is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and an elected member of the Sociological Research Association. His most recent projects are explicitly designed to inform policymakers and other stakeholders about conditions in New York City public schools. 

Inquiries: @The Earth School: Jia- jlee7603@gmail.com;
@TNS: Carol-- 1carolaxel@gmail.com, Rachel rachelb@me.com