Ed Notes Online: Ohanian Lays Waste to Common Core (Once Again)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Ohanian Lays Waste to Common Core (Once Again)

Keep reminding yourself that both the UFT/AFT and the DOE/Ed deformers support CC.

Here is Susan's latest report:

Cartoon: Advice from Dr. Seuss.
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=712

Cartoon: Facebook deactivation contract.
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=711

Cartoon: Rosa Parks
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=710

Cartoon: follow Gates money trail
http://susanohanian.org/cartoon_fetch.php?id=707

Cartoon: Purpose of the CCSS
http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_cartoons.php?id=847

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Won't Get Fooled Again? Reasons to Resist the Common Core
Michael Paul Goldenberg
Rational Math Ed blogspot
2013-02-09
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=418

Outstanding, short summary of what's wrong with the experimental, risky, and destructive Common Core.

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Education forum spotlights core
Editorial
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
2012-10-30
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=417

This editorial is rather breathtaking in its misrepresentation of--everything.

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Policy Leader to Shift From Gates Foundation to College Board

Chronicle of Higher Education
2012-12-10
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=416

David Coleman's former partner at Gates Foundation joins him at College Board.

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Board balks at Common Core; Tantasqua pushes state to drop new school standards
Craig S. Semon
Telegram and Gazette
2013-01-22
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=415

I say 3 Cheers! for a board that is still willing to think for themselves and insist on local autonomy

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Kindergarten lessons intensify under newly adopted Common Core State Standards
Venita Jenkins
The Fayetteville Observer
2013-01-07
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=414

One more example of the wholesale acceptance of the Common Core. The cheerful acceptance of the burial of child-appropriate kindergarten values just leaves me too sad to comment.

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Knowledge Quest webinar aligns graphic novels to the standards
Press Release
American Library Association
2013-01-31
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=413

In a new Knowledge Quest webinar hosted by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), writer Katie Monnin will guide attendees through aligning graphic novels to various national standards, including the AASL learning standards and the Common Core State Standards.

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Online Testing Is Coming to New Jersey Schools -- Ready or Not
John Mooney
NJ Spotlight
2013-02-04
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=412

Read current PARCC propaganda being spread in New Jersey. Read the NJ superintendent's quote of the week on PARCC.

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Gates-Financed Common Core Standards Turn Kindergarten into Global Economy Zone
Susan Ohanian
Daily Censored
2013-01-30
http://susanohanian.org/core.php?id=411

If you doubt that the Common Core is all about undreaming a dream, watch the video described here.

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To the editor
Leonard Marcus
New York Times
2012-12-11
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1520

People in the world of children's books rarely make statements attacking political programs. It's good to see this.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus, USC
Los Angeles Times
2013-02-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1519

Short and to the point.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
Publishers' Weekly
2013-02-06
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1518

Librarians seem to be rushing to embrace the Common Core. The required testing will end up destroying libraries.

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To the editor
Stephen Krashen
New Jersey Spotlight
2013-02-05
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1517

Common Core testing: where the money is.

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To the editor
Michelle Shory, Knoxville, Clara Lee Brown, Knoxvi
KnoxNews.com
2013-02-03
http://susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=1516

A response to Tennessee senator described as nutcase.

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What are Windham education officials hiding?
Jonathan Pelto
Wait, What? blog
2012-02-06
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1509

Here's how to make sure test scores rise in one easy lesson.

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Prince George’s considers copyright policy that takes ownership of students’ work
Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post
2013-02-02
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1508

In a move declaring teachers to be serfs, Prince George claims the right to anything they create at home and using their own technology

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Test Your Public Ed Savvy
Susan Ohanian and Stephen Krashen
The Progressive
2013-01-26
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1507

If you missed it at The Progressive, here's our Ed Savvy quiz. Please note: Unlike the claims of Standardistos, ours are verified.

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The kids who get left behind Some students' achievements mean nothing to educators (sic) obsessed with testing
Eileen Riley-Hall
Albany Times Union
2012-02-02
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1506

The low scores on standardized tests of a child with autism will not only deem her a failure, but under the new teacher evaluation system these tests scores will also be considered evidence that her teachers are ineffective.

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Beware of Foundations Bearing Gifts
Sarah Darer Littman
CT News Junkie
2012-12-14
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1505

As a reader noted, this reporter does her homework! It makes her unique.

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The Operator: Is the most trusted doctor in America doing more harm than good
Michael Specter
New Yorker
2013-02-04
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1504

I recommend this article for what it reveals about our society's worship of celebrity--and eagerness to embrace whacky fads. The author is talking about health care, but of course it could be education.

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Health Care's Trick Coin
Ben Goldacre
New York Times
2013-02-02
http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=1503

The Feds twiddle their thumbs on the kind of outrage Goldacre exposes-- while continuing to use teachers as punching bags.

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Get Schooled Good advice from educator: Let your kids choose own path, in college and life

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Get Schooled Blog
0000-00-00
http://susanohanian.org/show_yahoo.php?id=801

A breath of fresh air from the Get Schooled Blog at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The comments are very negative--except for mine.

1 comment:

jjman36 said...: The problem at DWC and in the system in general is the fact that they (the DOE) won’t let teachers concentrate on teaching. Instead they have us in endless meetings developing “curriculum maps” and re-inventing lesson plans that have worked well for years. One year we are focusing on project based learning, and then it’s teaching backwards, now it’s the common core. What’s next? Ask McGraw Hill. The concentration is never on content but on the delivery method du jour and on endless new “Danielson” influenced models of teaching. How long will Danielson last? Now, we are being forced to give students long multiple choice tests on material they haven’t learned yet that are somehow supposed to assess their skills and set a baseline. As an experienced teacher I can assess my students in a far more meaningful way by simply giving them a short writing assignment. Another problem is the so called “comp” job. Experienced teachers, actually some of the best teachers are pulled out of the class-room to become “deans” who patrol the hallways. If the security agents were better supervised this waste of teaching man-power would not be necessary. The department assistant is another way that some of the best teachers are pulled from the class-room; they work the book-rooms or do other jobs that a school aide could be doing. I certainly don’t blame or fault the teachers for any of this; I blame the administrators for creating these positions. Lastly, I sincerely wish the UFT would work to eliminate such a waste of talented man-power. Let teachers teach!!!!!

I am well aware of the fact that sometimes these "comp" positions were created to prevent the excessing of teachers which wouldn’t be necessary if the DOE didn’t constantly short the schools of funding, especially at the last minute. As Jon Stewart attempted to explain to Ms. Rhee on the Daily Show (must see TV) last week, constantly changing what is expected of teachers creates a level of anxiety that can be demoralizing. Ultimately, when it comes time to decide upon the future of DWC, our statistics are often cited as a reason for the school staying open or being closed. If we let teachers teach, focus on teaching and not the methodology du jour, then our statistics would certainly be better! DWC has “elements” of greatness to this day. The job we do with at-risk students is incomparable but is not reflected accurately in statistics such as our four year graduation rate. Our athletic program is still one of the finest in the country never mind the city. Our honors program and myriad AP classes are glowing examples of what DWC still does so well. We have some of the best young as well more experienced teachers in the city. At the core of DWC there exists an uncommon camaraderie among our staff. Our current administration has done an amazing job battling the incompetence and constant sabotaging by the DOE. I see a light at the end of the tunnel as the mayor finally “sunsets.” I can only hope that we can stop the co-location currently being planned and instead be allowed to work to restore DWC to its rightful place as one of the top schools in the city.; Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 12:27:00 PM EST

"A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

What media call "philanthropy" for the public schools are actually seed monies to establish a private "market" in publicly-financed education - an enterprise worth trillions if successfully penetrated by corporate America. Cory Booker, one of the "New Black Leaders" financed by the filthy rich, is key to creating a "nationwide corporate-managed schools network paid for by public funds but run by private managers.

"Ed Reformers" want to cash in on public education and to control its content and outcome, not improve it. Provide great education? Baby boomers had as close as this country has ever gotten to it when we were growing up. The Ed Reform Movement has no interest in seeing such a well-educated, democratically astute population ever again.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/cory-booker-clear-and-present-threat-public-education

History of the UFT Pre-Weingarten Years

This award-winning series of articles by Jack Schierenbeck originally appeared in the New York Teacher in 1996 and 1997.

Naturally, from a certain point of view. But, despite certain biases, Schierenbeck, a great guy, was one of the best NY Teacher reporters so this is worth reading. Jack suffered a debilitating stroke many years ago (I used to get secret donations to ed notes from him through a 3rd source.)

This chapter looks interesting:

Class struggles: The UFT story, part 3

“The schism in the union over radical politics [is] a major reason for stalling the growth of a teacher union for decades.” Revolutionary politics and ideology take center stage, as the original Teachers Union becomes a battlefield, pitting leftist against leftist and splitting the union.

Clarence Taylor's "Reds at the Blackboard" focused on the old Teachers Union which disbanded in 1964 after suffering from anti-left attacks.

Of course for another view, check out the review at New Politics of the Kahlenberg Bio on Shanker by Vera Pavone and me: Albert Shanker: Ruthless Neocon

Effective Union Organizing

A video series put together by Jason Mann from the British Columbia Federation of Teachers about social media and how to use it for effective union organizing.

The first series was called New Media For Union Activists Roadmap and it's still available on-line at:
http://www.newmediabootcamp.ca/welcome/
I watched some of them and need to rewatch as they are loaded with information.

The second series started last week and it's called "Online Campaigning for Union Activists"

You can sign up for this free series at :
http://act.bcfed.ca/online-campaigning-for-union-activists/

You Don't Have A Choice - Join the Revolt

Ex-Harlem Success Teacher Comments on Eva the Diva

Ex-HSA Teacher has left a new comment on your post "Fear and Loathing at Evil's Harlem Success Empire ...":

I am a former Harlem Success teacher. Not many people who work/worked for her like her very much. I once made the comment that she is very nice when I first was hired. Two of her closest colleague responded immediately almost in unison, "Eve is not nice!" Over time I realized that there was a lot of political games going on. Another colleague once said to me that he was tired of "being part of a political campaign." Sending out 15,000 applications for only 400 seats in a school is reprehensible. The money that paid for those mass mailings could have paid the yearly salary of another teacher not to mention the heartache of all those parents who applied but did not get a spot. She does good work trying to give disadvantaged students a quality public school education but at a great cost to staff AND the school's educational budget! school budget.

Davis Guggenheim Compared to Riefenstahl

“Waiting for Superman" is the second most intellectually dishonest piece of documentary work I have seen. It is surpassed only by Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will," the pro-Hitler propaganda classic, in that regard. Uses personal narratives of adorable children to create narrative suspense that overrides public policy discussion with pure emotion in unscrupulous attack on teachers and their unions, among others

Timothy Tyson
Professor of African American Studies and History
Duke University

How Teaching Experience Makes a Difference

Even as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee and others around the nation are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters. In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it’s ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.
- Leonie Haimson on Parents Across America web site

Full article with charts here.

Weingarten/Gates Foundation announce drone-driven teacher evaluation

According to a press release issued by the Gates Foundation, the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, these three have entered a ground-breaking partnership to evaluate teachers utilizing the drone technology that has revolutionized warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. A bird-size device floats up to 400 feet above a classroom and instantly beams live video of teachers in action to agents at desks at Teacher Quality Inspection Stations established by the AFT and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.

When asked if the drones were authorized to drop bombs on teachers who exhibit inadequacy, Chester E. Finn, Jr., president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Gates money puts other methods at our disposal."

Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5-million-member American Federation of Teachers said the powerful union has signed on to the drone project...

More at Substance

The Real Reason Behind Push for Standardized Tests: It's All About the Adults

On standardized testing in our schools

A must read article about the standardized test industry.
Written by an insider who has worked as a test scorer, the article outlines a multinational industry based on an army of temporary workers paid by the piece at $0.30 to $0.70 per test, translated in the need to grade 40 tests per hour to make a $12 salary. The article goes on to show how the companies gauge the grading "results" based on the need to ensure new contracts to continue profiting off of our youth. The original article is from Monthly Review. Here it is on Schools Matter blog.

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/12/on-growing-use-of-corporate-test.html

Parallels between America today and Germany in the 1920's and early 30's

"Resentment and obstruction are all the right wing in America have to peddle. Their policies are utterly discredited. Their ideology - even by its own standards - is a sham. They are so bereft of leaders, their de facto leader is a former drug addicted, thrice-divorced radio talk show host. That is literally the best they can muster. But they have built a national franchise inciting the downwardly mobile to blame the government, not the right, for their problems, exactly as Hitler did in the 1920s."

The US Is Facing a Weimar Moment

Published on Sunday, March 15, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Chicago View of Unity/UFT on Charters

After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings — though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.

Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance

Ed Notes Greatest Hits: HSA Rally and Founding of GEM

SEE MY VIDEO ON HARLEM SUCCESS RALLY 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEp7rg_L5JI

Angel Gonzalez and I attended that rally and used the footage to promote our conference on Mar. 28, 2009, which is where the concept of a group like GEM emerged. Until then we had basically been a committee of ICE working with the NYCORE high stakes testing group. The actions of Eva and crew helped spawn GEM. Mommie Dearest!!

I have more video somewhere. I was hoping to get Leni Riefenstahl to edit it but she died. We would have called it "Triumph of the Hedge Fund Operators."

Ed Notes Extended

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Ohanian Lays Waste to Common Core (Once Again)

1 comment: