The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have a quote on their website that says “Nobody knows teaching like teachers.” If they believe that, why don’t they let teachers teach the way they know best? Or, why don’t they ask them what they need to teach better? Instead, Mr. and Mrs. Gates are going to now […]
The POWER of Picture Books v. High-Stakes Testing & Common Core
In 2010, I read an article in The New York Times that both saddened and infuriated me. In “Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children” by Julie Bosman we learned about a bookstore in Brookline, MA, a beautiful community surrounded by Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc., where parents were rejecting picture books. They skipped buying […]
Response to Intervention: Derailed!
Response to Intervention (RtI) is assessment all children get, starting early, in order to determine if they need special assistance to address learning disabilities. It has been plugged as “research” or “scientifically-based” programming to identify problems in young children so they can avoid special education. Those descriptors were often used, sometimes unjustifiably so, with programs […]
Professional Teachers—Click, Click! Poof! You’re Gone!
The attack on teacher education is fast and furious. Privatizing America’s public schools means getting rid of career teachers who support instruction geared to a child’s needs. A way to purge the country of real teachers is to extinguish their teacher education programs and make teaching look like a regimented practice that any drill sergeant […]
What’s Innovative about Charter Schools?
What is innovative about charter schools? What do they do that is so unique it has provided traditional public schools with new methods of working with students? I often hear politicians and charter advocates praising charter schools for what they can give public schools in the way of new ideas. I am wondering what innovations […]
What’s Scary to Kids: Having Dyslexia and Being Held Back in Third Grade!
With certain states jumping on the retention bandwagon, even though we know retention doesn’t work, where do students with dyslexia fit? Students with reading difficulties should not have to flunk third grade to get the help they deserve. Many children with reading difficulties, who do not have IEPs, are being held back. In fact, probably […]
“High Expectations” and the Criminalization of America’s Students
By now most of us have seen the video of the resource officer using brute force to yank a female student out of her desk. Appalling, most agree. But this country has been criminalizing students, if not violently, inhumanely and subtly, in their schools for a long time. Why do Americans put up with it? […]
President Obama’s Testing Remarks: What about Students with Disabilities?
The President suddenly cares about children and too much testing. What about all the students with disabilities that have been tested poorly or unnecessarily for years? I shouldn’t say his sudden remarks. As many bloggers pointed out over the weekend, he has a long list of comments against high-stakes tests from the past. His actions […]
Oregon Officials Wonder Why Children Act out: Maybe It’s Because…
They’ve got behavioral problems in Oregon. Kids throwing tantrums, despondence, and there’s plenty of physical aggression to go around. Officials don’t know why. Their data isn’t helping much–and they can’t figure it out–exactly. They know many of the children live in poverty. They might be traumatized due to violence in their lives, and this could […]
Hey Bill & Melinda! Here’s What’s Hard for ELLs
By Linda Chantal Sullivan As I read Nancy Bailey’s blog post, “Challenge to the Common Core King and Queen: Get Involved Really!,” I found myself vigorously nodding my head in agreement. How ridiculous that Bill and Melinda Gates say reforming our education system is the hardest job they’ve ever tackled. I was thinking, “Yeah, you […]