There seems to be two camps in education. One is happy that Louis C.K. spoke out about Common Core and testing. They have posted and re-posted on Facebook his stint on David Letterman. The other side is not happy about the attention celebrities get if the topic is education. They believe the celebs only distract […]
Announcing My New Website Format and Blog!
My new website covers Activism and School Curriculum and I still have the Blog. It is more manageable now. Point and clink on the title and the link should appear. The Activism site focuses on groups , organizations and people who are currently working to oppose the harmful reform taking place in our public schools. […]
The Lawsuits Students Really Deserve in New York City and the Rest of the Country!
Aren’t there some fine lawyers who would, preferably with pro-bono work, support families who have children with disabilities, all kinds of disabilities, or children who have second language hurdles, or the really really poor children, to sue the charter operators and their rich donors for denying these students a slot in their elite charter schools? […]
SAT Scores Damned Public Schools and Teachers for Years—Why a Facelift NOW?
We’re told the SAT needs a facelift to level the playing field and make the test more relevant for disadvantaged students. Whoa! Let’s rewind that tape a bit shall we? The SAT has been used for years to damn public schools and teachers who were unjustly accused for not preparing all students well enough for […]
Do Americans Love Their Children?—Yes! Many of them DO!
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (New International Version) A while back I was talking with a friend about school problems, and she surprised me by saying “America doesn’t love its children!” I was taken aback. I’d never […]
The Soulless Practice of Using Students with Disabilities to Fire Teachers—Remembering a Better World
How’s this for compassion in the new public school accountability world? By now most people have read about the Ethan Rediske situation in Orlando. The 11 year old, blind, with brain damage and cerebral palsy, as he lay dying in a Hospice, was required to take an alternative version of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test […]
Huge Class Sizes and the Increase in Student Mental Health Problems—Connect the Dots!
The New York Times has an article having to do with large class sizes. It’s all about the push to put more kids in classrooms and schools with fewer teachers and specialists. This is happening around the country in every school. It is happening without any thought to the recent tragic events in our public […]
If You Feel Like Grandma Who Got Run Over By a Reindeer—Don’t Despair!
If your child is doing well and you are happy about public school you probably don’t need to read any further. If your house is decorated well enough to win a Martha Stewart contest, and your Christmas dinner was cooked and frozen in neat Zip Lock bags and Rubbermaid containers weeks ago, then you can […]
Hey! Who’s that With the Baby Grand on their Back?
Memphis and the surrounding suburbs have been through quite a lot of “churning” with the school merger of the city schools with the county schools. Most everyone spots the corporate fingerprints. They’re all over the place. Chain charters, Teach for America, The New Teacher Project, Common Core, etc. are, with the help of Stand for […]
Less High-Stakes Testing—More Focus on Mental Health and Personalized Schooling
This past week saw yet again two horrible instances of violence—once again at schools. Two popular teachers are gone, along with a troubled student. Another student will possibly be tried as an adult and prosecuted. Again we wonder whether public schools do much to help disturbed students. In both these situations, unless something new pops […]