tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.comments2023-04-24T23:09:57.655-04:00All Things EducationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger637125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-12224610308212632632016-11-13T21:49:07.972-05:002016-11-13T21:49:07.972-05:00Thanks for the good post Rachel. And Amen on payin...Thanks for the good post Rachel. And Amen on paying for journalism. To keep actual investigative journalism alive, every progressive who can afford it should cough up the bucks for a new long-form subscription. Anyone else like The Baffler? Derek Hoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788619739997805477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-40174098416152543592016-03-14T15:05:04.444-04:002016-03-14T15:05:04.444-04:00In my experience of working inside an inner-city s...In my experience of working inside an inner-city school district which early sold itself out to "test-score reformers," the process of hearing public voices was quickly turned into a shallow "legal" game -- where so long as the district went through the motions of pretending to hear a community along the lines of a set time-frame? There never once was a change in their initially invasive intentions.ciedie aechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00443601825150518035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-88481967814897518392016-02-01T22:48:10.989-05:002016-02-01T22:48:10.989-05:00Rachel has it right. I have three articles on this...Rachel has it right. I have three articles on this subject at:<br />http://jimhopkins.com<br /><br />Jim Hopkins, member<br />Orange County School BoardAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15344196965816911298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-23488696128128873172015-07-09T23:36:50.916-04:002015-07-09T23:36:50.916-04:00I might contact you in the future to help edit my ...I might contact you in the future to help edit my book about the future of education. The book is a systems book and addresses Mr. Anonymous's problem that comes with today's teaching. Thanks David Naiff for the reference.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-285768160326909002015-07-03T14:30:51.263-04:002015-07-03T14:30:51.263-04:00I can attest to Rachel's editing skills. If yo...I can attest to Rachel's editing skills. If you want thoughtful, thorough feedback on your manuscript, she's your person!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03298630744392479762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-58723750855009527332015-05-12T01:36:50.569-04:002015-05-12T01:36:50.569-04:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Vivek Jainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-5161722060193879702015-05-11T09:02:13.219-04:002015-05-11T09:02:13.219-04:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Rachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-10387909915013729702015-05-10T11:36:13.834-04:002015-05-10T11:36:13.834-04:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Vivek Jainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-20984129169390093962015-05-10T11:35:47.363-04:002015-05-10T11:35:47.363-04:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Vivek Jainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-17802881559718481222015-02-25T16:08:59.174-05:002015-02-25T16:08:59.174-05:00Let’s also talk about the attacks on teachers’ pen...Let’s also talk about the attacks on teachers’ pensions across this country: http://teacherpoetmusicianglenbrown.blogspot.com/search/label/pension%20analysesgbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-84223569540023398342015-02-18T23:20:07.366-05:002015-02-18T23:20:07.366-05:00Another interesting thing about the GRE. Most coll...Another interesting thing about the GRE. Most colleges don't care! When I called one of my prosepective graduate schools they said that the GRE is usually the last thing they look at when deciding whether or not to accept you<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://gre-examtips.blogspot.com/2012/04/application-for-scholarship.html" rel="nofollow">college scholarships</a> nancy johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693074677100549710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-61162479395203066732015-01-29T13:53:58.865-05:002015-01-29T13:53:58.865-05:00I worked in a private school where the term 'g...I worked in a private school where the term 'grit' was used mostly with students who received learning support services. As in, "So-and-so isn't reading on grade level, but she sure has a lot of grit!" during parent conferences. I always thought it was a way to break it gently to parents that their children wouldn't be able to compete in an academic sense, but basically would die trying. Many of the students who received learning support services from this affluent private school were typically minority students on scholarship. Coincidence?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05561480583907649424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-28752527896733142042015-01-22T09:31:56.674-05:002015-01-22T09:31:56.674-05:00Hi Rachel,
This is a really interesting post. The...Hi Rachel,<br /><br />This is a really interesting post. There is one point I would like to clarify. E. D. Hirsch and all of us with Core Knowledge completely agree that the canon does and should change over time. Hirsch's point is simply that we must teach what is currently taken for granted (that's what is determined by history) so that all students have equal access to essential information. In addition, we should also teach those things that have not (yet) entered the canon, yet are valuable. In fact, we periodically update the Core Knowledge Sequence and we encourage educators to add content when they develop their curriculum based on the Sequence. The Sequence is only supposed to take about two-thirds of instructional time, so there should be time to build in those things that will advance our society. To give all students an equal playing field, they should all have an equal opportunity to learn the existing canon. And to help our society improve, all students should learn a great deal more than what's currently taken for granted.<br /><br />Best,<br />Lisa HanselLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09021121081888876704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-30489081857197586122014-10-27T11:42:23.668-04:002014-10-27T11:42:23.668-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Myra Richardsonhttp://www.marythorsondocfilm.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-27069981579740338052014-07-31T15:34:24.217-04:002014-07-31T15:34:24.217-04:00I see. So, the way to stop discrimination on the b...I see. So, the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race? That's a very seductive line of reasoning. It's even been made by the United States Chief Supreme Court Justice! But it doesn't seduce me. And it's offensive to suggest that saying there should be more teachers of color = reifying/ embracing one of spurious planks that supported slavery.<br /><br />Derek, this is not about winning an argument high school debate club style; it's about having a conversation.Rachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-27865613668010415952014-07-30T19:44:18.867-04:002014-07-30T19:44:18.867-04:00Rachel, everything you write is correct. But the p...Rachel, everything you write is correct. But the problem is, in the end, the equal protection clause demands just that, including in the hiring process. Again, I support a whole host of programs to address this problem, maybe quite left-wing (if we could tax the rich to support scholarships to broaden access to teaching, great), but not hiring based on skin color. .. Separately, it's an interesting argument to suggest that because the social construction of race was use to justify slavery, we should therefore continue to reify it. Perhaps. Or we could work toward getting away from one of the spurious planks that supported slavery. Derek Hoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788619739997805477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-75420856836370502292014-07-30T15:47:11.555-04:002014-07-30T15:47:11.555-04:00@L. Jablonski: Thanks for sharing this. We (meanin...@L. Jablonski: Thanks for sharing this. We (meaning my husband and children and I) actually lived in Oakland, just for two years, and sent our boys to OUSD for kindergarten.<br /><br />Anyway, yes, what your friend describes I am worried is happening to a whole generation (or two) of black education professionals in DC. I am working on a follow-up post as we speak that takes a look at some of the teacher and student demographic data out of DC. <br />Rachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-57348334803905149022014-07-30T14:57:59.264-04:002014-07-30T14:57:59.264-04:00Rachel, your last paragraph is most salient for me...Rachel, your last paragraph is most salient for me. It brought to mind frequent conversations about politics and ed reform I had over the past decade with a recently-retired colleague and friend, a black foreign language teacher, who logged a much-celebrated 30-year career in public schools, first in Oakland then in Sacramento. Among his most important points, which he came back to over and over again, was that in majority black communities like the Oakland where he grew up, black teachers, especially black women, were indeed present in significant numbers. Both his mother and grandmother were public school teachers. He had black teachers as role models from elementary through high school (always crediting his parents and teachers with charting the path that got him from Oakland to UC Berkeley just up the road). Despite obstacles I will never know, black teachers and admin built long-lasting professional, respected middle class careers with good benefits and retirements. And since the 60s and 70s, many were unionized. He warned from the early days of ed reform, that the focus on standardized test-based improvement metrics, neighborhood school closures, charters, a business school approach to "closing the achievement gap," and de-unionization -- all occurring as an outgrowth of relentlessly shifting American political, economic and social structures --would undoubtedly hit the black teaching community the hardest. In fact, he brought this up at his retirement party, telling some of us that he really believed there would be very few like him or his mother or grandmother ever again in the public school teaching corps going forward...it was a poignant and revelatory statement. L. Jablonskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07816573634500120041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-37954829180412992202014-07-30T00:48:55.569-04:002014-07-30T00:48:55.569-04:00@Derek
Thanks for reading ad for commenting. The ...@Derek<br /><br />Thanks for reading ad for commenting. The thing is that the practice of "we need to evaluate on teaching, not skin pigment" is a "colorblind" concept.<br /><br />Yes, race aka skin pigment is a social construct. But unfortunately, that was what was used to justify slavery and to justify all that has followed. In the process of racism, experiences are shared by certain groups of people even if the groups were arbitrarily assigned by skin pigment.<br /><br />Hence, experiences vis a vis racism have become part of who we are, and what we have to share with students as teachers, whether we mean to or not. And also, relationships between teachers and students can be (though are certainly not always) key in the learning process. These things become part of what kind of teachers we are and what kind of teaching we practice. And I want my children and all children to learn from people of all of these different perspectives and cultures and I want students of color to be able to learn from at least some people, or some more people in some places, who might share their perspective and culture.<br /><br />And I think that's what so many of the current reformers miss; they think that good teaching (maybe pedagogy?) and what you have to teach (maybe curriculum?) are things that exist in some objective, un-biased, baggage-less, quantifiably measurable vacuum, and they don't. <br /><br />Perhaps it's different or less intense in larger college lectures, I don't know.<br /><br />But doesn't it kind of seem like, when you look at the numbers (and I will present some on DC soon), that the reformers who came into DC and New Orleans pretty much decided that "My school district hires too many black teachers"? That's what it kind of looked to me and I think that that's what it might have felt like to the people there.<br />Rachel Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06844728669493681943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-38865445139235429372014-07-29T13:48:35.443-04:002014-07-29T13:48:35.443-04:00Rachel, imagine if the headline read "My scho...Rachel, imagine if the headline read "My school district hires too many Black teachers" instead. I guess I'm with the conservatives a bit on this one. Of course we need to do all we can to improve access to college for minorities, and to promote teaching as a career, and I absolutely love the idea of working to increase the amount of Black teachers in White schools, and of course anybody who talks about a "color blind" society is most likely stupid and even more likely white and privileged. But in the end -- at the point of the hiring, not all the prior stuff you correctly write about -- we need to evaluate on teaching, not skin pigment. Regardless, it's not so easy to identify who is "white" and who is "black." Derek Hoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788619739997805477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-15301512076240752992014-07-20T12:38:29.754-04:002014-07-20T12:38:29.754-04:00Good piece Rachel and yes everyone should read the...Good piece Rachel and yes everyone should read the two New Yorker articles. Derek Hoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788619739997805477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-50812068863321060662014-07-09T17:31:11.588-04:002014-07-09T17:31:11.588-04:00a wonderfully written response to DCPS's exiti...a wonderfully written response to DCPS's exiting question. Wonder if they even pay the responses any attention? Weeks after retiring I anxiously check the mail to see if there would be any response, well you guessed it, not one word. As I pondered on how to answer this question, I couldn't have come up with a more comprehensive answer as Olivia did. as I read her response it was as if I dictated this response to her.I too was a ward 8 teacher for all of my teaching career. I loved teaching. I was committed to my children, parents and their community. I had to deal with so many issues that my children came to school with that directly impacted their learning. I wont repeat what has already been said I will just simply say thank you Olivia for explaining so completely why we left sooner than we wanted and with much regret. Thank You Olivia.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-48439180775787551762014-06-29T15:43:09.844-04:002014-06-29T15:43:09.844-04:00This is simply incredible. I love the, for lack o...This is simply incredible. I love the, for lack of a better word, "balls" it took to write something like this. I recently left teaching at the high school level to pursue teaching at the collegiate level. While I absolutely love my job, I have seen the problems that are in K-12 education filter up into higher ed. I've seen my graduate professors have to analyze the amount of hours students are spending reading, writing, etc. and justifying it to the powers that be. I've experienced what it's like to be severely under paid and over worked. For these reasons, among many more, I too am considering leaving education. Thank you for the saddening yet inspiring post!<br /><br />Mackenzie<br /><br /><i><b><a href="http://brownbagacademics.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Brownbag Academics</a></b></i>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00925732213808179771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-73178415099176906392014-04-03T08:30:53.279-04:002014-04-03T08:30:53.279-04:00Good post. And this: "I'm wondering if th...Good post. And this: "I'm wondering if there's a disconnect between public education activists who are anti-charter and parents of color who send their children to charter schools."<br /><br />Um yeah, no s***! See this, for example: http://horacemanifesto.tumblr.com/post/80396504281/the-racial-myopia-of-diane-ravitchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2836584065506164163.post-30451059915461022872014-04-02T03:16:05.906-04:002014-04-02T03:16:05.906-04:00A very similar bill, HB 1006, permitting similar c...A very similar bill, HB 1006, permitting similar carry-over tax credits of up to solely $1000 for constant expenses, was submitted by completely different delegate in 2012John Peterhttp://www.axuedu.com/noreply@blogger.com