Diane Ravitch has a link up to the discussion on the Washington Post. You can’t let President Obama off the hook, as is discussed–he picked Arne Duncan and actually praised No Child Left a Mind while slobbering over Bush at the dedication to the *cough* library.
No one who cares about public education and children can endorse No Child Left a Mind. Only someone with a narrow view and narrow mind can believe it is a success. Those with $$ in their eyes, that is….
Diane Ravitch has a blog up on the new standard, Common Core for the public schools in NYC.
From The Economist comments section:
the new testing regime encourages a wider opening of the class gulf by giving teachers an incentive to compete for students with strong skills, excellent home support, and private resources to purchase any necessary tutoring to get Junior up to snuff. Who will stand up for the child of a poor single parent who can’t afford Khan Academy tutoring, doesn’t know enough algebra to help, and doesn’t have time to walk her/his child through the mountains of test preparation homework dispensed in the months leading up to this?
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Word. The poor kids with no one at home who can help them and no money for tutoring and coming to school hungry because single Mom can’t afford breakfast…depressing….
An incident popped into my head when reading the comments on the link she provides to The Economist (strange that a story on education would end up there, eh?) Anyway, being 34, the college I wanted to attend had required I take entrance exams a second time (the first time was the SAT’s in h.s.). Algebra and Trigonometry were part of the exam. I didn’t take the college prep courses in high school because I didn’t think I’d ever get to go to college (even though I wanted to)….so you could have knocked me over with a feather when the admissions counselor told me that I passed the Math test and could opt out of the pre-Math courses. I think I actually laughed that I passed them without taking classes….which goes to show that exams shouldn’t have as much weight as they do. I mean, I got decent grades in Math (B’s)…but did not know the material before taking the class—it would have been a disaster for me to opt-out. Maybe, just maybe, I had a few Algebra and Trig problems while in h.s., because, if I recall correctly, textbooks at that time had problems for the next grade level at the back of the book, in order to prepare the students for the next year. This might explain at least some of it.
Additionally, when I was in college, the ADD was bad and even though I studied my butt off for several hours and knew my subject matter, I still only got B’s and sometimes C’s because of poor test taking. My mind would be all over the place. This is another reason that testing shouldn’t be given the weight that it does–I knew the material, but you wouldn’t know it by the test.
Also, the university I began at had a much better support system with excellent tutors available to help unravel the Math mysteries. The university I went to after the initial classes–the one I graduated from–deliberately made Math very difficult. I think this was to “weed out” the students…after all, most of the professions that pay well involve Math. If you have a lot of folks who can do Math, well then, you don’t have exclusivity, do you? Harder to justify higher salaries when there are more folks who can do those jobs.
Lastly, testing aside, parents DO need to take an active role in supplementing their child’s teacher’s efforts. AND even question their teachers when appropriate. I had to do this twice –once when my middle child was having difficulty learning to read. Her 1st Grade teacher was frustrated and going to label her as “stupid”…I could see the handwriting on the wall. I went to the precious gift of the library and checked out books on teaching kids to read, since I didn’t know how to help her—she was getting stuck on the words “a” , “and” and “the”….I luckily (or guided 🙂 found a book on Dyslexia. I discovered that she was dyslexic. And I discovered that I was, too. Dyslexics have a hard time with a, and, the—because they learn to read by visualizing a picture in their head–b-a-l-l is a round thing they can bounce….they can’t picture a, and,the—because they don’t represent any *one* thing. I checked out a Phonics book and began sitting down with her every night and eventually she *got it*. She graduated from the same university many years later 😉
The second time I had to question my child’s teachers was when they were going to “Whole Language” — a stupid program that didn’t teach Phonics. I wouldn’t have it and protested it. I got a bunch of flack for it, but I went ahead and checked out the Phonics book a second time to help my third child to read, too. Incidentally, I also protested a change in class organization, when they were going to make the 2nd graders switch classes….like they were in middle school…to have two different teachers during the day. I protested that because I believe the younger kids need to have one teacher for consistency…little ones need that security. I was sent a condescending note that “they were sorry that I wouldn’t be joining them…” As if everyone else didn’t have a problem with it, so why did I?
I have been meaning to get back to this–earthships has a presence in Haiti. Absolutely wonderful the work that they’re doing….it’s sustainable, and helps them to help themselves…I’m in awe of the ingenuity of the design, as always.
I have questions, however, of the tires being used as a collection of the sewage water. As the solids break down, which takes some time, won’t that bring the toxic chemicals of the tires with it as it leaches back into the soil and the plants?
Parts I love–the hand crank rock crusher (using something without electricity) and the artsy design (of course).
I’m uncertain from reading this page whether they’re still in Haiti…I hope so. Also, there is a donate button on the right of the page for Malawi, Africa.
…wow, there’s something going on when there are so many education posts in 24 hours.
I should mention the connection between the Bushes and the McGraw-Hill publishing house that publishes education texts and materials.
I picked up my college history book to look at the reference to Ronald Reagan again. It was a glowing report on him without much critical analysis of his actions nor was it all inclusive of his destruction of the Fairness Doctrine, unions, consolidation of the media markets, etc. I looked at the publisher: McGraw-Hill .
More on the profiteering by the Bushes here.
Yep, where there’s money to be made and destruction of society…you’ll find the Bushes and Cheneys….
Ball State is no longer supporting the charter schools in Indiana. (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun for the title)
One of them is the Imagine Schools here in FW. They’re not holding up under the test of time and students.
Here’s a story on it. (Side note~the Indiana Dunes/Lake Michigan is at the top of the webpage. It’s so cool that Indiana has this.)
Here’s the local take: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130123/EDIT07/301239992/1147/EDIT07
Related to this, high school graduates are not graduating on time.
I reeeeeallly hate to turn to faux news, but it’s the one with the most info: http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/news/students-not-graduating-on-time-high-school-dropou/nJ8dZ/
Notice how they immediately put the blame on the teachers, and then the parents. While both could be at fault, I take a longer look at this–
The No Child Left A Mind Act. It has now been torturing children since 2002, when W. signed it into law. (Note that speaker Boehner was a co-author)
From the site:
NCLB’s main focus is on skills in reading, writing and mathematics, which are areas related to economic success. Combined with the budget crises in the Late-2000s recession, some schools have cut or eliminated classes and resources for many subject areas that are not part of NCLB’s accountability standards.[32] Since 2007, almost 71% of schools have reduced some instruction time in subjects such as history, arts, language and music, in order to give more time and resources to mathematics and English.[33][34]
(italics are mine)
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The children graduating now and in the next year would have been subjected to this mind-numbing, controlling, micro-managing of schools and teachers for all of their education careers. This system has FAILED miserably, as the inability of these students to graduate on time and with the skills of life (not of business, mind you, but of life–schools are waaaay too influenced by the corporate “needs” instead of the country’s needs of an educated populace that can ask questions and analyze information in a way that is helpful towards sustaining a democracy.)
Another point of the above link was that they were saying the kids didn’t care and were disrespectful. The kids want out of school. This should be a red flag that something is terribly wrong when so many children hate school. We’re born with the natural curiosity in order to learn about our world and how to go about in it. Most kids love to learn, so if they’re not interested in it, then the fault is on the system, not the kids. And I believe the kids are disrespectful because they are repeatedly subjected to boring school days that don’t stimulate their creativity, don’t encourage them to think outside the box, subject them to endless tests, reading, math, reading, tests, reading, math, tests…you get the idea….they become angry because they know they’re being screwed. And they perceive the teachers as being at fault when the teacher is only doing what has been required of her–she cannot teach in a creative way while using her own intuition to conduct the class–she has a guide book that she must follow with little room for any creative expression either by her or her students.
When I was a substitute teacher, on one of the first assignments I got behind in class because we were doing Math and a student was having difficulty understanding the concept. The class day was so unbelievably structured that it didn’t allow for extra time, and I soon fell far behind and couldn’t get everything done that the teacher had outlined. She hit the roof when she came back to class later that day, because it meant she had to add everything I did not get done to the next day, which is also as structured with no time for extra. I never subbed for her again.
This up from common dreams.
…I used to steal my brother’s copy of MAD magazine. My mother had already branded me a tomboy because I liked playing with matchbox cars, so I had to sneak peaks at the mag without her knowledge. God, it was a funny magazine…and at times politically enlightening. Damn commies. 🙂
I was re-reading some of my old “Sew News” magazines from back in the day…
In one was an article on a super group of sewing enthusiasts who made quilts for needy babies. The group’s name is Newborns in Need, started by a lady by the name of Green (sorry, forgot to bring the mag with me to the library and can’t remember her first name) whom had read of stillborns who were being buried in paper bags. The group of ladies she was with thought it was some spoof or sensational story like those found in the tabloids. Green pursued the story, however, and tracked down the reporter. Indeed, the story was true.
She decided she would sew burial outfits for these babies, for which the mothers were grateful.
Somewhere along the line, however, she decided she’d rather sew quilts for the live babies….the “Newborns in Need” was created. She said that she didn’t know exactly how many quilts she and her circle of sewers made, but it was around 150 quilts per month. Her children also helped when they were pressed to get quilts to the babies. The article said her teenage sons would sew through the night trying to meet the need.
This article, like the magazine, was old–1997, so I wondered if the work was continuing. Green said that she had made a nonprofit corporation when she started it, but soon it became about power and money and the focus of the organization was being lost. She dissolved the corporation. So…I was wondering if it was still going…
It is. And I found that a hospital here in Fort Wayne is part of the network.
When I was really ill from the mercury, I lost the ability to sew. I used to sew my kids’ clothes and wanted to try quilting. I had seen these beautiful watercolor quilts in sewing books and wanted to try it. However, it coincided with the increase in mercury and my brain just could not wrap itself around the complexities of shades of color, patterns, and coordinating all of it. Heck, I couldn’t even sew a straight line. Seriously. My eyes were dimmed and I couldn’t focus on the line on the sewing machine to keep the material straight. Frustrating as hell, especially when I had previously sewn so many outfits. I didn’t understand or know about the mercury at the time.
As I have gotten better, the skill is coming back, but it is like re-learning it all over again. I don’t think non-sewers know or appreciate how difficult sewing is…you have to be able to cut straight (couldn’t do that when I was sick–eye/hand coordination wasn’t there), sew straight, and be able to envision what the directions are telling you and what the garment is supposed to look like when you’re done. Otherwise, it’s endless frustration with messing up over and over again.
So…I have a lot of fabric. The old joke is “she who dies with the most fabric wins”. Only a sewer in love with fabric and creativity would get that joke…:)
I think I’m going to try the quilting thing again…but I’m going to have to pace myself. I was detoxing yesterday (I’m doing epsom salt baths every other day as recommended by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, to detox, and boy is it working.)–and this seems to affect my eye-hand coordination because I was once again messing up pretty badly. I finally gave up after so many mistakes. I tried again this morning, and viola!
But, along with the music ability, it comes in spurts and long periods of no progress…I’m nervously trying to push myself a little to go out on a limb to make this quilt. I’m afraid if I get started, and then for whatever reason don’t feel up to it, that I’ll let people down. But I would like to sew these quilts for the babies in need. Sounds like a neat group.
We shall see…
Eagle 