In reading through the usual vitriol over Teach for America in a variety of blogs, traditional media pieces, and on Twitter, it occurs to me that, as far as I know, none of the most vocal critics of TFA are parents of children who actually sit in the classrooms of TFA corps members every day.… Continue reading The Mom Lens Matters Too, Even When it Comes to TFA
Longtime PBS education correspondent John Merrow has squandered his limited capital as a fair-minded journalist with his odious musings about Kaya Henderson, Washington DC’s outstanding school chancellor, accusing her of “educational malpractice.” If John Merrow would like to have a discussion about “educational malpractice,” there are countless parents and teachers across this nation who’d jump… Continue reading Journalistic Malpractice
It’s not surprising that parents and education advocates have reacted with disbelief at the decision by the now former assistant superintendent to place color coded stickers on the backs of certain SAND Elementary students. Chris Hempel, second in charge of the district of Hartford, Connecticut, erred in judgement when he decided to label kids with… Continue reading Stickers on Kids with Special Needs? Despite Resignation, Parents Still Demanding Information and a Better Apology
Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, and Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow at Fordham and teacher and senior advisor at Democracy Prep, focus almost an entire 25 minute podcast on the education happenings of Massachusetts. Here’s what they dig into: MCAS/PARCC hybrid assessment Governor Baker’s new workforce skills initiative Harvard’s new teacher training… Continue reading Petrilli and Pondiscio are ‘All About that Baystate’
A new piece by John Mooney at NJ Spotlight reveals that New Jersey is outperforming most other states but still trails Massachusetts, a frequent test score leader. Mooney also points out that the other PARCC states of my state of Rhode Island, as well as Arkansas and Colorado performed markedly worse than both New Jersey… Continue reading Massachusetts still leads, New Jersey Strongly in Second, and Rhode Island trails far behind on PARCC
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA It is unclear to me why Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post feels the need to turn a story about an exciting new teacher prep program at Harvard into a quasi hit piece on Teach For America. The headline and even the first couple of paragraphs focus on a unique and… Continue reading Stifle the Slant Please
