Alyssa Hadley Dunn Assistant Professor, Urban Teacher Education at Michigan State University Katie Plemmons 9th grade teacher Dear Policymakers and Admins: Here's Your Back-to-School 'Supply' List Around the country, a new school year has just begun and students (and their parents and guardians) have been given extensive supply lists, with everything from pencils and binders to hand sanitizer and paper towels. Teachers have also been spending inordinate amounts of money out-of-pocket in order to make their classrooms inviting spaces and to purchase class sets of supplies. But there are still many things needed to make this year successful for public educators. Thus, our list below offers suggestions for what "supplies" (both literal and figurative) administrators and policymakers can provide for their teachers this year. *** Dear Policymakers and Administrators, Here is your back-to-school "supply" list for this academic year. Some of the supplies listed are for students, some are for teachers, and some are for you, so that you can better understand what teachers need and do. We'll start with the "easy" supplies first -- the literal ones. Enough textbooks for every student (that are up-to-date, in good condition, and reflect a wide range of diverse content) Enough desks for every student Notebooks (for our students who cannot afford them and for you to write down our stories so our voices might actually be able to be heard in your policymaking decisions) Pre-sharpened pencils (seriously, after sharpening a 72-pack, we end up with blisters) Pencil sharpeners that (1) actually work and (2) will continue to work for the entirety of the year A multi-colored pack of dry erase markers (because sometimes bright colors help brighten our days) Class sets of crayons and markers (which will be much more useful if you can restore art to our schools) Working copiers and printers and paper (and the freedom to make copies without having a paper or toner quota) At least one computer per classroom and a computer lab that has enough computers for each student in our classes and that is available when we need it (not occupied for online state testing requirements) Tape and glue sticks (which can help with putting back together what neoliberalreforms have managed to destroy in public education) 50 boxes of tissues (because once cold season hits, we probably go through a box a day) Calculator (It doesn't need to be a fancy one, just one that has enough functions to determine a fair pay for teachers that also includes stable benefits) Those are all fairly easy to accomplish, right? Now comes the more challenging list of things that teachers need this year, the intangibles that will help to maintain their professionalism, commitment, passion, creativity, and integrity. Class assignments that we are actually qualified and prepared to teach Enough advance notice of our course schedule to adequately prepare for the first two weeks of school (at least!) Professional development that is engaging, relevant, and contextualized to our local needs and questions Announcements of policies before school starts, rather than having new rules implemented on the eighth, eighteenth, or eightieth day Class sizes that are reasonable, teachable, good for individualized and personal instruction (and, lest we forget, legal) Time to plan with their grade-level, content-area, or co-teaching team, both prior to the first day of school and during the school year An evaluation system that is fair, meaningful, constructive, and timely enough to be helpful, and the recognition that not everything that counts can be counted. Freedom from scripted curricula that fails to recognize not only their talents as educators but that ignores their students' individual needs and funds of knowledge And, while we're at it -- a curriculum that is critical, culturally sustaining, anddiverse -- not that is based solely on a standardized test Your trust in our ability to discuss important and sensitive topics like racism, sexism, and homophobia -- and your understanding that these issues are deeply connected to teaching and learning, not something "extra" or "irrelevant" A school discipline plan that supports teachers, but not one of zero tolerance that contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline, especially for students of color Administrators who are approachable, who listen, and who respond to questions, concerns, and requests in a timely manner Job security, also known as the right to due process in case of termination, also known (in some states) as tenure Respect for the profession and for the institution of public education, to which teachers are deeply committed While some of these things can be purchased at the nearest office supply store, others will not stretch the budget as much as they might stretch your (and others') ideas of equitable, quality, and meaningful learning. Teachers around the country would love to start a new school year with these "supplies" in their classrooms and these ideas in your hearts and minds.
Tips For Fixing The Nation’s Education System Public schools throughout the nation continue to contend with budget shortfalls and insufficient classroom resources, while U.S. test scores remain far behind those of many other developed nations. Here are measures that can be taken to fix America’s troubled education system: Discourage teacher turnover by downplaying the importance of having money and respect Limit school shootings to once a year in order to give students more time to focus on schoolwork Allow students from disadvantaged areas to be bussed into stronger schools, such as those in Finland or South Korea Maybe get some underprepared, overconfident recent college graduates in there to figure things out Federal law that prevents Dylan from raising his hand and wasting everybody’s time with the wrong answer Get rid of fungi unit Begin offering tenure to children who have been in the public school system for more than three years Offset the failures of the education system by de-emphasizing the importance of success, self-worth, and intellectual ability in our culture at large Tattoo grades on foreheads to shame low performers Toss Northrop Grumman another $4.5 billion and see what kind of curriculum it pumps out Whatever you do, don’t change anything about a property-tax-based funding system in which rich schools get richer while poor schools get poorer. That’s working just fine. Cut losses and reallocate funding to nation’s prison system (the Onion)
Wednesday was Constitution Day, but many Americans need to brush up on their knowledge of the basic structure of government the Constitution created. A survey released this week showed that only a little more than a third of adults — 36 percent — can name all three branches of government, and a whopping 35 percent couldn't name any branches of government at all. Current political knowledge is fuzzy, too. Only 38 percent of Americans can correctly identify which party controls the House or the Senate right now, while more than 40 percent didn't even feel qualified to guess at the leadership of each house of Congress. These kind of poll results are nothing new. A similar survey from 2011 found that 27 percent of Americans recognized Randy Jackson as an American Idol judge, while only 15 percent could correctly name the chief justice of the Supreme Court. And research from last year revealed thathalf of Americans can't find Syria on a map — though now they support bombing it. Bonnie Kristian
check out "I Got Schooled" book and documentary http://www.c-span.org/video/?316069-1/book-discussion-got-schooled the thing that got me was, if you only counted suburban schools, we would rank first in the world, even beating the shit out of Finland if you only counted inner city schools we would rank below just about everybody
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/.../12/10/m-night-shyamalantalkstoalivelshi.html a little more concise for anybody that cares about education
Bill Clinton weighed in on the debate over charter schools this week, warning that the publicly funded yet autonomous schools must keep their “original bargain” if they want support as alternatives to traditional public schools. The Huffington Post reports that in remarks before a dinner hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday, the former president hailed the potential of charter schools, even as he called on them to be held to high standards. Clinton cited New Orleans, whose post-Katrina public schools are 100 percent charter. While casting New Orleans’ experience with charters as a success story, he added an important caveat. Charter schools aren’t worth supporting, Clinton suggested, unless they perform better than traditional public schools. “They still haven’t done what no state has really done adequately,” Clinton told the group, “which is to set up a review system to keep the original bargain of charter schools, which was if they weren’t outperforming the public model, they weren’t supposed to get their charter renewed.” Clinton’s statement is stunning once you consider its implications. Research shows that the vast majority of charter schools in the U.S. haven’t cleared that hurdle. A study at Stanford University last year found that only 25 percent of charter schools fare better than traditional schools in reading. In math, only 29 percent of charters do better. Nineteen percent of charters actually did worse in reading, while 31 percent were worse in math; the rest weren’t significantly different from traditional public schools. While Democratic Party centrists in Clinton’s mold have been some of the most enthusiastic cheerleaders for charter schools, Clinton’s comments come as many within the Democratic Party are pushing back against so-called education reformers who want to dismantle teacher protections and increase the number of charter schools. In response to the rise of such groups as Campbell Brown’s Partnership for Educational Justice (chaired by Democratic trial lawyer David Boies) and Democrats for Education Reform, Democrats including operative Donna Brazile, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm this summer formed Democrats for Public Education. The group’s launch underscored that while many of the party’s financial backers support an anti-union, pro-charter agenda, the “reform” movement’s actions are starting to trigger a powerful reaction within the party. Luke Brinker
I haven't read the book, but I've seen two interviews with the author the most staggering fact is if you test all white suburban schools in the USA we rank first in the world. And by a very large margin, leaving Finland way behind. If you test just inner city black schools we rank almost last in the world, even lower than most third world countries