standards
How Convenient
Tea parties issue demands to Tennessee legislators » The Commercial Appeal The material calls for lawmakers to amend state laws governing school curriculums, and for textbook selection criteria to say that “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority [...]
Interesting discussion on the value of Teach for America
The Answer Sheet – Valerie vs. Jay on Teach for America, KIPP, etc. Valerie vs. Jay on Teach for America, KIPP, etc. Ultimately, I think I have to side with Jay Mathews on this one. I think Valerie Strauss misses the point. Teach for America isn’t saying that you need “elites” in public schools to [...]
Does anyone else think that these might be related?
Hoodlums – Ta-Nehisi Coates – National – The Atlantic There are roughly 2.3 million people in jails and prisons in America, more than any country in the world. The United States has 756 people in jail per 100,000 people. No other country has more than 700, and only two are over 600 Russia (629) and [...]
The problem of viewing everything through partisan glasses
EducationNews.org – A Leading Global News Source – Texas high-schoolers to learn about conservative, but not liberal, groups under new standards Board member Don McLeroy, R-College Station, offered the amendment requiring coverage of “key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.” McLeroy said he offered the proposal because the history [...]
Tell me this isn’t just politics
Texas refuses federal school funds But Perry said Texas “reserves the right to decide how we educate our children and not surrender that control to the federal bureaucracy.” Perry’s objections seem to center on the fact that the grant rules give preference to states that sign on to a push for national curriculum standards. Perry [...]
If they’re allowed to do whatever they want, then they didn’t break the law
More on the Texas SBOE’s rejection of a third grade math book. Now the majority has voted to strike the minority reports from the official record of the board’s minutes. It seems that while our San Antonio representative couldn’t bring himself to vote on the original matter, he has joined the majority in censoring the [...]
Because they don’t like it
Rejection of math textbook sparks debate on state board’s authority | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News The state Board of Education’s unusual decision to reject a math textbook used by Dallas and 70 other Texas school districts has evolved into a power struggle over the approval of classroom materials [...]
If it’s good enough for George Bush…
Star-Telegram.com: | 01/10/2008 | Report gives an average grade to Texas education Texas gets a C for public education, according to Education Week’s 12th annual Quality Counts report. Because Texas is interested in producing future presidents. Technorati Tags: Texas Education, Education Week’s Quality Counts, Education rankings
This wouldn’t have anything to do with athletics?
Senate panel votes to toughen no-pass, no-play | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas Southwest: Although the standard requires students to earn at least a 70 in every subject to participate in extracurricular events, lawmakers authorized school principals to exempt students in honors and advanced placement courses so they wouldn’t be [...]
Accountability
There are so many who want education reform based on “running a business” and accountability that I think it’s time to explain the situation in language they should understand. Let’s pretend that you run a plant nursery. You sell a healthy, well-kept tree to your customer. You give them fertilizer and detailed instructions. You might [...]