Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Limits of School Reform By JOE NOCERA

The Limits of School Reform By JOE NOCERA: "The Limits of School Reform By JOE NOCERA 'Yet the reformers act as if a student’s home life is irrelevant.. . .What needs to be acknowle..."

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Geoffrey Canada in Greenville: Listen with Caution

Geoffrey Canada has attained a leading voice in education reform, spurred primarily by media hype that ignores many serious problems with his messages and his Harlen Children's Zone (HCZ). Canada will likely continue to be afforded extensive and unchallenged access to presenting his messages, but anyone listening should listen with caution--and should be fully informed.

Thomas, P. L. (2011, April 11). Accountability? Start at the top. OpEdNews.com http://www.opednews.com/articles/Accountability-Start-at-t-by-Paul-Thomas-110411-375.html

-----. (2011, March 27). Journalists, media fail education reform debate. OpEdNews.com. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Journalists-Media-Fail-Ed-by-Paul-Thomas-110326-816.html  

-----. (2011, January 10). Supermen or kryptonite?—Legend of the fall, pt. V. The Daily Censored. http://dailycensored.com/2011/01/10/superman-or-kryptonite%E2%80%94legend-of-the-fall-pt-v/

-----. (2010, November 28). Our faith in a "culture of poverty" never left. The Daily Censored. http://dailycensored.com/2010/11/28/our-faith-in-a-culture-of-poverty-never-left/

-----. (2010, August 17). Reconsidering education "miracles." OpEdNews.com. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Reconsidering-Education-M-by-P-L-Thomas-100816-438.html   

Test scores? Look at the child's home

New study from Florida reveals--again--that out-of-school factors strongest when looking at education outcomes:

"Researchers discovered the groups’ socio-economic level corresponded with their group ranking on FCAT scores. The most affluent lifestyle group registered the highest FCAT scores, the second richest group ranked second in test scores, and so on. On the math tests, the gap between the highest and lowest scoring lifestyle groups was more than two grade levels."

[But someone needs to inform the journalists that poverty is not a "lifestyle."]

Friday, April 22, 2011

New piece at truthout

New piece at truthout: "Why Advocacy and Market Forces Fail Education Reform Why advocacy and market forces fail education reform Why Advocacy and Market Forces Fa..."

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Finalnd, school reform, and children playing

The Children Must Play

What the United States could learn from Finland about education reform.

Notice that there is no mention of teacher merit pay, standards-based testing, vouchers or anything that is coming from politicians and self-proclaimed education leaders in the U.S.