Author Archive
Monday, March 23rd, 2015
Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools (©2014) by Diane Ravitch takes on the private-sector school leaders and the political officials behind our current reform movement. Diane exposes the many myths that have driven reform, and supplies solutions that we should seriously consider. If you want to know what’s wrong with education reform this book is a must. Be sure to click at the bottom of any page to get copies for concerned educators and parents you know.
Diane Ravitch
- Diane is a research professor at New York University. She served as Assistant Secretary of Education for Research for George H. W. Bush, and was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board by Bill Clinton. She is the author of ten previous books. In 2011, she received the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize from the American Academy of Political and Social Science. She has an excellent blog at DianeRavitch.Net and is active on Twitter @DianeRavitch.
Our School Are at Risk
- Politicians on both sides along with our media seem to agree that public education is broken. This has feed the ideas that we need to close schools and fire a large number of teachers and administrators. It wasn’t until Diane saw the corrosive effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation that she recanted her support for high-stakes testing, test-based accountability, competition, and school choice via charter schools and vouchers. NCLB’s unrealistic goals have turned reform into a privatization movement, which was probably the intent of many of the bill’s supporters.
- Diane claims that what works is what well off parents do and expect schools to do. This includes rich programs in the arts, physical education, libraries, well maintained schools, small classes, and after school programs where students can explore their interests. There should be a joyful pursuit of play, time to sing and dance, and draw. Diagnostics should focus on what students know, and what they need to learn next. These same parents supply learning opportunities before and after their kids start school unlike poor parents who generally have less education themselves.
The Context for Corporate Reform
- Diane points out that much of the rational for NCLB was based on a Texas Miracle that never existed. The law’s impossible goals guaranteed failing schools that could be closed so the students could be shifted to charter or private schools, and first among the failing schools were those that served poor and minority children. Charters were supposed to innovate and share success with public schools. Due to the competitive nature of the reform movement, however, sharing between schools doesn’t happen much. It wasn’t long after NCLB passed that teaching to the test, narrowing the curriculum, and outright cheating became common proactices.
- Rather than fix NCLB when it was up for reauthorization in 2007, Congress did nothing, which left an opening for the Obama administration to introduce Race to the Top (RTTT) in a unilateral manner. The only real difference between the two was that RTTT introduced the use of test scores to evaluate teachers. It also put more emphasis on competition as a means of allocating federal funding.
Posted in Book Summaries, Education Books, Leadership Books | Comments Off on Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch
Sunday, March 15th, 2015
Welcome to Seton Catholic Central in Binghamton, NY. This is a first rate school where I am presenting to the staff on the above topic. Here are my speaker notes with links so you can take advantage of my talk even though you didn’t attend. Like it or not, we swim in a sea of social media and so do the students we teach. While some schools block social media and don’t allow students to bring their own devices to school, others embrace the technology and are busy exploring how it can be used to enhance the learning experience for all. Today we will take a look at what the innovators are upto, and how some students and adults have used social media for negative purposes.
Professional Connections
- Blogging: If you want some good reasons to blog yourself, start with my summary of Staff Sackstein’s book Blogging for Teachers: Writing for Professional Learning. Also check her blog as a great example of what a teacher can do.
- Twitter and Twitter Chats: Twitter is a great way of engage in daily professional development and expand your personal learning network (PLN). Try following the #edchat hashtag at noon and 7 pm on Tuesdays.
- For Twitter chats that match your interests here is the Education Chat Calendar.
- Email/Blogging/Twitter/Facebook Advice: This is simple. Don’t post or email anything that you wouldn’t want anyone to see. This includes text, pictures, and videos. Also, don’t take pictures or make videos you wouldn’t want posted on the internet. Consider posting this on your classroom wall. If students and educators follow this advice they should stay out of trouble. Many have not. Also, don’t substitute email or text messages for situations that can benefit from face to face conversation.
- Should you use social media to communicate with students and parents? Many educators do. I suggest that you use school accounts for this purpose.
- Have you heard of Yik Yak? It’s allows you to make anonymous posts that anyone nearby can read. Check out this New York Times article Who Spewed That Abuse? Anonymous Yik Yak App Isn’t Telling. Are kids using Yik Yak on your campus?
Flipping Your Class/BYOD and 1:1 Programs
- The idea behind flipping is that students watch direct instruction independently so that more class time can be devoted to individual or group work facilitated by the teacher. See my summary of Flip Your Classroom by Jonathan Bergmann and Arron Sams. You don’t have to flip everything at once, and you don’t have to make your own videos. To be effective, all students need access to your flipped video, which means they probably need their own device. Many schools have started issuing laptops or tablets. When each student has there own device in class, all students can be expected to participate.
- How Flipped Learning is Growing – This is a pretty cool infographic that shows how flipping is catching on.
- Blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through delivery of content and instruction via digital and online media with some element of student control over time, place, path, or pace. Learn how Blended Learning Changes the Game. How much blended learning is happening in your school?
- A popular notion is that students will learn better when they are working on subject matter the are interested in or passionate about. I see it as our job to help students find things that they are interested in. The best way to do that is to introduce them to a lot of things. Here are some sites your can use for that purpose. Free Technology for Teachers offers daily learning resources. Paper.li lets you create your own daily newspaper. Here is a link to a recent issue or my paper. Digg.Com gives you all sorts of newsworthy and interesting stuff. Some content may a bit on the adult side but nothing graphic.
Cyber-Bullying
- Be sure to tell students that Efforts to Harm Others Tend to be Self-Destructive. This applies to traditional bullying and cyber-bullying. Consider posting this on the wall. Also, cyber bullies are more likely to be caught and punished as they leave a trail to follow. Check this story about famous baseball player Curt Shilling as an example. I think the best way to reduce bullying is to help students understand that the bully may suffer more than the person being bullied.
Digital Footprints for Better or Worse
- Let’s Google Getting in trouble with social media. This will change from time to time, but it is pretty easy to find students, teachers, administrators, politicians, police, military people, and just about anybody who screwed up using social media. Every student needs to do their own thinking as groupthink often results in stupid moves. The idea of failing and learning from your mistakes is getting a lot of press today in business and education journals. When it comes to making mistakes via social media posts, this is one area where you want to learn from the mistakes of others.
- Students and teachers should understand that they have a digital footprint and work to make it look good. Start by Googling yourself. Here what happens when you Google Douglas W. Green, EdD and Dr. Doug Green. So far I’m pretty happy with my digital footprint. Schools and other organizations have digital footprints too. Be sure to check out those you are connected to. Also do searches on Youtube.
Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to show up on YouTube
Posted in Doug's Original Work | Comments Off on Social Media for Learning and Connecting: Tips for Educators & Parents
Thursday, March 12th, 2015
Blogging for Educators: Writing for Professional Learning by Starr Sackstein provides a strong rational for why educators should blog along with advice on how to get started. She is one of the best education bloggers I have found to date, and I explore the educational blogosphere every day. Be sure to click the icon at the bottom of any page to get copies for teachers you know.
Starr Sackstein
- Starr is a high school English and Journalism teacher at World Journalism Preparatory School in Flushing, NY. She is also the author of Teaching Mythology Exposed: Helping Teachers Create Visionary Classroom Perspective. She does a blog for Education Week called Work in Progress in addition to her personal blog at StarrSackstein.Com where she discusses all aspects of being a teacher. She moderates #jerdchat and #sunchat and contributes to #NYedChat. If you are looking for an energetic, high quality speaker on the subjects of blogging, journalism education, and bring your own device (BYOD), contact her at twitter (@mssackstein) or FaceBook.
Introduction
- Starr sees blogging as an important tool for educations leaders and students. Blogging adds virtual connections to writing, which is a vital part of communication. Sharing reflections and ideas with an audience can certainly richen one’s educational experience. Few educators, however, have been formally prepared with the necessary skills for teacher blogging, which is the main purpose of this book. This book should make it easier for you to help students reflect, develop metacognitive skills, foster an authentic voice, and develop a deeper understanding of their strengths and challenges.
1. Why Blog
- Starr starts by pointing out that blogs are the natural evolution of diaries and journals. Anyone in the habit of daily entries is certainly a natural for blogging. The difference of course is that blogs by their nature are public. They generally also allow for comments, so they can be much more collaborative than their predecessors. To buy Starr’s argument you need to share her vision that regular blogging will enhance your writing and thinking ability as you gain stamina and an outlet for your creativity. It will also make you more accountable to your audience and allow opportunities for greater reflection.
- Like myself, Starr had help from someone who knew more about the technicalities of setting up a blog, so don’t feel bad if you do too. Most districts should have tech support to help you get thinks going. Perhaps an easier place to start is with a Twitter account. With a 140 character limit, Twitter is considered a microblog. Once you start you can follow your favorite news outlets, which can save you time. Also try to find educators with common interests to connect with. (Each day I post the Twitter names of top bloggers.) Look for opportunities to engage in Twitter chats. My favorite is #edchat. In addition to tweeting out your thoughts and opinions, you can seek help for others. The purpose for blogging in a teaching context is to expand your personal learning community (PLN).
- Make sure your tweets and posts avoid going off on a tirade, and back up your opinions. While it is easy to tweet every day, extended blog posts might be something you post less often. Keep in mind that once you start, students and parents will naturally find and follow you, so you might as well use your blog to connect them to what happens in your classroom and school. At the end of this chapter there are links and advice from other teachers who blog. Like all chapters, it also ends with reflection questions that you can consider yourself and discuss with others.
Tags: Blogging for Educators, Starr Sackstein
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Friday, February 13th, 2015
What A Master of Science in Mathematics Degree Can Do For You by Chasie Dieter
If you’re wondering whether spending an additional year or two studying for a Master’s degree is worth it, the answer is an emphatic yes. A Master of Science in Mathematics degree can help you fulfill different career goals as such it would be best to invest time money effort into it. Please share this with any students you know so they can plan ahead.
Widen your Horizons
- With a degree in mathematics, employers realize your ability to apply logic, and think quantitatively. Jobs considered to be directly related to a math degree include aerospace engineer, meteorologist, research scientist (math), investment analyst, statistician, higher education lecturer, and secondary school teacher. A Master’s in math can also provide a way into financial accounting, insurance, banking, management services and consultancy, and information technology. Check some real data about engineering pay from the CNN Money site.
The World is Your Oyster
- The Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, is a body researching higher education programs worldwide. In its January 2013 newsletter it highlighted an increasing demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates worldwide. The shortage of such qualified people, has prompted discussions within the American government as to whether making US visas available to those immigrants holding Master’s or PhD’s in STEM subjects, may attract greater numbers of graduates to enter the country. The Observatory maintains STEM graduates entering the US will need to increase by some 20-30% by 2016 to meet demand. This figure is expected to continue increasing over the coming years.
Major Shortages in the UK
- The UK’s Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is also concerned about the shortfall of people with higher level postgraduate qualifications in the STEM subjects entering the job market. They estimate that by 2020, with the changing job market, and economy improving, almost 50% of vacancies will be for higher skilled positions. Many businesses are already highlighting the difficulty in finding people holding Master’s or PhD’s in appropriate STEM subjects.
- With this concern over too few highly qualified postgraduates, even the UK’s House of Lords has become involved. In a recent report they emphasized the ‘significant’ role STEM postgraduates play in research and development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership abilities. The report continued that the government needed to take the lead in ensuring that students were fully aware of the opportunities available to them by continuing postgraduate studies to a Master’s or PhD in the STEM subjects.
Opportunities for Master’s in Mathematics have never been better
- Over the last few years, career opportunities for those holding math related degrees have increased enormously. The employment rates for graduates in all employment areas is very high, and the few who are unemployed are often undertaking further part-time or full-time studies. Here is one place Chasie recommends for this type of degree.
Chasie Dieter
- Chasie is an English instructor who is known for her passion for teaching. In addition to a strong grasp of the English language, her grammatical expertise as well as creativity and writing prowess made her one the most sought after instructors in her home city. Chasie’s goal is to bring you thought-provoking articles that elicit deep thinking and analysis. You can reach her by email at chasie.mediainteractive@gmail.com.
Dr. Doug’s Comments
- Although you might think that the target audience for this post would be students or adults with four-year degrees, I suggest that you share this information with students of any age. The way most schools work, if you don’t start taking advanced math in middle school, your chances of majoring in engineering, math, or physical science are not too good. Thanks Chasie for a fine guest post.
Posted in Guest Posts | Comments Off on What A Master of Science in Mathematics Degree Can Do For You by Chasie Dieter
Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
Rethinking Value-Added Models in Education: Critical Perspective on Tests and Assessment-Based Accountability by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley describes and analyzes the imposition of value added test-based evaluation of teachers, the theory behind it, the real-life consequences, and its fundamental flaws. It contains great detail and should be in the hands of any person or organization fighting this alarming practice. Click at the bottom of any page to get a copy for your school’s professional development library.
Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, PhD
- Audrey is a former middle and high-school mathematics teacher. She received her PhD in 2002 from Arizona State University in the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. She is an Associate Professor in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, and one of the top education scholars in the nation who has been honored for contributing to public debates about the nation’s educational system. Audrey’s research interests include educational policy, research methods, and more specifically, high-stakes tests and value-added measurements and systems. In addition, she researches aspects of teacher quality, teacher evaluation, and teacher education. She is the creator and host of an online biographical show titled Inside the Academy during which she interviews top educational researchers. She is also the creator and host of the blog: VAMboozled!.
1. Socially Engineering the Road To Utopia
- Audrey starts with examples of how governments use policies to socially engineer the societies they govern. It starts with something in the way of a worst case example involving the Cambodian government who had a policy to kill all the intellectuals after the Vietnam War ended. The social engineering currently aimed at schools is traced back to the publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983. It began a series of policies that lead to the Measure and Punish or M & P theory of change. Using standardized tests to enforce accountability turns out to be an overly simplistic causal model. A better model would be more difficult to understand and defend as it would have to consider students’ levels of intelligence, social capital, and levels of risk. To this point, empirical evidence shows that the M & P theory is flawed and misguided, and many of it’s early proponents have become its biggest opposition.
- There many reports of how teachers and administrators have gamed the system and resorted to outright cheating. By some standards, the M & P theory of change and its policy derivatives might be viewed as the greatest failed social engineering project of our time. At the end of each chapter, Audrey includes a box with the top ten assertions made in the chapter. You might consider reading these boxes first and last.
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