http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/ Class Context Sun, 25 Feb 2007 22:00:04 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2007. http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/53.html Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:56:05 GMT At this point, all the authors of this blog are finishing up our two-year commitments to Teach For America. This means, of course, that we are being bombarded with invitations to apply for jobs at charter schools, especially KIPP schools. In general, these jobs involve longer hours, lower pay (at least on a rate basis) and the loss of union protections. Yet they seem to be very popular options among those corps members who stay as teachers. With that in mind, my next few posts on this blog (and they’re coming, I promise) are going to be devoted to exploring the kinds of working conditions... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=53 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/52.html Wed, 07 Jun 2006 00:35:57 GMT Seattle Public Schools have gone off the deep end with their so-called cultural sensitivity. According to the district's official Web site, "having a future time orientation (i.e. long-term goals) constitutes an "(aspect) of society that overtly and covertly attributes value and normality to white people and Whiteness, an devalue, stereotype and label people of color." If this is not a sufficient stretch of credulity, then take the district's claim that cultural racism also includes "emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology." From someone long exposed to... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=52 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/51.html Sat, 29 Apr 2006 17:07:48 GMT My district union rep visited our school yesterday. One thing she said really stuck in my mind. It was an argument about transfers. Basically, to paraphrase a reasonably complicated issue, the city wants the power to move teachers from school to school, while the union wants teachers to be able to stay where they want. (This is a gross oversimplification on both sides, but for our purposes, a sufficient explanation.) While I don't want an unlimited forced transfer system, the point of this post is not to firmly take a stand on this issue, but rather to complain about some shoddy... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=51 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/41.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 05:44:37 GMT Among the many non sequitors and illegitimate characterizations, John Bice makes a particularly short-sighted argument about education in the Michigan State News. The self-proclaimed Liberal insinuates that unfettered markets fail in providing the "public good" of education to the masses. He writes: Many of our most successful government programs, which most of us take for granted, would never have transpired under libertarian rule (i.e. free markets and private property rights). Here's a short list: labor laws, environmental protection, rural electrification, workplace safety... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=41 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/50.html Tue, 21 Mar 2006 05:15:17 GMT Are NYC kindergartners ready to learn about HIV? Some--notably, the Department of Education--insist on educating our youth early about the disease. Others understandably find such instruction inappropriate. Must the winner take all? The debate over the appropriateness of the said content deserves to be heard. Such an inquiry doesn't, however, warrant uniformity of what students actually hear. Parents should wield ultimate discretion over how and when their children learn the hazards of HIV, and schools ought to differentiate their curriculum accordingly. Let parents decide... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=50 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/49.html Thu, 16 Mar 2006 01:10:13 GMT I'd like to make this perfectly clear: I have no opinion on what the question I'm about to ask. I really don't know what to think about this, but I believe it's a very important question. Should all public schools have greater power to expel students? One major difference between private and public private schools has nothing to do with resources, or social class, or faculty quality, but concerns how each deals with troublesome or disruptive students. Private schools can simply remove those students. Educators, think over your classes. How much easier would each of them be if you... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=49 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/48.html Fri, 17 Feb 2006 01:43:05 GMT I saw a David Berliner lecture last night at Pace. To recap some of the highlights: according to Berliner, NCLB is "stupid." He argues that it's goals (including 100% proficiency) are designed in such an unrealistic manner as to lead one to believe that their sole goal is to embarass educators. Furthermore, he added quite a lot of interesting data on how testing fails to realize it's goals. More importantly, he talked a great deal about the negative consequences of testing on schools and school culture. I don't have a lot of time right now to explore his sources, or even deal with his... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=48 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/46.html Wed, 08 Feb 2006 01:06:23 GMT Yesterday was the first day of extended time, the 37 1/2 minutes of "small group" tutoring that was a ballyhooed part of the new teachers' contract in New York City. Essentially, in exchange for our recent raise, all teachers are now required to spend 37 1/2 minutes a day tutoring small groups of students after school. In the end, the small-group setting may be beneficial to struggling students. However, the way it's been implemented has been a disaster. Rather than wait until next year to implement small groups, the New York City Department of Education decided to start in the middle of... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=46 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/45.html Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:19:40 GMT This may come as a surprise from a math teacher who daily professes the virtues of the subject, but I don't believe a shortage of math and science exists in America. There is absolutely no need for President Bush to spend his proposed $50 billion over ten years promoting quantitative skills in our schools. Why? Because the labor market does not warrant such a demand absent government intervention. By definition, a shortage in any type of labor implies the demand for labor exceeds supply. Under such conditions, the higher demand for a given quantity of mathematicans and scientists... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=45 http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/archive/44.html Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:03:26 GMT A couple of CNN writers cover an intriguing alternative to the traditional schooling approach here. The philosophy of "unschooling" holds fundamental the premise that students will learn more when they choose when and what to learn. The report explains: An extension of home-schooling, "unschooling" is when parents give their children total freedom to learn and explore whatever they choose... The term "unschooling" was first coined in 1977 by John Holt, an education reformer, the founder of Holt Associates and author of the book, "Teach Your Own." Holt felt traditional home-schooling... (more) http://classcontext.blogdrive.com/comments?id=44