By Denisha Jones. 1. In terms of a response to the Michael Brown shooting, what is our responsibility as educators and citizens who care about social justice? I think our responsibility is to help our colleagues and neighbors understand why the death of Michael Brown and the response in Ferguson is an educational …
By Paul Horton. Part three of three. Perhaps even more alarming than the Obama administration is the recent campaign headed up by former CNN and CNBC talk show host Campbell Brown and former Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs against teacher tenure. Energized by the apparent success of the Vergara decision, the …
After five years at his post, Secretary Duncan indicates he is now “listening to teachers on testing.” His statement, released this morning, offers a thorough repudiation of teaching to the test, but little substance regarding federal policies, beyond offering states the chance to request a year’s delay in …
By Paul Horton. Part two of three. In the twenty-five years after the last major Civil Rights Act of 1968, most whites abandoned the Democrats in the South as white flight and the Southern Baptist Convention sought public support for private schools that were created in suburban areas like Cobb and northern …
by Paul Horton. Part one of three. My son and I took our annual road trip last week. We listen to books on tape and blues as we travel. He is learning to drive so, for the first time, he was able to take the wheel for hours at a time while I bit my fingernails and chewed my gum. On the morning of our arrival to …
A question on a New York Regents test lauds the “stunning” contribution Bill Gates has made to the global fight against disease. Last week high school students in the state of New York who previously failed their New York Regents exam in June were given a second chance. This test is one of five that …
By Anthony Cody When critics such as myself point out the very bad effects the Common Core tests are having, as they label more than two thirds of our children unready for college and career, we are accused of “conflating tests with standards.” UFT president Michael Mulgrew was making this argument on the AFT …
eraBy John Thompson. Valerie Strauss’s “’Education Reform’ Now a Pejorative Term to Many Progressive Democrats” and Jeff Bryant’s “Education ‘Reform’ Loses the Netroots” are just two of the recent celebrations of the way that Democrats and progressives are rejecting corporate school reform. …
A high school teacher asks us to consider the techrights and human rights of the underage human subjects of business-imposed edtech experiments and “innovations”, and to reflect on Audrey Watters’ column, Ed-Tech and the Templated Self: Thoughts from the “Reclaim Your Domain” Hackathon. by Mary …
Notes on building our movement and the AFT following the Los Angeles convention By Kipp Dawson (rank-and-file delegate to the AFT convention from Pittsburgh) This is a life-or-death time for the American Federation of Teachers. The July 12-14, 2014, convention reflected both positive movement, and continuing …
