Mississippi Smoldering, Hechinger Burning, Mead Profiling, And Links

6 Replies to “Mississippi Smoldering, Hechinger Burning, Mead Profiling, And Links”

1. Re: Eli Hager. Eli writes, “In our national conversation about race and other forms of inequality, presidential candidates and the media have fostered a consensus that the civil rights movement is finished.” What? Perhaps he does not realize Obama is running for reelection and/or has said nothing about civil rights. Nice to see him take on Romney but he’s an easy target. I just don’t know what this article is about. It just sounds like a young writer trying to come to grips with life’s realities while missing some important details.

   While many states may still have school-based corporal punishment on the books, I’ll bet most districts, like mine in such a state, make it a dismissible offense and alert us to probable legal/criminal action. Hager’s hyperlink takes the reader to an article about a coach who did indeed strike a student despite the practice having been banned in Jackson schools since 1991. His hyperlink was in this sentence: “These schools practice corporal punishment, unlike the white academies and unlike most white schools in this country.” Go ahead, look at the Hager’s piece and look at the link. Then tell me with a straight face Jackson Public Schools practice corporal punishment. He makes it seem like many states, as a whole, practice inhuman punishment. I thought WaPo was a newspaper with professional editors on the job and not the Drudge Report for liberals.

   As much as I would like to side with Hager for political reasons, his article is a mess and adds nothing to anything. Grade: C-

2. Teachers are the most powerful explanatory variable in student performance.

   BUTTTTTTT…..principals are even more important.

   The idiocy continues at flank speed.

3. I live in Mississippi. I am a product of an urban public school district here. My Son currently attends the same, urban public school district that I did. And, despite the attempts of Mr. Hager and so many others, THE SKY IS NOT FALLING. Are there imperfect schools in our state? Yes. Humans are imperfect. Is the problem of racial segregation in our schools and communities a real one? Yes. Is “Mississippi smoldering”? Absolutely not. The good far outweighs the bad when it comes to public education in our state and across our country, yet most of us only want to focus on the bad. Where is Mr. Hager now? Is he still teaching or has he left his students after 1-3 years like so many of his TFA colleagues do?

4. Yes, the whole “reform” movement is based on the false premise that our schools are “failing.” They are not. Our children NOT in poverty have the highest PISA scores in the world. However we DO have the highest child poverty rates in the entire industrialized world and that is what correlates highly with low academic achievement. Once we accept this data and do something about it, we’ll see authentic reform.

   Are you a middle or upper income citizen? Did you send your children to public schools? Were you pleased? How about your friends, neighbors, relatives? If you are like me and most other privileged Americans, you are very satisfied with your OWN public schools. Now all we have to do is share some of these resources with children who are less fortunate, and I don’t mean all-black test prep academies!

   Other advanced countries have done a good job of serving their underprivileged children and we can do it too.

5. Facts for the insulated , out of touch edu-reform posse. Professor emeritus Wu is the PRIMARY architect of the common core math standards. They are almost entirely a copy of the CA math standards at all high school levels.

   What does that mean for adoption. Those states primarily red, will see PRECIPITOUS drops in their test scores. CA will more than likely hold steady.

   This is a major game changer. CA will become, by virtue of thing else either than being the fastest of the slowest, rise near the top.

   A tectonic game changer, and this is why the opposition is coming from ALEC and the staunchly conservative states. The truth is about to be told.

   Let it happen. Let the daylight shine upon this issue. Let it all out. And then let the edu-reformers scramble for cover.

   My children attended CA public schools, and then matriculated to the University of California. They graduated in science. No TFA for them or teaching. Job offers are plentiful and my daughter has counter offered one job four times and each time they have exceeded her counter offer.

   Hmmmmm…..Failure in the public schools? Indeed.

6. Teachers account for 30% of student learning in school which accounts for an unknown amount of total learning of a student. Also, the other 70% of explained school learning for students is unaccounted for

   More edu-reform logic at its best. Let the party continue as we march even deeper into the impenetrable forest of education reform.