Recently, a former student called me to vent about the rules of married life and how these rules don’t match the vision that she has for herself as a change agent. As she talked about drowning in externally imposed expectations about being a married woman (sounding like a feminist just as much as sounding like … More Follow the Power: Who Controls the Conversation Around Reform?
A year ago, someone (let’s call her Amy) told me about a conversation she had with a school reformer. In short, the conversation was about why (and ultimately how) Black children need to be controlled. It was argued that on their own, they did not have the motivation or the character necessary for achievement. It … More Stop Giving Reform a Bad Name
This summer, Hulk Hogan lost his contract with World Wide Wrestling Entertainment because of his use of the N-Word in a racist rant caught on tape. As is the case when this word comes out of the mouth of some notable person, there ensues a conversation about the word… its etymology (origin) and its usage. … More When Students Use the N-Word
This summer, I wrote a piece in favor of the Senate’s modified version of NCLB (as it is currently up for renewal). I summarized its position in the following statement… In light of last minute amendments, the (Senate’s) final version maintains NCLB’s position to disclose student performance and expose gaps by way of standardized tests. … More Education Next Poll Results, ECAA, and State Level Accountability
A few years ago, when having breakfast with a former instructor (now friend), I told her with excitement that I had stumbled across the concept of critical pedagogy. After 20 years of unknowingly serving as a critical pedagogue, I was super elated to learn there were other educators out there with a similar passion and … More Critical Pedagogy: The Struggle and the Community
Last year, I was invited into a local radio station in Milwaukee to record my views on the state of Black children in Wisconsin. Here is what I said… In a statement about capitalism and democratic socialism, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had this to say: You can’t talk about solving the economic problem of … More Is Education Reform a Matter of Cosmetics?
Earlier this summer, Diane Ravitch highlighted in a blog post several points made by Susan Ochshorn in her writing of Big Data and Little Kids. In short, an argument was made that a push for data based achievement creates casualties among students. While I have an affinity towards all children, my work as an educator … More For the Love of Data
