“Venture philanthropists have transformed the educational terrain, significantly tilting it in a neoliberal direction, often using their expressed desire to help hard-hit communities to support their interests in changing the face of public education” (Spence, 2016, p. 96). There exist many powerful organizations and leaders who, while they claim to want education change, will avoidContinue reading “The Rebellion… that Changes Everything… to Knock the Neoliberal Hustle… of Public Education (A title by four authors)”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Step-by-step Privatization and Profit: ESSA Delivers Schools to Wall Street with a Bow on Top
“Social impact bond projects are very definitely privatisation. PFI/PPP projects have effectively privatised the design, finance, construction and maintenance of much public infrastructure. Now social impact bond projects potentially privatise the design, finance, service delivery, management, monitoring and evaluation of early intervention and prevention policies.” Step One- Curriculum: Common Core standards created one set ofContinue reading “Step-by-step Privatization and Profit: ESSA Delivers Schools to Wall Street with a Bow on Top”
Why “21st Century Learning” is No More Than Status Quo
The proponents of 21st Century Learning (aka digital learning, aka competency-based education, aka personalized learning) claim that those of us who stand up for public education are little more than fossils clinging to the status quo. Further, through slick bait-and-switch advertising techniques the proponents of “innovation” disguise the facts that they are profiteering and privatizingContinue reading “Why “21st Century Learning” is No More Than Status Quo”
The PARCC Test: Exposed
The PARCC Test: Exposed Original blog post can be found here. The author of this blog posting is a public school teacher who will remain anonymous. I will not reveal my district or my role due to the intense legal ramifications for exercising my Constitutional First Amendment rights in a public forum. I was compelled toContinue reading “The PARCC Test: Exposed”
Student Takes PARCC to Task
The following is a letter written by a Maryland 5th grader sent to me by her mom. Do you suppose Ms Slover or any of the self-serving privatizers will listen? Maybe we should all send a copy of this letter to Ms. Slover to get her attention. LETTER; May 4, 2016 Ms. Laura McGiffert SloverContinue reading “Student Takes PARCC to Task”
Public School Teachers: The Next Endangered Species (4 years later)
This is a RE POSTING of a blog I wrote four years ago during Teacher Appreciation Week. Seems appropriate to re-post it now. Please comment on the question: How much has changed or not in last four years? ORIGINAL: I felt an urgency to write this post before Friday in order to coincide with TeacherContinue reading “Public School Teachers: The Next Endangered Species (4 years later)”
Bail, not Blogs
I will be on hiatus for a while from blogging in order to care for immediate family needs. Please enjoy previous blog posts in the meantime…Let’s face it, until there is a radical shift in systemic policy and power, anything I’ve written the last few years probably still applies…it might as well be “new” news.Continue reading “Bail, not Blogs”
Root to Rise: Practicing the Future of the Opt Out Movement
Today I was taking my weekly yoga class. The first thing the instructor asks us to do is set an intention for the day’s practice. My intention was to meditate on where we are at, and where we are going, in the opt out movement, with hopes of finding a way forward. My instructor focusedContinue reading “Root to Rise: Practicing the Future of the Opt Out Movement”
Is It Nature? Or Nothing? (a special guest post)
My 11 year old son has decided he wants to be a nature writer (Emerson eat your heart out :)) So here’s his first treatise. I told him I would publish it for him. Please share your feedback and comments for him. Thanks!! Is It Nature? Or Nothing? by Conor McNulty Could climate and mature beContinue reading “Is It Nature? Or Nothing? (a special guest post)”
WHICH ONE OF THESE IS REAL? WHICH ONE IS FICTION? (the line between education and science fiction is blurrier than you think)
Read Scenario One and Scenario Two. If you are unable to really tell the difference between these two scenarios, then perhaps we are closer to a frightening nightmarish future scenario than we realize. I manufactured one story out of my imagination. Ironically, I wrote it even before knowing anything about the real scenario provided toContinue reading “WHICH ONE OF THESE IS REAL? WHICH ONE IS FICTION? (the line between education and science fiction is blurrier than you think)”
educationalchemy 