Teacher Writes Letter Using Pearson Vocabulary

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Poetic Justice

Dear Governor Cuomo …. a note from the students who did not opt out of the NYS ELA tests last week.

A teacher wrote this little essay and dedicated it to Governor Andrew Cuomo:

“There is a man in Albany, who I surmise, by his clamorous paroxysms, has an extreme aversion to educators. He sees teachers as curs, or likens them to mangy dogs. Methinks he suffers from a rare form of psychopathology in which he absconds with our dignity by enacting laws counterintuitive to the orthodoxy of educational leadership. We have given him sufferance for far too long. He’s currently taking a circuitous path to DC, but he will no doubt soon find himself in litigious waters. The time has come to bowdlerize his posits, send him many furlongs away, and maroon him there, maybe Cuba?

She added:

I’m not supposed to say this, but all these insanely hard words appeared on the 4,6, and 8th grade tests last week.

View original post

Luca Valentino – Another Student Hero Speaks Out Against Ed Reform

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Poetic Justice

Another Student Hero – for sure!

“This letter is written by Luca Valentino. He is 11 years old and a 6th grader in a Westchester NY Middle School.

This is how our children feel. This is why we are here.”

stopcommoncorenys

This letter is written by Luca Valentino. He is 11 years old and a 6th grader in a Westchester NY Middle School.

This is how our children feel. This is why we are here.

Seems this child has had a pretty good education, even prior to common core. We couldn’t have said it better.

Shared with permission from his amazing parents. That’s an awesome kid you’re raising.

View original post

Sanise Lebron – My Student Hero and My Soulmate

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Poetic Justice

My friend and fellow activist Michael Elliott was published in the Huffington Post the other day. His article, You Can’t Measure This, is a powerful critique of the newly adopted teacher evaluation law in New York State. In this article, I met my newest student hero – Sanise Lebron.

Michael and his co-author, Kemala Karmen, have reminded us of the most powerful force in the battle to reclaim our public schools. They have caused us to recognize the secret weapon for conquering the invading armies of reformers. They have presented to us STUDENT VOICE.

Please take 3 minutes and 33 seconds to watch as Sanise appeals to the hearts of our fathers and to the hearts of our daughters. As you watch this, remember that Sanise is only in 8th grade and is speaking to her peers at CASA Middle School in the Bronx. It is powerful.

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/123437662″>Sanise Lebron – CASA MIddle School, Bronx NY</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/michaelelliot”>nLightn Media</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

Now – all you fathers – go and hug your daughters. And all you daughters, know that you are greatly loved even if your Dad is not around. And you education reformers – get your hands off our public schools and our children.

A Call To Action – Tweet For Principal Jamaal Bowman and CASA Middle School Students

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Poetic Justice

First – please watch this amazing video produced by the students and staff at CASA Middle School in the Bronx. It is based on Sean Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Second – TWEET out the following message:

VOTE 4 CASA MS Bronx NYC
100% GRAD RATE No bigger ROE THAN A LOVE OF LEARNING
@asugsvsummit @jamaalabowman #GSV2020vision

Jamaal and his students are in a competition. They need only 1,000 tweets today to beat PEARSON – yes, I said – PEARSON in The Voice of an Educator at an Ed Reform Event!

Third – share this far and wide.
If you are interested in reading more about the 7 habits – here is a document that summarizes them very nicely. HB_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Efffective_Teens8

A Recipe for Fixing Our Schools

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Poetic Justice

Vigor not rigor.
Grace not grit.
Delight not data.
Coloring not bubbling.
Treats not tests.

It is so simple if we just go back to loving our children.

My wife is a lazy liar

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Poetic Justice

This has been online for a while now, but it is great to read this now as we go into the final stretch of this school year. Yes – teachers do love their students and education is still a noble profession.

smithdeville

It’s the last day of school for my lazy, lying wife. She says teachers still have to go to work, but that can’t be right. Teachers only work when the kids are at school. I wish she would come clean and admit she is not really a teacher. School starts around 9:00 and dismisses at 3:45. She leaves the house before seven each morning, and it’s only a fifteen or twenty minute drive to the “school” where she “teaches.” She comes home around six or six-thirty in the evening. Sometimes later. What is she doing with all the extra time?

6:57 a.m. and the bag lady leaves the house. Looking for an OTB parlor that opens early.

When she gets home, I make sure dinner awaits the slacker. It’s a wonder she doesn’t demand I spoon-feed her. After dinner, she works on “lesson plans” and “grades papers.” The way she describes…

View original post 796 more words