Comments on: As officials stress urgency, teachers raise standards concerns

By: Arjun Mishra

Arjun Mishra — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 05:04:00 +0000

Some stress buster ideas to defeat stress :

http://knocyc.blogspot.in/p/exams-are-up.html

By: reality-based educator

reality-based educator — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:03:00 +0000

If things were right, they would hold no power and no influence over public education policy, students, teachers or schools.

By: Mook

Mook — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:21:00 +0000

After 10 years of teacher scapegoating and union busting they decide that they might actually try helping teachers by developing better teaching materials. Let’s see how quickly they get around to it.

By: Pogue

Pogue — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:46:00 +0000

That is a photo of two fellows who are useless, inexperienced, and can thank Big Money for their positions.

If things were right, they’d currently be in a classroom, helping children, working their way up the ladder.

But, money, greed, and insidious goals greatly help those who want to take career shortcuts.

By: SickofBloomberg

SickofBloomberg — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:43:00 +0000

Moe, Larry and Curly.

By: Invictus

Invictus — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:39:00 +0000

The most creative and successful CEO and people in the world has been known for their libraries, as per the NYTimes 2007 article. The interesting fact about that article is that most of the books that they read seem to be heavy in fiction, history and other arts and almost nothing about the fields where they have been successful. Meaning that this nonsense of reading non fiction, in the long run will surely be detrimental to creativity and innovation everywhere. So take that for analytical essay-writing and non-fiction reading. It seems to me that the only people who would benefit from such things were people who work with large manufacturing machines, meaning, training people for factory jobs that have stopped existing in America decades ago. Where is the idea of a thesis or logically thinking about ideas and reason? If we had the people who are running Tweed run the country before the Cold War and the Space Race, we would have lost it for sure. Innovation and creativity have been purged from our school curriculum since the Supreme Leader came in. Thanks for nothing.

By: ej

ej — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:46:00 +0000

I like the analogy of putting down tracks while the train is coming through- it’s appropriate especially as I see multiple train wrecks in the future. Evaluations, NINE tests in math and ELA alone, and the insane costs associated with this, to begin.

As for the last line, about kids being asked to defend their ideas? I have done that with my students for a very long time- it’s not new or novel. Most of my fellow ELA colleagues do it too. The over-emphasis on non-fiction, I fear, will leave our kids woefully unprepared for college level literature classes, which most of them will have to take regardless of major.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:37:00 +0000

The commenters.

By: Orlux

Orlux — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:20:00 +0000

This is your notion of “three education policy heavyweights” ? Whom would you place in the bantamweight division?