Talks with Teachers #3: Imprisoned Education
Chaska Conrow, who taught at a charter school that operates inside San Francisco County jails, discusses the myths and realities of teaching behind bars.
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Posts Tagged: education
The Rumpus Interview with Karen Prior
A formerly freckle-faced pothead with a penchant for getting arrested, Prior admits she doesn’t hide emotions well and so to some, she can be a handful.
...moreQuébécois
“Québec has long been a holdout, but that era’s over. Which makes the students indisputedly right about one thing: the problem with ‘reforms’ like these is that they constitute an abandonment of that old saw, the projet de société.”
Over at The Awl, Rumpus Saturday editor Michelle Dean provides a lesson on the current protests in Québec.
...moreRethinking Sex Ed
“In its breadth, depth and frank embrace of sexuality as, what Vernacchio calls, a ‘force for good’ — even for teenagers — this sex-ed class may well be the only one of its kind in the United States.”
A NY Times Magazine article on the state of sex education highlights a Philadelphia Quaker Friends high school teacher’s comprehensive approach to teaching sex ed.
...moreHomegrown Textbooks
“The problem with mass-produced textbooks…was that they can cost $65 each and aren’t aligned with Minnesota’s math tests so the district would be paying for whole chapters that are never used.”
A few Minnesota high school districts look to save money and improve test scores by replacing imported textbooks with online curriculum created by teachers in the district.
...moreSchool Reform’s Shortcomings
Diane Ravitch walks us through the history of school issues and the failed reform policies in the American educational system. The black-white achievement gap, test scores that diverge along socioeconomic lines and the failures of the No Child Left Behind legislation—Ravitch goes through it all.
...moreJobs and Education
Technology and higher education have been enjoying a symbiotic relationship in recent years.
Apple’s creative visions have been coming to life and flourishing on academic platforms, but now that Steve Jobs is stepping down, should we be worried about how it’s going to affect higher education?
...moreFinland’s Got Education Down
This article is a gem from a recent Longreads selection, on the subject of education.
Finland’s got an optimally functioning educational system, one that America can learn a thing or two from. Its success is due to its “whatever it takes” methodology, and also its top tier educators who are selected from the top 10% of Finland’s graduates.
...moreThe Latest in Censorship
Haruki Murakami was removed from a summer reading list for middle schooler and high school students in one New Jersey school district. Apparently, some of the language in Norwegian Wood concerned parents and a couple students. And this is the perfect transition into announcing Banned Books Week, coming up the week of September 24th, which is all about combating censorship!
...moreNew School
Wired’s got an article on technologically-informed education—Khan Academy, an educational website in which, “Students, or anyone interested enough to surf by, can watch some 2,400 videos in which the site’s founder, Salman Khan, chattily discusses principles of math, science, and economics.”
This website ostensibly aids in solving the “middle of the class teaching,” that neglects the specific needs of students.
...moreErase to the Top
Another miraculous educational turnaround, another example of rampant cheating. I think we’ve seen enough of a pattern now of school districts doing a quick turnaround only for the numbers to be fishy that now when a politician starts claiming “miracle!” the assumption should be that they fiddled with the numbers and we just have to look for it.
...moreGrading Teachers
Mother Jones published an article about the latest battle on the education front—evaluating teachers, which is re-raising issues about what public school model works best.
The implementation of the new evaluation methods involves both “internal measurements” (where teachers are measured by other experienced teachers and principals) and “external measures” (performance-based measures like test scores).
...moreUndergrads Beware
An article in the Atlantic discusses the Washington Post’s graph that charts undergraduate degrees and their expected income levels.
The Post’s graph seems pretty deterministic (or maybe it just reflects how trendy it is to plot income level against groups of people), implying that all humanities majors get ready for frugal lifestyles in education and social work.
...moreUndervalued Teachers
“People talk about accountability, measurements, tenure, test scores and pay for performance. These questions are worthy of debate, but are secondary to recruiting and training teachers and treating them fairly. There is no silver bullet that will fix every last school in America, but until we solve the problem of teacher turnover, we don’t have a chance.”
Dave Eggers and Nínive Calegari, cofounders of 826 Valencia, wrote an op-ed on the dire state of the teaching profession as evidenced by their dwindling salaries, high professional turnover and the need to recruit the next generation of teachers.
...moreRosie the Riveter High School
There’s so much to love about this story–the use of a feminist icon as an educational motivator for women in non-traditional trades; the acknowledgment that jobs dominated by women aren’t valued monetarily the same way jobs dominated by men are; the determination of Lynn Shaw to not be the only woman on the job anymore, just for starters.
...moreBAD MOMMY: How to Get Your Child into School Without Showing Your Underwear
My first preschool tour was not a good experience. It was going okay until I realized I had dirty underwear balled into the leg of my pants. At first I thought the back of my leg was swollen, but then I felt the bump slide a little lower and realized what was happening.