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‘Opinions in media’ Category

  1. “I can’t read ” — tearjerker !

    May 5, 2017 by Tunya

    Here Is A Tearjerker !

    It’s beyond tearjerker — it’s a tragedy, a MAN-MADE tragedy !

    Hope this link works for you —

    https://twitter.com/sowhesed/status/859976270402035712 (hover over the picture)

    It should bring up a video of a child, perhaps 8 years old, no sound — she is saying: “I can’t read.” I bet she can talk a mile a minute, with a great vocabulary, BUT She CAN NOT Read! You can see in her eyes she is deeply anguished. Just who has denied her the ability to read?

    Yet, from the brief comment on this twitter screen shot she is being tested in her school. You know — tons of tests that are being administered in schools these days. How can she participate in testing programs without the ability to read? And, by the way, how can she participate in Math. That has been changed so much that reading is now required — the directions and the problems are little narratives that must be read first.

    I think withholding of teaching to read from school children should be a punishable, criminal event!

    I think this photo, if allowed by the parents, should become a poster or billboard for a highly noticeable reading campaign. Perhaps some benevolent group might sponsor such a campaign. Perhaps another lawyers group (as we had in the 70s) could sponsor a symposium on “Suing The Schools For Fraud “ and use the backdrop of the nasty ideological Reading Wars as part of the reason why so many children are denied the skill-training to learn to read. Isn’t compulsory schooling a contract of sorts, and the withholding of the key tool for learning being reading — should this not bring about a simple ethics and legal breach of contract case?

    What kinds of worldviews are at play here anyway?

    [below to ECC, above to American Thinker on “Alien Covenant” ]

    After William Brown's alert about "Alien Covenant" by Bruce Deitrick Price I became more disturbed than ever. When will it ever end — the persistent, insidious Reading War which continues to cripple? I've experienced it here in Canada as recently as last year — a training tape for reading volunteers stressed that sounding out was NOT to be done — "Remember, reading is caught, not taught."

    I recall Deb Andrews fabulous newspaper article a year or so ago where her chart clearly showed that Black and Latino children were way behind in reading proficiency. Why? Research proves that this gap can be overcome.

    I just posted the following to the American Thinker article of Bruce's (yes, late, and probable stale interest by now) but I did want to say something and test whether I could actually produce a link that works (I'm a s-l-o-w techy). If you can't get the link to work, please let me know — it's the little anguished black girl saying "I can't read". Her pain on her face is enough to make you cry.


  2. UNMASKING EDUCATION SWINDLE

    May 3, 2017 by Tunya

    Unmasking Education Swindle

    Look at the long history of criticism of the education system. It’s a wonder that this field still exists — quackery, wasteland, 12-year sentence . . . There was even a legal symposium in the 70s on “Suing the schools for fraud”. The lawyers speculated that there would be a successful case within 5 years ! Didn’t happen.

    Bruce has productively spent the last decades unmasking some of the frauds in education, particularly the disasters dumped on us by seemingly deliberate reading failures. Bruce finds a long history of culprits and economic factors that have enabled wholesale acceptance of questionable practices. Scientific evidence is definitely not a factor in education decision-making, is it?

    Patrick Groff (1924-2014) was heavily involved in the reading issues of the day. Here is a digest of what he saw as fueling the whole-language fiasco: http://www.readinghorizons.com/research/whole-language-vs-phonics-instruction#special

    “The Special Attractions of Whole-Language (WL)
    1 . . . educators historically have been notorious for their inability to resist the lures of educational innovations, regardless of whether or not they have been empirically validated.
    2 . . . WL relieves educators of much direct personal accountability for the results . . .
    3 . . . WL appeals to many educators’ romantic and/or humanistic interpretations of what is healthy child development . . . honoring children’s freedom and dignity is held to be more essential than how literate they become.
    4 . . . in the past, educators have ignored or rejected most of the empirical findings in practically all aspects of their field of endeavor.
    5 . . .the apparent simplicity of WL is alluring for teachers . . . With WL, teachers do not have to submit to pedagogical discipline that a prescribed course of direct and systematic instruction demands.
    6 . . . educators who have liberal social, economic, and political views doubtless are charmed by WL’s decidedly left-wing agenda . . . ”

    Until there is legislation and laws forbidding quackery in education and science is no longer held in disdain we will continue to see spotty education quality from our schools. Thanks to people like Bruce for keeping on exposing the frauds. At least some parents, if they had real choice, could then choose evidence-based schools.

    [ Posted as comment to American Thinker, article by Bruce Deitrick Price, “K-12 ‘Alien Covenant” http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/05/k12_alien_covenant.html    ]


  3. Significance of Home Education Today

    May 2, 2017 by Tunya

    Significance of Home Education Today

    I am really happy for you and family in the home education experience. I would like to know if you ever contacted any support groups for information or even sharing of lessons or field trips. Also, if any researchers have contacted you for information or observation.

    It is astounding how ed research into home education has ballooned into a huge industry — PhD theses, books, huge conferences (next Global Home Education Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2018).

    I was involved in the early stages of the movement (1970s) but now try to keep a watching brief on dangers and incursions to the field. Please see https://gaither.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/john-holts-conversion-to-home-education/

    I agree with you that we need to be wary of government schooling. In my 1987 academic article I mention that home education is seen by “freedom fighters” as part of a two-fold mission to generally retrieve individual responsibility from "disabling professionals” and the “predatory” state. See:
    https://www.academia.edu/10094489/Home_education_the_third_option

    [This is my response to a reader of my Facebook post yesterday about a parent of five children leaving public school for home education or private education.]

     


  4. futility of ed reform — Leave !

    May 2, 2017 by Tunya

    Futility Of Public Education Reform

    This is an important story about the futility of public education reform, particularly as it’s expected to serve the expectations of parents. “The system” serves well the producers — the educators and the multitudes that comprise the various sub trades and industries like textbook publishers, etc. It’s a self-oiling machine with little accountability. All “the system” needs is a steady inflow of school-age children and this the “consumer” side of the equation — parents and taxpayer dollars — generously provide.

    That is, until this shot across the bow — Goodbye, Public School. It’s Not Me, It’s You — http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/goodbye-public-school-its-not-me-its-you_us_5900e7bce4b00acb75f18414

    Erin Brighton, an ex-teacher with 5 small children in North Carolina, felt it was only proper to fully support public schools and did her best to show “skin in the game” by being totally involved, saying: “As an educator and an engaged citizen I want our public schools to work.” Until she finally withdrew one child with special needs 2 years ago, she never thought she would ever consider home education. For 7 years she prevailed in this mindset till she launched this short and punchy article to Huff Post with the punch line — “. . . everyone who can leave, should.”

    I’m not aware of her plan now — home educate all, some, or private schools. I’m just hoping this story goes viral and spurs more parents to consider, if their children’s school experiences are unsatisfactory, how they are harming their life chances if they don’t make other choices. Hopefully, the American government will move swiftly in their new drive to widen education choices for all, not just those who can afford options. I hope this story reaches the offices of the new Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.

    [to Education Consumers Clearinghouse and Intellectual Takeout http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/3-reasons-one-public-school-advocate-giving-system ]


  5. Effective Schools Movement – 40 yrs ago

    April 6, 2017 by Tunya

     

     

    What Killed The Effective Schools Movement?

    Reading Tom Bennett’s independent report on behaviour in UK schools (76 pg) I was struck by the parallels to the Effective Schools Checklist (1 pg), which evolved from Ron Edmond’s USA work in the 70s.http://www.parentsteachingparents.net/2017/04/effective-schools-checklist-2/

    I will compare the two. Using Edmonds’ checklist as guide I’ll try to show how Bennett’s analyses reiterate the insights of 40 years ago and how foolish it has proven to dismiss excellent principles.

    1 Instructional Leadership — both stress the key role of the head teacher (principal) in good schools.

    2 Focused School Mission — both refer to this vision — made clear to all involved. Bennett refers to school ethos and school culture.

    3 Orderly Environment — Edmonds says: “Purposeful atmosphere conducive to teaching and learning.” Bennett’s whole report is about behavior, if disruptive, as not conducive, and makes many recommendations. IMO a major flaw in his report — there is no digest of recommendations: They are all over the place and could number 10 or 20 or more, with repetitions.

    4 High Expectations — Bennett uses the term “high expectations” 11 times, appropriately and on point. But Edmonds says it well too — in one sentence: “The belief is that students are capable and able to achieve, that teachers are capable and not powerless to make a difference.”

    5 Mastery of Basic Skills — While Bennett’s report is all about creating a culture of positive behavior there is scant recognition of why it is that students go to school in the first place. They do not go there to learn positive behaviour but to learn the 3Rs and academics. His one concession to this foremost motive for schools: Referencing behavior, “As with academic subjects, mastery of the basics is necessary before proceeding to more complex tasks.” As a remedial teacher said in the comments on this blog, when teachers focus on literacy of the disruptive, barely literate, “with success, their behavior improved.” Behaviour Improvement follows academic achievement.

    My editorial comment on this point is to bemoan the twisted nature of “schooling” today. The “shift” is away from academics to behaviour and development of character (13X in Bennett’s report). The shift from “sage on the stage to guide on the side” has deservedly gained the antipathy of students who will exclaim: “Why should I learn, they don’t teach?”

    6 Frequent Monitoring of Results — While Edmonds’ checklist specifically refers to assessments of the student, the teacher and the school this refers to the academics. Welcome additions to the field of education are Bennett’s new behavior survey forms: “Behaviour in school is inseparable from academic achievement, safety, welfare and well-being, and all other aspects of learning. It is the key to all other aims, and therefore crucial.” (p12) #3 above

    7 Meaningful Parent Involvement — Both regard the role of parents as important to school mission.

    * 8 Avoidance of Pitfalls — Edmonds says: “Up-to-date awareness of good educational practice plus retaining currency in the field concerning promising and discredited practices.” Here is the essence of my grief with the state of education today and the failings in Bennett’s report. If the Effective Schools movement had not been sabotaged (an untold story) decades ago we would not be suffering the behavior and attitude problems now besetting our schools today.

    Bennett mentions that in the medical field discredited practices are not tolerated. Why are we re-inventing the wheel? Bennett’s work, on top of Edmonds’, should produce a new checklist.

    [posted on Educhatter blog post of April 2, 2017, Student Behaviour.  Tom Bennett’s report, Creating a Culture: how school leaders can optimize behaviour, is a UK document and can be found by title,] 

    [footnote below added May 14, 2019]

    * Most “effective schools” literature repeats the first 7 points. But, Edmonds’ original article (1979) stressed “one of the cardinal characteristics of effective schools is that they are as anxious to avoid things that don’t work as they are committed to implement things that do.”  This addition to the 7 points was made by a parent group in Vancouver, BC (Canada). It was felt by parents that if these 8 points became part of a school’s commitment most concerns, if any, could be easily addressed.