faulker062

"What the wisest parents want for their children, that must we want for all children." J. Dewey Touting the CCSS version of standardized education with lots of rigor and fidelity as a cure-all for what ails American public education is a  charade!   More and better standardized educational experience (rigor) that will be controlled and measured with high stakes standardized test scores (fidelity)? Really? Standardized educational experience and in particular, CCSS will do nothing to improve children's learning experiences in American classrooms. The elements for improving educational experience for all American children are still not in place: Personal time and attention from teachers through smaller class sizes, stable home lives, reduction of food insecurity, regular experiences in fine arts education and opportunities for student's self determination of educational experience. These factors are critical for improving American education, but alas...what childr...

How much state funding will Indiana public schools and other public entities lose if Mike Pence's corporate property tax cut initiative is ok'd by the Republican dominated Indiana General Assembly? Plenty!  Who does Mike Pence represent? It certainly isn't the Indiana middle class whose 1.1 million children attend Indiana public schools. Only an agent of the opulent minority would consider a funding cut of this magnitude to cash strapped Indiana pubic schools, libraries and municipal government services. The promise of jobs in exchange for tax cuts has done irreparable harm to the middle class and to municipal institutions like public schools and libraries. Time for the Indiana General Assembly to reconsider this governor's plans to further decimate the middle class? Call or write your state legislator here: Indiana General Assembly

I posit that compelling children to sit in crowded classrooms and prepare them to take high stakes standardized tests utilizing Skinnerian based behaviour modification methodology is not an education. It is instruction and training to prepare for standardized tests. From James McKernan: " In the view of R.S. Peters, education involves the development of a cognitive perspective, or mind, whilst instruction hints at information and training lends itself to the development of competence in a limited mode of skills; whilst ‘ education ’ aims at a wider view of knowledge and system of beliefs."

About 400 billion . What does that mean for Indiana public schools and the Indiana middle class? It means program cuts and tax hikes. 

Social engineering occurs when children have limited educational opportunities, are homogenized through a narrow curriculum and motivated by fear, rewards and punishments.

Mike Pence has the same philosophy of education as does Jeb Bush. If you have not read Doug Martin's investigative work on the Pence-Bush connection to privatize Indiana public education this is a great read.

The process of standardized education and assessing the retention of facts and figures from standardized educational experiences on high stakes standardized tests is not a pleasant process for significant numbers of children . My question is what does this process do to the formative minds of children?