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Missed the SBOE
social studies debate?
The process has been flawed, at best. Today was no exception. Amendments were written and passed without real debate. Typical debate during the late morning and early afternoon hours centered around two things. 1. LAST-MINUTE ADDITIONS Board members spent a fair amount of time making the point that after years of hard work, members were throwing out amendments at the last minute again. Teri Leo started talking about the newest documents, “the ones that staff just gave us [this morning] of the stuff we did last night.” Some members were unaware that the document existed and were directed to their SBOE mailboxes at 3 p.m. to get the new, morning version. 2. TOO, TOO MUCH There was a general argument, used by both sides, that the curriculum was too broad and the book too thick. This has been contentious throughout, but it got especially pointed today. Any last-minute addition would be greeted by both complaints, depending on the politics of the person making the amendment. Among the highlights of the TEKS debate:
Lawrence Allen said it most succinctly: Standards are to be a guide, then curriculum can go anywhere it wants to underneath. “We need to admit that we don’t know how to write curriculum. We pass curriculum.” The final vote on the new Social Studies TEKS was 9-5. In other action, TSTA testified as to the
successful process shown by State Board for Educator Certification
when changing how they oversee colleges and groups that certify
teachers. This was followed by TEA staff reports on the Permanent
School Fund. The board also heard testimony regarding asset
allocation. A notice will be posted seeking money management
companies to take over the part of the Permanent School Fund that
was at Goldman-Sachs. The Committee on Instruction did not meet this
month, and the Committee on School Initiatives had no major
business.
May 20, 2010 One key, early amendment from Mavis Knight will add the following important statement to each textbook’s introduction section: “Students identify and discuss how the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and national governments have either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding documents.” On most amendments, conservatives flexed their muscles to control content on everything from taxes to anti-minority ideals. Elementary students will learn how taxation makes everything cost more money; they will not learn where those tax dollars go. The board has been accused of “White-Washing” the TEKS, but they deny such a characterization. Several Confederate generals were added, on the motion of David Bradley, yet minorities became fewer and fewer in the standards as the day progressed. In fact, slavery has been renamed and placed as the third reason for the Civil War, behind sectionalism and states’ rights. Secession is not mentioned. Conservatives refused to reconsider Dolores Huerta, the farm worker union activist who helped Cesar Chavez, for mention in the standards. They said her political views kept her from being a “good citizen.” Besides, Bradley added, she was not a historical figure because she “wasn’t dead yet.” President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was included, but it must now be compared and contrasted with Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address. As a “compromise” to the objections, the conservative wing now lists the Gettysburg Address first. TSTA testified on Wednesday on the board’s decision in March to replace Santa Barazza, the famous Hispanic border painter, with “Tex” Avery. Avery is famous for Bugs Bunny, but he also is infamous for racist depictions of blacks and Hispanics. Most famously, he directed Speedy Gonzales cartoons in the mid-20th century. Reaction was surprise from the conservative members and relative anger from the moderates and minorities. The board voted Thursday to remove Avery, but the conservative wing refused to include a minority painter in his place. Lawrence Allen called for Barack Obama’s name to be added to the standards. TSTA discovered this omission and reported it during testimony before the Mexican American Legislative Caucus on April 28. David Bradley called for an amendment, calling for his middle name to be added (Hussein). His rationale was that all presidents should have their full names listed. [Note that President Clinton is referred to as simply “Bill Clinton” in the current TEKS.] “The intent behind what you’re doing is pretty obvious,” said Robert Craig. Bradley rescinded his motion, and President Obama will be included in the new standards without his middle name.
May 19, 2010 You have let your own political viewpoints and prejudices create the appearance – if not the reality – that the work on setting new social studies standards was a no-holds-barred competition to impose political dogma on the public school classrooms, not a process designed to build consensus on a strong curriculum for our young people. When someone leaked a set of TEKS to a conservative think tank before the public had a chance to see the actual document, he or she threw fairness out the window. Choosing experts to review the work of the vertical teams makes sense, but the experts need to be actual experts. Dr. Daniel Dreisbach from American University was a conservative reviewer. You can disagree with his findings, but you cannot disagree with his credentials. But other reviewers had no expertise, whatsoever. Having strong conservative or liberal opinions does not make someone an expert. That’s not how this process is supposed to work. It’s not a competition. The same problem comes from the word, research. The board seems to have a low bar on what constitutes research. Simply navigating Google, for example, is not scholarship. The process is damaged when pseudo- or insufficient research is the driving force behind amendments. Perhaps the most egregious example of this came when you removed Santa Barazza, the famous border painter. Only one of her paintings was given as grounds for her removal. She was replaced with Tex Avery, the cartoonist behind racist characters like the Indian Princess, Uncle Tom, and Speedy Gonzales. That’s either a lack of research or racial prejudice, but I’m giving the benefit of the doubt here. Mr. Allen fought multiple examples of prejudicial testimony. There also was gender prejudice. At one point, the mention of teacher and NEA member Christa McAuliffe’s death on the Challenger space shuttle brought laughter. That reaction was inexcusable. Some of you will be leaving the board at the end of this year, either from elections or attrition. At this point, you should be considering your legacy. Our legacy is that we warned you. TSTA can say we advised you to use a clear, cohesive process. We admonish you now to act more wisely going forward. The goal here needs to be well-reasoned consensus, not competition over political beliefs. If that lengthens the curriculum setting process, then so be it. You have time. Delay this process until you get it right, whenever that is. Too much is at stake here. It’s not about a group of politically driven board members winning their points. It’s about our children’s education.
June 7, 2010 Download your free copy of Edutopia’s Summer Rejuvenation Guide: 10 Tips to Help You Relax, Reflect, and Recharge for the Coming School Year. more
Smithsonian Ocean Portal transports visitors • Ocean Life & Ecosystems -- information about marine life species and their environments • Ocean Science -- the latest experiments and research of ocean scientists • The Ocean Over Time -- the evolution of the ocean • For Educators -- activities, lessons and educational resources • Photo Essays -- feature stories on ocean life • The Ocean & You -- important ocean issues and ways to make an impact • Find Your Blue -- participate, share and take action The website also includes the Ocean Portal Blog and RSS feeds. http://ocean.si.edu
May 26, 2010 The Tocker Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League are offering a Summer Educators’ Institute. The sessions offer ideas on best practices in anti-bias/diversity lessons, religion in the public schools, civil rights history and issues, cyber bullying and a way to check bias in your students. The Institute is coming quickly: June 14-18. If you are interested, please hit the link below to register: http://regions.adl.org/ southwest/events/2010-austin-summer-educators.html
March 18, 2010 The opportunities for public school “failure” will be many and diverse if Texas’ current accountability standards are revised to fit into the Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization outlined by the Obama administration. more
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World Wise Schools supports geography, global issues
Brain research—MRI’s Some of the behavioral data validate trends seen in other studies; for example, they show that family income has an impact on a child's IQ and social behaviors. But the lack of evidence for dramatic cognitive growth during adolescence was a surprise. Children from low income families performed somewhat more poorly on IQ and achievement tests and displayed more behavioral problems compared to children from middle and higher income families. They did not differ, however, on many other measures of basic cognitive functions, like memory and verbal fluency, or on most measures of social adjustment. A relatively larger percentage of low income children were excluded by the study's rigorous selection criteria, but the healthy low income children who did participate performed above published norms for their demographic. This suggests that in previous studies, general health disparities might have inflated the cognitive gap between low and high income children, Dr. Waber said. There were hints of much-cited differences in verbal and spatial ability between boys and girls, but these differences were not as sharp as those described in previous reports. In fact, there were no sex differences in verbal fluency. There were also no differences in calculation ability, suggesting that boys and girls have an equal aptitude for math. Regardless of income or sex, children appeared to improve rapidly on many tasks between ages 6 and 10, with much less dramatic cognitive growth in adolescence. This result fits with previous research suggesting that in adolescence, there is a shift toward integrating what one knows rather than learning new basic skills. Dr. Waber cautions, however, that these data provide "snapshots" of development in different children at different time points, rather than following each child over a series of time points.
Tips for students with ADHD During the school day, ask the teacher if your child can be responsible for handing out supplies for lessons or delivering messages to the office. Some fidgeting, when done discreetly, can sharpen attention and enhance performance. Have your child try wiggling his toes inside his shoes when he's reading in class -- or let him listen to music, when he does homework after school. -- from the creative fidget strategies from ADDitude's new Back to School issue
Standards without standardization
Make reading a yearlong
celebration K-12 Teaching & Learning Center
Own Your Own Future
H-E-B Chair: 'Public schools have an incredible
challenge' Q: What do you think about the accountability movement and standardized testing? A: There are some areas in which there are analogies between business and education and there are many areas when there are not analogies. In this case, I do think that there is an analogy. Years ago, decades ago in business, accounting was something that was just a record of the past and it really wasn't a guide to the future. And then new techniques developed -- new metrics, new approaches to measuring progress and so forth of every kind in every aspect of business activity. Many companies used that brilliantly and some companies that didn't use it fell aside. But some companies overused it and they got tangled up in their socks because they got so tied up in measurement and accounting that they forgot to serve the customer, and they took up so much of their people's time in filling out reports and measuring how Team X did against Team Y or Jim did against John, that they didn't do a good job for anybody. We need to back up, rethink it, and get a system that is right for the parents, right for the students, right for the school, right for the government entities involved, right for the public -- that everybody can understand and that helps the student, that's not in business to penalize the student or to make the schools look bad, which some people like to use it for. So, yes I am for accountability and testing, but I think we've gone overboard and need to rethink the whole thing. Read the whole San Antonio Express-News interview at http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA050507.excprohebutt.en.782c2cf8.html.
Response to Intervention: what it is, how it works
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Copies can be purchased from NEA’s Professional Library:
http://store.nea.org/NEABookstore/control/productdetails? College for Texans website How to renew your state certification Free professional development opportunities
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