Understanding the End Game

Wrench in the Gears

I gave this talk yesterday to a couple of groups of Philadelphia teachers and activists who wanted to better understand the ways education reform will be changing post-ESSA.

The push for conditioning and compliance will continue as we finalize the transition to an education system where surveillance is branded as data-driven “personalization” and devices monitor our children’s classrooms continuously. It’s difficult to organize and fight such a nebulous foe.  In this hour-long talk I hope to convey the reality of the reformers’ true end game- a future of automated teaching, virtual schooling, and community-based badging programs where workforce skills trump knowledge and critical thinking in the human capital game.  A future where parents and students must cobble together dozens of credentialed online and offline educational opportunities for their e-portfolios, feebly attempting to pay for them from meager virtual wallets/Educational Savings accounts. Watch it with the accompanying slide-share open. Many slides have links to resources you can investigate. Please share this post…

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The DE State Board of Ed’s Reaction to my Speech yesterday!

 

A Tribute To Heroes, In Memory of Those Lost on 9/11

 

Pencader Days, The News Journal Interview With Mrs. Lewis

Charter school parents: Could this happen at your charter school? Do you think something like this could be happening? If so, contact me!

The Season Of Myths

http://archive.delawareonline.com/videonetwork/1704081299001/School-leader-questioned-about-PhD

I had heard some things about what happened with Pencader Charter School, the school that was shut down by the Delaware DOE last year, but I had no idea how bad it was until I started watching some videos. Wow! And the fact that so many supported her when this was discovered. I’ve heard of school loyalty, but this is another thing!

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Sensory Processing or Sensory Integration Disorder: What It Is Like For A Child

Since my audience has increased a bit the past few weeks, I’m going to reblog some of my earlier posts today. This video excellently shows what it can be like for a child to have sensory overload.

The Season Of Myths

This video shows a boy walking through Walmart and the sounds and stimulation overwhelm him. Sensory Processing Disorder affects many children, including many kids with autism. Different senses can overload in the brain, whether it is sound, sight, touch, taste or smell. The stimuli comes in and it doesn’t filter through correctly, causing a traffic jam in the brain. This is a major reason why children who are afflicted with this go into a “fight or flight” mode. To make this video work, you have to turn up the volume all the way to the top, and not turn it down. I used headphones and I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin.

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Back In The World

This blog has been very heavy lately, and today I need to take a break. One of my favorite singers, David Gray, released a new album last month. His first single, “Back In The World”, has become my theme song for the summer. In an interview with USA Today earlier this year, Gray said the song is about dying and becoming reborn. This is how I have felt with life in the past year. So much happened in my world between 2013 and the earlier part of 2014. When I started writing for Kilroy’s, I was in a place where I knew I needed to write. Writing for me has been cathartic and healing. But sometimes you do need a break to recharge and refocus.

Delaware Bloggers Need To Stop Being A Meanie To Greg Lavelle

It’s just not nice. People can change their mind you know. I have nothing more to write about this.

Feel free to add any flippin’ comments you want, but don’t be flip!

Pencader Days, The News Journal Interview With Mrs. Lewis

http://archive.delawareonline.com/videonetwork/1704081299001/School-leader-questioned-about-PhD

I had heard some things about what happened with Pencader Charter School, the school that was shut down by the Delaware DOE last year, but I had no idea how bad it was until I started watching some videos. Wow! And the fact that so many supported her when this was discovered. I’ve heard of school loyalty, but this is another thing!

Which Famous People Have ADHD?

ADHD is not a lifetime sentence. Which celebrities and historical figures used their uniqueness to catapult themselves into the limelight? This short video will show you many faces you will surely recognize!

Boy With Tourette’s Syndrome Wins Award

As parents, we often see the negatives about our child’s disability. Sometimes though, in this young man’s world, he has turned his disability into something very different. Find out how the whistler boy used his disability to his advantage. A very uplifting story.

Sensory Processing or Sensory Integration Disorder: What It Is Like For A Child

This video shows a boy walking through Walmart and the sounds and stimulation overwhelm him. Sensory Processing Disorder affects many children, including many kids with autism. Different senses can overload in the brain, whether it is sound, sight, touch, taste or smell. The stimuli comes in and it doesn’t filter through correctly, causing a traffic jam in the brain. This is a major reason why children who are afflicted with this go into a “fight or flight” mode. To make this video work, you have to turn up the volume all the way to the top, and not turn it down. I used headphones and I thought I was going to jump out of my own skin.

Gilligan and The Skipper Speech About Common Core Implementation

Governor Jack Markell and Secretary Of Education Mark Murphy gave a speech to educators in Delaware in 2012 to “keep Delaware moving forward”. What they didn’t say was “Thanks for all that Race To The Top money. Let’s give some to the schools, and we’ll spend a lot of it on a new test that’s going to make us filthy rich!”

Governor Markell Video From 2012

Governor Markell gave a cheerleader rah rah rah speech before the 2012-2013 school year began. I love the “rigorous” oversight of charter schools and how he wants “every child, even those with disabilities to have a shot at success”. These exciting results from our legislature culminated yesterday in the House passage of the worst testing since, well, ever. Thank you Jack, but I am not buying the “core commitment” you speak of in this video.

From the HBO Documentary about Tourette’s Syndrome

See how kids who have Tourette’s really feel!