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Teacher activism

This tag is associated with 17 posts

I’m Angry

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It’s Monday, and I’m angry. I’m angry because, after a weekend of careful planning, after differentiating an assignment for students who have mastered skills at different levels, after catching up on all of my grading, after getting my lesson plans in on time with the TEKS and the Reading Comprehension standards and the ELPS, I … Continue reading »

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics

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Recently, I attend a meeting of the Austin Social Justice Teachers Inquiry Group, during which we talked about… politics. A scary word in a school. Big “P” Politics referred to ways teachers can be involved politically beyond the walls of their classroom; little “p” politics meant bringing current events and social justice into lessons and … Continue reading »

The Third Way

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“The Third Way” is a phrase sometimes used to describe a new, third alternative after two somewhat opposite alternatives are explored and found wanting or inadequate. For example, the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, founded a way of life, an eightfold path, that was a “third way” after he rejected the excesses of indulgence on the … Continue reading »

Cooperative Catalyst Presents: Dream School Commons

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Jaime R. Wood is founder of Dream School Commons, a nonprofit organization with the mission of starting innovative low-cost or no-cost schools that serve populations in need. She is also the author of Living Voices: Multicultural Poetry in the Middle School Classroom (NCTE 2006). She started her teaching career working with middle school students in an alternative charter school … Continue reading »

Occupying the social space around #ISTE11

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So far I’ve spent my time at #ISTE11 working with and thinking about the Coöp and the National Writing Project (NWP). Yesterday, Paul and I helped facilitate a Hackasaurus-inspired NWP Hack-Jam attended by David and John, amongst others. The evening before that I got to spend time with David, Deven, Mary Beth, Paul, and Shelley … Continue reading »

Pedagogy of Fear – Guest Post by Morna M. Mcdermott

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At The Learning Network listserv http://bit.ly/fZdb6v members have been engaging in thoughtful conversations about the current educational policy climate.  But, we haven’t stopped there.  We have also committed ourselves to do whatever it takes to reverse the damage that has been inflicted on teachers, students, and families.  Some examples are: posting on various social media outlets, … Continue reading »

Stand up for public education

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This has been edited and revised from a previously published post at http://bit.ly/hwQkl7 In the current climate of teacher bashing, increased high stakes testing and teaching, and the push to use student test scores to evaluate teachers in order to determine individual teacher rewards and punishments, it is imperative that teachers, families, and students stand up and say, … Continue reading »

Lessons Learned from MAAP 2011

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Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people in the America lived on small farms in a self-sustaining fashion. They rose in the morning struggled for existence and made their way through life. But best evidence points that over 90% of the population was highly literate. Compulsory school laws were few and non-existent. The first U.S. law was enacted in 1852 … Continue reading »

#Blog4Reform Media Links

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Please add a link to your own post or to a favorite post that describes the Real Grassroots Education Reform that you believe America needs in the comments at this site. http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/ideas/ Next, please share one or more links with politicians and America’s media and use #blog4reform. Our voices only matter if others hear us. … Continue reading »

You Want Ideas? We Have Ideas!

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The Day of National Blogging for Real Education Reform was an outstanding success in many ways, and it continues beyond November 22.  While this post was originally set up to archive the links, some organization quickly became necessary.  The links are now mostly alphabetical by title, but a few have been brought forward–the reflections on the … Continue reading »

Some resolve & a little switch

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Before I talk about how I got here, let me try to describe where here is. I stand for Student choice. Democratic education. Authentic project-based, service, and entrepreneurial learning and feedback. Schools that function as nodes for learning opportunities. Extending students unabridged rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at school. Extending teachers … Continue reading »

Relax on the Collaboration

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The scope of this question is particularly bothersome to me. I like the way that Paula has discussed the inside-out phenomenon that many believe in where we all take care of the kids in our classroom and that creates a panacea for bad teaching in other rooms. I especially like this comment: It is time … Continue reading »

Forget about what you have to do

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I value Paula’s gift for capturing her practice in writing tremendously. Her advice to us teachers on how to reform education from our classrooms is pragmatic and provocative at once. I reflect on my own willingness, experience, and practice with Teaching parents. Challenging crap from colleagues. Challenging crappy colleagues. Challenging bad decisions publicly. I ask … Continue reading »

Do It From The Classroom

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This week’s Cooperative Catalyst blog question mirrors an #Edchat twtpoll question:  How can teachers have a bigger influence on education reformation? One of my favorite songs relatively early in my career was by Whitney Houston, called: “Greatest Love Of All“ It began with these words: I believe the children are our are future Teach them … Continue reading »

The Hard Path, Part 3

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This quote from Kirsten’s post about causing trouble sticks with me. The most important people in the school building are students. Their needs, their concerns, their desires, their lives should be what drives the institution. It should be student biorhythms that determine school schedules, their intellectual profiles that create its learning climates and activities, their … Continue reading »

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