On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn NCLB, Standardized TestingLeave a comment

Today is the first day of school in Seattle. I have never been more excited and nervous for the first day because, not only do I start teaching, but my 5-year-old starts kindergarten! My son is so thrilled for his first day of school and our family feels so fortunate to have such a wonderful …

Continue reading On My Son’s First Day of Kindergarten: OurSchoolsAreNotFailing.org organizes communities to defend their schools from NCLB

“This is a test”: Educating to End the School-to-Grave-Pipeline in Ferguson and Beyond

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Ferguson, Michael Brown, School-to-prison-pipeline, Social Justice Pedagogy, Standardized Testing, Uncategorized13 Comments

“We were at graduation, me and him, and we were talking. He said he wasn’t going to end up like some people on the streets. He was going to get an education.” --Hershel Johnson, a friend Michael Brown’s since middle school. In the wake of the police murder of the unarmed 18-year-old African American high …

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Frankenstein Fears His Monster: The Gates Foundation Wants You To Boycott High-Stakes Tests

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Common Core, Gates Foundation, Standardized Testing15 Comments

“…the Gates Foundation agrees with those who’ve decided that assessment results should not be taken into account in high-stakes decisions on teacher evaluation or student promotion for the next two years, during this transition.”   -- Vicki Phillips, director of the U.S. education program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation   How do you know the …

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The Garfield High School Assessment Committee VS the Testocracy: We know how to run the schools better than billionaires

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Authentic Assessment, Garfield High School, MAP test boycott, Standardized Testing2 Comments

On Thursday of last week I attended a meeting of the Garfield High School Assessment Committee. A report on one of many after school meetings may seem mundane.  A committee of educators tasked with discussing assessment might appear innocuous.  Yet that gathering of fifteen or so educators sharing their experience, expertise, and asking questions about …

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RESPECT is on the Rise: I lost my bid for SEA union president by 45 votes, but the Social Equality Educators have never been stronger!

On By I AM AN EDUCATORIn Seattle Eduction Association, Social Equality Educators, Social Justice Pedagogy5 Comments

Thanks to everyone for your support for the Social Equality Educator’s (SEE) RESPECT campaign in the recent Seattle Education Association (SEA) union election!  Our campaign generated more excitement than ever before--both inside the union and among social justice and education thought leaders who supported my run for president of the union. In the end, I came …

Continue reading RESPECT is on the Rise: I lost my bid for SEA union president by 45 votes, but the Social Equality Educators have never been stronger!