Editorial: Teaching as Defiance
Originally published in Rethinking Schools VOLUME 29, ISSUE 4 — SUMMER 2015.Recently, we posted an article at the Rethinking Schools Facebook page that listed reasons why parents should opt their children […]
standardized tests
Educating the Gates Foundation
June 26, Rethinking Schools editor Wayne Au spoke at a Seattle rally protesting the role of the Gates Foundation in public education: “Educating the Gates Foundation.” The rally was sponsored […]
Queering Our Schools: Spring issue of Rethinking Schools
by Jody Sokolower, managing editor and lead editor for Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality The cover theme of our spring issue of Rethinking Schools is “Queering Our Schools,” and the thought-provoking and […]
What’s good for Bill Gates is bad for public schools… and Microsoft, too
by David Morris Editor’s note: This news has been making the rounds in education activist circles, and we wanted to further amplify this important message. Turns out corporate style reform isn’t […]
Join the critical conversation on edTPA
We’re pleased to announce that the summer issue of Rethinking Schools magazine features a special forum with three perspectives on edTPA, the high-stakes test for new teachers that is being […]
Scrap the MAP International Day of Solidarity on May 1
As you are no doubt aware, increasingly powerful corporate interests are attempting to reduce teaching and learning to what’s on a standardized test. We have all seen these tests be used […]
Lessons from the Atlanta testing scandal
Bob Peterson, a Rethinking Schools founding editor and president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, reflects on the Atlanta testing scandal and the lessons we might learn from it. This […]
Leading Educators Support Teacher Test Boycott
In a public statement released today, more than sixty educators and researchers [UPDATE: now 130+], including some of the most well-respected figures in the field of education, pledged support for […]
High-Stakes Harm
Last week, we sent the following message to the folks who have signed up for our e-news, and we didn’t want you to miss out on this special deal. If […]
The Struggle for Mexican American Studies Continues
Many of you are familiar with the work of Tucson teacher Curtis Acosta. Acosta is the warm and eloquent—and photogenic!—language arts teacher featured in the film, Precious Knowledge, about Tucson’s […]
The results are in! There’s too much testing.
by Stan Karp Maybe we’re finally reaching the tipping point. After more than a decade of accelerating damage fueled by NCLB, the standardized testing regime that is the engine of […]
Unintended Lessons
by Terry Burant Recently, a friend told me that a former high school student of mine named his car “Terry” after me. When she asked him why, he explained, “She’s […]
NCLB waivers give bad policy new lease on life
by Stan Karp The Obama Administration’s approval last week of 10 state applications for waivers from NCLB was another missed opportunity to learn from a decade of policy failure. Instead […]
Zombie NCLB still stalking our schools
by Stan Karp Anniversaries are often cause for celebration… but the 10th anniversary of No Child Left Behind is mostly a time for damage assessment. A new report from FairTest […]