Dissident Teacher

Ask yourself: when was the last time you saw your kid reading to prepare for the next day’s lessons at school?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m sorry.

California schools are required by law to make all required texts available to all students in class and at home. Textbooks are pre-loaded onto iPads and Chromebooks in schools with 1:1 device policies. Given that the ability to pay focused attention to a complex text is the most important skill for any serious student, why aren’t we seeing kids reading chunks of nonfiction text or novels of the Western canon anymore?

Teachers have learned that holding kids accountable for reading in the digital age is difficult, if not actively discouraged by administration.

Richard Feynman taught us the way to assess understanding ages ago. I detailed his process

here

for parents. (If you’ve got a middle-schooler or teenager and you’re thinking about homeschooling, the Feynman test should be your go-to; you don’t need multiple-choice tests.)

But at the K12 level, holding students accountable for reading at home has two prerequisites and multiple complications.

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notes and links on balanced literacy

 overestimate student achievement, underestimate spending

Related: Act 10

Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection?

The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…

The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”

My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results

2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results 

Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.

“An emphasis on adult employment”

Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]

WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators

Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results

Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.

When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?