[Xmca-l] Re: Opt-out movement

[Greg Mcverry]

Yet there is also data to support that the opt-out movement is really a
movement of affluent and privileged whites.

In fact the NAACP has come out strong in support of annual testing as a
neccisity. Some go as far to call the importance of keeping annual testing
a civil rights movement.

I think the opinions of  both NAACP wrong and those who look to
accountability based reform as a means to improving disparities between
students of color and their suburban peers are wrong.

On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 10:17 AM Beth Ferholt <bferholt@gmail.com> wrote:

> Here in the NYC area it is now a large and quickly growing, as well as a
> diverse, parent movement.
>
> I am generally pessimistic, despite the time I have chosen to devote to
> this movement, but there are three very good things to come out of it
> immediately:
>
> The children see their parents and teachers fighting back, together,
> because we care about them here and now -- we are present with them in
> their daily lives, not telling them what will be good for them when they
> grow up.
>
> May children enjoy joining the fight.  Their tactics are very interesting,
> worth us thinking about, even if they are also funny.  A huge march I went
> to this weekend had a sign that said: "Quomo, end testing, eat fresh
> Pizza."
>
> The teachers I work with, no matter what their schools are allowing them to
> do, feel deeply respected and supported by this movement, during this time
> when most of them are wondering whether or not they can remain in their
> chosen profession.
>
> Some of the NYC teachers are also opting their students out without the UFT
> or parents' support, just risking their jobs for their students, and while
> this cannot be widespread it creates empowering stories that
> intergenerational groups enjoy telling and retelling.
>
> In NYC we find out on Wed. if students getting higher scores one year to
> the next, on the tests, will now be the primary criteria for firing
> teachers.  We'll also find out if all schools of education with teaching
> candidates who do not pass the new Pearson teacher exams (results are back
> and almost the only teacher candidates passing identify as white) will be
> closed down by Cuomo in three semesters.
>
> Du Bois was writing about this, it's not new, and there is also probably
> little we can do to change the tide, but at least in NY things may look
> very different for public schools preK-graduate school within a few short
> years.
>
> We'll see if Cuomo's budget passes on April fools day,
>
> Beth
>
> On Mon, Mar 30, 2015 at 12:48 AM, Peter Farruggio <pfarruggio@utpa.edu>
> wrote:
>
> > Yes, it's still unsafe for teachers to boycott the tests in most places,
> > although the local teachers union in Seattle coordinated such an action
> > last year. But the opt out movement is led by parents, certainly with
> > teachers supporting it in the background, and it has blossomed this
> testing
> > season. Certain administrators have been using bullying tactics,
> including
> > outright violations of parents' rights; but the resistance to incessant
> > testing will continue to grow as parents organize and coordinate their
> > actions nationwide. Education is and always has been political, and the
> > politics have become harsher with the neoliberal push to privatize
> schools
> > and everything else.
> >
> > Teachers can and must play a role in defending democratic education, and
> > that means helping to stop the testing madness. The best thing they can
> do
> > at this point is to find ways to educate parents about what is at stake
> and
> > how to exercise their parental rights. If that means conducting
> clandestine
> > informational meetings in church basements, so be it.
> >
> > See below
> >
> >
> >
> > http://unitedoptout.com/
> >
> > http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=5528&section=Article
> >
> > http://fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out
> >
> >
> > Pete Farruggio, PhD
> > Associate Professor, Bilingual Education
> > University of Texas Pan American
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:
> > xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Greg Thompson
> > Sent: Sunday, March 29, 2015 11:04 PM
> > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] Opt-out movement
> >
> > This is related to the other thread since one of my initial responses to
> > the comments there was: As teachers, why not just stop paying attention
> to
> > all the testing and do the stuff that we know really matters?
> >
> > Here is one answer for why not:
> >
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08ntklteK_c&annotation_id=
> 54833ffb-0000-2b41-a517-001a11c17db2&feature=iv&src_vid=JM1ddULfdhU
> >
> > It is a video about a school in Chicago where 75% of the students opted
> > out of taking a standardized test and the fallout that followed.
> >
> > Scary.
> >
> > -greg
> >
> > --
> > Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> > Assistant Professor
> > Department of Anthropology
> > 880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> > Brigham Young University
> > Provo, UT 84602
> > http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Beth Ferholt
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Early Childhood and Art Education
> Brooklyn College, City University of New York
> 2900 Bedford Avenue
> Brooklyn, NY 11210-2889
>
> Email: bferholt@brooklyn.cuny.edu
> Phone: (718) 951-5205
> Fax: (718) 951-4816
>