Originally posted on Diane Ravitch's blog: A sage comment by a reader: “The chief purpose of the Common Core standards –– one cited by the Common Core initiative, and repeatedly echoed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Business Roundtable, and Arne Duncan and the like –– is that the standards are necessary to enable… Read more

Originally posted on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé: On her Blog, Diane Ravitch reports: “According to Duncan, our kids are dumb. Their parents spoil them. The kids don’t work hard enough. Furthermore, our culture stinks: No one takes education seriously, except Duncan, of course.” How does Arne Duncan—with President Obama’s obvious support—want to fix… Read more

Originally posted on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé: Taylor Dupuy writing for Monster.com listed five jobs that are likely to leave people disappointed. Number three on the list was Secondary School Teachers—my job for twenty-seven of the thirty years I was in the classroom. Regret also means: anguish; annoyance; bitterness; disappointment; discomfort, dissatisfaction; etc. … Read more

Originally posted on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé: When Amy Chua came out with her memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in 2011, thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s headline Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior—a headline that Chua didn’t write—a firestorm of criticism was unleashed. Chua even received death threats and because I… Read more