Comments on: Dear Dr. Graham (and laughing FL School Board members) http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/ Fri, 18 Dec 2015 06:15:11 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.1 By: » Why our education rank means absolutely nothing. http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-1100 Mon, 12 Jan 2015 14:45:25 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-1100 […] experts communicate these same conclusions all the time. In fact, on a regular basis, you’ll hear Barrack Obama, Jeb Bush, Bill Gates, David Coleman and Arne Duncan all talk about gaps in the workfo… and how we have to provide students the tools and opportunities to fill those […]

]]> By: Katherine P http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-1080 Sun, 11 Jan 2015 08:57:01 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-1080 Well stated Kathleen!

]]> By: Choon Dho Olmsted http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-1075 Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:30:47 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-1075 Thank you Kathleen. A note worthy response. I want to thank your effort in this fight….and it is a fight!

]]> By: R0y http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-1069 Sat, 10 Jan 2015 01:31:52 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-1069 I believe this board is not much different from many boards around the country (education, civil leadership, etc) in that they simply do not believe they could ever be wrong, and anyone who dares point out that possibility MUST be a kook (and laughed at).

A disturbing national/local trend, indeed.

]]> By: Marian http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-840 Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:36:37 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-840 Thank you Kathleen Jasper, that was a great article. As I assume that she is referring to either Mary or myself as the ” fake grand-mother” , I am there on behalf of my children who can not attend. High Stake testing and Common Core are hand in hand. If the kids are frustrated with this bizarre learning process they will of course be extremely stressed during these test. What the school board is doing is without any doubt “Child Abuse” and it is the parents right to protect them. I gave her the benefit of doubt with the media until I read the article from the journalist at the Tampa paper and listened to the audio. I am outraged by her condescending words about the parents who are only looking out for the best interest of the their children. To them this is a joke and I’m not laughing …. If we did this to our kids, DCF would be all over us. Therefore, The time has come for all of us to demand her resignation and she can take Morgan with her as her severance

]]> By: Laurie http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-839 Sun, 14 Dec 2014 15:21:14 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-839 Great piece, Kathleen. I too have separated the issues of testing and standards for the same reasons you explain here. I find NG’s “performance” disgraceful, and laughing at the community you serve, mocking them and undermining their right to be active citizens and participate in their communities defies everything we try to teach our children in school. You have hit the nail on the head with this one.

]]> By: Bruce William Smith http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-838 Sun, 14 Dec 2014 06:46:11 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-838 Superintendent Graham is misinformed if she believes high stakes testing of the Common Core standards is likely to yield a competitive 21st century workforce. The United States has used a strategy of increasingly high stakes testing since 2001, when No Child Left Behind passed, and during that time young Americans’ competences, as measured by the OECD’s PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), have declined to the point where they are now in last place in the developed world; and the Common Core standards, despite their advertising, are not internationally competitive, particularly in mathematics, since, even if they are perfectly implemented, they will leave American students three years behind the Chinese and two years behind most of the other leading competitors in Asia and Europe.

]]> By: Maguire http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-837 Sun, 14 Dec 2014 02:23:26 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-837 This was a fantastic read Kathleen, some very good points if I must say so myself. I love that you will stop at nothing to make sure that people are made aware of what these leaders are doing, all behind our backs. I also took one part of her speech rather personally. After her meeting with me at my school at the beginning of the year, she said I was very passionate for what I am doing but I am simply misinformed. Which must mean I am another one of these misinformed leaders. Ugh, this stuff is so frustrating.

]]> By: charles http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-836 Sat, 13 Dec 2014 19:42:58 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-836 The idea that the majority of stakeholders remain silent BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MOST INFORMED is simply wishful thinking. Most parents are simply too busy to get too far into school board issues. They trust their board members.
The idea that because kids may not take one more high-stakes test each year they will not be able to compete in the global 21st century is interesting. What exactly do they learn from taking this single test that will give them 21st century skills? Easy to see where Supt. Graham is coming from. My concern would be that the board members seem all too eager to follow her lead. They must think for themselves.

]]> By: Darina http://conversationed.com/2014/12/13/dear-dr-graham-and-laughing-fl-school-board-members-an-open-letter-to-the-lee-county-superintendent-she-probably-wont-bother-to-read/#comment-835 Sat, 13 Dec 2014 17:11:11 +0000 http://conversationed.com/?p=4423#comment-835 She is a disgrace! More spew comes out of her mouth than from the sanitation department. I am disgusted by these popinjays.

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