Author Archives

• A Crisis of Credibility

  By TC Weber on May 29, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Last week Vanderbilt hosted an education writers seminar. It was a pretty big deal. Such a big a deal that it brought Arne Duncan to town. Arne spent some time making appearances with his good buddy Kevin Huffman touting all the wonderful things… Read More ›

• Welcome Back From Friday News Dump

  By TC Weber on May 27, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day week-end. It was a good time to spend with family and remember those who have fought for our freedom. However let’s not forget those who would give it away. Let’s continue taking a… Read More ›

• More on the Tennessee TCAP Fiasco

  By TC Weber on May 23, 2014 • ( 6 )

  

  “We must make this the decade of education reform,” he wrote in January 2010, later citing initiatives he favors: decisions driven by “transparent data on student achievement,” differentiated pay for high-performing teachers and, perhaps most telling, “taking seriously who needs… Read More ›

• Who’s accountable?

  By TC Weber on May 22, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  This morning I read this story online. (http://www.ewa.org/blog-educated-reporter/tennessees-haslam-aims-mantle-education-governor) It’s all about Governor Haslam wanting to be the “Education Governor”. Then I read this interview with his “change agent” Kevin Huffman.(http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2014/05/19/ed-talk-kevin-huffman-says-adults-means-teachers-work-harder/) In this interview he makes a strong case for “a… Read More ›

• The truth about inovation and our public schools.

  By TC Weber on May 14, 2014 • ( 7 )

  

  As the husband of a public school teacher and a father of 2 children who are beginning their public school careers, articles like this recent one in the NY Times drive me nuts. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/nyregion/charters-public-schools-and-a-chasm-between.html?_r=0&referrer=  It paints a picture that all innovation… Read More ›

• Why does the head of the Tennessee Achievement School District say the things he does?

  By TC Weber on May 5, 2014 • ( 2 )

  

  ““Public” means government, which stands for benevolence and justice. “Competition” means markets, and those embody callous selfishness. Keep those icky markets away from the children!” The above quote comes from an article tweeted out by the head of the Achievement… Read More ›

• Once again its testing time in Tennessee

  By TC Weber on April 28, 2014 • ( 2 )

  

  This week marks the beginning of testing week in Tennessee. All week long students will be taking the annual TCAP assessments. These tests will establish their worth, their teacher’s worth, their school’s worth, their state’s worth, their countrie’s worth, and… well… Read More ›

• A good legislative session

  By TC Weber on April 24, 2014 • ( 5 )

  

  The Tennessee legislative session ended on the morning on April 17th and that afternoon Tennessee Ed commissioner Kevin Huffman tweeted the following out, 1st thought on end of leg session: Free community college for all TN grads is a game… Read More ›

• If only Common Core really helped with critical thinking.

  By TC Weber on April 15, 2014 • ( 3 )

  

  The last couple of years I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about Common Core and Education Policy and I am at a conundrum. We seem to be pursuing a goal in a manner that reflects none of the qualities… Read More ›

• A Brand New Educational system

  By TC Weber on April 7, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Last week I had a very interesting exchange on Twitter with the head of the Tennessee Achievement District. In case you don’t know, the ASD is Tennessee’s version of the Louisiana RSD. The state has created a “district” that is… Read More ›