The Signers of the Declaration of Independence: They Risked All For the Liberty We Enjoy
As we enjoy our 4th of July celebrations, take a moment to reflect on those quaint men in powdered wigs men who gathered together back in Philadelphia in 1776.
We all have heard of John Adams and Benjamin Franklin; John Hancock and Samuel Adams (the only one to have a beer named after him).
But have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British in later battles, and became prisoners of war. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Richard Stockton of New Jersey had evacuated his family to New York, where one night he was dragged from his bed by local Tories and jailed at the infamous Provost Jail like a common criminal.
John Witherspoon, also of New Jersey, lost a son at the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. Another, Abraham Clark, had two sons captured and imprisoned on a British prison barge.
Nine of the 56 served in the Continental Army and died during the course of the Revolutionary War.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He was forced to sell his home and properties to pay his debts. He never recovered his fortune.
Thomas McKeam was “hunted” by the British “like a fox”; forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.
Soldiers looted the properties of Ellery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Rutledge, and Middleton. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates, there property appropriated for military use. John Hart was driven from his farm and forced to hid in forests and caves for a month. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife on Long Island for several months, and though released her health continued to deteriorate. She died a few years later, never fully recovering from her ordeal.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson pointed out his own house to American gunners, suggesting that as it was the finest in the town, it no doubt had been taken and was being used by British General Cornwallis as his headquarters. He urged the Marquis de Lafayette to open fire upon it. Several British officers dinning within were killed by the cannon fire.
The home of Thomas Nelson, Yorktown
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”
They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books tell about the battles of the Revolutionary War. But they don’t always tell the full story of these brave men who risked everything to stand up for liberty, against their own government; the most powerful empire in the world at that time.
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted…We shouldn’t.
So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying each and every 4th of July holiday, and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid. And remember:
To you, my fellow anti CCSS Warriors, I salute your diligence in fighting the overreach of Common Core, Competency Based Education, Career Tech Ed, College/Career Readiness, and all that goes with them for the Workforce based education system we see happening every day.
I congratulate you on your use of patriotism to see that the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) is a farce for American education.
However, we have much to do. Why? As I shared in my ‘Weekend News’, the full U.S. Senate will either confirm or deny Dr. John King as the Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Ed. on March 9th, 2016. But, there is MORE!
How the Anti CCSS Warriors are acting over the ESSA.
The List of ESSA Fools:
Not that we don’t already know there are lots of ESSA fools, but for a refresher, here are the groups of a newly formed coalition, Sen. Alexander revealed have already begun working hard of revamping education to fit the ESSA. (Source: the Senate HELP Committee Hearing from 2/25/16) National Governors Association, The National Educators Association, School Superintendents Association (aka: American Association of School Administrators), American Federation of Teachers, National Conference of State Legislators, National Association for the State Boards of Education, The National School Boards Association, National Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, the National Teachers Association, and with the support of the Chief Council of State School Officers.
Why are they fools? First, they are well known CCSS Machine members. Secondly, they all have gone out of their way to align education and lie about how great the alignment is. Their third foolish action? Helping spread the misinformation about the ESSA and the return of the States sovereignty in education.
Leading this fools battalion? The U.S. Congress and the mainstream media! Has the misinformation worked? Absolutely!
The Focus of the Anti CCSS Warriors:
From the time the ESSA was voted on and passed into law, our sole focus has been exposing the TRUTH about how the federal government, NOT the States will run education.
From today forward, you, the Anti CCSS Warrior, will have a document with proof of just how the federal government has hidden this control in plain sight. This document is one I created for my state’s legislators. I share it with you so you can continue (or begin) to help your legislators see the TRUTH. As always, in this War Against the Core, we don’t have much time.
Our actions MUST be planned well, carried out with purpose, and focused on our target: Ending federal control of education. The document is titled ‘ESSA Proof of National Control, Not State Control’. It is an “Open Office Document” which will download to your computer first, then you should be able to open it successfully. Be a ‘modern day Martin Luther’ and nail this document on the legislators doors!
Anti CCSS Warriors, this is the time to be radical, not shy. This is the time to strike fear into the Senate’s direction. They seek re-election. They won’t get our votes should they confirm Dr. King. While I am not suggesting physical aggression toward another person, I am suggesting we use a ‘hostage-like attitude’ toward the process of Dr. King’s confirmation. We have the POWER, not Congress. It is time we use that power to its fullest!
It is STILL a government of the people, for the people, and by the people!
Oh, and one last thought, while you contemplate whom to NOT vote for, 19 of the 22 members of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee voted FOR the ESSA!
Study Finds ‘Old School’ Pen And Paper Note Taking Could Help Students Retain Information
April 5, 2016 6:19 PM
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — If you want to be smarter you might want to swap out your smart phone for a pen and paper.
A new study out of Princeton found that there’s no replacement for old school note taking.
As CBS2’s Emily Smith explained, if you like to write things out rather than type them there’s a chance you’re smarter for it.
According to a new study at Princeton University, handwriting helps students focus, and boosts learning in a way a keyboard can’t.
“The art of note taking and students processing that pen to page helps retain information and personalize it,” Dr. Alexis Eckert explained.
Dr. Eckert, principal of Ho-Ho-Kus elementary, said as more schools do away with teaching cursive, and writing in general, she’s hoping the results of the study will sound an alarm to educators.
“I do believe technology has a place, but handwriting, manuscript, and cursive, has to be part of practice,” she said.
Researchers have been studying note-taking for a hundred years, but only recently started zeroing in on the difference between a pen and paper versus a keyboard.
According to the study, students who take notes on a laptop take more notes, but their pace and volume tend to undermine learning.
They said computer not takers typically forgot the material 24 hours later, but those who took notes by hand could remember longer. Even a week later.
Experts said brain imaging shows there’s actually something about writing things down that excites the brain.
“They feel it emotionally. They are actually using part of their body. It’s not just in the eye. They are actually forming the letters,” Dr. William Quigley explained.
Eighth graders said they agree with the study even though a pen and paper seems antique.
“When you’re typing you’re not writing out the letters. You’re pressing part of a screen,” Rimas Shacar-Palubinskas said.
“I think just writing it down makes your brain remember it better,” Natalie Ratner said.
Studies show when it comes to learning any notes are better than none, but if you want to make the most of a lesson then you may want to go old school with a pen and paper.
While the study was done in the classroom, experts said the findings likely apply equally to a business meeting or a doctor’s office.
Sure, we Anti CCSS/Fed Ed Warriors know there are General Assemblies of all kinds. We have them in our communities, our legislatures, and even global ones. But, did you know there is a CCSS Machine‘General Assembly’ group?
How I Found Them:
As an avid researcher, it is easy to find one group when investigating another group. Add in an educational topic, and the groups appear to be not only tied at the hip, but plentiful. My latest ‘connect the dots’ findings come from when I was looking into WhiteBoard Advisors and found General Assembly, a Global Educational Group.
In case you missed my Weekend News, my third point in the publication was to point you to the WhiteBoard Advisors and their May 2016 Education Insiders Report. I noticed in several instances on the W/A (as they refer to themselves) website, General Assembly was brought up. Thinking it meant that the W/A had a General Assembly (GA), I tried to find out who serves on it. However, what I found instead was the linkage between the two separate groups. All in the name of education reform, to boot! While there will be plenty to share about W/A in the near future, I will be using the rest of my Monday Musings to look at the General Assembly Educational Group.
Their message: “General Assembly (GA) is a global educational company on a mission to empower a global community to pursue work they love. Focusing on the most relevant and in-demand skills across data, design, business and technology, GA is confronting a skills gap through best-in-class instruction and providing access to opportunities. GA works with students online and in person across 15 campuses in 4 continents. GA also works with companies as partners in course development and graduate placement as well as helps companies stay competitive in today’s digital landscape. Additionally, GA’s focus on affordable and accessible education combined with our education-to-employment approach is helping to create a diverse talent pipeline.”
Warriors, do you see the CCSS Machine agenda? I do!
GA’s tie to the WhiteBoard Advisors is the Sr. Vice President and Co-Director of Research for W/A, David DeSchryver. See below:
To see the rest of DeSchryver’s bio:http://www.whiteboardadvisors.com/david-deschryver
What in the Report is of note? 1) Former Governor for NC, Bev Purdue (also a Senior Advisor for W/A) wrote the Forward in the Report. Bev Purdue, is a ‘card carrying member’ of the CCSS Machine. (*Note: her company DigiLearn is proof.) 2) The Report is from 2015. 3) It gives a ‘Top Ten’ list of policy making considerations to boost state and local economies via skill based education. 4) Both authors (DeSchryver and Kelly) are tied to other CCSS Machine member organizations. Kelly is tied to the Gates Foundation fundedEducation Week; DeSchryver has been in the thick of education reform since the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) days. 5) The Report falsely carries the notion of the ‘skills gap’(*Note: I have shared documented evidence with you in the past that the skills gap is narrative of panic the CCSS Machine is using to further their involvement of workforce based, P3 (public private partnership) driven education.) 6) Cities are giving grants to GA to come and operate there. An example is New York City and can be seen on page 6. (A related NYC article: http://www.businessinsider.com/hustle-con-presentations-on-startups-from-nerdwallet-teespring-general-assembly-thirdlove-2015-4) 7) The Report details how GA is helping transform America’s economy. 8) GA is working with an official from the U.S. Dept. of Ed to help accelerate learning. 9) The Report details how all this will be regulated in various States. Usually either the Workforce Training or the Higher Education Committees. 10) Employers are expected to not only be clear about their workforce needs, but to help in the credentialing process for education. Lastly, of the Top Ten priorities for state and local policy makers? Outcomes! Not true education, but outcomes of our students…of all ages!
What organizations have invested in GA? In 2014, the following: “GSV Capital, Rethink Education, Maveron, and Western Technology Investment also participated, and GA’s funding now totals $49.3 million.” See:http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/07/general-assembly-raises-35m-led-by-new-investor-ivp-to-add-more-tech-courses-new-campuses/
In 2015, more investors jumped on the GA Bandwagon: “Our new investors are AdvancePublications and Wellington Capital Management LLP” See:http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/30/general-assembly-raises-70-million-closing-in-on-25000-alumni-worldwide/
More Nebulous Connections:
From the list above, you may (or may not) see any further CCSS Machine connections. However, there are a couple which really stand out to me, GSV Capital and Rethink Education. In a short sentence, GSV is tied to the CCSS Machine through investments. Rethink Education is tied back to W/A (WhiteBoard Advisors) via Ben Wallerstein, one of the co-founders. That said, let’s see what else I can point you to about each of THESECCSS Machine member organizations.
GSV Capital: I first exposed this group by in 2014. See my article: https://commoncorediva.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/from-the-files-tuesday-down-in-the-valley/ In this article, I showed you the ‘GSV’ in GSV Capital stands for Global Silicon Valley. The Capital’s goal? Re-imagining education…we are talking well-known heavy hitting big name CCSS Machine members are involved; we’re looking at least $4 trillion dollars in the global education market, Warriors! We are also looking at how this group wants to eliminate school boards in the process. To see where in the list of priorities THIS bombshell is, be sure to enlarge the picture when you read the above article.
Okay, that was 2014, what about GSV Capital has changed? From their Blog titled A2Apple, “While there was plenty of competition for “mindshare”, last week we co-hosted the seventh annual ASU GSV Summit in San Diego, a gathering of leaders from across the global innovation economy with the mission of accelerating exponential ideas in education and talent. We welcomed over 3,500 entrepreneurs, educators, business leaders, policymakers, and investors, as well as 350 game-changing presenting companies.” (*Note: ASU is short for AZ State University, another well known CCSS Machine member.) See the screen shot below from the Blog.
Yes, Warriors, we knew Gates would be involved somehow. To read the rest of the article where both the excerpt and the picture are from: http://www.a2apple.com/change-your-mind/ (*Note: be sure to scroll down and see the pictures of the other speakers. Among them are TedMitchell, of the U.S. Dept. of Ed. and Dr. Condoleezza Rice of the Jeb Bush-backed FEE (Foundation for Excellence in Education. Be sure to look at the rhetoric and the research sources.)
By visiting the GSV Capital’s Strategy webpage, be sure you read the Making Private Public section to see where education comes into play. See: http://gsvcap.com/about/strategy-purpose/
Rethink Education: The website for this education venture investment firm:http://rteducation.com/ Tying them back to the W/A group is WhiteBoard Advisor co-founder, Jake Schwartz.(*Note: he can be found among the Rethink Education Portfolio Investors.)
Also among the Rethink Education folks, is Tom Segal, one of the co-founders. He is regularly featured on EdSurge (another CCSS Machine member). Tom also posts blog entries on the Rethink Education website. His entry about the beginning of Rethink is worth noting. Why? Both co-founders have a long history of ties to CCSS Machine connected entities, like Head Start and CUNY (NY). I have tied both of these back to the Machine in previous articles. As far as EdSurge’s ties: One of the Board members represents GSV Capital! To see the beginning of Rethink Education: http://rteducation.com/where-we-came-from/ To see the GSV Capital Board member: http://about.edsurge.com/board/(*Note: When you read Matt Hanson’s bio, be sure to see where it mentions he is also tied to GA, as in the General Assembly Global Education group!)
Closing: Warriors, do you see the nebulous ties above? It is insane how these groups are so closely in-bred. Not only are we having to fight the federal and state levels of government over Common Core and all that goes with it, but we have a plethora of private groups strangling our voices! Our governments and our schools should NOT have ANY private investors except the parents! By this, I am not talking investing money, but parents investing with their hearts because they are simply trying to do the best for their students. ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act), and the HEA (Higher Education Act) mock us. The P3s mock us. The CCSS Machine not only mocks us, but is doing its best to silence us!
Be sure to note that I will continue to delve into this subject and report what I uncover. I will also be exposing more about WhiteBoard Advisors soon.
How Finland broke every rule — and created a top school system
Jussi Hieveta’s fourth-grade class at the University of Eastern Finland’s Normaalikoulu teacher training school in Joensuu, Finland.
Spend five minutes in Jussi Hietava’s fourth-grade math class in remote, rural Finland, and you may learn all you need to know about education reform – if you want results, try doing the opposite of what American “education reformers” think we should do in classrooms.
Instead of control, competition, stress, standardized testing, screen-based schools and loosened teacher qualifications, try warmth, collaboration, and highly professionalized, teacher-led encouragement and assessment.
At the University of Eastern Finland’s Normaalikoulu teacher training school in Joensuu, Finland, you can see Hietava’s students enjoying the cutting-edge concept of “personalized learning.”
But this is not a tale of classroom computers. While the school has the latest technology, there isn’t a tablet or smartphone in sight, just a smart board and a teacher’s desktop.
Screens can only deliver simulations of personalized learning, this is the real thing, pushed to the absolute limit.
This is the story of the quiet, daily, flesh-and-blood miracles that are achieved by Hietava and teachers the world over, in countless face-to-face and over-the-shoulder interactions with schoolchildren.
Often, Hietava does two things simultaneously: both mentoring young student teachers and teaching his fourth grade class.
Hieteva sets the classroom atmosphere. Children are allowed to slouch, wiggle and giggle from time to time if they want to, since that’s what children are biologically engineered to do, in Finland, America, Asia and everywhere else.
This is a flagship in the “ultimate charter school network” – Finland’s public schools.
Here, as in any other Finnish school, teachers are not strait-jacketed by bureaucrats, scripts or excessive regulations, but have the freedom to innovate and experiment as teams of trusted professionals.
Here, in contrast to the atmosphere in American public schools, Hietava and his colleagues are encouraged to constantly experiment with new approaches to improve learning.
Hietava’s latest innovations are with pilot-testing “self-assessments,” where his students write daily narratives on their learning and progress; and with “peer assessments,” a striking concept where children are carefully guided to offer positive feedback and constructive suggestions to each other.
The 37 year-old Hietava, a school dad and Finnish champion golfer in his spare time, has trained scores of teachers, Unlike in America, where thousands of teacher positions in inner cities are filled by candidates with five or six weeks of summer training, no teacher in Finland is allowed to lead a primary school class without a master’s degree in education, with specialization in research and classroom practice, from one of this small nation’s eleven elite graduate schools of education.
As a boy, Hietava dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot, but he grew so tall that he couldn’t safely eject from an aircraft without injuring his legs. So he entered an even more respected profession, teaching, which is the most admired job in Finland next to medical doctors.
I am “embedded” at this university as a Fulbright Scholar and university lecturer, as a classroom observer, and as the father of a second grader who attends this school.
How did I wind up here in Europe’s biggest national forest, on the edge of the Western world in Joensuu, Finland, the last, farthest-east sizable town in the EU before you hit the guard towers of the Russian border?
In 2012, while helping civil rights hero James Meredith write his memoir “A Mission From God,” we interviewed a panel of America’s greatest education experts and asked them for their ideas on improving America’s public schools.
One of the experts, the famed Professor Howard Gardner of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, told us, “Learn from Finland, which has the most effective schools and which does just about the opposite of what we are doing in the United States. You can read about what Finland has accomplished in ‘Finnish Lessons’ by Pasi Sahlberg.”
I read the book and met with Sahlberg, a former Finnish math teacher who is now also at Harvard’s education school as Visiting Professor.
After speaking with him I decided I had to give my own now-eight-year old child a public school experience in what seemed to be the most child-centered, most evidence-based, and most effective primary school system in the world.
Now, after watching Jussi Hietava and other Finnish educators in action for five months, I have come to realize that Finland’s historic achievements in delivering educational excellence and equity to its children are the result of a national love of childhood, a profound respect for teachers as trusted professionals, and a deep understanding of how children learn best.
Children at this and other Finnish public schools are given not only basic subject instruction in math, language and science, but learning-through-play-based preschools and kindergartens, training in second languages, arts, crafts, music, physical education, ethics, and, amazingly, as many as four outdoor free-play breaks per day, each lasting 15 minutes between classes, no matter how cold or wet the weather is. Educators and parents here believe that these breaks are a powerful engine of learning that improves almost all the “metrics” that matter most for children in school – executive function, concentration and cognitive focus, behavior, well-being, attendance, physical health, and yes, test scores, too.
The homework load for children in Finland varies by teacher, but is lighter overall than most other developed countries. This insight is supported by research, which has found little academic benefit in childhood for any more than brief sessions of homework until around high school.
There are some who argue that since Finland has less socio-economic diversity than, for example, the United States, there’s little to learn here. But Finland’s success is not a “Nordic thing,” since Finland significantly out-achieves its “cultural control group” countries like Norway and Sweden on international benchmarks. And Finland’s size, immigration and income levels are roughly similar to those of a number of American states, where the bulk of education policy is implemented.
There are also those who would argue that this kind of approach wouldn’t work in America’s inner city schools, which instead need “no excuses,” boot-camp drilling-and-discipline, relentless standardized test prep, Stakhanovian workloads and stress-and-fear-based “rigor.”
But what if the opposite is true?
What if many of Finland’s educational practices are not cultural quirks or non-replicable national idiosyncrasies — but are instead bare-minimum global best practices that all our children urgently need, especially those children in high-poverty schools?
Finland has, like any other nation, a unique culture. But it has identified, often by studying historical educational research and practices that originated in the United States, many fundamental childhood education insights that can inspire, and be tested and adapted by, any other nation.
As Pasi Sahlberg has pointed out, “If you come to Finland, you’ll see how great American schools could be.”
Finland’s education system is hardly perfect, and its schools and society are entering a period of huge budget and social pressures. Reading levels among children have dropped off. Some advanced learners feel bored in school. Finland has launched an expensive, high-risk national push toward universal digitalization and tabletization of childhood education that has little basis in evidence and flies in the face of a recent major OECD study that found very little academic benefit for school children from most classroom technology.
But as a parent or prospective parent, I have spent time in many of the most prestigious private schools in New York City and toured many of the city’s public school classrooms, in the largest public school system in the world. And I am convinced that the primary school education my child is getting in the Normaalikoulu in Joensuu is on a par with, or far surpasses, that available at any other school I’ve seen.
I have a suggestion for every philanthropist, parent, educator and policymaker in the world who wants to improve children’s education.
Start by coming to Finland. Spend some time sitting in the back of Jussi Hietava’s classroom, or any other Finnish classroom.
If you look closely and open your mind, you may see the School of Tomorrow.
William Doyle is a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar and New York Times bestselling author from New York City on the faculty of the University of Eastern Finland, and father of an eight year old who attends a Finnish public school.
A list of 180+ ranked schools that don’t require ACT or SAT scores for admissions
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks to graduates during George Washington University’s commencement exercises on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2015 in Washington. The university awarded Cook with an honorary doctorate of public service. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is the newest major school to drop its requirement that most freshman applicants must submit SAT or ACT test scores for admissions purposes, according to this story by my Post colleague Nick Anderson, joining a list of more than 850 accredited, bachelor-degree granting schools (out of about 3,000 in the United States).
Of that group, some schools don’t require any students to submit scores, others exempt those students with specific GPA and class rank statistics, and still others require the test scores for the purposes of class placement or other non-admissions reasons.
Here is a list of 181 leading colleges and universities that have changed their requirements on submitting ACT and SAT college admissions test scores. The number next to the schools refers to their rank on the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Guide (2015 Edition)
This list was compiled and is maintained by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, a non-profit that works to prevent misuse and abuse of standardized tests. Its Web site has a lot of information on the SAT and ACT as well as on standardized testing in general. FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer said that growing number of test-optional schools “recognizes that no test—not the SAT, old or new, nor the ACT – is needed for high-quality admissions.”
5. Bowdoin College (ME) 7. Middlebury College (VT) “Test Flexible” 15. Colby College (ME) “Test Flexible” 15. Hamilton College (NY) “Test Flexible” 15. Wesleyan University (CT) 19. Bates College (ME) 19. Smith College (MA) 27. Bryn Mawr (PA) 27. Colorado College (CO) “Test Flexible” 34. College of the Holy Cross (MA) 35. Pitzer College (CA) 37. Dickinson College (PA) 37. Franklin and Marshall College (PA) 41. Mount Holyoke College (MA) 41. Union College (NY) 45. Bard College (NY) 45. Connecticut College (CT) 45. Sewanee — The University of the South (TN) 45. Trinity College (CT) “Test Flexible” 50. Gettysburg College (PA) 51. Denison University (OH) 51. Furman University (SC) 56. St. John’s College (MD) 56. St. Lawrence University (NY) 59. Lawrence University (WI) 59. Sarah Lawrence College (NY) 61. Beloit College (WI) 61. Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY) 64. Gustavus Adolphus (MN) 64. Kalamazoo College (MI). 64. Muhlenberg College (PA) 69. Wheaton College (MA) 73. Agnes Scott College (GA) 73. Earlham College (IN) 77. Lewis and Clark (OR) 81. Allegheny College (PA) 81. Knox College (IL) 81. Transylvania University (KY) 81. University of Puget Sound (WA) 89. Bennington College (VT) 89. St. John’s College (NM) 96. Washington & Jefferson College (PA) 99. College of the Atlantic (ME) 99. Drew University (NJ) 99. Ohio Wesleyan (OH) 99. St. Michael’s College (VT) 105. Augustana College (IL) 105. Goucher College (MD) 105. Juniata College (PA) 105. Stonehill College (MA) 105. Washington College (MD) 113. Siena College (NY) 116 Susquehanna University (PA) 120. Lake Forest College (IL) 120. St. Anselm College (NH) 124. Presbyterian College (SC) 129. McDaniel College (MD) 139. Wittenberg University (OH) 155. Illinois College (IL) 155. William Jewell College (MO) 159. Lycoming College (PA) 165. Hartwick College (NY) 165. Warren Wilson College (NC) 172. Guilford College (NC) 177. Albright College (PA)
National Universities
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27. Wake Forest University (NC) 32. New York University (NY) “Test Flexible” 33. University of Rochester (NY) “Test Flexible” 35. Brandeis University (MA) 53. Univ. of Texas – Austin (TX) “Top 8%” 54. George Washington University 68. Texas A & M (TX) “Top 10%” 68. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA) 71. American University (DC) 76. Clark University (MA) 116. Duquesne University (PA) 121. DePaul University (IL) 121. Temple University (PA) 121. University of Arizona (AZ) 129. Arizona State University (AZ) 135. Hofstra University (NY) 135. New School (NY) 138. George Mason University (VA) 142. Kansas State University (KS) 145. Univ. of Texas – Dallas (TX) “Top 15%” 149. University of Mississippi (MS) 156. Virginia Commonwealth University (VA) 194. University of Nevada – Reno (NV Regional Universities – North 2. Providence College (RI) 3. College of New Jersey (NJ) 3. Fairfield University (CT) 3. Loyola University (MD) 7. University of Scranton (PA) 9. Ithaca College (NY) 11. Bryant University (RI) 11. Marist College (NY) 11. Saint Joseph’s University (PA) 19. Le Moyne College (NY) 19. Rowan University (NJ) 28. Wagner College (NY) 31. Assumption College (MA) 31. Hood College (MD) 31. Nazareth College (NY) 38. Sacred Heart University (CT) 41. College of Saint Rose (NY) 41. King’s College (PA) 41. Roger Williams University (RI) 50. Montclair State University (NJ) 50. Salve Regina University (RI) 56. Chatham University (PA) 56. Mercyhurst University (PA) 60. Emmanuel College (MA) 65. Johnson and Wales University (RI) 65. Salisbury University (MD) 83. Manhattanville College (NY) 87. SUNY Potsdam (NY) 87. The Sage Colleges (NY) 103. Eastern Connecticut State University (CT) 103. Plymouth State University (NH) 120. Utica College (NY) 125. Keuka College (NY) 135. Cabrini College (PA) Regional Universities — South 2. Rollins College (FL) 6. Stetson University (FL) 13. University of Mary Washingotn (VA) 17. Christopher Newport University (VA) 18. Hampton University (VA) 34. Radford University (VA) 65. St. Leo University (FL) 65. St. Thomas University (FL)
Regional Universities – Midwest 3. Drake University (IA) 14. Baldwin-Wallace College (OH) 48. University of Wisconsin –Whitewater (WI) 80. Northwest Missouri State University (MO) 80. Robert Morris University (IL) 84. Wayne State College (NE)
Regional Universities – West 9. Whitworth University (WA) 35. California State Univ. – Chico (CA) 38. San Jose State University (CA) 40. California State Univ. – Fullerton (CA) 43. Sonoma State University (CA) 46. California State Univ. – Fresno (CA) 55. California State Univ. – Stanislaus (CA) 58. California State Univ. – Sacramento (CA) 58. Humboldt State University (CA) 58. San Francisco State University (CA) 58. Walla Walla University (WA) 66. California State Univ. – San Bernadino (CA) 68. California State Univ. – Monterey Bay (CA) 68. California State Univ. – Northridge (CA) 68. University of Alaska – Anchorage (AK) 68. Weber State University (UT) 75. California State Univ. – Channel Islands (CA) 80. California State Univ. – Bakersfield (CA) 80. Hawaii Pacific University (HI) 84. California State Univ. – Los Angeles (CA) 84. California State Univ. – San Marcos (CA) 84. Western Oregon University (OR)
Regional Colleges – North 4. Elizabethtown College (PA) 6. Lebanon Valley College (PA) 7. University of Scranton (PA) 9. Merrimack College (MA) 12. Bard College at Simon’s Rock (MA) 17. Wilson College (PA) 18. University of Maine – Farmington (ME) 24. Cazenovia College (NY) 26. Dean College (MA) 28. Pennsylvania College of Technology (PA) 31. Unity College (ME) 33. SUNY College of Technology – Delhi (NY) 37. University of Maine – Fort Kent (ME) 40. Nichols College (MA) 46. University of Maine – Presque Isle (ME) 46. Washington Adventist University (MD)
Regional Colleges – South 16. Catawba College (NC) 37. Belmont Abbey College (NC) 40. Keiser University (FL) 54. Lees-McRae College (NC) 64. Indian River State College (FL) 70. Everglades University (FL) Regional Colleges – Midwest 47. Olivet College (MI) 64. Dunwoody College of Technology (MN) Regional Colleges — West 6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OK) 25. St. Gregory’s University (OK)
How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expert
(Reuters)
Nancy Carlsson-Paige is an early childhood development expert who has been at the forefront of the debate on how best to educate — and not educate — the youngest students. She is a professor emerita of education at Lesley University in Cambridge, Ma., where she taught teachers for more than 30 years and was a founder of the university’s Center for Peaceable Schools. She is also a founding member of a nonprofit called Defending the Early Years, which commissions research about early childhood education and advocates for sane policies for young children.
Carlsson-Paige is author of “Taking Back Childhood.” The mother of two artist sons, Matt and Kyle Damon, she is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Legacy Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps for work over several decades on behalf of children and families. She was just given the Deborah Meier award by the nonprofit National Center for Fair and Open Testing.
In her speech accepting the award (named after the renowned educator Deborah Meier), Carlsson-Paige describes what has happened in the world of early childhood education in the current era of high-stakes testing, saying, “Never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen the situation we find ourselves in today.” Here’s the speech, which I am publishing with permission:
Thank you FairTest for this Deborah Meier Hero in Education Award. FairTest does such great advocacy and education around fair and just testing practices. This award carries the name of one of my heroes in education, Deborah Meier—she’s a force for justice and democracy in education. I hope that every time this award is given, it will allow us to once again pay tribute to Deb. Also, I feel privileged to be accepting this honor alongside Lani Guinier.
When I was invited to be here tonight, I thought about the many people who work for justice and equity in education who could also be standing here. So I am thinking of all of them now and I accept this award on their behalf — all the educators dedicated to children and what’s fair and best for them.
It’s wonderful to see all of you here — so many family and friends, comrades in this struggle to reclaim excellent public education for all – not just some – of our children.
I have loved my life’s work – teaching teachers about how young children think, how they learn, how they develop socially, emotionally, morally. I’ve been fascinated with the theories and science of my field and seeing it expressed in the actions and the play of children.
So never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen the situation we find ourselves in today.
Where education policies that do not reflect what we know about how young children learn could be mandated and followed. We have decades of research in child development and neuroscience that tell us that young children learn actively — they have to move, use their senses, get their hands on things, interact with other kids and teachers, create, invent. But in this twisted time, young children starting public pre-K at the age of 4 are expected to learn through “rigorous instruction.”
And never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that we would have to defend children’s right to play.
Play is the primary engine of human growth; it’s universal – as much as walking and talking. Play is the way children build ideas and how they make sense of their experience and feel safe. Just look at all the math concepts at work in the intricate buildings of kindergartners. Or watch a 4-year-old put on a cape and pretend to be a superhero after witnessing some scary event.
But play is disappearing from classrooms. Even though we know play is learning for young kids, we are seeing it shoved aside to make room for academic instruction and “rigor.”
I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would have to fight for classrooms for young kids that are developmentally appropriate. Instead of active, hands-on learning, children now sit in chairs for far too much time getting drilled on letters and numbers. Stress levels are up among young kids. Parents and teachers tell me: children worry that they don’t know the right answers; they have nightmares, they pull out their eyelashes, they cry because they don’t want to go to school. Some people call this child abuse and I can’t disagree.
I could not have foreseen in my wildest dreams that we would be up against pressure to test and assess young kids throughout the year often in great excess — often administering multiple tests to children in kindergarten and even pre-K. Now, when young children start school, they often spend their first days not getting to know their classroom and making friends. They spend their first days getting tested. Here are words from one mother as this school year began:
“My daughter’s first day of kindergarten — her very first introduction to elementary school — consisted almost entirely of assessment. She was due at school at 9:30, and I picked her up at 11:45. In between, she was assessed by five different teachers, each a stranger, asking her to perform some task.
“By the time I picked her up, she did not want to talk about what she had done in school, but she did say that she did not want to go back. She did not know the teachers’ names. She did not make any friends. Later that afternoon, as she played with her animals in her room, I overheard her drilling them on their numbers and letters.”
The most important competencies in young children can’t be tested—we all know this. Naming letters and numbers is superficial and almost irrelevant in relation to the capacities we want to help children develop: self-regulation, problem solving ability, social and emotional competence, imagination, initiative, curiosity, original thinking — these capacities make or break success in school and life and they can’t be reduced to numbers.
Yet these days, all the money and resources, the time dedicated to professional development, they go to tooling teachers up to use the required assessments. Somehow the data gleaned from these tests is supposed to be more valid than a teacher’s own ability to observe children and understand their skills in the context of their whole development in the classroom.
The first time I saw for myself what was becoming of many of the nation’s early childhood classrooms was when I visited a program in a low-income community in north Miami. Most of the children were on free- and reduced-price lunch.
There were 10 classrooms – kindergarten and pre-K. The program’s funding depended on test scores, so — no surprise — teachers taught to the test. Kids who got low scores, I was told, got extra drills in reading and math and didn’t get to go to art. They used a computer program to teach 4- and 5-year-olds how to “bubble.” One teacher complained to me that some children go outside the lines.
In one of the kindergartens I visited, the walls were barren and so was the whole room. The teacher was testing one little boy at a computer at the side of the room. There was no classroom aide. The other children were sitting at tables copying words from the chalk board. The words were: “No talking. Sit in your seat. Hands to Yourself.”
The teacher kept shouting at them from her testing corner: Be quiet! No talking!
Most of the children looked scared or disengaged, and one little boy was sitting alone. He was quietly crying. I will never forget how these children looked or how it felt to watch them, I would say, suffering in this context that was such a profound mismatch with their needs.
It’s in low-income, under-resourced communities like this one where children are most subjected to heavy doses of teacher-led drills and tests. Not like in wealthier suburbs where kids have the opportunity to go to early childhood programs that have play, the arts, and project-based learning. It’s poverty — the elephant in the room — that is the root cause of this disparity.
A few months ago, I was alarmed to read a report from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights showing that more than 8,000 children from public preschools across the country were suspended at least once in a school year, many more than once. First of all, who suspends a preschooler? Why and for what? The very concept is bizarre and awful. But 8,000? And then to keep reading the report to see that a disproportionate number of those suspended preschoolers were low income, black boys.
There is a connection, I know, between these suspensions and ed reform policies: Children in low-income communities are enduring play deficient classrooms where they get heavy doses of direct teaching and testing. They have to sit still, be quiet in their seats and comply. Many young children can’t do this and none should have to.
I came home from that visit to the classrooms in North Miami in despair. But fortunately, the despair turned quickly to organizing. With other educators we started our nonprofit Defending the Early Years. We have terrific early childhood leaders with us (some are here tonight: Deb Meier, Geralyn McLaughlin, Diane Levin and Ayla Gavins). We speak in a unified voice for young children.
We publish reports, write op eds, make videos and send them out on YouTube, we speak and do interviews every chance we get.
We’ve done it all on a shoestring. It’s almost comical: The Gates Foundation has spent more than $200 million just to promote the Common Core. Our budget at Defending the Early Years is .006 percent of that.
We collaborate with other organizations. FairTest has been so helpful to us. And we also collaborate with –Network for Public Education, United Opt Out, many parent groups, Citizens for Public Schools, Badass Teachers, Busted Pencils Radio, Save Our Schools, Alliance for Childhood and ECE PolicyWorks —There’s a powerful network out there – of educators, parents and students — and we see the difference we are making.
We all share a common vision: Education is a human right and every child deserves one. An excellent, free education where learning is meaningful – with arts, play, engaging projects, and the chance to learn citizenship skills so that children can one day participate — actively and consciously – in this increasingly fragile democracy.
