tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post665371126519392664..comments2024-03-28T07:46:41.835-04:00Comments on the daily howler: NAEP VERSUS NEWT: Reigns of error!<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-21708375357272903902011-12-14T04:49:38.750-05:002011-12-14T04:49:38.750-05:00A Finn here. Our schools score better only because...A Finn here. Our schools score better only because the variance is concentrated in the central area of distribution, i.e. our worst students beat the worst students in other countries. As far as I can tell that is because our disadvantaged children live, still, in much better conditions than in many industrialized nations. In addition to homogeneous culture that is because since the 50's and up the 80's the country's political priorities were eradicating poverty/increasing the standard of living by offering quality education to everybody. (Historically Finland was a poor agricultural society, much poorer than other nordic countries, albeit one with an appreciation of education). It is an incredible success story, which will not stand the current political (=hard right ideological) climate for ever. And the message,to me, is: raise the living standards of EVERYONE. Offer free, quality schools EVERYWHERE. (Give more money to schools which are in disadvantaged areas if necessary as is the case currently in Sweden). What american teachers do in poor areas (as I understand, the school financing is partially/wholly dependent on property taxes of the area) considering the historical (starting with slavery) and financial restrains is nothing short of heroic.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-21688704571348611062011-12-13T23:29:50.527-05:002011-12-13T23:29:50.527-05:00"Is associated with"
They are reporting..."Is associated with"<br /><br />They are reporting on a statistical analysis. "Associated with" is a perfectly reasonable substitute for "correlated with." I thought we all knew that correlation does not mean causation. The sarcasm is misplaced, and detracts from the other valuable observations about (a) the op ed authors' failure to note (indeed, give central significance to) the incredible gains of minority students over the last 20 years and (b) their brain-dead adoption of the typical (and false) "we suck" international comparison narrative. (It's false, by the way, because of the provable impact of poverty which is higher here than in most other industrialized countries [certainly Finland, which in population and demographics probably could more accurately be compared with Minnesota], although the authors, with their standard-narrative blinders, fail to identify how that impacts the international comparison.)urban legendnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-46581487993810210872011-12-13T19:26:58.966-05:002011-12-13T19:26:58.966-05:00When I read about free school meals in Finland in ...When I read about free school meals in Finland in yesterday's NYT piece, the first question that popped into my mind was "What kind of food is served?" I am an elementary school teacher at a Title I school, and I keep canned chicken on hand as an emergency lunch in case I forget or don't have time to pack one. I will not eat the standard highly processed reheated junk with 2 dozen ingredients that look like a list of key terms in a introductory biochemistry course. We teacher have noticed that on some days our kids are all wired-up, every class, every grade. We figure the cause must be environmental and surmise that either the cafeteria food or the weather is to blame. Ever read the blog "Fed Up with the School Lunch>" <br /><br />Don't get me wrong; adequate calories and nutrition is better than inadequate calories and nutrition. I just think we can do better for the same or less money. A sandwich and fruit offers the same nutrition as a plate of chicken nuggets and canned corn, is cheaper to prepare, and probably contains fewer flavor additives and preservatives. A lot of our kids get the daily sandwich alternative anyway unless the main choice is a kid's favorite like chicken nuggets or pizza. <br /><br />Today a colleague told me that by regulation, a school breakfast and lunch, if eaten entirely, comprise the total daily calorie needs of a child. This regulation is intended to ensure that children who do not get fed at home are not underfed. This regulation may also explain a) why so much food gets thrown away; and b) why some kids are overweight or obese. I grew up in a Midwest "clean plate club" and have been conditioned since childhood to eat everything on my plate if I could. Thankfully as a child in a working poor home, I took a lunchbox to school every day and did not begin eating hot lunches until middle school. Breakfast was a bowl of Cheerios and milk only, not pancakes drenched in colored corn syrup or breakfast pizza. <br /><br />I am seeing more and more young kids whose bellies are swelling from rapid expansion, and I feel sick inside, knowing that these kids are being set up for a lifetime of metabolic disfunction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-69128183872438168542011-12-13T17:57:36.911-05:002011-12-13T17:57:36.911-05:00You folks are ignoring the fact that so-called &qu...You folks are ignoring the fact that so-called "low information voters" -- persons who can't identify either the claimed or actual policies of either party, or the candidate they just voted for -- decide American elections.<br /><br />You can dream of an enlightened discourse all you want, but if you can't find a way to compete with Republican lies, you're sunk. One might also point out that Democrats who decline to offer a real alternative to Republican policies (or who, like Obama, appear to want to enact Republican policies under the guise of "compromise") don't give the propagandists much to work with.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-44429710489749884782011-12-13T13:38:34.183-05:002011-12-13T13:38:34.183-05:00The ideal situation would be this: liberals would ...The ideal situation would be this: liberals would look at the <b>facts</b> concerning the NAEP and then construct persuasive narratives, employ all the psychocognitive effects that narrative, rhetoric, figuration, imagery, etc. offer, to convince people of the <i>truth</i> of what's going on, as opposed to <br /><br />1) reacting after the GOP has already shaped the narrative; or<br /><br />2) reciting random, angry sh*t that is tribally pleasing but does zilch to counter the GOP narrative.<br /><br />It's not that hard. <br /><br />One reason the Occupy Movement has had an effect is because some sharp members of that movement have taken some basic, quantifiable <b>facts</b> about income and wealth disparities between the top 1% and the bottom 99% rest of us, and put them <i>into a narrative that millions of people are beginning to understand.</i><br /><br />The right does this all the time. Liberals need to learn how to do it. Starting with the success, over the last FORTY YEARS, of black and latino children in <b>public schools</b> could be a game-changer. But the reality is that many high-end liberals really do identify with the rich because they are rich, and couldn't give a damn about public schools or children of color or anything else that doesn't involve upper middle class concerns and people and institutions, like the Ivy League. <br /><br />The <i>New York Times</i>, like the "mainstream" network news, like far too many of the "intellectual" journals, etc., is ground zero for this kind of mentality.<br /><br />As a result, the country--and as we're seeing, because of the grotesque screw-ups of the American right, and the right all over the world--the globe suffer terribly.Yanomamonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-62636888342123105122011-12-13T13:34:36.553-05:002011-12-13T13:34:36.553-05:00Well, scores appear to be going up for many segmen...Well, scores appear to be going up for many segments of the population but I do see some liberals focus on the "achievement gap" as an indicator of inequality.<br /><br />Here's a good discussion of the achievement gap: <br /><br />http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/why-comparing-naep-poverty-achievement-gaps-across-states-doesn%E2%80%99t-work<br /><br />I think there is enough evidence though that poverty and other social conditions (like imprisoning black men as a policy) create inequality in test scores. The premise that fixing inequality in schools should start with fixing inequality outside of schools is sound.<br /><br />As I noted the other day, we may be getting kids food in schools, but we are terrible at parental leave after a child is born, we're terrible about providing day care or pre school or after school care. We're terrible at providing consistent health care. Parents have to work harder to earn a living and have less time for kids. We imprison more parents than ever before an punish the families. These are the reasons for inequality in schools and testing more and doing right-wing "reform" simply misdirects our attention from the problem. Firing a certain number of teachers and privatizing schools will only make things worse.Walter Wit Mannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-30980813346673116972011-12-13T12:54:47.772-05:002011-12-13T12:54:47.772-05:00Mr. Sombery says explicitly why the issues are joi...Mr. Sombery says explicitly why the issues are joined...<br /><br />liberals have had YEARS to formulate a truthful rebuttal to conservative disinformation regarding schools and regarding the children who attend those schools.<br /><br />When Gingrich opens his mouth, the ONLY response liberals can come up with is half-assed, less than truthful, and essentially worthless SCRIPT that does nothing to <br /><br />1.) counteract conservative disinformation<br /><br />or<br /><br />2.) further advance liberal understanding of the issues<br /><br />When "liberals" speak (liberals as represented by the media AND blogosphere) they actually tend to DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD.<br /><br />If you want snark, we've got it in spades.<br /><br />If you want factual messaging which might help voters understand how they're being misled...NOT SO MUCH!!!willyjsimmonsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-10004713379445283712011-12-13T12:02:21.421-05:002011-12-13T12:02:21.421-05:00Unclear to this reader why, exactly, Newt Gingrich...Unclear to this reader why, exactly, Newt Gingrich and the NAEP are conjoined here, but let's clarify a certain matter, if we can: is Mr. Somerby asserting that sloganeering (or, for that matter, Gingrich-style rhetoric) doesn't work in the U.S.? <br /><br />If so, to what exactly does he attribute the rise of Republicans, despite the fact that Republicans promote ideas which are demonstrably disastrous for most voters?<br /><br />Or is he asserting that these strategies do indeed work, but only Republicans are allowed to use them, because we Democrats would rather lose than manipulate the public?<br /><br />One could point here to the occasional eloquence of Obama, as a measure of how "liberals" should talk, but since nothing Obama says can be believed,and few real progressives actually do believe him any longer, Mr. O offers little in the way of instruction(?)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com