Can the Middle Class Be Saved? - The Atlantic

Can the Middle Class Be Saved? - The Atlantic

It’s hard to miss just how unevenly the Great Recession has affected different classes of people in different places. From 2009 to 2010, wages were essentially flat nationwide—but they grew by 11.9 percent in Manhattan and 8.7 percent in Silicon Valley. In the Washington, D.C., and San Jose (Silicon Valley) metro areas—both primary habitats for America’s meritocratic winners—job postings in February of this year were almost as numerous as job candidates. In Miami and Detroit, by contrast, for every job posting, six people were unemployed. In March, the national unemployment rate was 12 percent for people with only a high-school diploma, 4.5 percent for college grads, and 2 percent for those with a professional degree.

Fastt Math: Status Unknown

I'm sure this will be on many a mind out there...

Despite my efforts to contact the tech folks, I have yet to hear anything regarding the status of the Fastt Math server. Stay tuned.

Clarifying Timeframes

Well, Chris has given me my first opportunity to blog! I've never done this before. But as Chris says, I need to practice my mathematical proficiency skill of communication.  I AM a lifelong learner!  I AM a lifelong learner!

We have been getting lots of questions about suggested timeframes on the curriculum guides.  Thanks for the feedback! We have changed the wording from weeks, to number of school days. School days are days in school when students are in math class (and that's every day! Right math lovers???). And please remember- these are suggested timeframes. Your mileage may vary.

We also added a bit of padding to the days in the first unit at every grade level. We know how important it is to set up your learning community and classroom routines. We wanted to give you plenty of time to determine what your students know, what your students need, as well as establish the managerial aspects of your classroom. This will free up your kid's attention from "What do I do when I have to go to the bathroom?" to "How many blocks do I have and how do I know?"

Matt Damon's Inspiring Back to School Speech!

Last weekend, concerned citizens held a "Save Our Schools" march and call to action in Washington, DC. Among their goals is a demand for a well-rounded education that develops every student’s intellectual, creative, and physical potential. Matt Damon and Jon Stewart were among the marchers - both having teachers for parents.

We're an embattled group, teachers. With a new school year about to begin, I wanted to repost Matt Damon's speech here. I hope you will find comfort within his public-school educated words.

"I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.

"I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to Kindergarten through my senior year in high school I went to Public Schools. I wouldn’t trade that education and experience for anything.

"I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself— my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity— all come from how I was parented and taught. "And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned— none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success— none of these qualities that make me who I am… can be tested.

"I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that’s true. But it’s more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep— this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.

"Now, don’t get me wrong, I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal’s office and said, “My kid ain’t taking that. It’s stupid, it won’t tell you anything and it’ll just make him nervous.”

"I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes. "I don’t know where I would be today if my teachers’ job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based not on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the “right” bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.

"I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn’t be here, I do know that.

"This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: as I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.

"So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “over-paid”; the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything…

"Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you, and we will always have your back."