Category: Huffman

Hide & Seek: TNDOE hides Common Core

8/19/2014

Our last Momma Bear blog focused on the external makeover of the TNDOE: website, email, and Bill's staff's letter to teachers. However, there was one huge difference that deserved its own blog. Did you catch it? Take a look at their new website, again, in the previous blog and see if you can tell what is missing:

Do you notice anything "common"?
Bingo!!! All references to Common Core have been removed!

You'll see plenty of the word, "CORE," because of TNCORE. They can't really eliminate "TNCORE" because they have a whole different website devoted to it with its own logo and all. Obviously, the TNCORE website hasn't gotten a makeover yet because Bill's picture is still at the top along with Kevin Huffman's name just like on the old website:

But notice that even this TNCORE website doesn't even mention the word, "common," on its main page. You have to play hide & seek with your mouse to find the actual words, "Common Core," anywhere at all on the subpages. There is also no ketchup-mustard-onion-swirl Common Core logo:

Does that mean we aren't doing Common Core in Tennessee???
Oh, don't we wish! Unfortunately, there are lots of people making lots of money on this Common Core gravy train, so it is still chugging along the tracks full-steam ahead whether parents and teachers like the direction the train is heading or not.

Here is what the TNDOE has sneakily done, they have renamed the Common Core standards to:

 "Tennessee State Standards" 

Teachers told us that this renaming quietly happened over the past year. Teachers and Common Core coaches have been told to call it by the new name from now on and not to use the words, "Common Core" to avoid controversy or conflict. The name is toxic.

We are not stupid. Taking "common" out doesn't make it any less "common". It doesn't change the developmentally inappropriateness of the standards one bit.

Wait, can they do that???
Now, everyone knows that Tennessee didn't write these standards. Even so, our state is branding them as their very own, which any English teacher can tell you is plagarism. Some would even consider it "stealing," "theft," or "lying" to take someone else's property and put your name on something you didn't write. Whatever you call it, it is undeniably sneaky and underhanded. If the owners of the Common Core don't object to it, (and why would they? they just want the standards implemented no matter what it takes) Tennessee can do it.

The TNDOE thinks that by not using the toxic name people won't be so upset. Think again. It is even more infuriating to know they are blatantly trying to trick us, isn't it?

So, what can we do about it, Momma Bears?
Our elected officials need to hear from parents and teachers. Contact your State Representative and Senator and politely tell them you don't want Common Core in Tennessee no matter what they call it or how they sugar-coat it with fancy marketing.

Click HERE to find your legislators and send them a quick email, make a few quick phone calls, or even handwrite some letters (We've heard that snail-mail letters are the best at getting their attention). You could even make an appointment to meet with your legislators when they are in town and bring your kids along!

The Legislative Session in TN doesn't start until January, so we're stuck with the Tennessee State Standards (aka Common Core) until then. Now is a crucial time to contact legislators because November is prime time: Elections.

Our elected officials need to hear from you, parents. Most legislators' children are grown or in private schools; they are out of touch with what is really going on in public schools. They get biased information from highly-paid lobbyists who work for organizations funded by corporations that profit from Common Core and other lucrative reforms like charter schools. It is up to you, parents, to use your voice to advocate for your children and their education.

And, for pete's sake, be sure to vote in November!!!
There are candidates running for Governor against Bill in November. He scared away many candidates with his massive campaign warchest, but there are some underdogs still in the game. Their chances are slim since they are all waaaaaay outspent by corporate millionaire Bill... but it could happen! If every informed parent in TN voted and/or if every teacher in TN voted, it is entirely possible Bill could be defeated. Two of Bill's candidates are opposed to Common Core and the federal takeover of our public education system. Here are links to more info about them:

Shaun Crowell, Constitution Party
Isa Infante, Green Party

Remember:

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Rebranding the TN Department of Education

8/18/2014

Remember the bid for a PR firm that that TN Parents wrote about in the spring? The TN Department of Education desperately sought the help of marketing professionals to fix their dreadful image. Well, obviously, a firm was hired and is working their makeover magic because there's a monumental difference in the propaganda coming out of the TN DOE lately.

First, check out the TN DOE website makeover:

BEFORE:
(website screenshot from March 2014)

The old website had an overcast, almost foreboding, grayish blah color scheme. Kevin Huffman's name and Governor Haslam's picture were both prominently displayed at the top of every page. Photos on the page included important people posing with other important people. Like the other government pages, the watermark at the top and bottom of the webpage showed mountains, which could imply the federal Race to the Top program that everyone hates, or it could be interpreted to mean that East Tennessee is more important than the flat land in the western part of the state. Take your pick.

AFTER:
(screenshot from August 2014)

As you can see, the new website has lots of changes. There are large pops of happy colors and candid pictures of cute kids. There's a tab for "community". Gone are the banners with Kevin Huffman's name and Governor Haslam's smirk on every single subpage because maybe that expensive PR firm realized that people's blood pressure skyrocketed every time they saw it. Or maybe, just maybe, this is a foreshadowing that Kevin Huffman may not be around much longer? Momma Bears can only hope! Also missing from the new webpage are the smoggy mountain images. We guess we are not racing to the top anymore now that the entire $500 million prize we won is spent?

It is kinda funny how the new website says, "We've redesigned and reorganized our site from the ground up with you in mind." Gee, thanks, for keeping me in mind, when in all honesty, we are sure that the only thing on your mind was: "How On Earth Do We QUICK Fix This Awful Image Problem That Governor Haslam and His Appointed Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, Have Created Before Election Time in November So That The Governor Gets Re-elected And We All Keep Our Jobs?"

And, of course, this dishonest image is still on both websites:

Because that is the ONLY thing that the Governor has to cling to. TCAP scores this year were flatter than a puddle of water on Tennessee asphalt in August. There is no miracle, not from Common Core, not from this new RTI2 mandate, not from the awful teacher evaluation rubrics or TVAAS system, and most certainly not from giving a chunk of our poorest public schools to charters through the ASD because those schools are lower than ever.

TCAP scores weren't even released in time for student's final report cards in the spring because they had to adjust the cut scores, take out the non-common core questions to boost scores, and figure out a way for this new PR firm to triage the massive outrage and somehow put a positive spin on the dismal results.

Here is why that claim of "Largest Growth on 2013 NAEP" is not truthful:
The Governor and Huffman keep saying it everywhere they go, and probably even mutter it in their sleep, but they neglect to mention one ginormous fact: TN passed a new law the year before the 2013 NAEP test which drastically changed the pool of students eligible to be tested for NAEP. This new law prohibited 3rd graders in Tennessee from being promoted to 4th grade if they were not proficient. So, for the first time in TN history, 3rd graders were not socially promoted to 4th grade. The low-scoring students were left behind in 3rd grade! Voila! Don't let the non-proficient kids in to 4th grade to take the test and you magically lift the whole state's average score compared to other states in the nation!
(A note about NAEP tests in case you don't know: the NAEP is given every 2 years to randomly selected 4th and 8th graders in every state in the nation. It is required by the Federal Government to get our federal tax dollars for our schools. Click HERE and HERE to read more about the NAEP and how is manipulated to suit politicians).

Next, NEW Emails from TNDOE:
I Heart You soooooooo much!!!

Subscribers to the TNDOE weekly emails noticed a big difference in the weekly emails, too. Prior emails were cold, factual, and condescending. The paragraphs were blocky and had the attitude of "Do This New Policy Or Else".

The new email sent to subscribers last week had hearts, smiles, friendships, relationships, unicorns, and rainbows. (Okay, so not the last 2, but we're not exaggerating about the difference being night and day.) Here's an excerpt from the new email:

See? They are not meany-pants dictator bullies... They are a "team" wearing cute matching shirts and holding signs of love! (Bonus points to those who can pick out the former Teach For America overpaid staff).

Another big change to the emails is that they are now being sent through Mailchimp, which is an email service that allows the sender to track opens, clicks on links, reports, etc. The TNDOE loves, loves, loves data so they are probably in data heaven.

Save the best for last, a special LETTER:
U R MY BFF 4EVR! <3, Bill XOXOXO

Tennessee teachers were shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you! - last week to receive personalized emails from the Governor himself. These letters were addressed to their first names, which left some wondering if they are now considered friends with the Governor. Bill (we can call him by his first name now, right?) wrote about the way he traveled across the state and had 12 secret meetings with pre-screened teachers and how he listened, oh how he listened, and he just loves teachers and wishes he could pay them more but he has to take care of corporations first. Okay, so Bill didn't blatantly say that in the letter, but if you read between the lines and know the recent news, it is what our friend, Bill, really meant.

We bet someone from that fancy new PR firm wrote the letter anyway. Bill doesn't write letters. He certainly won't respond to any of ours. Of course, he has staff that sends out blanket responses because Bill does not have the time to correspond with commoners unless you are pre-screened and agree with Bill's views.

Not all teachers were fooled by the use of mail-merge fields or by the use of their school email address to try to gain their vote for Bill in November. Other candidates for Governor certainly don't have the luxury, ability, or staffpower to send personalized blanket emails to teachers using their school email addresses, but Bill does. (Click HERE if you want to see one of those blanket letters Bill sent to a TN teacher)

So, what has changed within the TNDOE?
Nothing. Zip. Zero.

The same people are still doing the same jobs at the TNDOE and they have the same intentions of forcing Common Core on our children, requiring high-stakes tests on our children, punishing and firing our children's teachers based on our children's test results, and crushing our children's public schools to expand more charter schools in TN so their friends can make big bucks.

The difference is that our tax dollars are now being spent on the best Public Relations Firm our tax money can buy with the goal of fixing the horrible image of the TNDOE, Commissioner Kevin Huffman (for as long as Bill keeps him around as a puppet), and the person who just happens to be up for re-election in November: Bill.

Lipstick on a pig, anyone?

Coming up in the next Momma Bear blog:
HIDE & SEEK - THE TNDOE hides Common Core
See how the new PR firm has removed the toxic name from TNDOE's vocabulary to fool people

Petition warfare

7/9/2014

Momma Bears are flattered that our petition (Stop Hurting Our Schools: Remove Kevin Huffman as Commissioner of Education) is receiving so many new signatures in the past 48 hours! Apparently, it is now in a little petition popularity contest!

See, Kevin Huffman's fan club (people who wouldn't like him if they weren't getting so rich from his "leadership"... who would surely hate his guts if their own children attended public schools and were forced to do all these standardized tests and crazy common coreishness... or if their spouse worked in a real public school for an honest paycheck and was judged by that mathematical TVAAS cattle-growth formula to show her worth), well, they need to protect their pocketbooks. They know Huffman is in hot water after the whole TCAP mess, his tampering with the TCAP questions and cut scores, his illegally granting waivers to districts, and just last week his harsh announcement that there will be no mercy for SPED students when it comes to testing.

Rumors abound about Huffman's time left in Tennessee, but you gotta admit he's a tough booger for taking the heat for Governor Haslam's awful decisions for so long. (Governor Haslam is only doing what Jeb Bush tells him to do following the step-by-step list on how to ride on coat-tails to the White House.) The word that has trickled down to us common folks that Governor Haslam was so stinking mad at the 15 brave legislators who signed a letter to remove Huffman that Governor Haslam decided to keep Huffman around a little longer just out of spite.

Speculation about who will replace Huffman range from Freddy Krueger to Voldemort. The profitability of either villain bodes well for reformers (both did well in the movie Box Office), so the future looks bleak for public schools under Governor Haslam's leadership. Unless Haslam suddenly grows a heart and puts a real educator with compassion in that position, public education in Tennessee looks bleak.

By the way, we are hearing great things about 2 candidates for Governor! John McKamey (Democrat) and Shaun Crowell (Constitution Party) are both against Common Core and support strong public schools! They don't have nearly the war chest of campaign money that Governor Haslam has, but we Momma Bears believe in miracles, happy endings, and the power of voting parents.

Anyway, read all about the pathetic petition to save Huffman's neck at this link. You can see all the fancy-pants people that signed it who send their own kids to private schools and also about the naive young'uns at TN DOE, ASD, and TFA who are recently out of college and have nice, cushy jobs bossing hardworking teachers around.

Oops. We Changed Our Minds.

4/28/2014

We Momma Bears recently had a chance to climb out of our caves and do some reading in the bright, spring sun. We finally had a chance to read through all those SCORE emails about Common Core--and we are here to announce that we have officially changed our minds:

We now believe that our children will only reach the highest levels of self-actualization if they are exposed to the wonders of these miraculous standards. You may be thinking "What the heck? Seriously? Am I being punked? Is it the end of the world as we know it?" but please hear us out....

Here is our ever-so-insightful reasoning:

1) We have on good authority that Common Core standards are so potent that they will counteract any and all of the negative affects that child poverty may have on learning. Your student didn't sleep last night because he/she was too hungry? Don't worry! Teach them to decompose a number and all will be well.

2) We now understand that the best way to teach a child grit and tenacity--character traits developed by CCSS--is by throwing them into the proverbial pool because they will teach themselves to swim! No typing courses required in the state of Tennessee? No problem. After countless hours of testing on computers, they will eventually train themselves to tearfully hunt and peck their way to a 3-sentence paragraph in kindergarten before they can even read! And they will have developed grit and tenacity. And all will be well... unless they score poorly on the test... because if they score basic or below, they'll sadly finish kindergarten designated one or two years behind grade level. So, the big question is: When will pre-k testing start to better quantify that all kids should learn at the same pace? Better yet, can you start testing them as toddlers? Surely there is a way to rate a toddler's grit and tenacity based on their tantrums.

3) Common Core is going to close the learning gap! Even though the standards were raised and the gap might be wider, inspirational rubrics will overcome closing grade level performance. But, not to worry... your failing scores will put you in the bottom 5% of performing schools and your school can be closed, leaving you all sorts of charter school choices (who all do the same scripted Common Core lessons, give lots of tests, and are staffed by cheap, unqualified, temporary teachers with no experience so it really doesn't matter which one you pick... or which one picks you, because the charter schools can legally kick out the kids they don't want and there is nothing you can do about it).

4) Your child is disabled? Learning English as a second language? Well, finally your child will be tested and be instructed just like all of their peers! No more accommodations for the weaklings! Sink or swim. Hey, it is a dog eat dog world. Kids that can't cut it will be called "factionless" and left to live outside the 4 pillars of our society (just like in the novel & movie, Divergent).

5) Please bring us even more CCSS! Please tell us you haven't forgotten Science and Social Studies! We need some new and harder ways to learn these subjects too. Because right now nobody cares about the untested subjects. Testing can return a focus on the entire educational experience (if tied to teacher evaluations, of course). Everything needs an aligned to a test! Be sure to include art, music, and physical education! Can you please figure out a way to test recess? We bet the government can even figure out some method to test how our kids eat lunch and then use their scores to fire cafeteria workers. Oh, and don't forget Sex Ed! Make it as graphic as possible, we don't even care how young the kids are when they learn it.

6) We want brand new untrained teachers to teach it. We know it is tough trying to squeeze that budget tighter each year and still pay the executive salaries & benefits for the administration at the top of the food chain. Get rid of all those hard-working, stay-in-the-profession-forever types. Who needs them? Bring us the Teach for America robot drones. Five weeks of training is more than enough to prepare new college grads without education degrees how to be the excellent teachers that children deserve. Never mind their classroom management is the pits. Kids will overcome with grit and tenacity. Those Teach for America drones are climbing their career ladders, bless their hearts, and we are happy to let our kids be stepping stones for them as they aspire to greatness as future charter school operators with unlimited salaries, or as well-paid administrators in the TN Department of Education or U.S.Department of Education making decisions for lots and lots of children because a mere 2 year stint as a classroom teacher magically qualifies them for that.

7) Please, give our kids the PARCC test AND the SBAC test. Yes, let's do BOTH of the new Common Core tests in our state! Arne Duncan will be so happy with us that he will wet his pants!!! We know we don't have the money for all this expensive testing, but do it anyway. It will be worth it. Also, force our school systems to buy lots of new Microsoft computers and software for these tests. We'll afford it somehow. You must force these national common standards on our offspring and future generations. Cram it down our throats with expensive advertising through TV commercials and radio ads paid for with our own tax dollars. Would it be too blatant to plan for a Superbowl commercial? You're right, maybe that is too over-the-top. Here's a money-maker idea, advertise to our kids in the tests! Put brand name products in the test questions, we don't mind if you market to our kids because they are future customers in the global economy. Our kids need to know what brand of shoes, beverages, or toys to beg us for.

8) Please spy on our kids through the Common Core tests, benchmark assessments, and surveys. Sneak them in while they are on the computer so parents won't know and it is a big, happy surprise to parents if they find out. Track how frustrated our kids get with questions that are obviously trick questions. Count how many clicks they make with the mouse before they give up. Use the laptop camera and video them to look at their facial expressions. Don't be sneaky about it, go ahead and just blatantly ask our kids personal questions about their lives. Heck, ask them personal questions about OUR lives. We parents just love to spit our milk out at the dinner table when our kids tell us how they were asked non-educational questions that day at school like: who lives with us, how many bedrooms our house has, if our child has a TV or computer in their bedroom, if our child is bullied because of their sexuality, if they have used cigarettes or drugs, if they drink alcohol, and so forth. No question is off-limits when you label it "data." And even though some Americans may say those questions are a violation of privacy or that it is "nunya beeswax," we know that it really means that the government loves us.

9) Be sure to keep track of our children's personal information in a giant database. Transfer and store it on "clouds" because clouds sound safe and happy (like that bonus land in Super Mario where Mario can't get killed, he just jumps around getting coins). Internet safety doesn't worry parents one bit. We don't mind that our bank accounts were hacked through Target and that nothing is ever truly secure on the internet. Hackers wouldn't want innocent kids social security numbers, would they? Why would future employers or colleges or marketing companies want our children's information, anyway? Well, we're positive the government and these corporations that have lucrative contracts with the government will keep our children's personal information safe because they love us and our kids. Besides, if there is a security breach, we'll never know. Ignorance is bliss. Share our kids information with whoever you want without parental consent. We Momma Bears have read the Race to the Top Application to the Federal Government, so we know companies contracted with government are already legally tracking our kids all the way from their "cradle to career." The FERPA law protects the government and those businesses and makes it all perfectly legal to do it without parents even knowing about it. So, go right ahead and stalk our kids. Parents won't think it is creepy. We know you love us.

Please make all of this as hard as possible on everyone. Keep pushing all of these awful reforms on our children despite the many parents and teachers who are freaking out and complaining...
...because if you do, the wheels will continue to come off.

And Momma Bears can continue to get electorate buy-in that TN Governor Haslam's education policies are rotten and based on greed. More immersion in our children's classrooms will convince more voters that Haslam and his appointed Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, both need to go. More complaints from parents, teachers, and students will open more eyes, and we can get people to the voting booths in November to get the politicians who have voted against our children and our public schools out of office. It could be the best thing politicians & reformers have done for our state. Truly.

Update: Huffman Agreement Axed by Huffman

4/17/2014

When the Momma Bear post on the 1-year PARCC delay was written Wednesday morning, there were many events in play and messages being shared. During this time, the Momma Bear who wrote this post heard from reliable sources that the Conference Committee (CC) Report--that had not yet been released to the public--would negate the 1-year PARCC hiatus. Because the House was going to hear the bill in just a few hours, the Momma Bear blogger wrote the post, attached the CC report as soon as it came across "the wire", and immediately posted the blog. Hindsight being 20/20, she should have read the CC report before posting it. If she had read it, she would have noticed that there is still a 1-year hiatus of PARCC in the bill. We apologize for that major error in reporting, but we hope you will forgive us: Our blogger was working within serious time constraints and, as you know, inaccurate information can sometimes be shared during such situations.

Despite this technicality, we here at Momma Bears do believe that, as written, the Conference Committee bill that was approved by the full House on Wednesday does essentially ax the effectiveness of the 1-year PARCC hiatus. The TN Board of Education (BOE) will seek out bids for Common Core-compliant tests from other testing companies for the 2015-2016 test; however, the CC report/bill requires that these tests must be field tested prior to the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year to even be considered. That appears to leave the BOE with two test choices: the PARCC test and the Smarter Balanced Assessment--a.k.a., the "other" Common Core test that is currently being developed. (Don't forget that Ed Commish Huffman is on the Executive Committee of PARCC, so we have no doubt he will be lobbying hard for PARCC.)

So, instead of using the hiatus as an opportunity to examine other test options that could save the state much money, teachers much hassle, and children much heartache; we are basically stuck with an extra year of twiddling our thumbs as the PARCC continues to barrel down on us like an out of control locomotive.

Oh, and we are pretty sure that this 1-year break actually helps Huffman save face because it is clear from reports across the state that TN would have been nowhere near ready to adequately administer PARCC a year from now. So now Huffman, Haslam, and the leadership in the legislature look like they actually give a hoot about the desires of the electorate/legislature, when we are pretty sure they are just relieved that they now have an extra year to try and get our state "ready" for the PARCC.

We have news for Mr. Huffman and his buddies: As long as you and your cohorts continue to disrespect teachers and parents, starve school districts of resources, and treat our children like products rather than human beings, Tennessee students, as a whole, will never "succeed" at any high-stakes test. Raising the proverbial bar to 6 feet and then telling children who can only jump 3 feet to clear it is nothing short of insanity. But we strongly believe that, if you implement some of the following suggestions, TN students could easily clear that 6-foot bar:

1) Fully fund our schools.
2) Implement wrap-around services that will help ameliorate the impact of poverty on learning.
2) Pay our teachers what they are worth.
3) Allow teachers to actually teach instead of test.
4) Respect a child's need for play, exercise, and the arts.
5) Encourage parents to be active participants in their children's education.

Until then, Tennessee students will never reach their fullest potential because, contrary to your beliefs, simply expecting more won't make children achieve more.

Hide & Seek: TNDOE hides Common Core

Rebranding the TN Department of Education

Petition warfare

Oops. We Changed Our Minds.

Update: Huffman Agreement Axed by Huffman

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