tagged w/ Dr. Woody
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Corporate America sees no reason to educate working class students beyond the most basic level. They are seen as nothing more than future low paid drones in a brutal dog-eat-dog-cat-eat-mouse economy. The war against public education is a class war being waged by the wealthy against a growing working class resistance.
It is a New Civil War.Corporate America sees no reason to educate working class students beyond the most... more
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John (“Dr. Woody”) Konopak confesses to being gobsmacked by all this faux outrage from the Fundie/Fuckwitted Righturds at the IRS’ allegedly paying “TOO-close attention” to the applications of Tea-bagger groups for tax-exempt status, none of which was subsequently denied..John (“Dr. Woody”) Konopak confesses to being gobsmacked by all this faux... more
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“Bill Gates is wrong. American education is not “broken.”Federal education policy is broken.Testing children until they cry is a bad idea. It is educational malpractice.“Bill Gates is wrong. American education is not “broken.”Federal... more
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Citizen journalist John Konopak; In which Y’r Streetfightin’ R’p't’r recounts his experiences in the demonstrations which shook the country in the aftermath of the infamous murders of four, innocent students on the campus of a tiny, Ohio school, Kent State University, in May, 1970Citizen journalist John Konopak; In which Y’r Streetfightin’... more
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The folks at the invaluable resource and cite for vital, critical information, FairTest.org, publish weekly links to sites where teachers and students are contesting the high-stakes testing regimes of the official Accountabilists –who, interestingly, never seem to have to face the kinds of evaluations which they foist upon teachers and students.The folks at the invaluable resource and cite for vital, critical information,... more
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observations on and interpretations of the consequences, implications, and symbolisms in the discourses implicated by yesterday’s tragic events at the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15.observations on and interpretations of the consequences, implications, and symbolisms... more
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On Arne: Among the first (of many) President Shamwow, F. Lowbar’s DIS-appointments was the naming of Chicago CorpoRat lawyer and “education entrepreneur” Arne Duncan to the post of Secretary of the Dept. of Education. Duncan was a disappointment first, of course, because he was and still is an advocate of Charter schools, school privatization, and the militarization of schools wherein “darkies” compose the majority of the population. It was one of the first ‘tells’ that ThePrez was just another CorpoRat hump.On Arne: Among the first (of many) President Shamwow, F. Lowbar’s... more
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Most children’s school days any more are structured almost explicitly, it seems, to exclude any possibility of pleasure. Under regimes of ‘standards’ and ‘high-stakes testing,’ school has become a relentless proceeding of make-or-break competitions against odds that are stacked against a substantial minority of students.Most children’s school days any more are structured almost explicitly, it seems,... more
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Most children’s school days any more are structured almost explicitly, it seems, to exclude any possibility of pleasure. Under regimes of ‘standards’ and ‘high-stakes testing,’ school has become a relentless proceeding of make-or-break competitions against odds that are stacked against a substantial minority of students.Most children’s school days any more are structured almost explicitly, it seems,... more
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Speaking of “Scholars” for Hire: One of the Koch brothers recently bought the Business School at George Mason University for a ‘gift’ of a couple of million dollars, with the stipulation that Ayn Rand’s novels and philosophy be included in the curriculum of the school. More and more, researchers at publicly-sponsored universities are being by-passed by pre-paid, scholars-for-hire.Speaking of “Scholars” for Hire: One of the Koch brothers recently bought... more
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discourses on the implicit dissonances embedded in some people’s pleas that we all “just get along” with the Conservoturds. It comes down to this: What will you give up for comity, knowing it will be YOU who DOES the conceding?discourses on the implicit dissonances embedded in some people’s pleas that we... more
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Common Core includes in it’s history, No Child Left Behind and other national educational policy reports dating back to A Nation At Risk (1983). It’s important to remember that most research is government funded and so it is unfair to critique educational research for it’s funding source. However, it is absolutely fair to question who gets to decide what the research is about and how that research is presented and used.Common Core includes in it’s history, No Child Left Behind and other national... more
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Citizen journalist John Konopak wants to assure you that, if you’ve sort of suspected, quietly, for quite a while, that the Oligarchs, Oners, and Owners have been diligently striving to overthrow democratic sovereignty in the USofA, you’re not crazy. They have two, related strategies involving media and Congress (both of which are their wholly-owned subsidiaries), culminating in the alienation of citizens from and their ultimate rejection of self-government, abdicating it all to the tender mercies of the CorpoRat Board Rooms. We already KNOW how that’ll turn out: Ask the folks on the Gulf Coast, or Valdez, AK…Citizen journalist John Konopak wants to assure you that, if you’ve sort of... more
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From Powell Memo To Tri-lateral Commission-Back to the Future-Speaking of Christurds-Speaking of Charter Schools:-Charter/Charnel Schools-Meanwhile, How Stupid Is TOO Stupid:From Powell Memo To Tri-lateral Commission-Back to the Future-Speaking of... more
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WWH/CJE Citizen Journalist, Dr. John Konopak, remarks on the strange fragility of the “democratic” forms which constitute our “democracy,” and finds it surprising that they lasted as long as they did, since all itw ever took to overturn them was somebody to refuse to play by the ‘rules.”WWH/CJE Citizen Journalist, Dr. John Konopak, remarks on the strange fragility of the... more
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’ve decided that my main interest in the new Pope is to make Catholics uncomfortable about him, as the SPIRITUAL HEAD of their Church, right from the from the start, such that they will want to reject him and whatsoever “teachings” he propounds, and leave the Church in disgust and shame and confusion over the cognitive dissonances of it all.’ve decided that my main interest in the new Pope is to make Catholics... more
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Curriculum Question: The single most essential question educators must try to answer is “What knowledge is of the greatest value?” It is the basic issue in all questions about curriculum. And it is no simple thing to address. The blog at the WaPo takes an informative and interesting poke at the matter.Curriculum Question: The single most essential question educators must try to answer... more
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On the surface, School Choice is purportedly about increasing opportunities for inner city and rural youth. The all-important subtext, however, is that School Choice is really about freeing up dollars for Christian-based education. An important arrow that energizes today’s religious quiver is the intentional misuse of language in changing the debate by referring to public schools as “government schools” and public education as a “government school monopoly,” thus instantly and directly speaking to Tea Partiers and Libertarians….On the surface, School Choice is purportedly about increasing opportunities for inner... more
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Your Itinerant Ethnographic Reporter essays to describe why the concept of “Free will” is, as a practical matter, a sham and a delusion.
“Free will” is a mind-game the Oligarchs introduced into the public mind a couple of milennia ago as a way to get people to accept their fates and blame themselves for failing to negotiate the traps and snares the Bosses set before them to hold them in durance.You may reliably know when they’re pulling that crap when somebody’s excoriating you, piously, yet ferociously: “You HAD choices. YOU just made the wrong ones.”Your Itinerant Ethnographic Reporter essays to describe why the concept of “Free... more
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WWH/CJE Citizen Journalist, Dr. John Konopak, unpacks the conditions and historical influences which have left the “Average American” virtually helpless before the power of “public relations.”WWH/CJE Citizen Journalist, Dr. John Konopak, unpacks the conditions and historical... more
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