AFT NCLBlog

In today's WaPo article on the uselessness of most homework assignments, I thought again of how the teacher education curriculum cries out for reform. NCTQ showed us that most programs don't prepare teachers to teach reading using scientifically based research. Now, as Linda Darling-Hammond notes in the WaPo article, we learn that these programs also fail to help teachers learn how to design homework assignments that enhance student learning. I wonder if I could adjust my career path to become a dean of a school of education? I wonder . . .

Oh, and note to Alfie Kohn: before concluding that homework doesn't help, why don't we make sure that teachers know how to design meaningful homework assignments first, then decide.

Posted by Michele on September 12, 2006 10:05 AM | Permalink

Comments

What the NCTQ study "showed" is that you can prove whatever you want if your evidence of what's being taught consists of a selective reading of course syllabi found on the web. I'm continually amazed that AFT folks like Michele can be so thoughtfully skeptical about NCLB but buy whatever the right wants to sell when it comes to the teaching of reading. NCTQ has received millions of dollars in unsolicited grants from the Dept. of Education. They are, for all intents and purposes, the teacher education arm of the current administration's efforts to privatize public education.

Posted by: August | September 12, 2006 02:17 PM

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Disclaimer: The NCLB Blog was established by the AFT as a forum where public education advocates, policymakers and others can exchange information and express their opinions on NCLB and related issues. The views expressed here are not the official views of the AFT or any of its affiliates. All claims otherwise would violate the spirit and purpose of the blog. © American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. All rights reserved. Photographs and illustrations cannot be used without permission of the AFT.

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The NCLB Blog was established by the AFT as a forum where public education advocates, policymakers and others can exchange information and express their opinions on NCLB and related issues. The views expressed here are not the official views of the AFT or any of its affiliates. All claims otherwise would violate the spirit and purpose of the blog. © American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. All rights reserved. Photographs and illustrations cannot be used without permission of the AFT.