Real Talk Intervention

In today's episode, we take on the Texas science standards with our friend John Long, a former AP/IB/PAP biology teacher. We take on how we differentiate instruction both for at-risk students and for students who really need to be gearing up to take AP classes in a few years. And, of course, we address the ongoing controversy over those re-written evolution standards in Texas. How do those standards change our teaching?  Does the wording of the standards provide an opening for creationism in the public schools? Listen here, and don't forget to subscribe to our email list or on iTunes and Stitcher.

Accountability measures force us to take students not just from where they were to somewhere better but all the way We have been very vocal here at Real Talk Intervention about our support of school accountability measures, standardized testing in general, and the high school STAAR EOC tests specifically. Last month we took action and spoke before the Texas legislature in support of school accountability, specifically against HB 1333 The Teaching Over Testing Act. When we returned to our school from that trip, word of what we had done traveled fast. Many of our colleagues cheered on us, others weren't such fans of our opinions though they appreciated our moxie. But what really struck us was the reactions of the students - ours and other teachers - who watched the video of our testimony. A group of students came to both of us, stood before us, and said "Thank you. Thank you for telling them we weren't ready to graduate." Once students exit the doors of our high...

May is #happyteacher month at Real Talk Intervention! Standardized testing is behind you, and before you lies the most rewarding time to be an educator - June, July, and part of August. It's time to recharge those batteries by thinking about what you really LOVE about your profession. What makes you a #happy teacher? Stefanie and I share some tricks and tips from our eleven years of working with at-risk students that we've found make our lives, and our students' lives, just so much happier on this week's podcast. Special shout out to one of my favorite podcasts Happier by Gretchen Rubin  for the inspiration and formatting of today's episode. It's a fanisode! Never miss an episode of Real Talk Intervention by subscribing on iTunes or Stitcher.

April is a tough month. The weather is getting beautiful, teachers and students are getting burnt out, and end of the year assessments are looming. We spent the month of April casting a critical eye on education - from teachers to the government - and now we're casting that eye on ourselves. It's time for some Real Talk - why do WE do the things we do in the classroom? We ask each other about some of the questionable practices or mistakes we've seen each other make over the years. We are two very different teachers, in two very different contents, who make very different mistakes. If you're an optimistic innovator in the classroom who finds herself in tears at the end of some days like Stefanie or a grumpy cynic who rolls her eyes during professional development like Sarah you'll hear your voice, and your experiences, in this one! Listen to us here . Music courtesy of The Creative Commons. http://www.bensound.com

Today's special episode was recorded live and on location inside a Senate meeting room as we prepared to give testimony against Texas House Bill 1333, colloquially known as The Teaching Over Testing Act. This bill, which aims to reduce the number of standardized tests given by Texas to the federal minimum while also drastically reducing the emphasis these tests have on school accountability, has been well received by the state anti-testing movement. We, however, stand with the many civil rights groups , the Texas Association of Business , and the many, many nervous and silent teachers who know that the anti-testing, anti-accountability movement's well-intentioned, but misguided, efforts damage the hard work educators are doing to create a more equitable society across Texas. To give a voice to all the educators across Texas who feel as we do, we traveled to the state legislature with the support of a non-profit educational foundation group called Texas Aspires  to...

The human face of the school accountability movement is one no one wants to see. The human face is 18 years old. He has attended school for 90% of his Mondays through Fridays. She has ridden the bus for twelve years. Attended all the classes. And done it all with the entirely reasonable expectation that at the end of this journey lies the cap, the gown, and the high school diploma. And even the hardest of hard liners on the school accountability movement does not want to tell that student that at the end of these last twelve years there will be ... nothing. No one wants to tell anyone they can't achieve dreams. Particularly not politicians.  So things get ... tricky. A little schizophrenic. Requirements for graduation? Or are they more like guidelines really? In this week's podcast we discuss high school graduation requirements, and how Texas politicians are avoiding the public relations nightmare of thousands of students being denied high school...

We are honored this week to share with you the fascinating conversation we had with an exceptional young man - Ali. He is an entrepreneur and soon-to-be high school graduate who came to this country as a Iranian refugee only two years ago. Ali shared with us his experiences traveling all over the world as he escaped Iran and sought asylum in America, and, once here, his amazing journey from limited English proficiency to high school graduate in only two years. Ali is a young man with an incredible perspective and a message for all of us committed to helping students like him. Listen to his story and ignite your practice here . For more stories and inspiration for your student-centered classroom subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher or follow our blog here. Music courtesy of The Creative Commons http://www.bensound.com

As public school teachers who are apparently on the “wrong side” of the accountability movement at this time, we are challenged quite a bit. Standardized tests are unfair and biased. Standardized tests only test a student’s ability to guess. Standardized tests are inauthentic experience that aren’t a judge of anything other than themselves. And after all - “Don’t you think that every student is an individual, and every kid has strengths, and every kid can learn…Don’t you want to teach them and not teach a test?” Yes, of course. No one wants to spend their lives wasting their time teaching students things that don’t matter. Hence the impact of politically charged legislation like The Teaching OverTesting Act – which aims to reduce the accountability piece of the STAAR performance system. But standardized testing and standardized measures of accountability are not incompatible with teaching, individuality, or strengths finding in students. The trouble with the reinforcing t...

The Teaching Over Testing Act introduced by Representative Jacob Isaac (R) of Dripping Springs takes aim yet again at Texas' standardized accountability measure - the STAAR exam. The act calls for reduced number of exams a reduction of the accountability impact of the exams district choice as to whether or not to use the STAAR or any other TEK-aligned assessment You can read more about the act here We discuss, with great passion, why this continued assault on accountability measures is so dangerous for our most vulnerable students. Listen to us here ! Music courtesy of The Creative Commons http://www.bensound.com

You know that awkward moment when you’ve been blogging for about two weeks, and you look at your phone to see that one of the most prestigious English literacy gurus has tweeted at you to tell you you’re wrong? The first thing you do is turn your head and look at her books on your shelf that you’ve been using to guide your instruction – oh, and the curriculum development for the district – and then you completely freak out. And, yes, you start to question yourself. But here’s the thing. In our last podcast, we took issue with Sara Holbrook’s assertion that the STAAR test should not be asking readers to infer author’s purpose from text structure or other literary elements. We argued, basically, that this was one of the key features of text analysis, that, in fact, it broadens and enriches the reader’s experience of the text, and that it helps readers become writers. You can listen to our full conversation here . We knew there would be a response to this. What we didn’t ...