For every job interview that led to an offer, I was a DEI hire. When I was a teacher with no experience, I was a DEI hire. I was a DEI hire when I took a job mid-career to mentor a new teacher. When I moved into higher education, I was a DEI hire. The…
I found this article after seeing calls for it to be pulled down and I was curious about the claims. I was blocked from commenting on the TIE website when I attempted to post a response. However, I have control over my blog and can post here. After reading this article, my main reaction is…
Who should we trust to tell a story? Whose view on events matters? And what is our responsibility as researchers? My own research relied heavily on perceptions of teachers, who I find to be very open and reflective about their work. I think reflection and communicating reflective thoughts are a huge part of the job…
This has been a rough year. 2020 was unimaginably hard for so many people. I feel that I am writing exactly the same words that I have read everywhere else, but I can’t stop myself. I am so incredibly lucky to have kept my job, my income and my way of life without losing anyone…
I haven’t been posting as much on this blog lately because I’ve been working on a beautiful project called “Raising Voices in Education” — check it out at http://www.raisingvoicesineducation.org
There is some interesting news out of the UAE this week; the teacher licensing exams in Dubai have been piloted and are ready for large scale testing of teachers in the country. There are a huge number of issues related to this that cannot possibly be covered in one post. There are measurement issues…
Experiment: Connecting three books that I coincidentally read back-to-back-to-back I recently read three books completely disconnected in time, topic, and nature but I found a huge connection. The books are The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader edited by Sandra Harding, The Twilight of Equality: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics and the Attack on Democracy by Lisa Duggan and Politics, Markets, and…
Experiment: Explain the rightness/wrongness that we all live with. Something weird that results from moving overseas is the realization that one’s home country is right about a lot of things. But also, how much is right about the new country. And, how they’re both totally wrong about some things too. For example, something curious happened between the…
Experiment: Explain something that not everyone believes. A little personal story to start. When I was in high school, it was required that I meet with my guidance counselor. I only remember two interactions with him; the time he recommended that I take “regular” geometry instead of “honors” geometry and when he asked me what kind…
Experiment: Deconstructing a word like a radical feminist. The word “girl” seems to be following me. NPR recently published this article highlighting how the term is being used to sell suspense and mystery books about women. One of the authors interviewed, Sarah Weinman, explains the usage that “the girl insignia is trying to tie it into this…
Experiment: Connect the media discourse to current events. About three years ago, I read this article from the Atlantic about how Hollywood movies are actually very right-wing leaning although it is usually assumed that Hollywood is fiercely left-wing. The movie industry is heavily controlled by unions, movies push the envelope in socially liberal ways, and Hollywood…
Experiment: Bring some analysis into a world that is usually unquestioned. This is part 2. Check out part 1 if you are interested in the data theory behind why I think grades suck. There are several incredibly important questions about grades that I feel are rarely discussed. Grading procedures are clearly defined for teachers, grades are…
Experiment: Bring some data theory into a world that is usually unquestioned. I know, I know, complaining about grades probably just means I couldn’t get good grades. Okay, that’s not too far from the truth, but more than anything, I ALWAYS have been annoyed at how useless grades seemed. From the time that I started…
Experiment: Attempting to coin some new words. I have two new favorite adjectives: Stuplex – made intentionally complex so that it becomes stupid – stupidly complex Simpid – simplified to the point of being stupid or insipid Stuplex writing has too many clauses, citations embedded within sentences, or a mash up of too many buzzwords. I’ve always…
Experiment: Write a blog post instead of a message on Facebook that no one will ever read. I follow the World Economic Forum on Facebook. They frequently post about education but only rarely do I agree with their analyses. Sometimes, I post angry responses, but that feels a bit like spitting into the wind. But…
Emily Winchip 