realchicagomama.wordpress.com
American Paternalism | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/american-paternalism
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. A huge thank you to Nihal Goyal and. For covering an issue that’s been looming large in my brain (again) this week: how leaders know what our children need educationally better than the students (and their parents) progressing through the educational system, and the deep paternalistic view that drives those decisions. Do as I say, not as I do. I wrote about this. Warm and fuzzy. They know that a mix of styles and approaches is appropriate...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
On racism in America | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/on-racism-in-america
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. On racism in America. A few weeks ago, I reacted on Facebook to the murder of a black man by police, an event that is far too common in America. In this case, it was Philando Castile. I wrote:. Because walking through that neighborhood was scary. It could have been dangerous, but was it really. Was it frightening to me because it was unknown and unfamiliar? Was someone really going to hurt me? Did it cross their minds? I turned north up Homan...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
On report cards, and the fallacies of “hard work” and measurement | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2015/04/18/on-report-cards-and-the-fallacies-of-hard-work-and-measurement/comment-page-1
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. On report cards, and the fallacies of “hard work” and measurement. 8220;I am sure all your kids will have perfect report cards,”. The brilliant executive director of my host agency wrote in reply to my email explaining that I would be out of the office last week for CPS report-card pick-up. I know it was meant as a compliment to me, and to my children. I believe that the. Even more important, it is difficult to. The position that Frank Bruni.
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
ISBE ESSA Listening Tour | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/isbe-essa-listening-tour
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. ISBE ESSA Listening Tour. My name is Caroline Bilicki, and I am a parent of three children who attend CPS. I am also an active member of a Local School Council, belong to the Illinois PTA, and volunteer with Illinois Raise Your Hand. I previously sat on the Illinois Assessment Review Task Force in 2014 and 2015. As I tell my children, you can keep repeating that, but it doesn’t make it true. This system is grounded entirely on the notion of c...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
What have you done for me lately? | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/done-lately/comment-page-1
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. What have you done for me lately? School is back in session. I love school. I love the intellectual journey. Of school for myself. I love guiding my children into and through school. And I love the structure that the institution provides to our daily lives. And with the fall and the structure comes the PTA Advisory. But here’s where I struggle:. Advocate for all children. Founded in 1897 by Phoebe Apperson Hearst. To promote equity and advoca...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
Mechanizing… childhood? | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/mechanizing-childhood
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. American students, it seems, cannot compete with their Singaporean or Chinese counterparts, as measured by PISA scores. Our lack of prowess on the PISA seems to justify the test-heavy, hyper-achievement-focused competitive world our children live (and learn) in these days. And that’s why Americans are spending upwards of 8 hours testing 3rd graders’ ability to do math four different ways and figure out. Um, maybe. But so what? April 10, 2016.
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
Cognitive Dissonance | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/cognitive-dissonance
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. Or why I’m still in the public education system despite this mess. My kids attend a very well-regarded northside magnet with good test scores and an emphasis on academic achievement. They also attend a very well-regarded northside magnet with amazing, caring, nurturing teachers, a strong and supportive and engaged parent community, and a curriculum that includes art, music, technology, and P.E. It is. I stay at the public school. April 8, 2016.
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
ISBE ESSA Listening Tour | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/isbe-essa-listening-tour/comment-page-1
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. ISBE ESSA Listening Tour. My name is Caroline Bilicki, and I am a parent of three children who attend CPS. I am also an active member of a Local School Council, belong to the Illinois PTA, and volunteer with Illinois Raise Your Hand. I previously sat on the Illinois Assessment Review Task Force in 2014 and 2015. As I tell my children, you can keep repeating that, but it doesn’t make it true. This system is grounded entirely on the notion of c...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
Public Servitude | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/public-servitude/comment-page-1
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. Before the September Board meeting, I ran into our school’s contact in the Office of LSC Relations in the lobby of the Marquette Building. We challenged each others’ thinking for bit, exchanging ideas and beliefs about the issue, and then he went for coffee and I went up to attend the September BoE meeting. Why does Tim Cawley get a residency pass to live in Winnetka? Why is there no outcry that the mayor sends his kids to Lab? This week, the...
realchicagomama.wordpress.com
PTA and the Propaganda of Common Core | Chicago Mama
https://realchicagomama.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/pta-and-the-propoganda-of-common-core
Little Shoulders – 3 kids and me in the city of big shoulders. PTA and the Propaganda of Common Core. I feel very conflicted about the Congress of Parents and Teachers these days. I’ve been a member of the organization since I started as a parent in public school, and I can’t imagine. Supporting my local chapter through membership (and dues). But, but, but: I have. What the PTA as an organization is thinking these days. In 2009, the national PTA took a bunch of money from the Gates Foundation. The backla...
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