I am Mari Ann Roberts, former high school English teacher and Jimmy Easley Professor of Multicultural Education in the Department of Teacher Education at Clayton State University where I served as director of the Masters of Arts in Teaching Program and Director of The Center for Academic Success. I am currently Equity Coordinator for the City Schools of Decatur system in Decatur, GA.
In my free time, I fight for social justice in education, read, play with everyone’s dog, listen to jazz, and write poetry. Address: 100 Electric Avenue Office of the Superintendent Decatur, GA 30030
Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of... more Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of the pedagogical methods implemented in schools. However, the colorblind "community of care" described in the literature (Ferreira, Smith, & Bosworth, 2002; Schussler & Collins, ...
This article examines seemingly disconnected education reform policies and posits that their unpr... more This article examines seemingly disconnected education reform policies and posits that their unprecedented alignment is eroding the bedrock of public education. Using Georgia as an example, the authors demonstrate how neoliberal efforts to reform education occur through three systematic and interconnected fronts: political climate change, the testing industrial complex, and a mesoscale evaluation system. The authors challenge assertions that those reforms increase academic achievement and global competitiveness. Instead, the orchestrated alignment is being experienced as an assault on the supposed beneficiaries (i.e., public education and teacher education). These conceptual weather fronts can serve as a means to analyze stated intentions versus outcomes of education policy. The authors conclude with grassroots responses by students, teachers, and others to the destructive elements of reform. Keywords: high-stakes testing, teacher evaluation, teacher performance assessment, educatio...
A professor of education saddened by how U.S. public education has been perverted by a perfect st... more A professor of education saddened by how U.S. public education has been perverted by a perfect storm of standardization, corporatization, and privatization, struggles with an appropriate response.
Op-Ed
In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opt... more Op-Ed In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opting out of state tests. Yet the entire story has not been told. Opting your students out of the unvalidated, superfluous testing in Georgia is an option for parents, and the likelihood that your child or school system will be penalized has, so far, not been common.
We contend that current reform initiatives (i.e., high-stakes testing and teacher evaluation from... more We contend that current reform initiatives (i.e., high-stakes testing and teacher evaluation from K-12 through higher education) are not, in fact, discrete singular efforts. Instead, they represent a confluence of systematic and orchestrated education reform efforts that are akin to storm fronts. These fronts comprise a perfect storm that is eroding the bedrock of public education in the United States through neoliberal policies.
The Testing Industrial Complex (TIC), is a system in which high-stakes standardized testing fuels... more The Testing Industrial Complex (TIC), is a system in which high-stakes standardized testing fuels neoliberal education reforms. The “reforms” create a system in which curriculum, students, and teachers become currencies traded for corporate profit. The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), is a system in which inmates are currency offered in trade to private corporations. The analogous systems grow from neoliberalism unplugged—a concert of neoliberal policy that supplants humanity with financial gain for U.S. Elite.
In my introductory Educational Psychology classroom, the “word on the streets” comes from my pre-... more In my introductory Educational Psychology classroom, the “word on the streets” comes from my pre-teacher education students, who are making a final decision about whether education will become their profession. To further this ongoing conversation, I attempted to gage where students were in their thoughts about education at this point in the semester through three experiential learning activities. In these, students provided perspectives regarding U.S. K-12 education and motivation in three ways I have titled: educational “tweets”, in-class feats, and the word on the streets. Findings from this qualitative study show, that although most students want to become a part of the education profession, their perspectives regarding it are mixed, largely, due to personal experiences with K-12 public education. This article shares selected student perspectives.
09-Tillman-45581: 09-Tillman-45581. qxp 6/13/2008 PM Page 141 6: 39 9 AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS&a... more 09-Tillman-45581: 09-Tillman-45581. qxp 6/13/2008 PM Page 141 6: 39 9 AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS' CARING BEHAVIORS The Difference Makes a Difference MARI ANN ROBERTS JACQUELINE JORDAN IRVINE I was an exceedingly shy, withdrawn, and uneasy ...
Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of... more Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of the pedagogical methods implemented in schools. However, the colorblind "community of care" described in the literature (Ferreira, Smith, & Bosworth, 2002; Schussler & Collins, ...
Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of... more Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of the pedagogical methods implemented in schools. However, the colorblind "community of care" described in the literature (Ferreira, Smith, & Bosworth, 2002; Schussler & Collins, ...
This article examines seemingly disconnected education reform policies and posits that their unpr... more This article examines seemingly disconnected education reform policies and posits that their unprecedented alignment is eroding the bedrock of public education. Using Georgia as an example, the authors demonstrate how neoliberal efforts to reform education occur through three systematic and interconnected fronts: political climate change, the testing industrial complex, and a mesoscale evaluation system. The authors challenge assertions that those reforms increase academic achievement and global competitiveness. Instead, the orchestrated alignment is being experienced as an assault on the supposed beneficiaries (i.e., public education and teacher education). These conceptual weather fronts can serve as a means to analyze stated intentions versus outcomes of education policy. The authors conclude with grassroots responses by students, teachers, and others to the destructive elements of reform. Keywords: high-stakes testing, teacher evaluation, teacher performance assessment, educatio...
A professor of education saddened by how U.S. public education has been perverted by a perfect st... more A professor of education saddened by how U.S. public education has been perverted by a perfect storm of standardization, corporatization, and privatization, struggles with an appropriate response.
Op-Ed
In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opt... more Op-Ed In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opting out of state tests. Yet the entire story has not been told. Opting your students out of the unvalidated, superfluous testing in Georgia is an option for parents, and the likelihood that your child or school system will be penalized has, so far, not been common.
We contend that current reform initiatives (i.e., high-stakes testing and teacher evaluation from... more We contend that current reform initiatives (i.e., high-stakes testing and teacher evaluation from K-12 through higher education) are not, in fact, discrete singular efforts. Instead, they represent a confluence of systematic and orchestrated education reform efforts that are akin to storm fronts. These fronts comprise a perfect storm that is eroding the bedrock of public education in the United States through neoliberal policies.
The Testing Industrial Complex (TIC), is a system in which high-stakes standardized testing fuels... more The Testing Industrial Complex (TIC), is a system in which high-stakes standardized testing fuels neoliberal education reforms. The “reforms” create a system in which curriculum, students, and teachers become currencies traded for corporate profit. The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), is a system in which inmates are currency offered in trade to private corporations. The analogous systems grow from neoliberalism unplugged—a concert of neoliberal policy that supplants humanity with financial gain for U.S. Elite.
In my introductory Educational Psychology classroom, the “word on the streets” comes from my pre-... more In my introductory Educational Psychology classroom, the “word on the streets” comes from my pre-teacher education students, who are making a final decision about whether education will become their profession. To further this ongoing conversation, I attempted to gage where students were in their thoughts about education at this point in the semester through three experiential learning activities. In these, students provided perspectives regarding U.S. K-12 education and motivation in three ways I have titled: educational “tweets”, in-class feats, and the word on the streets. Findings from this qualitative study show, that although most students want to become a part of the education profession, their perspectives regarding it are mixed, largely, due to personal experiences with K-12 public education. This article shares selected student perspectives.
09-Tillman-45581: 09-Tillman-45581. qxp 6/13/2008 PM Page 141 6: 39 9 AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS&a... more 09-Tillman-45581: 09-Tillman-45581. qxp 6/13/2008 PM Page 141 6: 39 9 AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS' CARING BEHAVIORS The Difference Makes a Difference MARI ANN ROBERTS JACQUELINE JORDAN IRVINE I was an exceedingly shy, withdrawn, and uneasy ...
Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of... more Growing research evidence on the ethic of care suggests that caring should be an integral part of the pedagogical methods implemented in schools. However, the colorblind "community of care" described in the literature (Ferreira, Smith, & Bosworth, 2002; Schussler & Collins, ...
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In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opting out of state tests. Yet the entire story has not been told. Opting your students out of the unvalidated, superfluous testing in Georgia is an option for parents, and the likelihood that your child or school system will be penalized has, so far, not been common.
In Online Athens this Monday, Lee Shearer wrote about penalties that students face for opting out of state tests. Yet the entire story has not been told. Opting your students out of the unvalidated, superfluous testing in Georgia is an option for parents, and the likelihood that your child or school system will be penalized has, so far, not been common.