Educational Links - Dwelling on Thinking

So I'm at lunch on campus right now, and my dashboard is overflowing with tabs of links to different educational stories that I want to talk about.  Here's a run-down, and hopefully, after I am done with the work that I'm actually getting paid to do, I'll be able to come back and address some of these issues in depth:

- The Washington Post has a guest column from a "veteran teacher", Marion Brady, enumerating his complaints about standardized testing.  Some excellent points he makes: "Teachers oppose the tests because they measure only 'low level' thinking processes .... they limit their ability to adapt to learner differences ... and penalize test-takers who think in non-standard ways."

- There are lots of reasons to oppose, or at least to be skeptical of, voucher-based charter schools.  One practical reason is the amount of corruption and graft that that kind of a system can lead to.  The private, faith-based New Living Word School in Louisiana had received over 300 new students who would be paying their tuition using publicly funded vouchers.  Unfortunately, the New Living Word School currently has only space for 122 students.  In addition, "New Living's leader told the News-Star that most instruction at the school happens via DVD." Governor Bobby Jindal's office and State Superintendent John White have recently released e-mails regarding how they could "muddy up a narrative."

- American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said that she would support the establishment of a "bar exam for teachers."  "She said a bar exam for teachers today should emphasize the instruction of critical thinking."  Oh, and speaking of critical thinking ....

- The Texas Republican Party stated in their official party platform that "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs..." Lots of pixels have already been spilt over this, including at Education Week and Care2.com.  I know that I want to say something about this, although I don't know quite what, yet.  In the meantime, I'll be checking out this website I just found called HOTS.org, a "general thinking skills program for Title I and LD (learning disabled) students in grades 4-8 that dramatically accelerates learning, test scores and social confidence."