Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Schools Matter: New Charter Philosophy for the Corporate Celebrity: Let A Few Chain Gangs Flourish

Schools Matter: New Charter Philosophy for the Corporate Celebrity: Let A Few Chain Gangs Flourish

New Charter Philosophy for the Corporate Celebrity: Let A Few Chain Gangs Flourish

When charters first came on the scene, the idea was to let a thousand flowers bloom and let innovation reign. The best instructional and curricular ideas could then be spread to other schools, and children and parents and teachers would be the beneficiaries.

Those days are as long gone, and the only innovations that remain in the segregated urban chain gangs that the Secretary of Education advocates are the innovative extinguishing of due process for teachers and students, the innovative application of total compliance techniques, and the innovative bookkeeping that makes the corporate leeches who run these outfits wealthy.

It has taken the New York Times 10 months to report on the CREDO charter study that shows the bankruptcy of the national policy obsession with these undemocratic containment camps, but the facts are not enough to

NY Parents Crazed to Land Gifted Kindergarten Seats

If you thought high-stakes tests were just for keeping poor high schoolers from graduating or to guarantee failure at an early age for the children of the poor, then think again. In New York City where the Bankster heist has increased the number of parents who can no longer afford the private kindergartens, competition is cut-throat to earn a seat in one of the high flying gifted public kindergarten programs. And parents who can afford it are hiring tutors to grill babies in strategies for passing the tests to get in--to kindergarten. Meanwhile, the poorer "gifted"

E3 Urges Christie to Deny Diplomas to Thousands of Jersey Teens

Stan Karp dissects the lies and distortions of New Jersey's corporate voucher advocacy group, E3. Don't be surprised to hear Governor Christie and his not ready for prime time ed department geniuses spouting some E3's talking points:
‘Big Lies’ and Little Ones: E3 Urges NJDOE to Deny Diplomas to Thousands
On April 28, the pro-voucher group E3 released a statement on the fiasco created by the NJ Department of Education’s mishandling of the new Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA). The press release