Extremism in school reform is not a virtue
My guest is Mark Phillips, professor emeritus of secondary education atSan Francisco State University and author of a monthly column on education for the Marin Independent Journal.
He wrote this in response to a spate of films coming out about school reform, including “Waiting for Superman,” which had a premiere this week in Washington D.C. and which positively highlights D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, as well as the pro-charter school “The Lottery,” a feature-length documentary now playing in theaters and focused on the Harlem Success Academy.
Incidentally, my colleague Jay Mathews, the dean of American education reporters, is in both of those films. “Superman” will be in wide release in September.
By Mark Phillips
I have no definitive answers for the multiple challenges facing us in public education. What I do know definitively is that no one else does either. So it continues to surprise me that so many seem so clear in their extremely opposing perspectives. I don’t get it.
By Mark Phillips
I have no definitive answers for the multiple challenges facing us in public education. What I do know definitively is that no one else does either. So it continues to surprise me that so many seem so clear in their extremely opposing perspectives. I don’t get it.
People are for and against charter schools, for and against performance pay for teachers, for and against teacher tenure. It’s time
Capital Gains short of cash
Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee says that she's ready to continue the District's two-year experiment with paying middle schoolers as much as $100 a month for good grades, behavior and attendance, but only if she can find the money.
Data from the first year (2008-09) of the Capital Gains program, a joint venture with Harvard economist Roland Fryer, showed higher reading test scores for Hispanics, boys and students with behavior problems. Rhee said in April that she wanted to see 2009-10 results before making a decision on renewing the initiative, which cost the District about $1.2 million this past year. But now she says she's ready to continue on the basis of year one results, and that even if the second-year data is "flat or not moving the ball forward" the program is worth pursuing.
"The biggest issue is money," Rhee said, adding that DCPS is looking