2 Legit To Quit
I'm going to bring this up one more time: Apparently, you still can't mention me at B4K: OK, that's their right. But if I'm not "legitimate," why waste space and time on an entire essay debating me point-by-point? I mean, either you're going to engage me or you're not; it seems a little fickle to pick and choose when you want to take my arguments on. Perhaps B4K could let their readers know if the only problem they have with my "legitimacy" is that I write under a pseudonym. If that's the case, would they allow folks to post my work on their Facebook page if I wrote under my giv... more »
Don't Believe Everything You Read
One of the hallmarks of our modern discourse is that there are those who hold a particular position so dear (usually on the right, but not always) that they not only block out masses of contradictory evidence; they jump on the first bit of "research" that comes along that comports with their world view, no matter how shoddy it may be. Case in point: B4K is jumping for joy that a study "proves" money doesn't matter in our schools: A NEW STUDY: MORE RESOURCES DO NOT MEAN BETTER SCHOOLSGetting Beneath the Veil of Effective Schools *12/12/11* Amid the debate on education reform in New J... more »
Halliburton High
Jersey Public education in New Jersey has been roiled recently by conflicts over charter schools, vouchers and "virtual" schools — but, now, a new type of privatization is on the horizon: allowing public schools to contract with a private company to offer "alternative" education. The idea has been promoted to school superintendents by one of their own, Mount Olive schools chief Larrie Reynolds. He says it could bring extra income both to cash-strapped school districts and to a private, Dubai-based company *for which he works as a consultant.* [...] He [Reynolds] also is president of ... more »
The Biggest Lie In America Today
They got together a bunch of elites here in Jersey to whine and complain that "we just don't have the money!" In many ways, the New Jersey residents now know will disappear within five years because of yawning government budget gaps, a panel of top experts said Friday. The bipartisan group of former officials and academics presented a dark view of the state’s future that included widespread government consolidation, worker layoffs, service cuts and tax increases. Experts said that future was nearly certain to come to pass, even with a rosy economic scenario. Wow, sounds dire. Do ... more »
America's Best Judge
The honorable Judge Sheila Rappaport from the great state of Colorado: In declaring Colorado's school finance system "significantly underfunded," Denver District Judge Sheila Rappaport *rejected virtually every argument presented by the state's star witnesses* in a five-week trial this year over school funding levels. Rappaport's ruling, issued Friday, blasted the state's level of school funding as "unconscionable" and not meeting the requirement in the Education Clause of the Colorado Constitution of a "thorough and uniform" system of public education. Her ruling handed the proble... more »
Great Moments in Reformy Hyperbole
Billionaire-backed and newly-elected NJ Assemblyman Troy Singleton: That is why I am a strong supporter of the proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA), now under consideration in the state Legislature. The OSA would use corporate tax credits to transfer low-income students from failing schools into public or parochial schools with a track record of success. Our educational foundation must be steeped in the principle that every child, regardless of zip code, should be afforded the tools necessary to succeed. Adhering to this principle however, can be particularly daunting in so... more »
Why Does Anyone Listen to Michelle Rhee?
NJ Governor Chris Christie on Michelle Rhee, former Washington DC schools chancellor, 11/11/11: “No one in America has been more clear that we must change our public education system,” said Christie. "Thank you Michelle" Michelle Rhee on Chris Christie, 11/16/11: Michelle Rhee, the former Washington schools chancellor, who sat beside Mr. Christie’s wife during Tuesday’s speech in Trenton, has committed her new organization, StudentsFirst, to providing policy support for Mr. Christie’s education initiatives. “I think it’s incredibly courageous of the governor to take these issues on... more »
The New, "Reasonable" Corporate Reformer
Something is happening here in Jersey that ought to give hope to teachers and parents around the rest of the country: the corporate reform movement is running out of gas. Suddenly, privatizers are running into real grass-roots opposition to charters schools; voucher rallies are exposed as Astroturf operations while opposition to giving taxpayer dollars to religious schools grows. Chris Christie, who seemed hell-bent on gutting tenure only a month ago, has suddenly shifted his focus to sick pay reform (yeah, that'll fix all of the state's fiscal problems, sure...). The corporate refo... more »