When Policymakers Are Clueless
Over the past decade of mayor control in New York City, the newly established Department of Education has had a free hand to do whatever it wanted with the city’s 1.1 million students, free of any concern about the reaction of parents, teachers, principals, or the public.
One reform after another has rolled out of City Hall, after Mayor Bloomberg or Chancellor Klein or someone else got a new idea or had a conversation at a dinner party. Sometimes these ideas are announced with great fanfare, and almost always they are announced as the solution to some problem, trumpets blaring, success preceding implementation.
The state scores went up and up, evidence of the New York City “miracle,” until 2010, when the New York State Education Department acknowledged that the state scores were a hoax. Someone at the SED had decided to help raise test scores by lowering the passing mark, and had done the same year after year, creating the illusion
One reform after another has rolled out of City Hall, after Mayor Bloomberg or Chancellor Klein or someone else got a new idea or had a conversation at a dinner party. Sometimes these ideas are announced with great fanfare, and almost always they are announced as the solution to some problem, trumpets blaring, success preceding implementation.
The state scores went up and up, evidence of the New York City “miracle,” until 2010, when the New York State Education Department acknowledged that the state scores were a hoax. Someone at the SED had decided to help raise test scores by lowering the passing mark, and had done the same year after year, creating the illusion
The High Cost of Privatizing Special Education
As the movement to privatize public schools grows stronger, we should pay attention to the costs of privatization. Those who push for privatization also claim that private business operates more efficiently than government and will thus save taxpayers’ dollars. If only it were true. The latest example in the privatization sage was a story in [...]
Pearsonizing Our Children
On Tuesday, I posted a blog at Bridging Differences (Education Week) called “The Pearsonizing of the American Mind.” The title was a reference to Allan Bloom’s bestselling book of the 1980s, The Closing of the American Mind. His book referred to the insidious ways that popular culture interferes with the goals of liberal education. My [...]
Parents Vs. Goliath
This morning, parent groups in New York City are leading a protest against high-stakes testing at the headquarters of Pearson. They call their action “a field trip against field trips.” It happens to be a professional development day, so many parents plan to bring their children. Half a dozen different parent groups are coordinating their [...]
The Obama Campaign Wants to Know
A reader told me that she received an email from the Obama campaign asking her how the administration’s education policies have affected her. I received the same email, as have, I assume, thousands or millions of others. So, yes, please tell the campaign how Race to the Top has affected you. Let them know how [...]
After Wisconsin
The question before the June 5 recall election in Wisconsin was whether big money would be enough to carry Governor Scott Walker to victory. Now we know. Money was more than enough. When I heard the results last night, I was disappointed but not surprised. The polls were discouraging, and they were right. People power [...]
Will Technology Cut the Budget?
The answer to this question, says this reader, is no. Libertarians and folks on the right believe that technology will make it possible to replace teachers with machines. Machines don’t need health care or pensions. And their salaries don’t go up in a step schedule. When the machines get obsolete, you junk them. With teachers, [...]
What Are Our Priorities?
A reader on my Education Week blog Bridging Differences sent the following comment: Examining the PA governor’s budget for 2012-2013, testing monies have increased from $32 million to $52 million, while dual enrollment payments have gone from $7 million to 0 (funds that enable talented high school students to take community college courses). Elementary science [...]
A Tireless Advocate for Public Education and Equity
One of the wonderful rewards of my travels is that I have met people in every community who are staunch defenders of public education. Most want to help but they don’t know how. In part, this is because there is no national organization leading the charge to stop privatization. But nonetheless, there are many people [...]
Don’t Trust the Lists of “Best” Anything
I enjoy reading Michael Winerip in the New York Times every Monday. He always finds a way of writing about education issues that avoids jargon and goes to the heart of the matter. He demonstrates every week that a probing intellect is of greater value than any sort of metrics one can devise when judging [...]
Is Blended Learning a Silver Bullet?
I just read that Indianapolis has okayed the opening of 19 new charter schools based on the concept of “blended learning.” The schools will lean heavily on technology to reduce the teaching staff and save money while promising higher test scores. Embedded in this approach is the belief that computers do a better job of [...]
Should Duncan Apologize?
Secretary Arne Duncan has been on the road selling his idea of “RESPECT” for teachers, but teachers don’t feel any respect from the U.S. Department of Education. Teacher John Thompson has called on Secretary Duncan to apologize for the ways he has encouraged and promoted the currently hostile environment surrounding teachers. The Metlife Survey of [...]