Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, July 30, 2012

In Politics « Diane Ravitch's blog

In Politics « Diane Ravitch's blog:


In Politics

In the political arena, all eyes are on the Presidential race.
But in New York City, candidates for Mayor are lining up supporters. The election is 2013, when Mayor Bloomberg’s rocky third term ends.
It appears that the favorite of the charter school hedge fund crowd is Christine Quinn, City Council speaker. Quinn, a close ally of Mayor Bloomberg, seems likeliest to keep his policies intact. To say that parents do not like his school-closing policy would be an understatement. The brute fact is that there is a lot of money on the


Join This Webinar Today

When they talk about “customized” and “personalized” instruction, do they mean sitting in front of a computer that provides questions at the level of the student? Is this cost savings by removing teachers? Tune in, join the conversation and ask questions.

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The Alliance for Excellent Education
Invites You to a Webinar on the

Working Draft of Suggested Legislation for Personalized and Digital Learning and the Opening of a Public Comment Period

Monday, July 30, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., ET
Participants
Jessica Cardichon
, Director of Federal Advocacy, Alliance for Excellent Education

Chip Slaven, Senior Advocacy Associate, Alliance for Excellent Education
Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education
Please join the Alliance for Excellent Education on Monday, July 30 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., ET for a live webinar to discuss and seek feedback on a working draft of suggested legislation for personalized and digital learning that is currently being developed by the Alliance.
Over the past several years, the Alliance has been developing digital learning policy that supports the effective use of technology as a way to drive higher student achievement. More states are taking policy actions to implement innovative types of student-centered learning and seeking guidance in the legislative drafting process. This working draft of suggested legislation is meant to assist states as they plan strategically for the future, develop workable timelines for implementation, and create important quality safeguards and transparency guidelines. The webinar also represents the opening of a public comment period, during which the Alliance will seek feedback and comments from policymakers and the public.
This webinar will highlight the recommended legislative actions and language that have been developed so far in the working draft. Following the discussion, there will be an interactive conversation among the panelists using questions submitted by participants from the around the country.
An executive summary of the legislation is available at http://media.all4ed.org/sites/default/files/EachChildLearns_executivesummary.pdf .
Register and submit questions for the webinar at http://media.all4ed.org/registration-jul-30-2012.
Please direct questions concerning the webinar to alliance@all4ed.org.
NOTE: If you are unable to watch the webinar live, an archived version will be available at http://www.all4ed.org/webinars usually one or two days after the event airs.
The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC-based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century. For more information about the Alliance, visit http://www.all4ed.org.



My Speech to AFT Convention, Detroit, July 28, 2012

Isn’t technology amazing?
I spoke at the AFT national convention at 2:30 pm Saturday, and within a few hours, it was posted on YouTube.
Here it is. Enjoy!



What If We Had Another $20 Billion for Schools?

The cost of standardized testing has increased by many multiples in the past decade. By the estimate in this article, our nation now spends $20-50 billion on testing and preparing for testing. Texas, for example, spends almost ten times as much on testing as it did a decade ago.
What has that money produced? Let’s see, a dramatic lowering of teacher morale; cheating on a scale


Let the Children Play!

In response to Stephen Krashen’s post about the likely expansion of testing in the near future, as well as federal interest in tests for “infants, toddlers, and preschoolers,” a reader sent this urgent plea:
LET THE CHILDREN PLAY!!!!!
There was a time when children went to school for kindergarten to learn how to learn.  They worked on hand-eye coordination, figure ground discrimination, and other necessary skills.  They also learned to listen in a group and play together.  They learned to color inside the lines and to cut a straight line. They learned to organize things. Many of the skills they learned in kindergarten helped them be good students later, most importantly to focus.  Unfortunately, many students are moving through the school systems and through life without having learned 





How to Create Failing Schools

Mike Deshotels of Louisiana has figured out how the scheme works.
Create a program that rates all schools by a standard that assures that half will be above the standard and half will be below.
Of course, schools that enroll affluent students will appear largely in the top half, and schools that enroll poor