Does Connecticut Law Permit Opting Out?
A parent objects to Connecticut’s plan to test children in kindergarten, first and second grades and asks for your help:
Does anyone have any info on “opt out” procedures in CT? My daughter will not be subjected to this destructive nonsense during these crucial, early years.
Does anyone have any info on “opt out” procedures in CT? My daughter will not be subjected to this destructive nonsense during these crucial, early years.
Is This Institutionalized Child Abuse?
In response to a post about a new “reform” law in Connecticut that mandates standardized testing for kindergarten, first and second grades, a reader comments:
I have seen my students in first and second grade put their heads down on their tests and sob uncontrollably while taking district-wide assessments. I can only imagine what standardized tests will do to them. I keep
I have seen my students in first and second grade put their heads down on their tests and sob uncontrollably while taking district-wide assessments. I can only imagine what standardized tests will do to them. I keep
A Teacher Is a Terrible Thing to Waste
This comment came from a retired and discouraged music teacher in response to a post about the damage done by data-driven instruction, in which focus is on raising those who score at 2 up to a 3, while ignoring the 1s (too low) and the 3s and 4s (they cross the barrier):
Yes, Diane, the focus is solely on raising the twos. It was the topic of staff meetings prior to my retirement as a music teacher–yes, we “specials” had to hear and contribute ways that we could do math and literacy in our 25
Yes, Diane, the focus is solely on raising the twos. It was the topic of staff meetings prior to my retirement as a music teacher–yes, we “specials” had to hear and contribute ways that we could do math and literacy in our 25
A Shocking Story of Power Misused
Teacher Katie Osgood (Ms. Katie) sent this story:
There is a high school in Chicago called Social Justice High School. It was created after parents held a 19-day hunger strike under the reign of Paul Vallas. The teachers there create rich, relevant curriculum to engage their students. Unfortunately, Chicago Public Schools want the SoJo building–it is a beautiful space which was built in response to the demands of the hunger strike, one of the most expensive newer facilities CPS owns. And I’m sure the city’s charter schools would love a piece of that.
So, just a few weeks ago, the district decided to come in to purposefully destabilize the school this by getting
Paul Thomas on KIPP Challenge
There is a high school in Chicago called Social Justice High School. It was created after parents held a 19-day hunger strike under the reign of Paul Vallas. The teachers there create rich, relevant curriculum to engage their students. Unfortunately, Chicago Public Schools want the SoJo building–it is a beautiful space which was built in response to the demands of the hunger strike, one of the most expensive newer facilities CPS owns. And I’m sure the city’s charter schools would love a piece of that.
So, just a few weeks ago, the district decided to come in to purposefully destabilize the school this by getting
Paul Thomas on KIPP Challenge
Paul Thomas of Furman University in South Carolina is so prolific and so well-informed (he taught high school for 18 years before he became a professor at Furman) that he has emerged as one of the most articulate voices in the education reform debates today.
This morning he posted an informative analysis of the ongoing discussion about KIPP on this blog and elsewhere. It is well worth reading.
I am aware that KIPP has a rapid response team, as noted in the first post. I don’t intend to keep this particular debate going. At a certain point, as a Monty Python skit once memorably said, back-and-forth becomes not a
This morning he posted an informative analysis of the ongoing discussion about KIPP on this blog and elsewhere. It is well worth reading.
I am aware that KIPP has a rapid response team, as noted in the first post. I don’t intend to keep this particular debate going. At a certain point, as a Monty Python skit once memorably said, back-and-forth becomes not a
Connecticut Adds New Tests for Kindergarten, 1 and 2 Grades
Education reform is definitely found a home in Connecticut!
There, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy wants to prove he is the biggest and baddest of education reformers.
Through his efforts, the Legislature passed a “reform” bill that mandates new standardized tests for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.
No child in Connecticut will be left untested!
No, sirree!
Remember if you will, that the three highest performing states in the nation on the no-stakes NAEP are:
There, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy wants to prove he is the biggest and baddest of education reformers.
Through his efforts, the Legislature passed a “reform” bill that mandates new standardized tests for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.
No child in Connecticut will be left untested!
No, sirree!
Remember if you will, that the three highest performing states in the nation on the no-stakes NAEP are:
What Options Besides College?
Before you read this comment by a reader, let me say what I believe: Everyone should pursue as much education as they want and as they need. I believe that education is a human right and should be free through higher education, an investment by society in its future. Not everyone wants to go to college or feels the need to go to college; they may change their mind at a later date, and if they do, that’s okay. There is no reason that everyone should be expected to follow the same path to a degree. The average age of college students is somewhere in the mid-20s, reflecting the fact that many people start or drop back in when they want to do so. And that is as it should be. Higher education should be a matter of personal choice and readiness, not an
A Teacher Writes the President about Merit Pay
A teacher in Boynton Beach sent me a letter he wrote to President Obama in 2010, trying to explain why merit pay doesn’t work. Obviously, no one at the White House or the U.S. Department of Education agrees with him. Since 2010, matters have gotten even worse, especially in Florida, where the Legislature mandated merit pay and provided no funding for it. No one at the White House or the U.S. Department of Education or the Florida legislature or any of the conservative governors seems to know or care that merit pay is not supported by
What Parents Need to Know about “Reform”
Carol Burris has written an article addressed to parents, explaining what tests are good for and how they are being misused.
Send this to your friends, especially if they are public school parents.
She identifies three “reforms” that parents should be concerned about, involving the misuse of testing.
This is the “reform” that you should keep your eye on:
The amassing of individual student scores in national and state databases.
State and national databases are being created in order to analyze and house students’ test scores. No parental
Send this to your friends, especially if they are public school parents.
She identifies three “reforms” that parents should be concerned about, involving the misuse of testing.
This is the “reform” that you should keep your eye on:
The amassing of individual student scores in national and state databases.
State and national databases are being created in order to analyze and house students’ test scores. No parental
An Art Teacher Explains Why Class Size Matters
A retired teacher sent this post:
Larger Classes— Less Education
By Anita Getzler
Listening to the public discourse on classroom size, it’s been suggested that the number of students in a classroom does not affect a student’s ability to learn. However, when I tell people that this can mean 45, 5
Larger Classes— Less Education
By Anita Getzler
Listening to the public discourse on classroom size, it’s been suggested that the number of students in a classroom does not affect a student’s ability to learn. However, when I tell people that this can mean 45, 5
What Caroline Grannan Learned About KIPP
Caroline Grannan demonstrates what a parent activist can accomplish by diligence. Here she writes about her research on KIPP:
I did the first known research on KIPP attrition in 2007 as an unpaid amateur blogger. I looked at attrition in all the then-nine California KIPP schools based on California Department of Education data. KIPP’s Oakland
I did the first known research on KIPP attrition in 2007 as an unpaid amateur blogger. I looked at attrition in all the then-nine California KIPP schools based on California Department of Education data. KIPP’s Oakland
Paul Ryan and the Free Market
This reader makes an important observation about this post and Ryan’s celebration of the free market:
What I find most interesting is that in his own life, Paul Ryan has never made much attempt to succeed in the free market. He’s worked for the government for most of his adult life, and his family money is just that, money his family made, a lot from public investment in road building.
Elect This Man in Washington State
Video of Mr. and Mrs. Rhee Lecture on “Ethics in Education”
Video of Mr. and Mrs. Rhee Lecture on “Ethics in Education”
CNN Posts Interview with Me
Institutionalized Child Abuse: A Lost Voice
Ms. Katie Explains What KIPP Does Wrong
What I find most interesting is that in his own life, Paul Ryan has never made much attempt to succeed in the free market. He’s worked for the government for most of his adult life, and his family money is just that, money his family made, a lot from public investment in road building.
Elect This Man in Washington State
We who are concerned about the galloping trend towards privatization of public education often complain about the lack of public officials who pay attention or care about what happens to one of our essential public institutions.
I just found one.
He is running for office in Washington State. He is campaigning against the billionaire-funded charter initiative.
I just found one.
He is running for office in Washington State. He is campaigning against the billionaire-funded charter initiative.
Video of Mr. and Mrs. Rhee Lecture on “Ethics in Education”
A reader sends the video of the event at the University of Hawaii in which Michelle Rhee and her husband Kevin Johnson lecture on “Ethics in Education.” We were fortunate enough to have a description of that lecture soon after it was delivered, and it was posted here.
http://vimeo.com/47902533
http://vimeo.com/47902533
Video of Mr. and Mrs. Rhee Lecture on “Ethics in Education”
A reader sends the video of the event at the University of Hawaii in which Michelle Rhee and her husband Kevin Johnson lecture on “Ethics in Education.” We were fortunate enough to have a description of that lecture soon after it was delivered, and it was posted here.
http://vimeo.com/47902533
http://vimeo.com/47902533
CNN Posts Interview with Me
A reader sent a link to the CNN interview, in which Randi Kaye pretends for a few minutes to be Michelle Rhee:
in case this has not yet been posted. CNN News Room posted the Randi Kaye interview with Diane Ravitch. There is a comments section which I’m sure we’ll use responsibly.
http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/randi-kaye-speaks-to-former-assistant-secretary-of-education-diane-ravitch-on-the-state-of-our-schools/
in case this has not yet been posted. CNN News Room posted the Randi Kaye interview with Diane Ravitch. There is a comments section which I’m sure we’ll use responsibly.
http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/24/randi-kaye-speaks-to-former-assistant-secretary-of-education-diane-ravitch-on-the-state-of-our-schools/
Institutionalized Child Abuse: A Lost Voice
Earlier this year a book was published titled Childism by the eminent psychoanalyst Elisabeth Young-Bruehl.
The subtitle is “Confronting Prejudice Against Young Children.”
Young-Bruehl argues that just as there is prejudice against other groups of people, there is prejudice against children, and she calls it “childism.”
Young-Bruehl describes the many ways in which young children are abused by parents and those who are
The subtitle is “Confronting Prejudice Against Young Children.”
Young-Bruehl argues that just as there is prejudice against other groups of people, there is prejudice against children, and she calls it “childism.”
Young-Bruehl describes the many ways in which young children are abused by parents and those who are
Ms. Katie Explains What KIPP Does Wrong
Katie Osgood blogs as Ms. Katie.
Check out her blog. It’s terrific.
She is fearless and articulate.
In one of my earliest posts, I reprinted a great piece she wrote.
Check out her blog. It’s terrific.
She is fearless and articulate.
In one of my earliest posts, I reprinted a great piece she wrote.
The KIPP Boast
I challenged KIPP to take over an impoverished district and to show how their methods could work for all children–the ELLs, the special ed, all kids–not just those whose parents entered a lottery. Jonathan Schorr responded by saying that would be abandoning their original mission. His snarky (and insulting) response appears as a comment on the original post. Schorr works for the billionaire-funded NewSchools Venture Fund.
This is a comment from Parents Across America activist Caroline Grannan in San Francisco, who has written
This is a comment from Parents Across America activist Caroline Grannan in San Francisco, who has written