Diane Ravitch's blog
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Diane Ravitch's blog
CNN Interview: What They Dropped Out
I just watched my interview with Randi Kaye. I am happy to say that the editors clipped out her opening question, in which she tried to use NAEP scale scores as “grades” for the U.S., , which they are not. A scale is a trend line. It is better to see scores go up than [...]
A Humanity-Biased Educator in Australia Blasts PISA
I regularly read the posts from Phil Cullen in Australia, which he calls “The Treehorn Express.” Here is one of his best. You will notice that he includes a link to Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet, showing how ideas travel fast around the world. NAPLAN is the Australian national assessment program of literacy and numeracy. The Treehorn Express [...]
Romney’s Education Agenda
I read Romney’s education agenda carefully. You should do the same. It’s pro-privatization. It repeats the myth of “failing” public schools. There is not a good word in it for public education. Romney is avid for charter schools and vouchers. Here is the analysis of his agenda that I wrote for the New York Review [...]
Dilemmas of School Choice
Karen Francisco writes about education for the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Whenever I see her work, I wish I lived in Fort Wayne, so I could see everything she writes. She is one of our most thoughtful commentators on the subject of education. In this article, she ponders the complexity of school choice. What happens when [...]
In Louisiana, Private Schools Can Get an F and Public $$$
The following post was written by a teacher in Louisiana who is a former journalist. Private schools that accept vouchers can score an F with no accountability. Students may enroll in a private school that is far lower-performing than their own public school, and the private school gets $8,000 of public money: Academically Unacceptable? Not [...]
When Comic Journalism Meets Education Reform
What do you do when you want to reach the public but you have no money and no access to the mainstream media? Here’s what: Some very brilliant educators decided to try a novel way to explain the issues to the public. They used comic journalism, a simple, direct means of communicating complex ideas. What do [...]
Pre-K Standards in Common Core
A reader does some Internet searching for pre-K standards and comments: A simple Google search for “Pre-kindergarten and Common Core State Standards” brings up 4,100,000 matches. Here are just a few interesting links: New York State’s “P-12 Common Core Standards” document: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/pdfdocs/nysp12cclsmath.pdf From “eye on early education” regarding Massachusetts Pre-K Common Core initiative: http://eyeonearlyeducation.org/2010/12/22/frameworks-include-pre-k-and-common-core-standards/ Maryland’s [...]
Who Should Be Held Accountable?
A reader–a parent and teacher–writes. Does she refer to the way that education policy is made by non-educators? Or to the reduction of education to data? Or the reduction of children to data points on a graph? Or the indifference to the developmental needs of children and adolescents? Or to the arrival of greedy for-profits [...]
CNN Interview Airs Saturday @8:40 am EST
Just got airtime. CNN interview on Newsroom tomorrow at 8:40 AM EST
Who Should Control the Standards?
A reader asks an important question: Born on the cusp of the New Math, where I first got catechized in the Old Math and then had to learn the New Math in order to help my succeeding siblings through their homework, I am the survivor of more national curriculum reforms than either fashion of Math [...]
CNN: please watch
Dear friends, Watch the program. Reach your own judgment. Do not react or complain until you have seen the segment, about 5 minutes. Watch, listen, think. Diane
My Interview on CNN
I taped the interview a few minutes ago. It airs tomorrow at 9-10 am EST. It was a gotcha session. This is the letter I sent to my contact at CNN. This was one of the most biased interviews I have ever done, and I have done many. Randi Kaye asked me about NAEP scale [...]
When Reform Turns Orwellian
The author of the article “Is Literature Necessary?” writes a comment: Thanks for mentioning my essay. I agree that the reform movement is getting more Orwellian by the day. We are told test scores are way up when they are stagnant. We are told that poverty doesn’t matter. We are told that “enthusiasm” trumps experience.People [...]
How Prescriptive Are Common Core Standards?
There is usually a long distance between standards as drafted and their implementation. A reader comments: It’s not just standards that are being handed down. There seems to be a continuous stream of “clarifying” documents, like their Publisher’s Criteria, which double down on unverified approaches to learning, teaching, and curriculum design. These aren’t just academic [...]
What’s Wrong with Privatization?
Someone tweeted me a few days ago and asked “what’s wrong with privatization?” I didn’t have time or space to respond in 140 characters, but fortunately someone else has done it for me. See this article. Let me be clear. I believe in the value and strength of the private sector. Long ago, I traveled [...]
The Common Core for 4-Year-Olds
A reader writes: As an early childhood teacher I saw first hand last year the effects of the Common Core on my pre-k students. The ELA was not so dreadful. It was more or less consistent with what I had been doing. The math was another story. Asking 4 year olds to master addition and [...]
Where the Government Leaves You Alone
A reader suggests where to find a nation-state where the government truly leaves you alone to do whatever you want: As I have read here and there on the blogosphere, if you really want a truly individualistic, no governmental “interference”, no taxes kind of society, go to Somalia. On the other hand, I’ve also been [...]
In Praise of Gary Rubinstein
Gary Rubinstein writes a terrific blog. He is a math teacher and an early alum of TFA. Whenever he writes, he has important insights. Last week, I got a note from a friend praising Deborah Kenny and quoting her recent book, where she claims that the secret of her miracle school, Harlem Village Academy, is [...]
What and Who Is EdVoice?
A group called EdVoice filed a lawsuit to compel the teachers of Los Angeles to comply with 40-year-old legislation (the Stull Act), requiring that student performance be part of teacher evaluation. The Los Angeles teachers’ union has opposed the suit, and they are currently in litigation. The issues are supposed to be resolved in December. [...]
Thank You, LG
There is a reader of this blog called LG who writes the most amazingly wise comments. She (and I believe from her email that this is a she) has taken upon herself the difficult task of responding to some very dubious assertions. Sometimes angry readers will make outlandish comments about teachers or public education or [...]
The Unmitigated Gall of the Bullies
This teacher is sick of the people who bully and harass him; sick of those who interfere in his work but could never do it themselves; sick of the know-it-alls who are ruining his profession: I am in my 44th year as a teacher. I have taught from Prep to Grade 12, but mostly in [...]
Everyone Needs Goals!!
Let’s set goals for the future. Everyone needs goals. If other fields were like education, we would not only set unrealistic goals, but Congress would mandate punishments for those who do not meet them. A reader suggests these: We need to focus on the same kinds of ridiculous and unfair expectations to show how asinine [...]
Is It Too Late to “Fix” the Common Core Standards?
This kindergarten teacher responds to an earlier post about how to fix the Common Core standards. I add here my own concerns about the lack of any field testing of the standards. We don’t know what effect they will have; we don’t know if they will improve student achievement; we don’t know if they will [...]
About that Washington State Referendum
A reader (who is not a teacher) describes the setting for the referendum this fall in Washington State that would introduce charter schools and a parent trigger into the state for the first time. An earlier post pointed out that the referendum–known as I-1240–is funded by Bill Gates and other super-rich high-tech entrepreneurs. We’ll speak [...]
What Our Friends in New Zealand Are Reading
Allan Allach of New Zealand has compiled a reading list, some drawn from U.S. sources (one from this blog). What is interesting is the commonality of concerns among so many of us worried about the standardization of education, corporate control of schooling, and the worship of data as the goal of education: Weekend Readings [...]
Why Home-Schooling Is Uncommon in the U.K.
A reader from the U.K., who has engaged in the discussion about the role of parents, comments on the relative infrequency of home-schooling in the U.K.: Home-schooling is legal in the UK but it isn’t common. Most parents in the UK that have the time to homeschool either lack the required level of education/intelligence to [...]
What’s Wrong with the Common Core Standards
This reader has done a close reading of the Common Core standards and concludes they are “an expensive farce.” If you pay attention to the Common Core State Standards as required by the authors, (verbatim treatment, no menu-like choices, close reading), you will see that Mr. [David] Coleman and others expect all students to meet [...]
How to Fix the Common Core Standards
Diana Senechal writes: I am one of those who do NOT perceive the standards as totally bad. In fact, I see a great deal of potential good in them. (Full disclosure: I played a minor role in the creation of the standards: I suggested some text exemplars and commented on drafts.) I do see several [...]
Is Literature Necessary?
A wonderful essay in this morning’s New York Times’ Schoolbook blog asks “Is Literature Necessary,” and it opens with this pop quiz: “Now, what I want is facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root everything else out.” Who said the above? a. Bill [...]
Defending Parents Against Stereotypes
A reader writes in support of low-income and working-class families and reminds us of the importance of collaboration: Diane, thanks again for your clarity and calm through what must have been a difficult week. Your small manifesto looks so obvious, when it is quietly laid out. Unfortunately, the conversation also gets hijacked by those with [...]
What Is the Public Purpose of Public Education?
In case you have forgotten how to answer that question; In case you are befuddled by the nonstop attacks on public schools and those who teach in them; In case you don’t remember the history of education in the past fifty years: Please read this statement on “The Public Purpose of Public Education” by Jan [...]
A Former Coal Miner Said This About Teachers Today
I just learned about Kipp Dawson early this morning. I got an email about a radio program where she is interviewed. What got my attention was that Kipp spent 13 years working underground as a coal miner before she became a middle-school English teacher in Pittsburgh. I dropped a line to her, noting her unusual [...]
Neil Postman Had It Right in 1976
A reader recalls what Neil Postman wrote almost 40 years ago. He was known as a future-thinker, and this quotation proves he was: I’m a public school teacher in NJ. Relevant in this context is a wonderful little book by Neil Postman entitled “The Disappearance of Childhood”. He ties the invention of childhood in the [...]
Where Are the Miracle Schools?
Bruce Baker of Rutgers University has written a fascinating analysis of charter schools in New York City and Houston. Do they enroll the same students as the nearby district schools? Do they have higher test scores? Do they spend the same amount of money? These are very important questions, given the reformers’ belief that charter [...]
What’s Needed Now: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
A reader comments on the discussion about parents, teachers, and students: It is amazing to me how fast the conversation gets hijacked by those with an agenda to trash public education. I have stated before and will repeat it. Parents and educators must work together in partnership. It is the most productive way for our [...]
A Line in the Sand in Washington State Against the “Trigger”
A reader in Washington State writes: In Washington State, where we don’t have charters, we are fighting a charter initiative. It includes the MOST aggressive trigger in the U.S. It would allow an approved charter to circulate a petition to parents OR teachers at a school and, if a majority sign, the charter takes over, [...]
The Century of the Coldhearted?
Jeff Bryant reflects on the events and ideas that transformed American society in the past century. A current exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City describes the 20th century as “the century of the child.” Now with technocratic ideas dominant in national policy, championed by both Obama and Romney and semi-articulated [...]
What Does “Progress” Mean?
In California, there is a battle going on between a “reformist” group called Edvoice and the United Teachers of Los Angeles. California has a forty-year-old law called the Stull Act, which says that a teacher’s evaluation will include evidence of student progress. But how is “progress” defined? Some “reformers” will use any and all opportunities [...]
A Cyber Teacher of Physical Education Explains
A supporter of cyber charters wrote to say that many activities occur in a physical setting, not online. In response to our exchange, a teacher posted the following comment: K12 Inc has the largest student population of all online cyber charter schools in the US and this is what they want from a PE/Health Teacher: [...]
Pearson Plans to Award Degrees
Last year, for reasons not altogether clear to me, the British government issued a white paper saying that non-teaching institutions would soon have the power to award degrees. Now, as was anticipated, the Pearson corporation says that it plans to award degrees to complete its role as the ultimate education organization of our era. Of [...]
What I Think about Parents
Over the past few days, there has been a lively discussion about the rights and responsibilities of parents. This was occasioned by a letter I posted by a teacher, who said that parents don’t always know what is best for their children and that some parents are irresponsible. After this post appeared on a homeschooling [...]
Which Public Services Should Have a “Trigger”?
What other public services might be subject to a “trigger” law? Should 51% of the tenants of a public housing project have the authority to seize control and hand the property over to a private management company? Should 51% of the patrons of a public library have the authority to seize control and privatize it [...]
Time for Something Silly
Every once in a while, someone sends me a video that is very funny, and I want to share it. I don’t recommend that anyone try what is shown in this HP commercial. But I recommend it for some smiles, laughs and a catchy tune.
Education Activist Scores Again
Sara Stevenson, the librarian of O. Henry Middle School in Austin, Texas, is on a roll. Two days ago, she had a letter printed in the New York Times refuting its editorial about the need for “carrots and sticks” in dealing with teachers and principals. Today she has a letter in the Wall Street Journal, [...]
Who Owns a Public School?
The question of ownership arises because the “parent trigger” idea enables 51% of parents to “seize control” of their public school and turn it over to a private corporation to manage. But do the parents “own” the school? Is it theirs to give away? My view is that it belongs to the public. The public [...]
Who Wants to End Local Control of Schools?
It’s kind of funny when a blog talks to a blog, which then talks back to the other blog. I wrote today about how the State Superintendent of Schools in Georgia came out in opposition to a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would allow a commission appointed by the governor to override [...]
RTTT: More Lipstick on a Pig?
Larry Ferlazzo notes that the latest requirements for Race to the Top is just more lipstick on a pig. By which, he means that when RTTT refers to “personalized learning,” what it really means is using online learning for adaptive testing. That’s pretty much what the hawkers of technology mean too. But teachers had something [...]
Is This a Failing School with Great Graduates?
According to the state of Pennsylvania, the Hazleton Area High School is a low performing school. One day its staff may be fired and the school may be closed and replaced by privately managed charter schools, or who knows, its students may be sent to register for online homeschooling. But a Pennsylvania reader says that [...]
Change.org Did Not Drop StudentsFirst
A reader writes that Change.org continues to offer deceptive petitions to recruit members for StudentsFirst (petitions like “do you support great teachers?” “are you against bullying?”). Frankly, I don’t think any of the organization’s membership claims are meaningful because no one pays dues, and no one knows how many names were added by deceptive petitions [...]
Amazing News from Georgia
In Georgia, the Republican party has lined up to support a constitutional amendment this fall that would give the governor power to override the decisions of local school boards and open charters whether the local boards like it or not. Obviously, such a law would eviscerate local control and also raid the local school budget [...]
Arizona, the Wild West of Charter Schools
The Arizona Daily Star reviewed the charter sector and came up with some amazing and disturbing findings. The state has 500 plus charter schools, and provides next to no oversight. A new charter may get a visit in the first year or two, but seldom after that. They are on their own. There are only [...]
An Apology to Offended Parents
This teacher wrote a dissent to the letter that caused a ruckus. She wrote it immediately. I posted her dissent. Now she writes again. Will any of the angry homeschooling parents read what she writes? Obviously, they did not read her previous comment defending parents. The lesson. Be informed. Don’t rush to judgment. Stop, look, and [...]
Facts About the “Parent Trigger”
The new film “Won’t Back Down” apparently celebrates the “parent trigger.” Since this film is fictional, it is likely to provide misinformation about this concept. Parents Across America invited member Caroline Grannan, who lives in California and often writes about education, to prepare a fact sheet about the real “parent trigger,” which was passed as [...]
In Praise of Valerie Strauss
All of us who are frustrated and occasionally outraged by current federal and state education policy owe a debt of thanks to Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post. Her daily blog “The Answer Sheet” is a source of sustenance, information, and wisdom. She has provided a regular outlet for teachers, researchers, and everyone else who [...]
Mind Your Manners and Your Language
This is a site for discussing better education for all. You know that. And you know that I won’t permit comments that are blatantly offensive. I am the judge of what is offensive. It seems that one of my posts, in which a teacher asked whether parents were always the best judge of what is best [...]
Florida Parents Explain Why They Oppose Parent Trigger
A few months ago, the Florida legislature debated a “parent trigger” law. It would have allowed parents to sign a petition and take control of their public school. The proposal was strongly supported by Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee. Florida parent groups rallied against the law, saying it was a ploy by the for-profit charter [...]
For-Profit Charter Chains Pour Money into Florida State Senate Races
Coach Sikes, our reliable Florida informant, describes how that state’s for-profit charter chains are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into four key races for the state senate. This past spring, the state senate deadlocked on a 20-20 vote and did not pass a parent trigger law supported by right-wingers Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee. [...]
Why Is K12 Online Corp. Advertising on Kansas TV?
David Reber is a teacher in Kansas who happens to be a terrific writer. His articles are always insightful. This one is about the relentless advertising campaign in Kansas of the online giant K12. As the privatization movement gathers steam, as equity investors launch their latest scheme to extract profits from the public schools, we [...]
Who Is Funding “Teachers Rock” and “Won’t Back Down”?
The money behind the “parent trigger” movie comes from the rightwing. It’s a shame to see mainstream movie stars and musicians fooled into thinking this movie “honors” teachers. The parent trigger is a transparent attempt to fool parents into seizing control of their public school and handing it over to corporate charter chains. So, the [...]
Will Your District Race to the Top?
Arne Duncan wants your district to compete for his millions. If you win the money, he will judge whether your superintendent and school board are doing a good job. Who made him superintendent of education for the United States? Did he never learn about federalism? Did he miss that course? If Romney is elected, his [...]
Why So Much Test Prep? Ask Gates Foundation.
According to this story in Philadelphia’s Notebook, the Gates Foundation has been generously funding a teacher-training program tailored to test prep. Philadelphia schools need higher scores, so the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact wants more, please, of this test-prep teaching training. The city is also investigating dozens of schools for cheating on tests. Step back a [...]
Please Watch CNN Newsroom, Saturday August 18 10-11 AM
Many people have asked me what time I will be interviewed on CNN on Saturday. I will be interviewed by Randi Kaye, who interviewed Michelle Rhee on same program. Saturday August 18, 10-11 am. I will do my best to present the facts and to rebut the misinformation that has been disseminated to the public [...]
About that “Teachers Rock” Concert
A reader asks a reasonable question about the concert in Los Angeles tonight celebrating a film that disparages teachers, public schools, and unions: Here’s another thought. You could also contact the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Federation of Musicians to express your opinion about this situation. [...]
Anthony Cody Challenges the Gates Foundation
Anthony Cody has worked for nearly two decades in the Oakland public schools. He knows what poverty does to children. He knows what hunger and violence do to their lives. He thinks the Gates Foundation should stop pretending that it can end poverty by putting “a great teacher” in every classroom. How will that feed [...]
The Most Perceptive Article of the Year: UPDATE!
Every once in a while, I read something that rings as true as a perfectly pitched bell or a fine piece of crystal. Every once in a while, a clear-headed thinker assembles all the pieces of what is happening around us and puts it all together into a sensible and compelling analysis. Here is that [...]
Educators Push Back Against Rhee’s Insulting Ad
Two different videos made by educators to satirize Michelle Rhee’s insulting Olympics ad, the one that ridicules America, teachers, students, obesity and gays. Here is one. It is hilarious. Here is the other. This creative video is from “the Chalkface,” where smart and funny educators use radio and video to get their message across to the [...]
Jim Horn’s Top 10 Reasons Why 1% Like Urban Charters
Jim Horn has an illuminating blog called “SchoolsMatter.” In this post, he puzzles over why hedge fund managers and assorted billionaires are so devoted to urban charter schools, particularly in light of repeated studies that show that these schools don’t get better results than public schools. Here is his list of the top ten reasons [...]
How Would You Answer This Question?
A reader writes for our help. I would say to these students: No one can promise you will land a job, not in this or any other field, but I can promise you that teaching is the most exciting, rewarding, and important job you will ever have. It will change your life, and you all [...]
Time to Speak Out and Act Up for Teachers and Public Schools
Teachers and parents often ask me: What can I do? How can I stop the attacks on teachers, on their unions, on public schools? Here is one way: On August 14, there will be an event called “Teachers Rock” to promote a film that is anti-teacher, anti-union and anti-public schools. Let the stars involved in “Teachers [...]
Saving School Districts Is Not a Full-time Job
Paul Vallas is superintendent of schools in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He is paid more than $200,000 a year. He also runs a private consulting business that just landed an $18 million contract to reorganize the Indianapolis school district even as he remains full-time superintendent in Bridgeport. The board that appointed Vallas has been declared illegal by a [...]
How to Destroy Childhood
A reader writes: I teach pre-k and every year more and more play time is removed for more “academics”. And every year I have more behavior issues in my class. At the end of the year our cots were removed because the “suits” determined that resting was a waste of time and we were losing [...]
Time to Play. Here is Why.
Stephanie, a reader, sent this short video. Please stop and watch it. The point is about how important play is. It happens that play matters for little children, but it matters for adolescents and for adults. When we rob our children of play, we rob them of their childhood. When we rob adolescents and adults of [...]
Not Needed: Carrots and Sticks
A librarian and a teacher of teachers responds to the New York Times’ editorial demand for more carrots (merit pay) and sticks (firings) for teachers in schools with low test scores. Re “Carrots and Sticks for School Systems” (editorial, Aug. 6): It is not surprising that many school managers do not distinguish between high- and [...]
Advice to My Readers: House Rules
When this blog started, I imagined a cozy conversation among friends, which it was, in my virtual living room. But as the weeks went on, the daily readership began to exceed 10,000, and the living room sometimes seems crowded. I hope it continues to grow. We can move from my living room to the nearest [...]
A Nice Hat Tip from England
A reader in England writes this. The blog has readers around the world, literally on every continent. Most readers, of course, are in the U.S., but followed by readers in Canada, the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, Korea, Japan, Russia, Israel, and dozens of other nations in South America, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and [...]
The Reformers’ Game Plan
This reader offers a succinct summary of the reformers’ game plan. He might have added additional elements: a) budget cuts to disable public schools; and b) laws that remove accountability and transparency with privately managed charters; c) evaluating teachers on a bell curve, so that half will always be “below average,” thus creating a “crisis”; [...]
Deja Vu for This Miracle Charter School
Two months ago I wrote a post about a charter school in Oakland that had been the beneficiary of a massive public relations campaign, abetted by gullible journalists at the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Alter, and others eager to declare the triumph of the charter idea. I mention this again because a reader sent a [...]
A Mississippi View of Charter Schools
A reader in Mississippi writes: Why build separate schools for a select few? Why create separate laws and separate governing bodies for these schools? Why not change existing laws for ALL schools?? What the hell kind of country are we living in where our tax dollars can be used to operate a school that is [...]
Are Standardized Tests Like IQ Tests?
The secret is out. Pass it on. Professor Walter Stroup of the University of Texas has determined that the annual state tests are superb at measuring how well students will do on the annual state tests, plus how well they performed on the same test in the past and how well they will perform on [...]
About Race to the Top for Districts
With the launch of Race to the Top for school districts, the U.S. Department of Education demolishes federalism, Congress should de-fund the Race to the Top. Arne Duncan has absolutely no justification for foisting his unfounded, evidence-free ideas on the nation’s school districts. Should every school district look like Chicago, one of the nation’s lowest-performing [...]
When Will Public Schools in Texas Close Down?
The new AYP figures are just out in Texas, and only 44% of the schools in the state made adequate yearly progress. Next year it will be a lot worse. By the rules set out in the NCLB law, the schools that can’t make it in a five-year frame will have to do something dramatic: [...]
Anyone Want to Promote This Woman and Her School?
I just got an email from an advertising firm offering me access to a charter founder in Tucson. The assumption is that since I blog, I’m looking for story material. It is a reasonable assumption. I am always looking for story material, but I have a hard and fast rule. I never do anything suggested [...]
Will Fixing Schools Cure Poverty?
The corporate reform crowd thinks that fixing schools will fix poverty. They say that poverty is an excuse for bad teachers. They think that closing schools where test scores are low will improve education. They have all kinds of wrong ideas, but wrongest of all is their notion that schools by themselves will fix the [...]
This Texas Teacher Wishes They Would Let Her Teach
Being a Texan, though long removed from my native soil, I always react with a start and with more than a bit of pleasure when I hear the authentic voice of a fellow Texan. We Texans don’t like to be pushed around. We like to express ourselves with vigor. Some of us care a lot [...]
Does Value-Added Make Sense?
Many people assume that value-added assessment started with Race to the Top. Value-added assessment or value-added modeling means judging teachers by how much students scores went up. Actually, it started in the 1980s, when William Sanders, an agricultural statistician in Tennessee, claimed that it was possible to measure student growth the way he was accustomed [...]
Jay Matthews Slams D.C. Cheating Investigation
Jay Matthews does not believe the investigation of the DC cheating scandal is credible. The DC Inspector General concluded that nothing much happened. He confined his investigation to one school only. He didn’t investigate any other schools. Matthews writes: Now we know who did it. D.C. Inspector General Charles J. Willoughby has concluded his 16-month [...]
A Maxim for Our Times
A reader comments on this post: Poverty is not destiny; it’s policy.
The Charter School Threat to American Society
If charter schools served the neediest children, if they recruited the students who had dropped out, if they made an effort to collaborate with public schools in a joint undertaking, they would have a valued place in American education. But in the current context, they have been turned into a battering ram to compete with [...]
Are Schools Like Sports Teams?
Yes, we are “racing to the top.” Has anyone defined “the top”? Who is “racing”? Racing to higher test scores? Who will cross the finish line first? Does the “race” have anything to do with education? A reader writes today: The peons are being thrown crumbs again today and the elites are watching them scramble [...]
Why Don’t Teachers Resist?
In a discussion about a charter teacher who acquiesced to practices that were objectionable, some readers asked why she didn’t complain or take action. This reader explains why teachers must sometimes accept the intolerable: You are exactly right-easier said than done! Charter Schools are a company, a business. If you work for an employer [...]
In NYC, Fair Student Funding Is Unfair
Not long after corporate reform started in New York City, the Department of Education adopted a formula promoted by conservative think tanks called “fair student funding” or “weighted student funding.” The surface idea was that each child would have the money he or she deserved “strapped to his/her back.” (Sorry for the clumsy effort to [...]
Who Else Is Rolling Over in His Grave?
A reader, noting the plan to privatize 40% of the schools in Philadelphia, had this to say: WILLIAM PENN is rolling over in his grave, I’m sure. It occurred to me that : John Dewey must be rolling over in his grave as he sees our national leaders using standardized tests to impose rankings and [...]
Strange Bedfellows
A reader this morning said I should make a clear distinction between what the Republicans and the Democrats say/do about education. I wish I could. Race to the Top is no different from No Child Left Behind, other than the timetable. It shares the same assumptions that testing, choice, and data are the magic keys [...]
A Teacher in a Charter School
A teacher in a charter school comments: I have worked in a charter school in an impoverished area for several years. I am a teacher by trade and by nature and I am patient, caring and kind to my students. Teaching is my vocation. I agree with what is being said about charter schools. The [...]
The Rights and Responsibilities of Parents
Writing in response to this post, a reader has another view about the rights and responsibilities of parents: I’m not satisfied with the way this question is being framed; sometimes just taking an opposing stance to a bad argument isn’t correct.Although parents don’t always “know what’s best” for their child, there is overall no safer [...]
Three Articles and a Book about TFA
I periodically post outstanding articles that were written a while ago. “A while” might mean a month ago, six months ago, or years ago. This article was written by Rachel Levy, a thoughtful essayist. A sample: It’s time to stop allowing achievement and privilege to masquerade as competence, dedication, and skill. It’s time for the [...]
O Brave New World of School Reform
A retired teacher writes about her experiences teaching in an inner-city school in Hartford, Connecticut: I retired last June, after nearly 38 years of teaching at M. L. King Elementary School, in Hartford, CT. ,one of the poorest mid-sized cities in the nation. As I listen to the President, educational leaders, media commentators, and [...]
A Call to Retired Teachers!
Several readers have pointed out that retired teachers are free to be outspoken, because they can’t lose their jobs. This teacher explains what retired teachers did in one community: In Rockford, IL, a group of retired teachers and parents heard the cry for help from their active teachers. They formed an organization (W.E.E.: Watchdogs for [...]
Do Parents Always Know What Is Best?
The State Commissioner of Education John White memorably said in defense of school vouchers: “To me, it’s a moral outrage that the government would say, ‘We know what’s best for your child,’” White said. “Who are we to tell parents we know better?” This Louisiana teacher disagrees. She says that parents should expect professionals to [...]
Thoughts on Pittsburgh Schools
A few things we know about the Pittsburgh public schools. They were led by Broad-trained superintendent Mark Roosevelt. Now they are led by his deputy Linda Lane, also trained by the unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy. They received a $40 million grant from the Gates Foundation for teacher evaluation. They have a bold plan to close [...]
Charter Leader, Fired for Cheating, Gets $245,000 Settlement
The Los Angeles Times reports an amazing story. A leader of a charter chain in Los Angeles was fired after teachers complained that they were ordered to cheat so test scores would rise. The L.A. school board closed the chain of six schools. The administrator sued and won a settlement of $245,000 of taxpayer dollars [...]
Shocking: Common Sense in Iowa
The Des Moines Register published an important and wise editorial. It shows that someone in the mainstream press is still thoughtful and wise. It seems that Governor Terry Branstad wants to see a much healthier Iowa. So he is urging people to lead healthier lifestyles. Funny, he didn’t blame the medical profession of Iowa. He [...]