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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Mid Day Diane 8-15 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

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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 if they don’t like the staff’s efficiency?
Should 51% of the riders on a public bus have the power to seize control of the bus and privatize it?
Should 51% of those using



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, taking issue with computer scientist David Gelernter’s claim


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 created it. The public paid for it. It belongs to the public. It belongs to those who attended it in the past and to those who will attend it in the future. Next year’s parents and students have the same interest as this year’s. And so do those who will be parents and students in the school



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.
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 the decisions of local school boards that reject charter schools.
The news story about him said:
“I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of