What’s at Stake in Nashville Charter Fight
Readers of this blog know we have been following the story of Great Hearts Charter School and its effort to locate in an affluent section of Nashville. Here is a good and objective summary in a Nashville newspaper.
State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman–whose only prior experience in education was working for Teach for America (he taught for two years, went to work for TFA, was never a principal or a superintendent)– wants this particular charter very badly. He has been monitoring the actions of the Metro Nashville school board, and he warned them there would be bad consequences if they did not approve this charter. Huffman made it clear: he wanted this charter approved.
The local board thought that the school would not be diverse, would not reflect the district, and they turned it down. They turned it down three times. The state board ordered them to approve the charter, and the local board
State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman–whose only prior experience in education was working for Teach for America (he taught for two years, went to work for TFA, was never a principal or a superintendent)– wants this particular charter very badly. He has been monitoring the actions of the Metro Nashville school board, and he warned them there would be bad consequences if they did not approve this charter. Huffman made it clear: he wanted this charter approved.
The local board thought that the school would not be diverse, would not reflect the district, and they turned it down. They turned it down three times. The state board ordered them to approve the charter, and the local board
The Elusive Quest for “Rigor”
Education reformers prize “rigor.” They think that education must be more “rigorous.” The word “rigor” is one of their favorites.
Is this the missing ingredient in education today?
But what do we mean by “rigor”?
A reader offers dictionary definitions of rigor:
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
Definition of rigor
noun
Medicine
Is this the missing ingredient in education today?
But what do we mean by “rigor”?
A reader offers dictionary definitions of rigor:
From the Oxford English Dictionary:
Definition of rigor
noun
Medicine
Secrets of Charter Success (cont.)
Some Washington, D.C., charter schools expel or suspend large numbers of students.
This teaches them a lesson. If they misbehave, if they break school rules, they are out, perhaps permanently.
If they are expelled, they go back to the public schools.
If they have low test scores and they are expelled, the charter school gets higher test scores, and the public school gets lower scores. If they are troublemakers, the public school gets the troublemakers. The charter
This teaches them a lesson. If they misbehave, if they break school rules, they are out, perhaps permanently.
If they are expelled, they go back to the public schools.
If they have low test scores and they are expelled, the charter school gets higher test scores, and the public school gets lower scores. If they are troublemakers, the public school gets the troublemakers. The charter
Can Public Schools Learn from the DOD Schools?
A reader sent this article about the schools run by the Department of Defense for children of military personnel.
These schools have a high mobility rate, as military families move; they have a high poverty rate, because military personnel are not paid large salaries; they have a large proportion of black and Hispanic students, reflecting the makeup of the volunteer military (where there is more opportunity and security for minorities than in the civilian workforce today).
Yet these students regularly do very well on the
These schools have a high mobility rate, as military families move; they have a high poverty rate, because military personnel are not paid large salaries; they have a large proportion of black and Hispanic students, reflecting the makeup of the volunteer military (where there is more opportunity and security for minorities than in the civilian workforce today).
Yet these students regularly do very well on the
The Tale of the All-Powerful Teacher
Students Last has been thinking about how teachers can solve poverty once and for all.
SL shows how it is done.
SL shows how it is done.
Is This What School Reform Looks Like?
A reader writes:
The for-profit company that is operating the entire school system near me fired all the teachers and hired new ones back at half price. I can’t wait to see how this is going to work. I have heard that teachers are walking off the job at the end of the day. Cheaper is just not always better.
The for-profit company that is operating the entire school system near me fired all the teachers and hired new ones back at half price. I can’t wait to see how this is going to work. I have heard that teachers are walking off the job at the end of the day. Cheaper is just not always better.
A Teacher-Parent Shares Her Outrage
This teacher won’t let her child participate in state testing but she cannot shield him from the test-prep curriculum. Perhaps if everyone opted out, it would change. She thanks the teachers of Chicago for taking a brave stand. So much more is needed to change the direction of education in this nation and to make it worthy of our children and our nation. What advice can you give her?
Second career, 14th year in the classroom, tears in my eyes… Having a child in our public schools has left me
Why This Teacher Is Angry
Second career, 14th year in the classroom, tears in my eyes… Having a child in our public schools has left me
Why This Teacher Is Angry
She read the “tale of two farmers” yesterday and reacted:
This is what no one wants to understand about education. It’s a growing process and conditions matter. I know it’s en vogue right now to say that the teacher is the great equalizer, but that’s garbage. It’s as if observers are willfully ignoring the quality of schools across economic lines and willfully ignoring how community plays in to the student. No one can reasonably tell me that a child born to a teenager in a dilapidated neighborhood in North Philly full of crack dens is on equal footing to the child born to college educated parents in Bucks County. It’s
This is what no one wants to understand about education. It’s a growing process and conditions matter. I know it’s en vogue right now to say that the teacher is the great equalizer, but that’s garbage. It’s as if observers are willfully ignoring the quality of schools across economic lines and willfully ignoring how community plays in to the student. No one can reasonably tell me that a child born to a teenager in a dilapidated neighborhood in North Philly full of crack dens is on equal footing to the child born to college educated parents in Bucks County. It’s
Karen Lewis and Randi Weingarten Write an Article about the Strike in the Wall Street Journal
This is a good article. Unspoken, or only hinted at, in this very conservative newspaper, is that strikes are effective.
When employers treat workers shabbily, a strike is justified.
When working conditions are intolerable, a strike is justified.
When management engages in harmful practices–like closing schools and handing the kids over to private
When employers treat workers shabbily, a strike is justified.
When working conditions are intolerable, a strike is justified.
When management engages in harmful practices–like closing schools and handing the kids over to private
A Tale of Two Farmers
I received this from a parent in Indiana. She said it is being circulated from person to person as a way of explaining why the reform policies of State Superintendent Tony Bennett don’t work and never will:
The Tale of Two Farmers
Once upon a time, the great and powerful Lord Idoe, in an uncharacteristic (some say scary!) burst of generosity, gave two of his serfs 1,000 acres of land. He told them, Farmer Oofy and Farmer Laden, that they were to plant
Jersey Jazzman Takes One for the Team
The Tale of Two Farmers
Once upon a time, the great and powerful Lord Idoe, in an uncharacteristic (some say scary!) burst of generosity, gave two of his serfs 1,000 acres of land. He told them, Farmer Oofy and Farmer Laden, that they were to plant
Jersey Jazzman Takes One for the Team
Jersey Jazzman is watching Education Nation so the rest of us don’t have to.
He says that teachers are more outspoken this year than in the past. He thinks they are emboldened by the Chicago strike. They are mad as hell and they won’t sit still while non-educators bash them.
He reports that one fellow got up and made a brash statement about the success of his
He says that teachers are more outspoken this year than in the past. He thinks they are emboldened by the Chicago strike. They are mad as hell and they won’t sit still while non-educators bash them.
He reports that one fellow got up and made a brash statement about the success of his