Diane Ravitch's blog
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Diane Ravitch's blog
For-Profit Corporations Buying Idaho Education?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 minutes ago
I try not to mix into partisan politics, but sometimes it is unavoidable. I support public education, and I oppose those trying to privatize it for fun and/or profit. For example, Tony Bennett in Indiana should be defeated, as should Tom Luna in Idaho. These two state superintendents are favored by corporate reformers and can [...]
Teacher: Why Chinese Education Should Not Be Our Model
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 26 minutes ago
In response to an earlier post, a teacher in Connecticut writes: My wife’s school here in CT has developed an international program in which they take on and board a large number of Chinese students, whose parents definitely think it is worthwhile to get them out of Chinese schools. One disturbing thing that the teachers [...]
Seamus the Dog and Teacher Evaluation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
Kevin Welner is director of the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. If you open the link to this article, you can find Welner’s links to research and contrary views on the issue. SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 8:09 PM Teacher evaluation and Seamus By Kevin Welner Since it’s campaign season, I [...]
The Big Tradeoff: Common Core and the Budget
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
Mike Fair, a Republican legislator in South Carolina, worries about the cost and complexity of the new standards and tests. When you read about the heavy spending that lies ahead, in a time when school budgets are being slashed and teachers laid off, you can see why the Common Core national standards/national tests movement is [...]
About Dr. Steve Perry
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
CNN contributor Steve Perry is an ardent critic of unions and everyone else who is not supportive of the corporate reform movement. Bruce Adams of Buffalo took the time to review Dr. Perry’s recent book.
A Recipe for Failure?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
In response to a post about standards for pre-schoolers, this reader wrote: As far as I am concerned, with all the variety of disabilities under special education, English language learners, 504, medical plans, modifications and accommodations, full inclusion, differentiation, and now the new term: responsive teaching and any other new fad coming our way…this is [...]
How High-Stakes Testing Harms Children
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
Parents and teachers know that high-stakes testing has negative consequences on students and the quality of their education. It causes narrowing of the curriculum, so students have less instruction in history, civics, the arts, and even physical education. Some schools have eliminated recess to make more time for test prep. Anthony Cody published a guest [...]
Why Asian Schools Should Not Be Our Model
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
Jay Matthews has written about education for many years in the Washington Post, where he blogs regularly. A few years ago, he wrote a laudatory book about KIPP. It is always interesting when Jay steps outside the reform agenda and criticizes it. For example, he shouted “whitewash” when the D.C. Inspector General swept the Rhee [...]
Pallets for Pedagogues?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 13 hours ago
StudentsLast suggests the future of teaching in this essay. Things are so nutty these days that I must warn you. This is satire.
Who Gets to Pull the Trigger?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 13 hours ago
Rightwing think tanks, ALEC, and the big corporations are excited about the idea of parents “seizing control” of public schools and handing them over to private corporations. But this parent wonders who will be allowed to pull the trigger and who will be left behind: ….. who does and does not have “trigger rights”? My [...]
More Bad Reviews for Anti-Union Movie
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
I will see “Won’t Back Down” soon, I promise. I don’t want to, but I will do it because I have to. Meanwhile, movie reviewers are rendering their judgment. They say it is a lousy movie. The best lines so far are in the review in the Los Angeles Times: That’s because unions turn out [...]
Mr. Barnz, Please Read the New York Times Review
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Daniel Barnz, the director of “Won’t Back Down,” continues to insist in various forums, most recently in an article he wrote for Huffington Post, that the movie is not anti-union. It’s just a good story. It has no political agenda. It has nothing to do with the rightwing sponsored “parent trigger” law that it celebrates. [...]
How a Smart Tech Guy Got Duped
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Gary Stager knows more about educational technology than almost anyone I can think of. He is one smart guy. Read this and learn how he got taken in by Amplify, the company run by Joel Klein and owned by Rupert Murdoch. This is how he begins his article on Huffington Post: Anyone the least bit [...]
A Hero Principal: Every Principal Should Be This Honest
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Several readers, including parents in this district, have sent me a copy of this letter written by Don Sternberg of Wantagh Elementary School in Long Island, New York. Sternberg wrote a letter to the school’s parents at the start of the school year telling them about how the politicians and bureaucrats at Albany were messing [...]
Waiver Madness
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
Washington, D.C., has announced that it will set different testing targets for children of different racial groups. According to a story in the Washington Post, this is now common practice among the states that have obtained waivers from No Child Left Behind. The District and the states are acknowledging that children of color are so [...]
How Testing Reduces Instructional Time
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
A veteran teacher explains how the testing process affects kindergarten students: I taught Kindergarten for 23 years. In addition to using imbedded assessment practices during instruction (listening, watching, asking, redirecting, challenging, etc.) I also conducted individual interviews with kids, when needed, to find out what they knew so that I could diagnose problems and plan [...]
Bugs in Tech Heaven
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The Broad-trained superintendent decided to go all-digital in Huntsville, Alabama. So he purchased 22,000 laptops and a Pearson online curriculum. The going has been rough. Students, teachers and parents are complaining about glitches. A student says that it takes her longer to do her homework because the computer loads slowly. When she saves, her answers [...]
The Absurdity of the “Parent Trigger” Idea
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The movie “Won’t Back Down” is being heavily promoted by its backers. But there is lots of pushback from parents and teachers. And the reviews have been almost uniformly bad, including those from non-educational sources. This article, by a retired teacher, cites many of those reviews and asks a fundamental question: If taxpayers support the [...]
More on Charters in Ohio
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A reader writes in response to an earlier post about Ohio charters: This is sooooooo true. One charter Academy in Toledo is a good example of this. It is run out of Lansing MI and is housed in a closed Catholic school building. There are little people cutouts hanging from a chart high in every [...]
More Standardized Testing for Kindergarten
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Testing children in kindergarten is becoming common practice. Oregon will begin testing all 5-year-olds next fall to assess their “readiness” for kindergarten. It is never too soon to test children, and some states have drafted standards for pre-schoolers. How did this happen? An article by Stephanie Simon in Reuters explains it all. “Testing young children [...]
Get Involved in Saving Public Education in Indiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
A group of concerned parents, retired teachers, and friends of public education in Indiana created a website, which is here. They are the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education. To lend a hand, read their materials and join them in the battle to stop privatization of public education and demolition of the teaching profession in [...]
A Student Reports on Education Nation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Stephanie Rivera is preparing to be a teacher at Rutgers University, where she is a junior. Stephanie has her own blog. But what’s special about Stephanie is that she has strong values, she has guts, and she is articulate. As an activist devoted to educational equity, she rightly is suspicious of faux reforms sponsored by [...]
Delete Last Post
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I sent out a post with language garbled by my iPad. Delete it and read the update.
A Naive Film Director? UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
How could the director of this film not know that he was promoting an idea dear to the agendas of rightwing think tanks and ALEC?
What Happened at Elite High Schools in NYC?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Juan Gonzalez of the New York Daily News is appalled at the steadily shrinking proportion of black and Hispanic students in the city’s elite exam high schools: He writes: In 1999, three years before Michael Bloomberg became mayor, black students comprised 24% of the student body at Brooklyn Tech. This year, the percentage of black [...]
Cool Greeting for KIPP Founder in New Zealand
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Mike Feinberg is visiting New Zealand to talk about KIPP, and some of the New Zealanders are none too happy about it. From the attached article, it is clear that they are not thrilled with the “no excuses” doctrine. As one writer says, “If you wouldn’t do this to your own child, why would you [...]
NYC School Reform Ignores Diversity
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Admission to New York City’s elite high schools is determined by one test and one test only. As a result of this policy, few black or Hispanic students are admitted to these schools. Diversity has dropped sharply in the past several years. Civil rights groups are suing the city. Consider these startling facts: “Although 70 [...]
Fact-Checking Jeb Bush and the Florida Miracle
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
We have often heard of the Florida miracle, as recounted by former Governor Jeb Bush. Remember the Tezas miracle? I know there was no Texas miracle. This reader says there was no Florida miracle.
A Clueless Review of Anti-Union, Anti-Public Education Film: UPDATE WITH LINK!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The Los Angeles Times published a review–maybe it is an article, not a review, it is hard to tell–of the anti-union, anti-public education film “Won’t Back Down.” The article reaches no judgments about anything, other than the opening box office, which does not look good. It says that critics claim the film is anti-union, but [...]
TFA and New Teacher Project Defend Irreplaceable New Referees!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Satire alert: Norman Scott, a retired teacher turned film-maker (producer of “The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman) has decided that the NFL referee fiasco presented a golden opportunity. The golden opportunity was a chance to rib the New Teacher Project, which is quick to demand the ouster of experienced teachers and to replace them [...]
News You Can Use
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Bill Moyers is releasing a documentary this weekend about ALEC, the far-right group that writes model legislation to promote the parent trigger, charters, vouchers, alternate certification, virtual schools, and anything else you can think of that will privatize public education. Here is a newsletter about his show with useful links: Subject: The Origami: Parent Triggers, [...]
California Passes Law to Reduce Emphasis on Test Scores
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The California Legislature passed a bill to reduce the importance of test scores in calculating school quality, and Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law. Until now, the Academic Performance Index was based 100% on test scores. Now it will count for 60%. Hope, hope, hope that future legislation will reduce it to 25%.
How to Destroy Public Education: Lessons from Pennsylvania
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
In a brilliant column, Bill White of the Lehigh Valley News compares Governor Tom Corbett’s education policies to carpet-bombing of Vietnam. The goal nearly half a century ago was to “bomb Vietnam back into the stone age.” White says that Corbett is doing the same with public education with his program of budget cuts, charter [...]
Ohio Charters: About the Same as Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
To no one’s surprise, the latest Ohio report card shows that charter schools perform about the same as public schools. They actually show less value-added growth than the state’s traditional public schools, but are about the same as the Big 8, the urban districts. Remember that charters are touted as a silver bullet. The evidence [...]
Why Camden School Board Rejected Charters: UPDATE!!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
When the news broke that the Camden, New Jersey, had rejected four charters, their reasons for doing so were not clear. This article in the Philadelphia Inquirer provides some more detail and context. The charters had powerful political support: Not only from Governor Christie but from George Norcross, whose foundation was in partnership with KIPP [...]
John Kuhn’s Brilliant Analysis of Where We Are Today
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
If you read only one article today, read this one. Save it. Read it again. This is a must-read. John Kuhn is superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt school district in Texas. He was the first person named on this blog as a hero of American education. If you read this, you will understand why. A reader [...]
Save Public Education in Indiana!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A reader in Indiana appeals for help to stop the ALEC-inspired takeover and privatization of public education in that state: Tony Bennett is the lead character in Alec’s plan to privatize public education. Alec has always been populated by nearly every Indiana state senator and representative, but these past few years have seen Indiana overly [...]
Referees for America?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Jersey Jazzman takes note of the media hysteria about those NFL referees who replaced the experienced, unionized referees. Even Governor Scott Walker was upset when the inexperienced referees made a call that led to a loss by the Green Bay Packers. Do we need “Referees for America” to step in when the unionized referees go [...]
The Scoop on Camden’s Rejection of 4 Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Jersey Jazzman, our reliable New Jersey blogger, has the story about the decision by Camden’s school board to turn down four charters that the Christie administration and the local Camden Democratic boss badly wanted. The charter lobby may have overplayed its hand. Looks like popular pushback. Looks like local board doesn’t want to hand over [...]
Camden, NJ, Says No to Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I am interested in learning more about what happened yesterday in Camden, New Jersey. The school board there turned down four charters. Is this the beginning of public awareness, or local politics? Here is the news from a reader: Please check out what happened in Camden NJ yesterday. The Mayoral appointed BOE turned down all [...]
Breaking News: Wake County, NC, Board Fires Superintendent
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The Wake County board fired its superintendent, General Anthony Tata, who had been hired by the previous board majority. That previous majority was elected with a pledge to end the district’s nationally recognized desegregation plan. The vote to dismiss Tata was 5-4. General Tata previously worked in D.C. as chief operating officer for then-Chancellor Michelle [...]
A Political Analysis of a Propaganda Film
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Liza Featherstone wrote a fascinating analysis of the anti-union film “Won’t Back Down.” To whet your appetite, read this: “Despite scapegoating teachers’ unions, ‘Won’t Back Down’ is not an anti-teacher movie. Most of the teacher characters—especially Nona, played by Viola Davis—are heroic. That’s because one of the film’s messages is that busting teachers’ unions is [...]
The Absolutely Best Review Ever of “Won’t Back Down”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Salon writer Andrew O’Hehir absolutely nails the anti-union, anti-teacher “Won’t Back Down.” He opens by saying: “Someone needs to launch an investigation into what combination of crimes, dares, alcoholic binges and lapses in judgment got Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal into this movie. Neither of them seems likely to sympathize with its thinly veiled labor-bashing [...]
See This Youtube Video “Educating Maggie”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
NYC parents organized a protest outside the opening of “Won’t Back Down.” The parents say they don’t want corporations taking over their schools and their children. They know how little the corporations care about equity or children. They put a video of their demonstration on Youtube called “Educating Maggie.” The star Maggie Gyllenhall says on [...]
Has Teaching Become an Abusive Relationship?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
What defines an abusive relationship? Has teaching become an abusive relationship? Why do teachers remain in jobs where they are treated like infants or meek wives? More important, how can they stand up and say enough is enough? See “Chicago, Teachers Strike”
You Too Can Review the Anti-Union, Anti-Teacher Film
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Go to “Rotten Tomatoes” and post your review here.
Charter Schools in South Carolina: No Better than Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
By now, there should be a standard headline that reads: “Once again, charter schools are found to get no better results than public schools.” Some get worse results. Here is the latest from South Carolina. There are some high-performing charter schools; some low-performing charter schools. On average, the results from charter schools are no different [...]
Bill Moyers on ALEC
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Bill Moyers reports on ALEC this week. I hope he pays attention to what ALEC is doing to American education. It has a bold agenda of privatization. It has model legislation for charter schools and vouchers. It wants to destroy the teaching profession. It has model legislation for alternative certification so anyone can teach. It [...]
Analyzing President Obama’s Education Interview with NBC
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Yesterday I posted an interview in which President Obama expressed his views about education. I wanted you to read it in its entirety without my comments. Here are my comments. First, the President acknowledged that he was not a very good student when he was in school. He said that he was “mediocre.” Several readers [...]
Rhee’s Teacher Evaluation Program Bombs in DC
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This is a stunning article about the teacher evaluation system that Michelle Rhee put in place in the District of Columbia. The article was written by Ben Nuckols of the Associated Press. He is not usually an education writer, but he dug deeper than many education writers. Rhee fired about 1,000 teachers during her time [...]
Why Are the Media So Upset about an Inexperienced Referee?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A reader reacted to an earlier post about TFA by noting how upset the media are about an inexperienced referee. She sees an important parallel: Isn’t it ironic that the news stations and many fans are more upset about a second-rate referee making a bad call in a football game, but they are not so [...]
A Sound Mind in a Sound Body
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
As everyone knows by now, there are districts that are eliminating recess and physical education because they want that time to devote to test preparation. The test scores determine who will get a bonus, who will be fired, and whether the school lives or dies. This is awful for children. They are active, growing, and [...]
Why Is TFA Collecting Your Nickels and Dimes?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
TFA is clearly a very successful operation. It places some 10,000 or so young college graduates in the nation’s schools each year, after giving them five weeks of training. They commit to stay for two years but some stay for three or four, and a few stay longer. Districts pay TFA $2,000-5,000 for each recruit. [...]
An Ironic Story
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Viola Davis, the film star who appears in the anti-union, pro-charter movie “Won’t Back Down,” recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Davis is a graduate of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island. This is the school that was targeted for closure in 2010, where there was a pitched battle between the district/state leadership [...]
Why Is the South So Easily Fooled?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
When I lectured in Chattanooga last week, I noticed a strange phenomenon. When I said things bluntly, people gasped. At one point, for example, I responded to a question by saying that the Legislature should not cut education to give tax breaks to corporations. The audience noticeably gasped. There were several moments like that. It [...]
Superintendent Tony Bennett Has a Plan
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Tony Bennett of Indiana is so sure that he knows how to reform schools. He knows that reform is all about threatening teachers and schools, holding their feet to the fire, and testing ceaselessly. He has a new idea. He wants to take over districts with low scores. Indianapolis is in his sights. He wants [...]
The Georgia Federation of Teachers Denounces Charter Legislation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia is supporting a constitutional amendment to create a commission to approve charter schools despite the objection of local school boards. This proposal was drafted by the rightwing ALEC organization, which is heavily funded by big corporations and counts 2,000 state legislators among its members. This is the statement issued by [...]
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A reader watched Jeb Bush on television today. She reports: I am watching Jeb Bush talk on msnbc…he says to give teachers the deal that if students learn more you get paid more. He says it is complicated but it is doable, particularly with new assessment tools that exist. He says you should get paid [...]
Las Vegas: Class Size Up, Morale Down
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
In response to the transcript of President Obama’s interview with NBC, a teacher writes: Class sizes here in Las Vegas are not going down. When they reshuffled on count day we lost teachers at our sites There are now 36 kids in all our 4th and 5th grade classes. Schools are only staffed at 93%. [...]
President Obama Explains His Views to Education Nation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
TRANSCRIPT: PRESIDENT OBAMA SITS DOWN WITH SAVANNAH GUTHRIE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FOR NBC NEWS’ “EDUCATION NATION” September 25, 2012 — As part of the NBC News 2012 “Education Nation” Summit this week, President Barack Obama sat down with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie to discuss his vision for the future of education in America. The exclusive interview aired [...]
More Union Leaders Who Are NBCT
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
I noted in an earlier post that Karen Lewis is a National Board Certified Teacher. I said that she was one of the few–if not the only–union leader who is NBCT. Happily, I was wrong. I published another post that mentioned other union leaders who are NBCT. Here are more: Kitty Boltnott was head of [...]
The Power of Magical Thinking
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
No Child Left Behind is widely considered a disaster. The law mandated that 100% of all students would be proficient, as measured by the standards in each state, by 2014. We now know that no state will meet that requirement. Schools have been closed all over the nation because of this idiotic law. Principals and [...]
Study: Charters Putting Catholic Schools Out of Business
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A new study says that for every charter that opens, a Catholic school closes. The author, Abraham Lackman, who worked for the New York state senate when it passed the first charter law in 1998, said that no one anticipated that charters–which are publicly-funded and tuition-free–would drain students from Catholic schools, which are not tuition-free. [...]
Don’t Mess with Texas. The Revolution Begins Here.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Texas brought No Child Left Behind to the nation. Remember that candidate George W. Bush said that Texas had figured out how to fix the schools. He said test every child every year, post the results, reward the schools where scores go up, humiliate those where scores go down. And, wow, a miracle: the scores [...]
News About GERM in Australia and New Zealand
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Our bad ideas about testing, bad teachers, and failing schools have infected Australia and New Zealand. NZ plans to open “independent public schools,” aka charter schools. Never mind that Australia and New Zealand have higher scores on the international tests than most other nations, including the US. Only one nation can be number one, and [...]
Another Louisiana Embarrassment
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
John White, the TFA Commissioner of Education in Louisiana, put out a press release celebrating the state’s increased numbers taking AP exams. Gary Rubinstein looked at the press release and thought it was a joke. The number taking the exam went up, but the scores did not. As Gary writes: “In this latest press release [...]
Why Does Democratic Party Support Groups That Support GOP?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This is one of the most puzzling questions of our day. Rachel Levy asks it in all sincerity. How can the Democratic Party embrace individuals and groups that are working to elect Republicans? Why does it embrace individuals and groups that are actively working against unions, immigrant rights, gays, and public education? Can anyone explain [...]
Conservative Think Tank Promotes Parent Trigger
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
It sounds so easy. Take a vote. Get control of your school. Hire a new staff. Next year, your school is a great success. The Heartland Institute recommends it for everyone. This think tank in Chicago helped to write the ALEC model legislation to encourage state legislatures to pass a “parent trigger.” This is meant [...]
How to Put an End to VAM-Mania
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader has a suggestion: I suggest that we create similar VAM tests for doctors, lawyers, and politicians and start ranking them according to their contributions. Oh, and reporters and news editors too. That will solve this problem real soon!
Union Leaders Who Are NBCT
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
When I wrote about the Chicago strike, I said that Karen Lewis was one of the few–if not the only–union leader who was a National Board Certified Teacher. I have heard of two more NBCT union leaders. Let me know if you are aware of others. Stacey Miller, the president of the Maumee Education Association [...]
What Rahm Emanuel Imagines
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This post describes an ad running in Chicago in which Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about the new contract, while pictures of Chicago schoolrooms are on the screen. The pictures show a teacher in a library with a class of six students. She is teaching math with an Ipad. They show an art class. Read this [...]
A Great Teacher in Every Classroom?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This teacher has deciphered the absurdity of the reformer crusade to put a great teacher in every classroom. Where are they now? Periodically, I hear the illogical idea that we need “great” teachers in classrooms, as if great teachers aren’t already in classrooms. From where are all these stealthy “great” teachers supposed to come? Are [...]
More about J.C. Brizard
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader sends in a group of articles about the Chicago superintendent J.C. Brizard: Brizard is a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy http://www.broadcenter.org/academy/network/profile/featured-jean-claude-brizard He stirred up churn in Rochester before coming to Chicago: The Corporate Agenda for Public Schools: Is Brizard on Board? http://dragonflyeye.net/jongreenbaum/2009/07/24/the-corporate-agenda-for-public-schools-is-brizard-on-board/ He is one of many Broad Superintendents Academy graduates whose [...]
Where Was Brizard? UPDATE
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Joy Resmovits reports at Huffington Post that Chicago’s Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard was “nearly invisible” during the strike. He says he was visiting schools. She says that Brizard got a very bad performance rating and that rumors have been flying that he will soon resign or be fired. The Chicago saga continues.
What Children Need Most
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader writes: We are stripping the young of their youth. Why on Earth are we shoving the technological world on kids 4 to 10 years old? Kids that age need to be learning socializing skills, study skills, teacher interaction skills, learning to take instructions from people other than their parents. They need to develop [...]
Do You Trust Opinion or Research?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Tim Slekar of Penn State has been watching NBC’s Education Nation, for which we are all grateful. Someone has to do it. Today he watched the teacher town hall and discovered that a matter that has been settled in research was turned by NBC into a matter of opinion. And whose opinion counted was, in [...]
How to Opt Out of Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
In response to other posts, Peggy Robertson of United Opt Out offers this advice to parents and teachers: My advice is to take action. Currently we are asking people to begin to canvas neighborhoods and share the word of opt out. WE are going to have to do this. No one will do it for [...]
Why Great Hearts Appeals to Affluent Parents
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader sent a blog post from Arizona, where the Great Hearts charter school chain is based. This is the charter that Tennessee Commissioner Kevin Huffman wants to bring to Nashville, over the opposition of the local school board. It is expensive to go to Great Hearts. The school asks parents for an upfront contribution [...]
With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Joel Shatzky taught English for many years at the State University of New York at Cortlandt. He sent the following reflections about the political quandary of teachers: What has become increasingly baffling to me amidst the many controversies engendered by the misnamed “school reform movement” is that the one most reliable union group to back [...]
This Parent Is Opting Out Tonight
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Good luck to the parent who wrote to say that she is opting her children out of the standardized testing. More such courage and the reign of error will collapse. I’m a parent. I will inform the Pittsburgh Public School Board at a Public Hearing tonight of my intention to exercise my right to OPT [...]
What is the Mind Trust (part 2)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I wrote a post about the Mind Trust the other day, having realized that it is part of the faux reform movement intent on privatizing public education in Indiana. Quite by coincidence, the great education writer Karen Francisco at the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette wrote a piece about the Mind Trust on exactly the same day. [...]
What’s at Stake in Nashville Charter Fight
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
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 [...]
The Elusive Quest for “Rigor”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
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 a sudden feeling [...]
Secrets of Charter Success (cont.)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 [...]
Can Public Schools Learn from the DOD Schools?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 Tale of the All-Powerful Teacher
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Students Last has been thinking about how teachers can solve poverty once and for all. SL shows how it is done.
Is This What School Reform Looks Like?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
A reader writes, referring to Muskegon Heights, Michigan: 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 [...]
A Teacher-Parent Shares Her Outrage
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 [...]
Why This Teacher Is Angry
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 [...]
Karen Lewis and Randi Weingarten Write an Article about the Strike in the Wall Street Journal
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 entrepreneurs–a strike [...]
A Tale of Two Farmers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 [...]
Jersey Jazzman Takes One for the Team
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
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 [...]
Charters Riding High in CT
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
No matter what the calendar says, it’s springtime for charters in Connecticut. The State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor was a member of the board of Achievement First, a charter chain in Connecticut. He believes in charters, like his colleague John King, the state commissioner in New York, whose only experience was in the charter sector [...]
More Pre-School Madness in CT. (Link Added)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
I posted this morning about the “standards” for pre-schoolers in Connecticut. The teacher I quoted added this comment: http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/CCSS/Pk_to_Kindergarten_Mathematics_Continuum.pdf Sorry Dr. Ravitch, I put in two links to the language arts standards and didn’t include the link to the math standards. The above link takes you to the math standards. I love the one about [...]
Who Paid for the $1 Million Ad in Chicago?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Fred Klonsky has the inside scoop on who paid for the $1 million ad that has filled the airwaves in Chicago after the teachers’ strike. He says the money came from Ravenel Boykin Curry IV and his wife Celerie. Fred’s brother Mike Klonsky says that other hedge fund managers joined to pay for the ads. [...]
The Charter Referendum in Washington State
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Here is a list of organizations that have spoken out for and against the referendum on the ballot to permit charter schools and a “parent trigger” to create even more charter schools in Washington State. Look at the list and see if you can tell which one has grassroots support from parents and teachers. Earlier [...]
Good News for History Teachers!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Good news for history teachers: the Stanford History Education Group has developed history assessments that use documents and historical resources to ask thinking questions, not bubble questions. In the 1990s, history education was a priority. California and other states created history frameworks for K-12, and it appeared that history would get the time, attention and [...]
No Room for Career Educators in TN?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Tennessee was one of the first states to win a Race to the Top award. Tennessee was the birthplace of value-added assessment, which was developed by agricultural statistician William Sanders in the late 1980s. Sanders knew how crops can be measured by yearly growth, why not learning? If they don’t grow as expected, it’s the [...]
Who Paid for the Anti-Union Ads?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
During the strike, there was an outpouring of ads undermining and attacking the union. This blogger wondered who was paying for them. The group is called Education Reform Now. It is the non-profit arm of Democrats for Education Reform. DFER, as it is known, is the political action group of Wall Street hedge fund managers. [...]
Do Democrats Support Vouchers?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
An article in the recent issue of Education Week suggests that there is support for vouchers among Democrats at the state and local level. The article cites Newark Mayor Cory Booker, but he is an outlier. It also quotes the head of a group called the American Federation for Children. This group attracts support for [...]
My Version of the Pattern on the Rug
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
There comes a time when the seemingly disparate parts of a puzzle fit together. Or the time when you see the pattern on the rug. That’s when you see that the attacks on teachers, the concerted efforts to roll back collective bargaining rights, the frequent–and false–claims that public education is failing, the advocacy for virtual [...]
The Pattern on the Rug
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A reader sees how the pieces of the reform movement fit together: I think that all the double-speak is just to divert attention away from the major process of dismantling education that has been taking place across the country, and the smoke and mirrors is to conceal the intention to ultimately declare brick and mortar [...]
He Didn’t Get the Job
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Kenneth Bernstein explains why he didn’t get the job: “I was once interviewed for a teaching position where because I had done my own homework I knew that the principal wanted everyone on the same page at the same time. I was being interviewed by the department chair and an assistant principal. Having signed an [...]
What Are We Doing to Pre-Schoolers?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A reader asks whether we have lost our minds. http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/CCSS/PreK_ELA_Crosswalk.pdf http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/CCSS/PreK_ELA_Crosswalk.pdf The links above take you to draft Connecticut documents relating to CCSS for preschoolers. The introduction states that the adoption of CCSS for K-12 “has naturally led to questions regarding standards for preschool and/or prekindergarten students.” The next section talks about a work group [...]
If Every Teacher Did This….
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This teacher had to make a tough decision about parent night. Should he tell them how the state’s “reforms” are robbing their children of instruction? Should he explain that the state is hunting “bad” teachers in his school even though it got a high rating? See what he did. If every teacher did this, we [...]
A Lost Decade for the Middle Class?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The Economic Policy Institute has published its annual report on the state of working America. There are some deeply worrisome trends. Here are some of the findings: *America’s vast middle class has suffered a “lost decade” and faces the threat of another. The wages of typical Americans, including college graduates, are lower today than they [...]
Will Race to the Top Reduce Poverty?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This is an excellent analysis by economist Laura D’Andrea Tyson about poverty and educational opportunity. She provides excellent links to up-to-date statistics about children living in poverty. She understands that their opportunities are shadowed by the circumstances of their lives. But at the end of this otherwise excellent article, she concludes that President Obama’s Race [...]
Will Education Nation Choose a Teacher?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Please read Students Last, who noticed the absence of any real, actual teachers at the New York Times conference on “Schools of Tomorrow.” He says there is a rumor that NBC’s “Medication Nation” might invite a physician, to add to the panel of pharmaceutical giants.
Please Don’t Laugh
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Just in: An email that says, this is the panel for the parent engagement discussion at Education Nation. Maybe it is a joke. · Rep. George Miller · Randi Weingarten · Doreen Diaz, Desert Trails Parent Union (parent trigger takeover school in California) · Michelle Rhee · Joel Klein · Vanessa Bush Ford, Black Star [...]
Education Nation Schedule
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
2012 Education Nation Summit (NBC News moderators and session timing may be adjusted due to breaking news) Sunday, September 23 TBD Meet the Press at Education Nation TBD 8a – 10a Student Town Hall (Moderated by Melissa Harris-Perry) msnbc special edition of Melissa Harris-Perry (broadcast from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) 12p – 2p Teacher [...]
About Those Pennsylvania Test Scores
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Scores dropped in Pennsylvania. Many respected and some not-so-respected schools failed to make AYP. School officials attributed the drop to budget cuts and anti-cheating measures. The state Commissioner of Education said that deep budget cuts, loss of programs and personnel, had nothing to do with it.
Scores Down, Beatings Will Continue
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The following comes from the regular posting by the Keystone State Education Coalition, a pro-public education group that is fighting for public education in Pennsylvania and against budget cuts and privatization. You can find them here: http://keystonestateeducationcoalition.org COMMENTARY ON RELEASE OF 2012 PSSAs Ten years ago when NCLB was passed we talked about unrealistic targets [...]
What Was at Stake in CTU Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This is an usually thoughtful reprise of the issues and context of the strike. It pulls together a lot of different threads: Research about class size; conditions of teaching and learning in Chicago; the ongoing efforts to destroy unions; the poverty level among children in Chicago. I recommend it.
Gary Rubinstein Reviews “Won’t Back Down”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Gary Rubinstein, who teaches math at Stuyvestant High School in New York City, went to a preview of “Won’t Back Down.” He had some trepidation because he had heard the speculation about its content. But being an intrepid movie goer, he decided to watch it for entertainment value. He reports that it is not a [...]
What You Need to Know About NBC’s Education Nation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This week, we will be subjected (or treated) to days of NBC’s celebration of corporate reform, which they call “Education Nation.” Read this critique of the event. They will hail the anti-union film of the year, as two years ago they hailed the anti-union propaganda film “Waiting for Superman.” They will make a token effort [...]
Are These Innovative Practices?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
An article in the Washington Post describes the high rates of suspension and expulsion at some of DC’s charter schools. They say they do it to keep the other children safe. Charter advocates like to say that public schools should learn from their innovative practices. Kicking kids out is not all that innovative. Public schools [...]
Hope for the Children of Chicago: Despite Rahm
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Ms. Katie is one of the best education bloggers out there. She has deep experience working with children in need, she is passionate, and she writes from the heart. In this post, she explains what the Chicago Teachers Union won for the children of Chicago. And she makes clear why Rahm Emanuel should stop saying [...]
A Dialogue About Taxing the Rich
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
I received a comment this morning from a reader who explained why she was voting for Romney. Here is her comment and my response. I love reading your blog Ms. Ravitch, but I totally disagree with this post. This teacher will vote for Romney because I do not believe in the re-distribution of wealth. I [...]
K12 Online Schools Exposed-UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
I forgot the critical link, now inserted. A lawsuit in Virginia, where the K12 for-profit virtual schools corporation is based, has brought out some dirty linen. Among the allegations are that K12 relies upon churn to produce high revenues and that some teachers have a class size of 400 students. Follow the links and read [...]