Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, October 14, 2012

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-14-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:



Join the Campaign for Our Public Schools

Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a student, a principal, a school board member, or a concerned citizen, please join the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Speak out against high-stakes testing and privatization.
Write a letter to President Obama and other elected officials.

Here are instructions
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Lessons from a Top-Rated Charter in Minnesota

People often ask me, “Why don’t the public schools learn from the charter schools?”
Good question.
The top-rated charter school in Minneapolis has lessons to teach the public schools. But I doubt that the public 


Is It OK for States to Break Contracts?

Glen Brown, teacher and poet, examines the legal and moral reasons why states should not break their contracts with their employees by calling it “reform.”


“I Am a Teacher. Let Me Teach.”

Matthew Swope has been teaching physics for ten years. He is a STEM teacher, the kind that every district wants. Before becoming a teacher, he was a Marine, then a police officer. He took a big pay cut to become a teacher. He loves teaching.
Read his words of wisdom:
I am a teacher. Year 10. High school physics. I am a professional educator in a field that demands professional credentials, continuing education, skill and knowledge based licensing exams and background checks including fingerprints so I am deemed responsible enough and safe enough to work with children. I’m a mandated reporter 


A Powerful, Important Letter to President Obama

This letter was written by an early childhood educator. It expresses succinctly what many readers of this blog believe to be true:
Dear President Obama,
Please wake up and see that the education policies your administration is promoting are decimating our public schools, harming our children, demoralizing our teachers, and threatening the future of our democracy. Worst of 


When Students Join the Battle for Sound Education, It Will Be a Game-Changer

Nikhil Goyal is a very articulate high school senior who just published a book about what is needed in American education.
He wrote a letter to the editor of the NY Times, and his letter was so impressive that it became the focus for one