Diane Ravitch's blog
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Diane Ravitch's blog
Why Teachers Are Demoralized
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 19 minutes ago
There is this superintendent in a small district in Texas who is brilliant. His name is John Kuhn. He speaks like a giant. He writes like a dream. He says what teachers everywhere are saying, and he says it better than anyone I know. Read this and thank John Kuhn for being a hero of [...]
Will Australia and New Zealand Succumb to GERM?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 24 minutes ago
Australia and New Zealand are in the cross-hairs of the privatization movement. New Zealand is fighting back. You will like the table in this link comparing GERM principles to principles of learning. In the left cell is testing; in the right is education. In the left is New York origin; in the right is Finland [...]
Spread the Word about October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 28 minutes ago
I will write about this every single day from now until October 17. Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date. You can write it now and follow instructions here. Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, [...]
What Race to the Top Has Accomplished
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 37 minutes ago
Let’s give credit where credit is due. Because of Race to the Top, most states are now evaluating teachers based in significant part on student test scores. The American Educational Research Association and the National Academy of Education say that the methodology for doing this is inaccurate and unstable. The ratings bounce around from year [...]
Hands Off Big Bird!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
During the Presidential debate, Mitt Romney said he would stop funding PBS. He made it clear that there would be no more government subsidies for Big Bird, who is apparently a freeloader, one of the 47% who couldn’t survive without federal assistance. Charles Blow wrote a terrific column about Big Bird and about the value [...]
DC Public Schools Outperform Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago
G.F. Brandenburg writes a terrific blog, where he uses data to refute reformer exaggerations. He was one of the first, for example, to break the story about Michelle Rhee’s inflated claims of success as a young teacher in Baltimore. Here he displays the data comparing DC public schools to charter schools. It is a healthy [...]
Gary Rubinstein on VAM
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
You will enjoy reading this clear explanation of the flaws of value-added assessment. Gary Rubinstein takes down the conventional wisdom with eclat.
Just When You Thought It Couldn’t Get Wackier
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 hours ago
A Miami newspaper reports that Chinese investors are pouring millions of dollars into Florida charter schools. By investing, they get a green card under a federal program that rewards investors who put up large sums. So far, according to the article, at least $30 million has been invested in charters. What will they think of [...]
Why Privatizers Don’t Care About Evidence
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 10 hours ago
A reader writes: This is the reason why no one listens to all the sound reasons presented so far. “No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.” ~ Karl R. Popper
Instructions for the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 11 hours ago
Great news! Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17. We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools. Anthony previously ran his own campaign called “Teachers’ Letters to Obama.” He is a champion for teachers, kids, and public education. [...]
When Teachers Said “NO” to Race to the Top
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 15 hours ago
Anthony Cody reports that teachers in Sacramento and Fresno rejected participation in Race to the Top. They reject the program’s heavy emphasis on testing and basing their evaluation on test scores. Cody wonders why President Obama insists that Race to the Top is not “top down.” Of course, it is top down. It reflects what [...]
This Teacher’s Letter for October 17
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 16 hours ago
A teacher from New Hampshire wrote his own letter, which he will send to President Obama on October 17. Please tell your friends and colleagues to join in our mass action. You can write a long letter or a short one. It’s up to you. The important thing is to let the President know that [...]
Remember When Teachers Crashed the Economy?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Do you remember when teachers and principals brought the economy down in the fall of 2008? Remember how they caused the stock market to collapse? You don’t? Neither do I. No matter. States are busily figuring out how to take away teachers’ pensions to right the economy, and reformers are blaming “bad” teachers for the [...]
How to Raise Test Scores Easily and Quickly
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
This comes from Students Last. Satire alert!
ALEC Triumphant in Louisiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 22 hours ago
I wrote a post about radical legislation in Pennsylvania that will authorize the Governor to create a charter commission with power to overturn local decisions. This legislation was written by the corporate-funded organization ALEC. The Louisiana legislature passed the radical ALEC agenda last spring. Teachers lost tenure; unqualified people can become teachers. Test scores determine [...]
PSBA Joins Oct 17 Protest
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I just learned that one of the exhibitors at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association/Pennsylvania Association of School Administrator’s annual conference will offer stamped envelopes to encourage attendees to write a letter or send an email to the President on October 17, calling for new policies in education. Please call for an end to high-stakes testing, [...]
The Evil Spawn of NCLB in Ohio
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
The state auditor in Ohio found 10 schools in Columbus where thousands of students had mysteriously been removed from the school’s rolls to inflate the scores. This is the predictable result of high-stakes testing, which has incentivized cheating, score inflation, and gaming the system. This is not the first instance where a district or a [...]
No Excuses? Read This.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
When President Obama visited Memphis, he was introduced by a handsome, articulate teen, Chris Dean. Read what Chris wrote about his life after the President left town. Read about the details that the “no excuses” reformers dismiss.
Chicago Public Schools Outperform Chicago Charters!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is a smart, funny article that demolishes the claim that charters are better than public schools. The writer, Ben Joravsky, did something almost unprecedented after he read denunciations of unionized public schools: he checked the facts. This is a little-used, old-fashioned skill that seems to have been abandoned by the editorial board of the [...]
Ideas for an archive?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Looks like we will get a sizable number of people to write letters to President Obama on October 17. Tim Furman suggests we set up a place to collect copies and share them. I don’t know how to do this. Anyone have an idea?
The Invisible Children, Left Out of the Obama-Romney Debate
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Jersey Jazzman wonders how our two candidates for President spent two hours discussing domestic issues without noticing our nation’s greatest scandal: the nearly one in four children who live in poverty.
“High-Stakes Testing is Out of Control” UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
[Reposting because I forgot to add the link!!! A hazard of age.] Peter DeWitt, principal of an elementary school in upstate New York, surveys the landscape and sees an educational system that is crushing principals, teachers and children with unreasonable mandates. At the center of the mandates is the endless demands for test scores. Higher [...]
Teacher: Outraged by Attack on Pensions
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
In this post, Glen Brown asked me to set up a category called “pension reform,” so that teachers could exchange information about raids on their pensions. I decided to create a category called “pensions,” as what is happening doesn’t look like reform. Many states think that the way to recover from the economic crisis of [...]
Don’t Forget: October 17
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
October 17 is the day that everyone who wants to change the present direction of school “reform” will write an email or send a letter to President Obama. We can change the course of events. Together. Diane
The Best Shanker Blog on Misuse of Testing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Matthew DiCarlo, the lead author of the Shanker Blog, is a smart social scientist who analyzes research and data with care, never with ideology or an axe to grind. We have had one area of disagreement in recent years. I have become sick of the misuse of testing, I no longer believe in test-based accountability. [...]
Who Gets into Exam Schools–and How?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Alan Singer has written an interesting commentary on the testing regime used to admit students to New York City’s most selective high schools. Admission is based on one test and one test only. The test is designed by–who else–Pearson. Many successful students sign up for expensive tutoring courses. So, like SAT prep, the scores reflect [...]
Hey, Arne, Read This
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
In an earlier post, a parent expressed frustration that her child’s teacher never explained how awful the testing is, how it was stealing time from instruction and was of little or no value. Many teachers wrote to say that without tenure, they can’t take any risks, can’t upset administrators, can’t speak up without endangering their [...]
The Wicked Spawn of NCLB
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I hope that Sandy Kress reads this article about what happened in El Paso. When I was in Austin, Texas, a few days ago, Kress wrote an article in the local newspaper extolling the virtues of No Child Left Behind. He boasted of dramatic test score increases since 1992 (ten years before NCLB was signed [...]
Can Someone Explain? Mr. Gates? Secretary Duncan?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
State after state is imposing new teacher evaluation systems that have never worked anywhere else; new pay structures that no one understands; eliminating collective bargaining rights; removing tenure to make it easier to fire teachers. All of this is allegedly to “improve” the teaching profession. But this is what is happening on the ground. Bill [...]
A Reader Reviews “Mission Possible” UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
We earlier mentioned a publication party for a new book about a charter success, called “Mission Possible.” This reader reviews it here: So that you don’t have to read it, I’ve reviewed “Mission Possible” for you. I’d appreciate any feedback before I post it on Amazon: The Introduction of this book launches the most gushing, [...]
The Word Not Mentioned in the Debate
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Poverty. Lots of talk about the middle class. Tax cuts for the middle class. Saving the middle class. Doing more for the middle class. Not one word about poverty. No mention that nearly 25% of the children in the world’s richest nation live in poverty. Not one word.
Hooray for the Niagara PTA!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I hereby place the Niagara (NY) PTA on our honor roll. They are heroes of public education. They stood up for their children, their teachers, their principals, and their local schools. These smart, independent, thoughtful parents passed an excellent resolution against high-stakes testing and against the state’s untried educator evaluation system, created hurriedly to justify [...]
The Debate’s Education Blather
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Education was mentioned several times in the debate, yet got very little attention. President Obama mentioned Race to the Top three times (at the Democratic convention, neither he nor Arne Duncan mentioned it even once). He claimed it was already showing results. I wish Romney had asked him what the results are. The President seems [...]
A Parent’s Letter to President Obama
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This came from a parent in California, who revised my draft: Submitted on 2012/10/03 at 6:02 pm I second the motion for a similar letter coming from parents. Here’s my draft… *** Dear President Obama, We assume you know that there are many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of parents, who are disappointed [...]
Send a Letter to the President on October 17
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Earlier I posted the draft of a letter to President Obama and asked for your help. I got some excellent suggestions. To begin with, this is not an online petition, but an invitation to join together to write your own individual heartfelt letter to the President and to email the White House on the same [...]
Help Write a Letter to President Obama
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Based on your many comments, I have drafted the following letter to President Obama. Please tell me if you have any changes or corrections. Once the letter is edited, I will post it again, and whoever wishes to do so will send it on October 17, two weeks from today. The letter is called: Teachers’ [...]
Beware the Reorientation Room!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
What kind of a school has a “reorientation room?” What kind of a school has a “Dean of School Culture?” What kind of a school has large numbers of uncertified teachers? Would you send your own child there? What kind of school is this? Read the link.
Research Breakthrough! Silver Bullet Found.
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Diana Senechal reports on the latest, best-ever research study. This may indeed be the silver bullet that researchers usually say does not exist.
Parent to Teachers: Speak Up!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This parent in Connecticut is furious that teachers didn’t tell her that the testing had gotten excessive. They didn’t tell her what the overuse and misuse of testing was doing to her children. She understands that they were just doing their job, but she wants them to stand up and shout that what’s happening is [...]
Unfair to Kozol?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
An admirer of Jonathan Kozol faults the Washington Post for asking Wendy Kopp to review his latest book. Wendy likes to say that we don’t need to fix poverty,just “fix” schools with more TFA and more charter schools. Jonathan’s book shows how harmful poverty is. Obviously she would not like Kozol’s latest book: The Washington [...]
Pennsylvania Governor Pushing ALEC Law
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Governor Tom Corbett wants charter “reform.” He is trying to persuade the state legislature to allow him to create a commission that could authorize charter schools over the opposition of local school boards. As a Pennsylvania blogger says, this puts the fox in charge of the henhouse. This is ALEC model legislation. It’s on the [...]
What Happened When an Engineer Became a Teacher
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A reader writes in response to an earlier post: I too started with degrees in physics and engineering (and later an M.Ed. that you will hear about). By choice, I walked out of an engineering job, and a few days later into a high-school classroom several hundred miles away as a full-time science teacher (they [...]
My Candid Views about School Choice
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This is part 2 of my interview by Abby Rappaport of the American Prospect. This came at the end of a long day in Austin, after I gave two speeches, one in the morning to the Texas School Boards Association and Texas Association of School Administrators, and another in the afternoon to parents and teachers. [...]
Arne Duncan Feels Your Pain
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
In a speech at the National Press Club, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reached out to the nation’s teachers to assure them that he understands how they feel. He understands that change is hard, especially when almost every state and district is imposing untested, experimental and possibly destructive methods of evaluation on them. The end [...]
Bill Moyers on ALEC
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Because I was traveling in Texas over the weekend, I didn’t see Bill Moyers’ report on ALEC. I watched it last night, and I hope you will too. If you want to understand how we are losing our democracy, watch this program. If you want to know why so many states are passing copycat legislation [...]
The Big Race: Tennessee vs. Louisiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Kevin Huffman is state commissioner of education in Tennessee. John White is state commissioner of education in Louisiana. Both taught for two years in Teach for America. Both worked as TFA staff. When John White worked for the New York City Department of Education, he had no pedagogical assignment;his job was to decide where to [...]
The State Assessment Is Useless
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This parent did not permit his child to take the state test. She opted out. But through a computer glitch (surprise, surprise!), the parent received a report on the assessment that his child did not take. As he looked at the component parts, he was reaffirmed in his conviction that the test is utterly meaningless. [...]
The Ultimate Insult to Louisiana Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
John White, the State Commissioner of Education in Louisiana, has low regard for experience. After all, he became a state commissioner despite never having been a principal or a superintendent or having any other notable administrative experience. He did, however, teach for two years as part of Teach for America. Acting on his convictions that [...]
My New Book: Almost Done
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
I wrote a post earlier this summer saying that I planned to spend the summer writing a new book. Here is my progress report. My goal was to finish the book by Labor Day. That would be a personal best for me (I started in mid-June). I didn’t meet my goal. I have written about [...]
Good News in Indiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A county judge in Indiana has ruled that the autocratic State Superintendent of Education Tony Bennett could not impose a standard contract on every district in the state that would have violated all existing contracts. From the story: “A county judge has ruled that a state-pushed standard teacher contract form that would have allowed Indiana [...]
A Refreshing View of the Importance of the Chicago Teachers’ Strike
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Here is an excellent article that explains clearly why the strike was necessary. The article appears in the newsmagazine called F, published by the Art Institute of Chicago, a venerable institution. Mayor Rahm said it was a “strike of choice.” In this sense, he was right. The teachers could have just kept on teaching under [...]
Millions of Federal $$$ Wasted in Louisiana
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
When reformers say that New Orleans is a success, bear in mind that it is a low-performing district in a low-performing state, ranked 69th out of 70 districts in Louisiana. In addition, New Orleans got many millions in federal grants and private philanthropy to “prove” that privatization works. A reader from Louisiana writes: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/teacherincentive/2012awards.html I [...]
The Bammy Awards
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This was the first year of the Bammy awards, an effort to acknowledge educators who have achieved distinction in many different sectors of education. The Bammies are supposed to be the new equivalent of the Oscars for educators, presented by the Academy of Educational Arts and Sciences. Emmy award-winning producer, broadcaster and journalist Errol St. [...]
New York City’s Absurd School Grades
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
I live in a wonderful neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. For years, the local public school struggled. It had a poor reputation. Then a new principal arrived, attracted a stable and experienced staff, and the school flourished. Neighborhood families that once sought private school alternatives enrolled in the public school. It became the pride of [...]
After a Decade, Bloomberg Reforms Still Failing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Mayor Bloomberg prides himself on being data-driven. And he has certainly turned the public schools into data-obsessed institutions. Test scores rule all decisions. Accountability matters more than anything else. One of the proudest achievements of Mayor Bloomberg and former Chancellor Joel Klein was the adoption of report cards for schools, with a single letter grade [...]
Will the White House Listen?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
A reader suggests we try these routes to get the attention of the White House. As you know, they take teachers and principals for granted and they don’t hear our voices. They assume our votes are already counted. Let’s help President Obama by contacting him and sending him a message. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/how-why/frequently-asked-questions Who will review [...]
A Line in the Sand
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The billionaires want charter schools in Washington State. It is very distressing to them that the voters have already turned down charter schools three times. So they have put up a few millions to try again. This time the charter referendum closely tracks the rightwing ALEC model. It allows either a majority of parents or [...]
Putting a Stake in the Heart of the Vampire
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
On Sunday evening, after I spoke to the joint meeting of the Texas School Boards Association and the Texas Association of School Administrators, and after I spoke to parents and teachers at Eastside Memorial High School, I met Abby Rappaport, who writes for The American Prospect. Abby knows Texas politics well. She asked me many [...]
Michelle Rhee’s Plan to Destroy Public Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Michelle Rhee is is a one-person PAC. She is raising hundreds of millions of dollars from rightwing billionaires and foundations and corporations to subsidize her program. What is her program? Destroy teachers’ unions; eliminate tenure and seniority; privatize public education. Having failed to transform the public schools of the District of Columbia, she now wants [...]
Testing and Accountability in the UK (part 2)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Robin Alexander, who directed the UK’s Cambridge Primary Review, has shared the findings of that major review of the primary grades. They are contained in this brief two-page statement, and I urge you to read them. Every one of them reflects our own discussions–from recognizing the influence of poverty on student performance in school to [...]
A Visit to Austin, Texas
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I just concluded an amazing visit to Austin. I love going back to Texas. It’s my native state. I am a graduate of the Houston public schools. I like the sounds of Texas voices. I like the twang, the earthiness. These are the accents I grew up with. I like meeting with racially integrated groups. [...]
Testing and Accountability in the UK
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Robin Alexander of the U.K. is a reader of this blog. He is director of the Cambridge Primary Review, a major independent evaluation of primary education in the U.K. The Reviews has published 31 interim reports between 2007 and 2009. Its final report is Children, their World, their Education, which appeared in October 2009. He [...]
A Chicago Parent and a Hero of Public Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Matthew Farmer is a parent in the Chicago public school system. He is an articulate lawyer who understands that the children of Chicago have been shortchanged by the city’s leadership. He is fearless in defending the teachers, defending the children of Chicago, and standing up for better public schools. You may recall his outstanding cross-examination [...]
A New Jersey Mom: Another Hero of Public Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Darcie Cimarusti is a hero of public education. As a parent of young children in the fine public schools of New Jersey, she became alarmed when a charter planned to open in her community. She knew that the charter would divide the community and undercut the public schools. This is her story. She joins the [...]
US Dept of Ed: More Millions for Teacher Evaluation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The Gates Foundation has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into teacher evaluation programs. The US Department of Education has used its billions in Race to the Top funding to push for teacher evaluation programs. The spigot is still open! The big winner of the latest grants is the District of Columbia, which presumably already [...]
Make the Best of It?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Carol Burris has valiantly rallied her fellow principals in New York to oppose the state’s test-based evaluation system created in response to Race to the Top. Carol is principal of an exemplary high school in Rockville Center, New York. Some readers responded to her latest post by saying, “look, it’s over. They won. Live with [...]
Poor Boxoffice for Anti-Union Film
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The film “Won’t Back Down,” which publicizes the idea that parents should seize control of their public school and turn it over to a charter operator, has been heavily promoted. The movie was shown at both national political conventions by Michelle Rhee; it had a glamorous opening in New York City and extensive publicity as [...]
The Return of Michael Winerip
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Michael Winerip of the New York Times has long been an invaluable source of information and perspective about what is happening in education. For whatever reason, the New York Times decided to change his assignment. He no longer writes on education, but on the boomer generation. I ask you, which is more important to the [...]
My Speak-out in Austin: UPDATE!
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
I spent the last three days in Austin and had a great time. I’ll write about it on the flight home. I’m sitting on the JetBlue flight and the doors will close in 3 minutes. Thought you might want to see this interview with me and Evan Smith. Only 24 minutes. I take it back. [...]
Wall Street Eyes Profit Potential in Public School Budgets
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The privatization movement has swung into high gear. Many people find it hard to understand why so many Wall Street hedge fund managers and equity investors have suddenly become interested in public education. Here is a good explanation. No one ever went wrong by following the money. Who wins? Who loses? And another important issue: [...]
CTU Votes on Contract Tomorrow
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union will vote on October 2 whether to ratify the contact negotiated with the city. In the press release about the contract, CTU says these are the gains in the new contract for students and teachers: Should members vote to ratify the contract it will force the Board of Education [...]
Edushyster Does Charter Math
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Edushyster noticed a strange phenomenon. A charter school received a $1.5 million grant to close the achievement gap. Edushyster noticed that its first class had 47 students. But 17 eventually graduated. Then it was explained. This is called success by attrition. It is usually associated with miracle schools, where 100% of the students graduate (of [...]
A Remarkable Investigative Reporter
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Stephanie Simon of Reuters has written one blockbuster story after another. She has done the digging and investigation that make her stories genuinely valuable. In education, as more newspapers cut back their in-depth education reporting, this kind of investigative journalism is becoming increasingly rare. She wrote stunning articles about the privatization momentum in Louisiana, about [...]
My Recent Articles about Corporate Reform
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Recently, a newly elected member of a school board asked me to suggest background reading. So I put together a list of the reviews I have written for the New York Review of Books in the past two years. When I get some time, I will suggest a reading list of books. I think you [...]
A Teacher Writes to President Obama
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Dear Mr. President, I have received your daily emails and phone calls – please take me off your lists. I gave you some money in May, even though I didn’t want to – your phone volunteers are very persuasive! I voted for you in 2008, and I will again in November. What choice do I [...]
Principals Give Flunking Grade to NY Teacher Evaluation Scheme
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
New York had the bad luck to win $700 million in Race to the Top funding. The politicians thought it would help balance the budget, not realizing that the grant would not be available to plug budget holes. Now we know that principals think the costly, time-wasting evaluation system is useless. Eighty percent find it [...]
How About a Letter to the President?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Linda in Connecticut is one of the regular commenters on the blog and also one of the wittiest. She often makes me laugh out loud. But her last comment was serious, and other readers responded positively. She said we should write a letter to the President. And she wrote a draft indicating what she thought [...]
A Charter Teacher Tells What Happened
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
In response to an earlier post about the lack of accountability for charters, a teacher wrote to describe her experience in a charter school in Pennsylvania. Most important in her story is the last line: From 2009-2011 I worked for a Philadelphia charter school that exemplifies the problems Bill White is talking about, a problem [...]
This Is a Book You Should Read
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Diana Senechal wrote an important book about the world we live in now, a world of buzz and noise, with no time to think, reflect, day dream. This is a review in a magazine for Canadian teachers. Teachers and parents will enjoy this book.
Ten Years of NCLB: A Student Says, “How Sad.” Her Teacher Agrees
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Paul Karrer teaches fifth grade in Castroville, California. He is doing his best to educate parents and the public about the destructive farce called “reform” that is ruining education for his students. A student returned to his classroom and asked him why he was no longer teaching as he had when she was a student. [...]
What Charter Schools Do Best
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
A reader in Los Altos, California, comments on an earlier post: The REAL carrot here is allowing middle-class parents to engage in segregation. This is the “dirty little secret” of charter schools and of education reform in general: that they are a sustained political force ONLY because rich or semi-rich parents want their children in [...]
Anti-Union Film Bombs at Box-Office
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
A reader wrote to say that he went to see “that movie,” and there were only eight other people in the theater. The Hollywood media says that his family’s experience was not unusual. Despite a huge publicity campaign involving promotion by NBC’s Education Nation and full-page ads in major newspapers, the film opened to weak [...]
New Jersey Parent to Daniel Barnz: You Lied
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Darcie Cimarusti blogs under the name “Mother Crusader.” She is a parent activist in New Jersey who joined the battle to save her community’s public schools from privatizers. She was one of the parents who protested outside the opening of “Won’t Back Down” in New York City. In interviews and articles, the film’s director Daniel [...]
Can Stand for Children Save Its Soul?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
No one knows for sure when Stand for Children abandoned its original mission of advocating for public schools and seeking more equitable funding. But by 2011, Stand for Children had become a handmaiden of the hedge fund managers and super-rich, promoting their agenda of privatization. Its founder, Jonah Edelman, boasted at the Aspen Ideas Festival [...]
The Hardest, Most Rewarding Career Ever
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
An earlier post asked which was harder: Teaching or Rocket Science. It received some great responses. Here is one of them: I’ll add my vote here. Former engineer, now a teacher for 17 years. Teaching is much harder work. It takes a really long time to get very good at it (which TFA and other [...]
Wendy Kopp Reviews Jonathan Kozol
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
As Edushyster calls it, Wendy is miffed that Jon didn’t mention TFA. Another hilarious article from one of our best satirists.
Won’t Back Down: The Hilarious Sequel
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Jersey Jazzman has written a brilliant screenplay that tells what happened after the characters in the movie opened their charter school. This is hilarious!
A Teacher Responds to “Won’t Back Down”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Julie Cavanaugh is a special education teacher at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn. She was one of the makers of the documentary “The Inconvenient Truth Behind ‘Waiting for Superman’” She now reviews “Won’t Back Down” and explains what is really necessary to reform schools today.
Is It Really “All About the Kids”?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The review in the New York Times of the anti-union film makes an important point: when people loudly insist that “it’s all about the kids,” you can be sure that it’s not. As A.O. Scott puts it, “A movie that insists, repeatedly and at high volume, that ‘it’s all about the kids’ might just cause [...]
For-Profit Corporations Buying Idaho Education?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days 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 - 6 days 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 [...]