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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Diane in the Evening 11-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:






When Gary Rubinstein Visited KIPP

Gary Rubinstein was among the nation’s earliest Teach for Merica teachers. Unlike most TFA, however, he became a career teacher. He now teaches at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. This is a veryinteresting report on a visit he paid to a KIPP school. Be sure to read te comments.


When Happy Talk Is Mandated

A reader in Texas responds to a post about the Dallas superintendent, who has sent out directions to schools to express themselves only in positive terms:
This blog reminds me: we got a new superintendent in our district where I was the deputy superintendent. His FIRST act was to send out a memo to all staff. His directive was that absolutely everybody had to start all letters and all memoranda and all emails with this statement: “Today is November 21, 2012, and it is a wonderful day!”
Many of us spent the rest of the day writing and sharing parodies. “Today is xxx, xx, xxxx, and it is a wonderful day! I am writing to tell you that due to budget restraints we have eliminated your position, effective immediately.”.
“Today is…., and it is a wonderful day! Due to the flu epidemic, we have determined it prudent to close our 




LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-21-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] In Which I Agree with Andy Smarick by dianerav Andy Smarick believes that public schools can’t be fixed or turned around. He thinks that the only way to solve their problems is to close them down and replace them with privately managed charters. Andy served on the board of a KIPP school, so he is confident that KIPP can do what no public school can do. In a previous post, I called on Andy to join me in “the KIPP Challenge.” This is the challenge for KIPP to take over an entire low-performing district and sh... more »