A Substitute Teacher Dies as a Hero
A teacher sent me this link and urged me to post it.
This is a story about Lauren Rousseau, a substitute teacher who lost her life during the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School on one of the days that she was hired to teach.
Teaching was what she most wanted to do, but Newtown had a declining enrollment and was not hiring teachers. It has laid off 10% of its teachers in the past few years.
Lauren Rousseau worked for $75 a day with no benefits.
She was a barista at Starbucks when she wasn’t teaching.
Read it soon because the Wall Street Journal will have it behind a paywall in a few days.
The teacher who sent it to me suggested that it was remarkable because
This is a story about Lauren Rousseau, a substitute teacher who lost her life during the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School on one of the days that she was hired to teach.
Teaching was what she most wanted to do, but Newtown had a declining enrollment and was not hiring teachers. It has laid off 10% of its teachers in the past few years.
Lauren Rousseau worked for $75 a day with no benefits.
She was a barista at Starbucks when she wasn’t teaching.
Read it soon because the Wall Street Journal will have it behind a paywall in a few days.
The teacher who sent it to me suggested that it was remarkable because
Burris: NY Regents Plan Promotes Tracking
Carol Burris is the principal of an outstanding high school on Long Island in New York. She is a leader of the principals’ group opposing the new state evaluation system.
This post includes her recent letter to the Regents in opposition to a new diploma program that she fears will encourage tracking. Her own high school has no tracking and she explains why it is a bad idea.
This post includes her recent letter to the Regents in opposition to a new diploma program that she fears will encourage tracking. Her own high school has no tracking and she explains why it is a bad idea.
Do Conservatives Care about the Constitution?
A stunning editorial in the Statesman, a Louisiana publication, raises an important question about Governor Jindal’s voucher program: Why do conservatives remind everyone about the importance of adhering faithfully to the literal meaning of the state constitution except when they choose not to?
The Jindal voucher plan is funded by the Minimum Foundation Funding dedicated specifically in the state constitution to “public elementary and secondary schools.” Private and religious schools do not fit that definition. There is no loophole. They are not public.
A state judge (a Republican, by the way) struck down the funding for vouchers a few weeks ago, declaring that it
The Jindal voucher plan is funded by the Minimum Foundation Funding dedicated specifically in the state constitution to “public elementary and secondary schools.” Private and religious schools do not fit that definition. There is no loophole. They are not public.
A state judge (a Republican, by the way) struck down the funding for vouchers a few weeks ago, declaring that it
Is This the NRA Plan for School Security?
A reader comments on the National Rifle Association’s ideas for school security:
“Let’s pretend. 100,000 schools would need 100,000 guards, preferably active police officers, who would by a conservative estimate cost at least $100,000 per year apiece in salary and benefits. That’s $10,000,000,000 to start, plus who knows how much more for the added costs of liability insurance, training, equipment, etc. Is this making any sense? Even if it did, how could we afford it? But wait, it may just be another golden opportunity for
“Let’s pretend. 100,000 schools would need 100,000 guards, preferably active police officers, who would by a conservative estimate cost at least $100,000 per year apiece in salary and benefits. That’s $10,000,000,000 to start, plus who knows how much more for the added costs of liability insurance, training, equipment, etc. Is this making any sense? Even if it did, how could we afford it? But wait, it may just be another golden opportunity for
The Language of “Reform”
Ron Isaac is a retired teacher of English in New York City. He writes:
What a shame that language is such a pliable substance! It’s putty in the hands of folks who control public policy debates, especially about education. And it can be deadly to progress when it’s off the tongues of people who exercise authority unjustly, either enabled by their own title or position or else by their power to purchase the influence of others who are in such position to damage or enrich or simply make things happen.
These people do to phrases and sometimes to popular perceptions what whip-snapping “trainers” do to tigers in
What a shame that language is such a pliable substance! It’s putty in the hands of folks who control public policy debates, especially about education. And it can be deadly to progress when it’s off the tongues of people who exercise authority unjustly, either enabled by their own title or position or else by their power to purchase the influence of others who are in such position to damage or enrich or simply make things happen.
These people do to phrases and sometimes to popular perceptions what whip-snapping “trainers” do to tigers in
Diane in the Evening 12-22-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: Outrageous Treatment of Children with Special Needs by dianerav In Louisiana, this mother reports, her 17-year-old autistic son will be required to take the ACT and EOC (end-of-course exams). As she writes, “These children are also being forced to take the EOC. or “end of course” tests for high school courses that they have never taken. Allow me to reiterate. They are forced to take high-stakes, final exams for classes in which they have never been enrolled because they cannot meet the prerequisites.” What will this prove, she wonders? Will it prove that he... more »