This Is What Courage Means
Earlier today I posted about four teachers in Louisiana who started a recall campaign against Governor Bobby Jindal and the Speaker of the Louisiana House. The odds against them were overwhelming. They had no organization, no money, and no political experience. They didn’t collect enough signatures to get on the ballot. They confronted a powerful political machine. They filed their reports late and were
Kudos for Superintendent Joshua Starr
Joshua Starr is superintendent of the Montgomery County public schools. He has stepped forward as an outspoken critic of standardized testing. He is emerging as a national voice against the national obsession with testing, ranking and rating students, teachers and schools. He has a different agenda: education. He recently was criticized for failing to follow the lead of ex-superintendents Rhee, Klein and Brizard, none of whom has a
Andere: Who Wins Nobel Prizes?
Eduardo Andere is one of Mexico’s leading education researchers. Here, he comments on a post by Stephen Krashen about the PISA results.
Well, maybe Mr. Krashen is right! The analysis below may help to buttress many people’s view why American education isn’t so bad after all:
The education of Nobel Prize winners
By Eduardo Andere M .
The 2012 Nobel Prize edition is over. Most Nobel awards throughout history have been assigned to people of a
Well, maybe Mr. Krashen is right! The analysis below may help to buttress many people’s view why American education isn’t so bad after all:
The education of Nobel Prize winners
By Eduardo Andere M .
The 2012 Nobel Prize edition is over. Most Nobel awards throughout history have been assigned to people of a
Lessons from Finland
If you want to know why Finnish schools are so admired, consider the following:
Finnish schools do not have standardized testing until college entry. Admission to teacher education is highly selective. Teaching is a prestigious career. Child poverty is very low. Finnish schools emphasize the arts, physical activity, and a broad curriculum.
If you can’t visit Finland, read Pasi Sahlberg’s book Finnish Lessons, which is now
Finnish schools do not have standardized testing until college entry. Admission to teacher education is highly selective. Teaching is a prestigious career. Child poverty is very low. Finnish schools emphasize the arts, physical activity, and a broad curriculum.
If you can’t visit Finland, read Pasi Sahlberg’s book Finnish Lessons, which is now
Four Courageous Teachers in Louisiana
Last spring, four teachers in Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana decided “enough is enough” when Governor Bobby Jindal rushed through his legislation targeting teachers and attacking public education. They decided they would launch a campaign to recall Jindal and House Speaker Chuck Kleckley. None had ever been politically active before.
You have to understand that Bobby Jindal–at this moment in time–owns Louisiana politics, lock, stock, and barrel. The teachers’ campaign was akin to a petition drive against the emperor of Rome.
Their campaign didn’t get very far. They didn’t have an organization or money, and they didn’t collect enough
You have to understand that Bobby Jindal–at this moment in time–owns Louisiana politics, lock, stock, and barrel. The teachers’ campaign was akin to a petition drive against the emperor of Rome.
Their campaign didn’t get very far. They didn’t have an organization or money, and they didn’t collect enough
How Test Errors Prevented Students from Graduating
A post on the NYC Parents Blog tells the sad story of a middle-school student who was not allowed to graduate with her class because she had supposedly failed the ELA exam. She was an honor student, and it made no sense, but the NYC Department of Education was adamant. The tests don’t lie, do they?
When her class walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas, she was not among them. She felt awful.
Except the tests were wrong. She had not failed the test. There was a mistake. She did pass the test. So many weeks after the graduation, she was able to report to the school and pick up her diploma, like picking up a letter,
When her class walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas, she was not among them. She felt awful.
Except the tests were wrong. She had not failed the test. There was a mistake. She did pass the test. So many weeks after the graduation, she was able to report to the school and pick up her diploma, like picking up a letter,
Diane in the Evening 12-23-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: In Defense of Tracking by dianerav When Marc Epstein, who was a history teacher at Jamaica High School in New York City (now closed to make way for small schools), read Carol Burris’s post opposing differentiated diplomas and tracking, he wrote to express his disagreement. I invited him to write a post, and he said he had already written it. It is here. What do you think? Ms. Katie Has the Last Word on the Meaning of the Twitter Kerfuffle by dianerav Katie Osgood teaches children in a psychiatric hospital in Chicago. She is one of our most eloquent blogge... more »