Mayor Bloomberg: Time to Hold Teachers’ Feet to Fire
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has decided that rating teachers by their test scores and publishing their names in the paper is the last hill he will stand on in his struggle to establish a legacy. He says it is time to hold teachers’ feet to the fire. He would rather cut the budget than let teachers “off the hook” on teacher evaluations.
The mayor is a busy man. We can’t expect him to know anything about education research. He is making his judgments based on his gut instincts. It’s a shame that no one at the New York City Department of Education
The mayor is a busy man. We can’t expect him to know anything about education research. He is making his judgments based on his gut instincts. It’s a shame that no one at the New York City Department of Education
When Grover Whitehurst Testified Against Class Size Reduction
Most of the school boards in Texas are suing the state because of outrageous budget cuts (over $5 billion in the last legislative session), which caused increased class size. The state called as its witness Grover Whitehurst of the Brookings Institution, to testify that class size doesn’t matter. Whitehurst was in charge of the U.S.
Vermont Superintendent Orders Staff to Innovate
The superintendent of schools in Franklin County, Vermont, “blasted” the faculty and administration of the high school for resisting innovation. He demanded a faster pace of change because the school is not making progress towards the NCLB goal of 100% proficiency,
The school’s proficiency rates are about the same as the state average.
The school’s proficiency rates are about the same as the state average.
EduShyster: The Solution to Our National Security Crisis
Here it is, folks. When your nation is in the midst of a grave–no, make that “a very grave” national security crisis, what can you do?
Do it the American way: Go shopping.
Buy lots of shiny new technology and soon all those threats to our future will disappear.
Just be sure to buy from Rupert Murdoch or the threats won’t go away.
Do it the American way: Go shopping.
Buy lots of shiny new technology and soon all those threats to our future will disappear.
Just be sure to buy from Rupert Murdoch or the threats won’t go away.
A Radical Right-Wing Idea: The A La Carte School
Stephanie Simon of Reuters continues to be the most industrious investigative education journalist in the nation.
Here she reveals the outline of the free-market model of school, where students learn what they want, where they want, when they want, and pay for it with taxpayer dollars.
She calls it “a la carte” schooling.
It eliminates public schools as we have known them. It opens the door to private, for-profit vendors and anyone who hangs out a shingle.
Remember the old Hollywood movies where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland said, “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show?”
Now, it’s “Hey, kids, let’s open a school and make money.”
Here she reveals the outline of the free-market model of school, where students learn what they want, where they want, when they want, and pay for it with taxpayer dollars.
She calls it “a la carte” schooling.
It eliminates public schools as we have known them. It opens the door to private, for-profit vendors and anyone who hangs out a shingle.
Remember the old Hollywood movies where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland said, “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show?”
Now, it’s “Hey, kids, let’s open a school and make money.”
Setting Schools Up to Fail
A teacher in California writes:
I am just about finished with your book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, and as a public high school teacher of 22 years, I would like to thank you for your eloquent defense of public education. My wife is also a public school teacher, and we have made it a point to send our two sons to our neighborhood public schools. This means that as teachers and parents we have been eyewitnesses to the injustices that are being done to public schools in the name of “reform.”
A particularly egregious story comes from our sons’ elementary school, Toyon Elementary, in San Jose,
I am just about finished with your book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, and as a public high school teacher of 22 years, I would like to thank you for your eloquent defense of public education. My wife is also a public school teacher, and we have made it a point to send our two sons to our neighborhood public schools. This means that as teachers and parents we have been eyewitnesses to the injustices that are being done to public schools in the name of “reform.”
A particularly egregious story comes from our sons’ elementary school, Toyon Elementary, in San Jose,
David Coleman, Please Speak Up!
An article appeared in a British newspaper claiming that such books as “Catcher in the Rye” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be dropped from the curriculum because of the Common Core standards.
Says the Daily Telegraph: “Suggested non-fiction texts include Recommended Levels of Insulation by the the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Invasive Plant Inventory, by California’s Invasive Plant Council.”
I don’t think any of this is true, but there is only one person who can stop the nonsense, and that is David
Says the Daily Telegraph: “Suggested non-fiction texts include Recommended Levels of Insulation by the the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Invasive Plant Inventory, by California’s Invasive Plant Council.”
I don’t think any of this is true, but there is only one person who can stop the nonsense, and that is David
Why Is Pennsylvania Mad for Cybercharters?
Pennsylvania is on its way to becoming the Wild West for Cybercharters, where anything goes, so long as it’s online.
The state already has 16 Cybercharters. Now it is considering another 8 of them. The only states with more students enrolled in virtual charters are Ohio and Arizona.
This likely expansion will occur despite repeated evidence that the academic quality of these virtual schools is
The state already has 16 Cybercharters. Now it is considering another 8 of them. The only states with more students enrolled in virtual charters are Ohio and Arizona.
This likely expansion will occur despite repeated evidence that the academic quality of these virtual schools is
$5 Million Grant Will Expand Two Charter Schools in Hartford
The Gates Foundation awarded $5 million to Hartford, Connecticut, schools, most of which will go to two charter school companies. One has never enrolled an English language learner. The other has small numbers of ELLs and students with disabilities; it was co-founded by the state’s Commissioner of Education. The governor, mayor and state commissioner appeared at a news conference to celebrate the grant, which will be administered by a private group.
When Education Leaders Curse in Public
Rachel Levy asks whether it is appropriate for education leaders to curse or use sexual analogies in public.
Apparently, David Coleman, the newly installed resident f the College Board, used a certain four-letter word at a recent Brookings conference on testing. This was not the first time this particular barnyard epithet has escaped Mr. Coleman’s lips.
And the recently departed state commissioner of education referred to test anxiety as being comparable to the anxiety associated with sexual intercourse.
Rachel is aware that I do not permit cursing on this site, at least not when it can be avoided (that is, you will not
Apparently, David Coleman, the newly installed resident f the College Board, used a certain four-letter word at a recent Brookings conference on testing. This was not the first time this particular barnyard epithet has escaped Mr. Coleman’s lips.
And the recently departed state commissioner of education referred to test anxiety as being comparable to the anxiety associated with sexual intercourse.
Rachel is aware that I do not permit cursing on this site, at least not when it can be avoided (that is, you will not
Diane in the Evening 12-7-12 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: A Radical Right-Wing Idea: The A La Carte School by dianerav Stephanie Simon of Reuters continues to be the most industrious investigative education journalist in the nation. Here she reveals the outline of the free-market model of school, where students learn what they want, where they want, when they want, and pay for it with taxpayer dollars. She calls it “a la carte” schooling. It eliminates public schools as we have known them. It opens the door to private, for-profit vendors and anyone My Conversation with Tavis Smiley and Cornel West by dianerav I h... more »