Paul Thomas: What is the Difference between Service and Self-Serving?
Paul Thomas taught high school in rural South Carolina for nearly twenty years. Now he teaches at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
He writes here about what it means to have a life of service, in contrast to a life devoted to self-service in a celebrity culture, a life adorned with press conferences, self-promotion and photo ops.
He writes here about what it means to have a life of service, in contrast to a life devoted to self-service in a celebrity culture, a life adorned with press conferences, self-promotion and photo ops.
The Ordeal of the D.C. Whistleblower
If you have followed the story of the D.C. Cheating scandal, you know that suspicious test scores were flagged at a large number of schools in the district during Michelle Rhee’s tenure. Rhee met with every single principal and got a commitment to raise test scores or be fired. This pressure was effective in perverse ways.
Jay Mathews here explains what happened in stark and alarming detail.
The epicenter of the cheating scandal was Noyes campus, where the gains were meteoric. The principal, Wayne Ryan, was given star treatment and elevated to the central office. The school received a Blue Ribbon award for its
Jay Mathews here explains what happened in stark and alarming detail.
The epicenter of the cheating scandal was Noyes campus, where the gains were meteoric. The principal, Wayne Ryan, was given star treatment and elevated to the central office. The school received a Blue Ribbon award for its
Expert: Why Cheating in DC Was Never Investigated
Mary Levy is a veteran civil rights lawyer and budget analyst in Washington, D.C., who has reviewed developments in the D.C. Public schools for more than 30 years. She wrote the following description of the D.C. cheating scandal, which was revealed by USA Today in March 2011 but never subject to a full and independent investigation:
Re: the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s “investigation” of cheating in the DC Public Schools on D.C. standardized tests
It is always interesting to watch power and ideology corrupting people’s judgment, in this case the belief that
Re: the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s “investigation” of cheating in the DC Public Schools on D.C. standardized tests
It is always interesting to watch power and ideology corrupting people’s judgment, in this case the belief that
To N.C. Board of Education: Please Vote NO Today
Today, the North Carolina Board of Education will vote on whether to permit for-profit online corporations to enroll children as young as five.
I hope they reject this terrible proposal, for the following reasons:
1. Online home-schooling is developmentally inappropriate for young children.
2. Study after study has shown that students who get their schooling from online corporations have lower test
I hope they reject this terrible proposal, for the following reasons:
1. Online home-schooling is developmentally inappropriate for young children.
2. Study after study has shown that students who get their schooling from online corporations have lower test
John Merrow: D.C. Whistleblower Under Attack
If you saw John Merrow’s program “The Education of Michelle Rhee,” you will remember that there was one educator willing to go on camera and say, “Yes, I saw cheating. I locked the tests up and the scores dropped.” That principal is now under attack by Kaya Henderson, Rhee’s successor.
The Key to Understanding Corporate Reform
If you want to understand what is happening in state after state, district after district, read Lee Fang’s article here. I have read it again and again, and every time I read it, I see something I didn’t see before and understand the national picture better than I did before. I have published this before. I may publish it every few months to make sure that everyone sees it. Or has a reminder to read it again.
Is Corporate Reform Like Vietnam?
I hesitated to post this because it refers to me.
But I decided to post it because the author, Mark Naison, makes a powerful point about the present moment.
What is happening in education today is ignorant, willful, and dangerous.
Thoughtless politicians and self-seeking entrepreneurs are hurting children, damaging public education, and demeaning the teaching profession with their misguided policies. They welcome for-profit schooling, they are
But I decided to post it because the author, Mark Naison, makes a powerful point about the present moment.
What is happening in education today is ignorant, willful, and dangerous.
Thoughtless politicians and self-seeking entrepreneurs are hurting children, damaging public education, and demeaning the teaching profession with their misguided policies. They welcome for-profit schooling, they are
Diane in the Evening 1-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: Will Massachusetts Open a Charter to Skim $$ from a Great Public School? by dianerav Brockton High School has been hailed as one of the best high schools in the nation, celebrated for its excellent programs and high test scores. What makes its success especially impressive is that the school has 4,100 students and a large immigrant population. Now enters the SABIS for-profit charter chain, seeking to compete with Brockton High School. In this report, Bruce Baker on Rheeformy Logic & Goofball Rating Schemes by dianerav Bruce Baker has prepared what may b... more »
