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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Morning Update: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

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The Best Governor in the United States Is….

California’s Governor Jerry Brown!
His State of the State speech, given today, is brilliant. It reflects his probing intellect, his philosophical bent, his deep understanding of the power of the creative mind, his abiding love of his state.
On the subject of education, he speaks words that will be music to the ears of every educator. He recognizes–as Washington, D.C. does not–that great education cannot be mandated or legislated. He knows–as most 


G.F. Brandenburg: Is Poverty Destiny?

Blogger and retired math teacher G.F. Brandenburg deciphers the central claim of the corporate reform movement: Does poverty matter? Is it destiny Can a young college graduate cancel out the effects of poverty?
He tests the proposition by examining the correlation between test scores and poverty rates in Wisconsin. What he finds will not surprise you.

How Phony Reform Destroys Teacher Morale: “I Quit”

A reader sent this sad commentary on the state of education today. When you read dozens of letters like this from districts around the country, you have to wonder if the “powers that be” are trying to force experienced teachers out of the classroom, to make room for the young teachers who don’t know enough to think differently, who won’t stay around long enough to get a pension, who won’t question the New Order of testing and submission. Maybe the greatest act of defiance is to stay and fight for what is right. Because the end of the “reformers’” time in charge draws near:

I QUIT and I did not send a letter…One day’s notice ….as I have one life to live and had rather rake yards, mow 

Tucker and Zhao Debate the Common Core Standards

The Common Core standards have arrived.
Some love them. Some hate them.
It’s time for a debate.
Marc Tucker

NEA Supports Garfield High School Teachers’ Boycott

Will the Garfield High School teachers’ test boycott go national? They now have the support of both the AFT and their own union, the NEA. Will other Seattle high schools join them? Will teachers in other districts follow their lead?
One source reported that the superintendent of schools in Seattle has warned that he will dock their pay. If that is true, we will have to raise money to help these brave teachers.
Here is the NEA statement:
Subject: Press Release – NEA President supports Seattle educators who refuse to give flawed standardized test

Snopes Deconstructs the Sandy Hook Truther Hoax

Soon after the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, conspiracy theorists began to claim that the events of that morning were an elaborate hoax.
The conspiracy story was debunked here by Snopes.
We are expected to believe that hundreds of people–parents, townspeople, police, and media, as well as the President–collaborated to stage this “hoax.” Everyone you saw on television, say the conspiracy theorists, was a “crisis actor,” paid to play a part. The media didn’t notice. Allegedly the entire town of Newtown, Connecticut, is akin to “The Truman Show,” where everyone is a paid actor.
This blog received letters that asked questions like “Did you see Adam Lanza’s body? Did you see the bodies of the children?” That was supposedly “evidence” that the massacre was staged as a way to take away the rights 

Diane in the Evening 1-23-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: Chicago Parents Sue Charter Network by dianerav CPS Parents File Formal State Complaint Against UNO Charter Schools UpdatedJanuary 18, 2013 5:35pm | By Ted Cox, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer (DNAinfo/Ted Cox) CHICAGO — Education-reform groups, including the president of a Pilsen Local School Council, have filed a formal complaint with the state against the UNO Charter Schools Network. Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education, and Rosemary Sierra, president of the Pilsen Academy LSC, filed the complaint in Chicago Thursda... more »