Activistism in Public Education in Washington State
One reason for this blog - and that has always been the case since its earliest days - is discourse and encouraging activism.
I said this recently in an interview and I frequently have parents tell me that it's the only place they can really go to ask questions. I am glad that enough parents know about it that they feel comfortable to come here and raise issues. (Some also e-mail Charlie and me and that's fine as well.)
One topic that came up in the Eric Lui interview was about how parents can be involved (and how deeply) in their children's education. Eric pointed out that many parents don't want to speak out.
I said this recently in an interview and I frequently have parents tell me that it's the only place they can really go to ask questions. I am glad that enough parents know about it that they feel comfortable to come here and raise issues. (Some also e-mail Charlie and me and that's fine as well.)
One topic that came up in the Eric Lui interview was about how parents can be involved (and how deeply) in their children's education. Eric pointed out that many parents don't want to speak out.
I've said this before - my belief is most parents just want a good school that they have confidence in the staff and where they feel welcome (either as a volunteer or a parent who visits occasionally). I don't think most parents want to be activists. I think most parents want to be advocates for their child's education.
The Education of Michelle Rhee (via Frontline)
The Education of Michelle Rhee (via Frontline)
Grab a soothing drink (or set that VCR or DVR) because this is going to be good - Frontline is showing aspecial on Michelle Rhee. It will be on KCTS 9 at 10 pm Tuesday night.
Rhee, the poster girl for all that is wrong in public education reform today, has had this discussion long coming. Given Frontline's hard-hitting reporting, I'm sure they will be thorough and frank.
Coincidentally, Rhee just released a report card of sorts, through her "group" StudentsFirst on how states are doing. Diane Ravitch calls her out on it here.
This comes on the heels of a number of staffers at StudentsFirst, all Democrats, who abruptly left the organization recently.
From the Huffington Post:
"There were known to be some significant differences on political strategy and policy matters, especially in StudentsFirst's approach toward unions and partisanship," said a source close to the education reform community who declined to be named in order to preserve working relationships.
Rhee, the poster girl for all that is wrong in public education reform today, has had this discussion long coming. Given Frontline's hard-hitting reporting, I'm sure they will be thorough and frank.
Coincidentally, Rhee just released a report card of sorts, through her "group" StudentsFirst on how states are doing. Diane Ravitch calls her out on it here.
This comes on the heels of a number of staffers at StudentsFirst, all Democrats, who abruptly left the organization recently.
From the Huffington Post:
"There were known to be some significant differences on political strategy and policy matters, especially in StudentsFirst's approach toward unions and partisanship," said a source close to the education reform community who declined to be named in order to preserve working relationships.