The Waivers Are Worthless and Destructive
The waivers offered to states by Arne Duncan removed the NCLB deadline of 2014, in exchange for states agreeing to accept punitive mandates and loss of state and local control.
The waivers took the heat off Congress to repeal NCLB. NCLB is a train-wreck. By removing the deadline, Congress can now tinker around the edges. The punishments, the firings, the school closings, the toxic testing–
The waivers took the heat off Congress to repeal NCLB. NCLB is a train-wreck. By removing the deadline, Congress can now tinker around the edges. The punishments, the firings, the school closings, the toxic testing–
Charter Schools Unionize
About 90% of the nation’s charter schools are non-union. The charter owners want it that way. It enables them to hire and fire at will and to make unreasonable demands on teachers, like a 9-hour or more work day. Some charters routinely expect teachers to work 50 or 60 hours a week. Unions get in the way of the owner’s control over the lives of teachers. Owners also like high turnover as they can constantly replenish their staff with those at
Do NCLB Waivers Offer Hope?
NCLB is a disaster. The absurd idea that 100% of all students would be proficient simply by testing them every year and firing their teachers and principals and closing their schools is now exposed as a great fantasy.
Do waivers help? Or are they just another way to fasten the federal noose and pave the way for privatization?
This reader reflects:
“As a mother, educator and someone who worked on a state waiver for NCLB, I often felt like I was doing the
Do waivers help? Or are they just another way to fasten the federal noose and pave the way for privatization?
This reader reflects:
“As a mother, educator and someone who worked on a state waiver for NCLB, I often felt like I was doing the
The Dehumanization of Education
As the politicians and bureaucrats debate how to recalibrate their ideas about reforming the nation’s schools, it’s a good time to read what a teacher wrote about what Washington is doing to them. Maybe some thoughtful person could enter this into the record of the NCLB hearings. Is there no one in Congress who hears the voices of educators? Why don’t they invite real teachers, real principals, and real superintendents to testify instead of DC think tanks and state commissioners?
Heather wrote the following:
I am a teacher because of the love I had for school. I loved my teachers. I loved having fun while learning. I loved the interaction with my peers. I felt safe and successful at school…even when I made mistakes.
Politics and non-educators have changed our schools. They have turned them into businesses focused only on numbers and status. They have taken away the human component. Instead of teachers focusing on the well-
Heather wrote the following:
I am a teacher because of the love I had for school. I loved my teachers. I loved having fun while learning. I loved the interaction with my peers. I felt safe and successful at school…even when I made mistakes.
Politics and non-educators have changed our schools. They have turned them into businesses focused only on numbers and status. They have taken away the human component. Instead of teachers focusing on the well-
Why You Should Not Teach to Tests
A reader shares her experience grading tests.
I am not a teacher, but I admire them. I attended public schools in CA in the 1950s. Our class size was around the 20′s. We were integrated. We did fine. I am absolutely opposed to standardized tests. I used to grade the old TX TAAS tests. I heard the comments about “Ghetto children.” I’ve worked for 2 testing companies and they
I am not a teacher, but I admire them. I attended public schools in CA in the 1950s. Our class size was around the 20′s. We were integrated. We did fine. I am absolutely opposed to standardized tests. I used to grade the old TX TAAS tests. I heard the comments about “Ghetto children.” I’ve worked for 2 testing companies and they
Friends of NCLB Quarrel Over Waivers
No child Left Behind is without question the most destructive, the most intrusive, and the most misguided federal education legislation in history.
It has undermined federalism and put the federal government in charge of very public school in the nation, a role unimagined when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965 or when the Department of
It has undermined federalism and put the federal government in charge of very public school in the nation, a role unimagined when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965 or when the Department of
Diane in the Evening 2-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog
Diane Ravitch's blog: Will This Historic School Live or Die? by dianerav Popout DWC High: How A School Can Teach Us All (Trailer) This is a preview of a new hour-long documentary about the fight to keep New York’s DeWitt Clinton High School alive. Based in the Bronx, home of the NY Yankees, “The Bronx Bombers” It has educated more than 200,000 students over a hundred years. It is now being faced with plans by “Educational Reformers” to scale it back in a threat to it’s tradition of excellence. Help us get the word out. See our Facebook page, Facebook.com/dwcfilm for how you can ... more »