Anthony Cody: Can We Trust Bill Gates?
Anthony Cody read Bill Gates’ article in the Washington Post, in which he said it is time to reduce the emphasis on high-stakes testing.
Anthony wondered if Gates means it.
Anthony writes:
“No one in America has done more to promote the raising of stakes for test scores in education than Bill Gates….You can read his words…, but his actions have spoken so much more loudly, that I cannot even make sense out of what he is attempting to say now. So let’s focus first on what Bill Gates has wrought.”
Anthony wondered if Gates means it.
Anthony writes:
“No one in America has done more to promote the raising of stakes for test scores in education than Bill Gates….You can read his words…, but his actions have spoken so much more loudly, that I cannot even make sense out of what he is attempting to say now. So let’s focus first on what Bill Gates has wrought.”
A Brilliant Analysis of the Failed, Punitive Ideas Called “Reform”
Believe it or not, the Chicago Tribune published one of the best articles I have read about the disaster that is called education “reform,” but in fact is education destruction.
I say, believe it or not, because the Tribune has been one of the nation’s loudest cheerleaders for the policies that this column decries.
Robert C. Koehler is a syndicated columnist, not an education specialist, but he sees clearly the damage that the education destruction movement–NCLB and Race to the Top–is doing to students and our society.
His column is titled “The Warping of Public Education.”
He writes:
“…high-stakes testing, in tandem with “zero tolerance,” militarized security and sadistic underfunding, has
I say, believe it or not, because the Tribune has been one of the nation’s loudest cheerleaders for the policies that this column decries.
Robert C. Koehler is a syndicated columnist, not an education specialist, but he sees clearly the damage that the education destruction movement–NCLB and Race to the Top–is doing to students and our society.
His column is titled “The Warping of Public Education.”
He writes:
“…high-stakes testing, in tandem with “zero tolerance,” militarized security and sadistic underfunding, has
Atlanta’s Lessons for Reformers
This smart blogger read all the investigators’ reports from the Atlanta cheating scandal.
He or she realized that Atlanta was doing everything that reformers say is important.
The educators there were focusing on test scores above all else.
The teachers who got higher scores got bonuses and those who did not, got humiliated.
Incentivizing the workforce, yes?
The teachers had no tenure, so whistleblowers had no job protection and were easily fired.
The blogger writes: “So what rank-and-yank, cash incentives, all that leadership, and high expectations got
He or she realized that Atlanta was doing everything that reformers say is important.
The educators there were focusing on test scores above all else.
The teachers who got higher scores got bonuses and those who did not, got humiliated.
Incentivizing the workforce, yes?
The teachers had no tenure, so whistleblowers had no job protection and were easily fired.
The blogger writes: “So what rank-and-yank, cash incentives, all that leadership, and high expectations got
“I Cannot Live Without…”
Thomas Jefferson famously said in a letter to John Adams in 1815, “I cannot live without books.” (Ever the worker bee, he added, “but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object.”)
Neither can I. Yes, yes, I know we are supposed to read everything online, download books, and so forth, but I have a problem with that. When I use my Kindle, I turn the page and find that I have turned 40 or 80 pages, and I can’t get back to the place I left off.
But it’s more than the bother of learning a new technology that is a problem for me.
I like the feel of books in my hands. I like to mark the books I own. I underline phrases and sentences. I put
Neither can I. Yes, yes, I know we are supposed to read everything online, download books, and so forth, but I have a problem with that. When I use my Kindle, I turn the page and find that I have turned 40 or 80 pages, and I can’t get back to the place I left off.
But it’s more than the bother of learning a new technology that is a problem for me.
I like the feel of books in my hands. I like to mark the books I own. I underline phrases and sentences. I put
Indiana’s Zombie Schools
Back in the early 1990s, when the charter school idea first began to spread, there was a simple way of explaining the concept. The charter schools would be accountable for results. If they didn’t get the results, they would close. Period. The deal was called “accountability in exchange for results.” Advocates said it was impossible to close a public school that didn’t get results, but it would be easy to close a charter school.
This is not the way things are working out.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced the closing of 54 public schools in Chicago. Mayor Bloomberg has closed well over 100 public schools. Parents, students, and teachers have objected loudly, but they are routinely
This is not the way things are working out.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced the closing of 54 public schools in Chicago. Mayor Bloomberg has closed well over 100 public schools. Parents, students, and teachers have objected loudly, but they are routinely
The Missing Jeb Bush Link
Yesterday, I published a post about how critics were raising questions about Jeb Bush’s financial ties to certain corporations.
I linked to an article in the Tampa Tribune. However, the link was dead. The article had disappeared.
A reader found it. Not on the Tampa Tribune website but here, where it has been preserved for readers. A testament to a free society.
I linked to an article in the Tampa Tribune. However, the link was dead. The article had disappeared.
A reader found it. Not on the Tampa Tribune website but here, where it has been preserved for readers. A testament to a free society.
Louisiana: Trust Me with Your Child’s Privacy Rights
Crazy Crawfish has a devastating critique of Louisiana’s plan to turn over confidential student data to inBloom, the company created by Gates and Rupert Murdoch to assemble a vast database for vendors.
Superintendent John White sent out a letter to county superintendents, trying to assure them that there is nothing unususl or invidious about outsourcing private student data to a national database.
Crazy Crawfish used to work in the state department of education. He gives a line by line of John White’s little white lies.
Superintendent John White sent out a letter to county superintendents, trying to assure them that there is nothing unususl or invidious about outsourcing private student data to a national database.
Crazy Crawfish used to work in the state department of education. He gives a line by line of John White’s little white lies.
Florida House Passes Corporation Enrichment Bill
The education industry won another battle in Florida, defeating solid opposition from every parent organization in the state.
The Florida House of Representatives passed a “parent trigger” bill, allowing unsuspecting parents to turn their public school over to one of the charter corporations that have–shall we say– undue influence in the legislature.
This is a big win for Jeb Bush, Michelle Rhee, and so-called Parent Revolution, funded by the Waltons, the Gates, the Broads. Parents like us. Regular folks.
The only consolation in this sordid affair is that parents are not stupid. The parent trigger was passed in
The Florida House of Representatives passed a “parent trigger” bill, allowing unsuspecting parents to turn their public school over to one of the charter corporations that have–shall we say– undue influence in the legislature.
This is a big win for Jeb Bush, Michelle Rhee, and so-called Parent Revolution, funded by the Waltons, the Gates, the Broads. Parents like us. Regular folks.
The only consolation in this sordid affair is that parents are not stupid. The parent trigger was passed in
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Special Diane in DC 4-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: *Diane Ravitch* 3h *In DC with Ceresta Smith of Florida and Karran Harper Royal of Néw Orleans *pic.twitter.com/VlEamGq441 More: Texas Legislature Turns Down Vouchers by dianerav Read here for first summary. Will post again when new stories available. Breaking News: Vouchers Fail in Texas! by dianerav Wayne Slater, senior political writer for the Dallas Morning News, tweeted this: @WayneSlater Put a fork in school vouchers in Texas — ban on taxpayer money for private schools passes overwhelming in conservative ... more »