Who Put the State Education Departments in Charge?
American education has always been characterized by the principle of federalism–until now.
Federalism meant a careful balancing among districts, states, and the federal governments. Schools had a fair amount of autonomy within that framework.
The federal government role was to level the playing field by providing resources for the schools with large number of poor kids. The state set general guidelines and supported the work of the schools. The districts oversaw their schools.
All that changed with NCLB. Now the federal government controls every school, tells it how to “reform,” punishes
Federalism meant a careful balancing among districts, states, and the federal governments. Schools had a fair amount of autonomy within that framework.
The federal government role was to level the playing field by providing resources for the schools with large number of poor kids. The state set general guidelines and supported the work of the schools. The districts oversaw their schools.
All that changed with NCLB. Now the federal government controls every school, tells it how to “reform,” punishes
How StudentsFirst Turns Facts into Myths
Matthew Di Carlo dissects the latest effort by Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst to sell the idea that evaluating teachers by test scores is accurate, unbiased, and necessary.
Di Carlo analyzes the “myths” and discovers that some of them are facts.
This is embarrassing. Rhee really needs to hire a competent research department.
Di Carlo analyzes the “myths” and discovers that some of them are facts.
This is embarrassing. Rhee really needs to hire a competent research department.
California Charter Founders Convicted of Embezzlement
The founders of Ivy Academia in the San Fernando Valley in California were convicted of embezzlement and a variety of other charges stemming from their use of $200,000 in school funds for personal expenses.
From the LA Times:
“”This message is going to resonate throughout the charter school community,” said prosecutor Sandi Roth. “You can’t spend the charter school funds for anything you want. It has to be money spent on the kids and the
From the LA Times:
“”This message is going to resonate throughout the charter school community,” said prosecutor Sandi Roth. “You can’t spend the charter school funds for anything you want. It has to be money spent on the kids and the
A Dallas School Board Member Joins the Honor Roll
When I went to Austin for the Save Texas Schools rally, I also participated in a panel discussion about school reform at the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas. There I met Carla Ranger, a member of the Dallas school board.
As I listened to her speak, I was overwhelmed with admiration for this independent, smart, wise, courageous, and principled supporter of public education and children. At some point in the discussion, I said out loud, “Carla
As I listened to her speak, I was overwhelmed with admiration for this independent, smart, wise, courageous, and principled supporter of public education and children. At some point in the discussion, I said out loud, “Carla
Guess Who Knows How to Close the Achievement Gap?
This just arrived in my email. An advertisement for Pearson’s virtual charter business, Connections.
Proven Virtual and Blended Learning
Do you need to close achievement gaps within your district? Do you need to reduce costs on instructional and technology solutions? Are you searching for a solution to help you meet the Common Core State Standards?
CONNECTIONS LEARNING by Pearson can help. Let’s connect at the NSBA Conference so you can learn how Connections Learning can support your blended |
The Educational Marketing Game
A reader offers this comment about the education marketplace:
Better and cheaper aren’t even issues in the disruptive Educational marketing game. Only profit matters. Especially if you capture regulatory control, you can degrade quality to reduce cost, then mandate public funding to maximize profits. There’s no public sector, and no free market, to stop you.
I’ll quote again from Farrell:
“Christensen’s theory of innovation showed how “true revolutions occur, creating new markets and wreaking havoc within industries. Think: the PC, the MP3, the transistor radio.”
The wheel is still spinning on applications of internet and satellite “technology” in education. I’m a visionary and
Better and cheaper aren’t even issues in the disruptive Educational marketing game. Only profit matters. Especially if you capture regulatory control, you can degrade quality to reduce cost, then mandate public funding to maximize profits. There’s no public sector, and no free market, to stop you.
I’ll quote again from Farrell:
“Christensen’s theory of innovation showed how “true revolutions occur, creating new markets and wreaking havoc within industries. Think: the PC, the MP3, the transistor radio.”
The wheel is still spinning on applications of internet and satellite “technology” in education. I’m a visionary and
Why Support Public Schools?
An excerpt from a comment by LG:
“Public schools are the last bastion of our American public culture. Without them, those with the privilege of being born into better economic situations will eventually be the only ones who would be educated. Taken to its end, that kind of trend would set us back to the days where a noble class enjoyed privileges and the peasants were kept ignorant. If you think our schools are broken, please tell me how they are without injecting the rhetoric of individuals vs. communities. We have individual choices in this country. We also have communities to
“Public schools are the last bastion of our American public culture. Without them, those with the privilege of being born into better economic situations will eventually be the only ones who would be educated. Taken to its end, that kind of trend would set us back to the days where a noble class enjoyed privileges and the peasants were kept ignorant. If you think our schools are broken, please tell me how they are without injecting the rhetoric of individuals vs. communities. We have individual choices in this country. We also have communities to
New York Teacher: “I Quit”
Gerald J. Conti’s eloquent, passionate letter of resignation ignited public discussion in Syracuse about the toxic, malicious changes now imposed on our public schools by federal and state policy. Private schools treasure dedicated, experienced teachers like Mr. Conti. But reformers insist on taking all autonomy out of their hands; standardizing their work; giving them a script; making sure they are doing precisely what all other teachers in the same classes are doing. He thinks of himself as a professional, and he can no longer bear to work in an environment that demeans and diminishes his professionalism.
New York State cannot afford to lose teachers like Mr. Conti. Let us hope that the tide will turn before we lose more.
Help his letter go viral. Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. Send it to your superintendent. Send it to the Gates
New York State cannot afford to lose teachers like Mr. Conti. Let us hope that the tide will turn before we lose more.
Help his letter go viral. Post it on Facebook. Tweet it. Send it to your superintendent. Send it to the Gates
Diane in the Evening 4-7-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: History Is Written by the Winners by dianerav As the adage goes, history is written by the winners. Today, in the United States, it is written by and for the 1%. Or is it the .0001 percent? How important is it for all fifth-graders in the state of Tennessee to know these names? A reader writes: “Bill Gates & Sam Walton just wrote themselves write Indiana: Stop Voucher Expansion by dianerav In Indiana, new legislation would offer vouchers to children who never attended a public school. This eliminates the ficti... more »
