Will Common Core Make Kids Smarter?
Arthur Goldstein teaches high school in Queens, New York. Many of his students are English language learners. He blogs at NYC Educator. His blog is one of the best in the nation.
He wrote the following for readers of this blog:
How Smart Will Common Core Make Our Kids?
Judging from the editorials in the papers, you’d think Common Core was the best thing since sliced bread. Actually, sliced bread is highly overrated, as anyone with fresh artisan bread and a good knife can attest.
The Daily News predicts over 60% of our kids could fail Common Core tests, and appears to see this as a good
He wrote the following for readers of this blog:
How Smart Will Common Core Make Our Kids?
Judging from the editorials in the papers, you’d think Common Core was the best thing since sliced bread. Actually, sliced bread is highly overrated, as anyone with fresh artisan bread and a good knife can attest.
The Daily News predicts over 60% of our kids could fail Common Core tests, and appears to see this as a good
Rahm and the Madness of Mayoral Control
Suppose you were mayor of Chicago and had complete control of the public schools.
Suppose one of your high schools had an outstanding record by any measure.
Suppose it had an excellent IB program.
Would it occur to you to make the entire school an IB school?
Would it occur to you to get rid of some of the veteran
Suppose one of your high schools had an outstanding record by any measure.
Suppose it had an excellent IB program.
Would it occur to you to make the entire school an IB school?
Would it occur to you to get rid of some of the veteran
“Education Drained of Its Humanity”
This thoughtful and provocative essay by Shawn Gude situates present-day corporate reform in its historical context. Gude shows the connections between early 20th century social efficiency and the present-day demand for testing, standardizing, and data-based decision-making.
Here is an excerpt:
“There’s a special resemblance between the struggles against scientific management, or Taylorism, and today’s teacher resistance to corporate reform schemes. Just as factory workers fought top-down dictates, deskilling, and the installation of anemic work processes, so too are teachers trying to prevent the undemocratic implementation of high-stakes testing and merit pay, assaults on professionalism, and the dumbing down and
Here is an excerpt:
“There’s a special resemblance between the struggles against scientific management, or Taylorism, and today’s teacher resistance to corporate reform schemes. Just as factory workers fought top-down dictates, deskilling, and the installation of anemic work processes, so too are teachers trying to prevent the undemocratic implementation of high-stakes testing and merit pay, assaults on professionalism, and the dumbing down and
Good Riddance! Cyber School in Virginia May Close
The K12 cyber charter in Virginia may close.
The school enrolled 350 students.
The county “hosting” the school decided it was too much of a bother, and only five students from the host county were enrolled.
There have been persistent questions about the quality of virtual charter schools, but their profitability has never been in doubt.
K12 will go looking for another partner or the governor will find another way for them to make a profit by providing inferior education to students in Virginia.
The school enrolled 350 students.
The county “hosting” the school decided it was too much of a bother, and only five students from the host county were enrolled.
There have been persistent questions about the quality of virtual charter schools, but their profitability has never been in doubt.
K12 will go looking for another partner or the governor will find another way for them to make a profit by providing inferior education to students in Virginia.
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Robert Shepherd: When Will We Ever Learn? by dianerav Robert Shepherd has long experience writing and editing textbooks and assessments. I appreciate his kind comments about my book, written in the 1990s, but also his recognition that “reforms” come and go with regularity. My comment: The current wave of phony reforms is the most destructive in the history of American education. He writes: “One of the reasons why I love Diane Ravitch’s brilliant Left Back: A Ce... more »