New Housing for TFA, Subsidized by Your Tax Dollars
The New York Times reports today about construction of new apartments in Philadelphia, meant specifically for teachers. The development is made possible by state and federal tax credits.
But not for any teacher. Not for the teachers who live in the community. Not for veteran teachers who have put their hearts into the community schools for 10-20 years. They already have a place to live.
No, these are below-market apartments built for Teach for America recruits, those great kids with five weeks of
But not for any teacher. Not for the teachers who live in the community. Not for veteran teachers who have put their hearts into the community schools for 10-20 years. They already have a place to live.
No, these are below-market apartments built for Teach for America recruits, those great kids with five weeks of
Open Letter to Secretary Duncan About Early Childhood Education
This was written by a teacher in Chicago:
An open letter to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan
Dear Secretary Duncan:
Children gleefully line blocks end to end on a rug measuring its area, two girls huddle over a water table experimenting with liquid capacity, and several students use clay making sculptures as well as refining their small motor skills – this is the picture of a preschool where any of us would want to send our children.
As an early childhood educator, I was thrilled to hear President Obama’s strong focus on preschool education in
An open letter to Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan
Dear Secretary Duncan:
Children gleefully line blocks end to end on a rug measuring its area, two girls huddle over a water table experimenting with liquid capacity, and several students use clay making sculptures as well as refining their small motor skills – this is the picture of a preschool where any of us would want to send our children.
As an early childhood educator, I was thrilled to hear President Obama’s strong focus on preschool education in
Zombie Federal Policies
Bill Gates is wrong. American education is not “broken.”
Federal education policy is broken.
Testing children until they cry is a bad idea. It is educational malpractice.
Basing teachers’ evaluation, their salary, and their tenure on student test scores is a bad idea. It doesn’t work. It is professional malpractice. The Gates Foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars trying to make it work. It doesn’t work. Arne Duncan has made it a cardinal principle of federal education policy. It doesn’t work.
Giving bonuses to teachers based on test scores is a failed idea. It has never worked. The U.S. Department of
Federal education policy is broken.
Testing children until they cry is a bad idea. It is educational malpractice.
Basing teachers’ evaluation, their salary, and their tenure on student test scores is a bad idea. It doesn’t work. It is professional malpractice. The Gates Foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars trying to make it work. It doesn’t work. Arne Duncan has made it a cardinal principle of federal education policy. It doesn’t work.
Giving bonuses to teachers based on test scores is a failed idea. It has never worked. The U.S. Department of
Hake’s Reading List on the Root Causes of Poor Academic Performance
Richard R. Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University, compiled the following reading list to help others understand the root causes of low academic performance:
Professor Hake writes:
“Penny” commented: ”We know that poorer (lower socioeconomic) students tend to do poorer in school. How
Professor Hake writes:
“Penny” commented: ”We know that poorer (lower socioeconomic) students tend to do poorer in school. How
Who Needs Kant?
Diana Senechal has written a parody of higher education today.
This is a college philosophy class in which the reading of Kant has been replaced with clickers for answering multiple-choice questions.
I have to give satire alerts because education policy has become so wacky that almost anything may seem real.
When the ideas from our leaders get so bizarre, parody becomes difficult.
This is a college philosophy class in which the reading of Kant has been replaced with clickers for answering multiple-choice questions.
I have to give satire alerts because education policy has become so wacky that almost anything may seem real.
When the ideas from our leaders get so bizarre, parody becomes difficult.
Deconstructing The Legend of BASIS Charter Schools
David Safier is a great blogger in Arizona who has his hands full trying to keep up with the myth-making of the charter industry in his state.
In this column, he dissects the eg end of the BASIS charters. Their backers spin the story that high standards produces miraculous results that every school could match if it copied the BASIS mdl, but the reality is something else.
As Safier writes, “An obscenely well funded coalition of organizations exists to sing the praises of schools like BASIS as part of their continuing efforts to push their privatization agenda.
BASIS schools begin with a reasonably high achieving group of 6th grade students (recently they added a 5th
In this column, he dissects the eg end of the BASIS charters. Their backers spin the story that high standards produces miraculous results that every school could match if it copied the BASIS mdl, but the reality is something else.
As Safier writes, “An obscenely well funded coalition of organizations exists to sing the praises of schools like BASIS as part of their continuing efforts to push their privatization agenda.
BASIS schools begin with a reasonably high achieving group of 6th grade students (recently they added a 5th
Diane in the Evening 5-4-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: High-Stakes Testing of Students in Special Education by dianerav Louise Marr sent this from her book: **********£******* “Every spring, the Philadelphia public school students take the standardized tests, or PSSAs. (Starting in 2013, the district has switched to a different test called the Keystone Exams.) These tests are a huge part of how schools are evaluated and rated. It is from these scores that Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) is determined. There is a big push to prepare the eleventh graders for the tests fr... more »
