Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero? The Larger Issues
Edward Snowden, as everyone knows by now, is the 29-year-old man who leaked secrets about our government’s surveillance of phone calls and emails. I don’t know if he is a traitor or hero or something else, but I do think that his revelations raise concerns for all of us.
As we realize by now, government and private-sector activities are dedicated to the amassing of Big Data that includes everything we do. Government is doing this, its defenders say, to protect us against terrorism. Business is mining Big Data to sell things to us. The more they know about us, the better they can develop and market their products to us.
All of this becomes relevant to educators and parents because efforts are underway to assemble a national
As we realize by now, government and private-sector activities are dedicated to the amassing of Big Data that includes everything we do. Government is doing this, its defenders say, to protect us against terrorism. Business is mining Big Data to sell things to us. The more they know about us, the better they can develop and market their products to us.
All of this becomes relevant to educators and parents because efforts are underway to assemble a national
Extremist North Carolina House Approves $50 Million for Vouchers
Despite last minute efforts to derail vouchers, the North Carolina House appropriations committee approved a budget with $50 million for vouchers. The money would be taken away from the state’s underfunded public schools. North Carolina presently ranks 48th in the nation in supporting its public schools. Some Republican legislators from rural districts pointed out that there are no private schools in their districts, but their concerns were dismissed.
As usual, the vouchers are euphemistically called “opportunity scholarships.”
As usual, the vouchers are euphemistically called “opportunity scholarships.”
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-11-13 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] Notes from a Teacher in Syracuse by dianerav A teacher sent this commentary about what’s happening in her city of Syracuse, New York. She writes: “As part of the teacher evaluation in Syracuse, our lovely union negotiated a student survey which would count as 6% of our evaluation. It’s called the Tripod survey, but I don’t know what that means. I’ve attached the directions we were given, which includes the questions for grades K-2. They have 40 questions, and when... more »