Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, June 1, 2013

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-1-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch


On Common Core: The Leading Groups Are Wrong Again

Yesterday I posted a statement endorsed by leading education organizations that endorsed the Common Core but called for more time to implement the new standards.
##############
This reader disagrees. The reader commented:
“The joint statement issued by the National School Boards Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principles, and the American Association of 

“Parent Trigger” Sets Parents Against Parents in Los Angeles

It has been three years since the passage of “parent trigger” legislation in California, and the law has produced nothing but strife among parents, teachers, and administrators. Corporate reformers backed by billionaires like to say that “kids can’t wait,” but the hostile “trigger” creates strife and the illusion of change, not better schools.
Good schools have a strong collaborative spirit among administrators, teachers, parents, and students. All work together towards a common goal of educating the children. Whatever strengthens the spirit of teamwork strengthens the school and builds its capacity.
The “parent trigger” by definition is a hostile act. It creates division and conflict. It sets parents against parents. It 

Almost a Debate Between Rhee and Me

I have never debated Michelle Rhee.
I am ready and willing whenever she is.
At a panel discussion convened by Henry Louis Gates Jr. at Martha’s Vineyard in 2011, Michelle and I were on the same panel.
I arrived a day early, knowing how beautiful Edgartown is. Michelle arrived literally one minute before the panel started. She flew in from Florida, after speaking to an event on behalf of the for-profit charter operator Charter 

Shame on TIME for Supporting Rahm’s School Closures

TIME magazine put Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on its cover and praised him as a new kind of “pragmatic” Democrat, the kind that busts unions, ignores parents, and cultivates the approval of the business community. That is certainly a ne kind of Democrat.
For a critique of TIME’s fawning coverage, read the article by Peter Hart of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting).
This is my favorite part of Hart’s critique, which shows the blatant bias in the magazine’s coverage:

Teacher: Why I Oppose Merit Pay

Merit pay is a zombie idea. It fails and fails and fails again, but legislators just want more of it.
This teacher explains why he doesn’t want it.
There are many reasons to oppose merit pay.
1. It doesn’t work. It failed just in the past few years in Nashville, where the bonus for higher scores was $15,000. It failed in New York City, it failed in Chicago.
2. It has never worked. It has been tried and failed repeatedly for nearly 100 years.
3. Modern social science says that it will never work, that when you pay people a bonus to do what they want to 

Diane in the Evening 5-31-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Leading National Groups Support Common Core But Insist on Better Implementation by dianerav A joint statement by the American Association of School Administrators, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National School Boards Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals expressed support for the Common Core standards, but called for more time to prepare teachers, students, and schools for the new standards. Their polling showed growing concern about lack of reso... more »