Diane Ravitch's blog
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DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG
Kevin Huffman Shows His Contempt for Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 minutes ago
State Commissioner Kevin Huffman persuaded the Tennessee State board of Education that teachers should not be paid more for advanced degrees. The state board agreed that less education is better than more. Tennessee doesn’t want teachers to be too educated. They might ask too many questions. Dumb is good in Tennessee.
This Teacher Chose to Be Arrested
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago
Do you want to know what it really means to put students first? It doesn’t mean making millions of dollars to promote privatization. It doesn’t mean speaking to corporate titans. It doesn’t mean fighting to strip teachers of all rights and privileges. This is what it means. It means joining the Moral Monday protests in […]
Today is the Day! 5 Million Page Views on This Blog
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 16 hours ago
Today, the blog recorded 5 million page views! The blog started April 24, 2012. That’s about 14 months ago. Wow. As you know, the blog has no advertisements, no funding, and no staff. Just me. I plan to keep it that way. Thank you for making the blog a place where everyone who cares about […]
How Kevin Huffman Will Cut Teacher Salaries
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 16 hours ago
In his relentless effort to raise teacher quality in Tennessee, Kevin Huffman will cut the salaries of most new teachers. The ax will fall most heavily on teachers who get an advanced degree. You see, the way to improve teacher quality is to remove any incentive for additional education. If it can’t raise test scores, […]
NCTQ Report: Time for a Class Action Lawsuit?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 18 hours ago
A reader in Wisconsin is outraged. I can’t blame her. Should anyone with a degree be allowed to teach? Is professional education worthless? Scott Walker thinks so. So will others who read the NCTQ report, which graded teacher education with an F without bothering to visit any of the institutions it graded so harshly. This […]
Linda Darling-Hammond Responds to NCTQ
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University wrote a critique of the National Council on Teacher Quality report on teacher preparation, and the NCTQ responded to her critique. Here Linda Darling-Hammond responds to NCTQ: In my blog about the recent NCTQ teacher preparation report, I identified errors in their program reviews — a few examples of […]
How to Get Very, Very Rich While Providing Poor Services
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 20 hours ago
This is a story about a private contractor who figured out how to make big money: open a center to diagnose and treat preschoolers with disabilities. The state of New York pays for everything, and no one pays much attention to the quality of the services. The state pays for your beautiful new building and […]
Teacher: How to Stop the Teacher-Bashing
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
A teacher responded to Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, who has proposed a new salary plan for teachers that reduces their pay. “I propose a national Day without a Teacher.”
This Is What Real Reform Looks Like
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Today, the Indiana Department of Education announced that it is suing the corporation that administered the state tests and experienced massive computer breakdowns. Wow. We are used to seeing a cozy relationship between state departments and testing companies, who ply them with expensive vacations to conferences in exotic locales and hire lobbyists to cozy up […]
Duncan Taps Charter Executive as His Chief of Staff
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago
Arne Duncan has never disguised his preference for privately-managed charter schools over public schools. He especially favors “no excuses” schools. So it is not surprising that–according to Joy Resmovits at the Huffington Post, he has invited Emma Vadehra, the chief of staff of Uncommon Schools, which is known for its rigid discipline and high suspension rates, […]
L.A.: Why the School Board President Tried to Silence UTLA President
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
A reader who attended the recent Los Angeles school board meeting noticed the effort by a board member to prevent Warren Fletcher, president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, from speaking. The sequence is fascinating and well worth reading (and watching). If you really want to see, in action, Board Member Tamar Galatzan’s […]
L.A.: The Context for Steve Zimmer’s Defense of Class Size Reduction
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 23 hours ago
Last night I blogged about the recent meeting of the LAUSD school board and pointed out Steve Zimmer’s eloquent defense of class size limits. The high point of his six-minute statement was when he compared the class sizes in L.A. public schools–40 or more–with the class sizes in local charter schools, which boast of 20 […]
Kevin Huffman: Cut Teachers’ Pay to Improve Profession
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Kevin Huffman is one of those Teach for America alums who is changing the face of public education in America. He is an advocate for privately managed charter and for vouchers, which will hasten the privation of public education. And he wants to change the teaching profession, of course, so he proposes to cut teachers’ […]
John Merrow: “Is Michelle Rhee a Fraud?”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
John Merrow encountered a woman at an event at the Harvard Club who thanked him for exposing Michelle Rhee as a fraud and congratulated him for his “one-man crusade.” Merrow quickly demurred. It was no “one-man crusade,” he said. He pointed out that there was a sizable contingent of highly experienced and much-honored reporters who […]
Major Rally Today in Chicago to Protest Budget Cuts
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
There seems to be no end to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s war against the children and public schools of Chicago. -MEDIA EVENT: FRIDAY, JUNE 21st, 10:00 a.m.- Parents, Students and Education Advocates Express Outrage Over School Funding Raise Your Hand to Reveal School by School Breakdown totaling $74 million in cuts at 100 […]
Did You Ever Expect to Hear Eloquence at a School Board Meeting?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Steve Zimmer, the school board member who beat back a multi-million dollar campaign to defeat him just a few months ago, spoke to his fellow members of the Los Angeles school board at their meeting yesterday. He talked about the importance of class size. He demolished the claim that teachers want to reduce class size […]
Parent to LAUSD School Board: Please Protect Us with Fairness
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This is testimony delivered by a parent to the Los Angeles school board, as they debated whether to create new rules governing the “parent trigger” takeover process. She asked the school board to guarantee a fair process that protects parents against manipulation and exploitation. This is what she said: Hello, My name is […]
L.A. Parents Score Big Victory Over pRev at Board Meeting
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Los Angeles parent Karen Wolfe here recounts the hilarious showdown at the meeting of the LAUSD school board between real parents and the organizers from Parent Revolution. The subject at issue was whether the board would assure an open, transparent, public process when some outside group (ahem) seeks to gather signatures to seize control of […]
South Carolina Will Adopt Privatization Strategy
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Public education in South Carolina, already suffering because of underfunding and intensely segregated schools in some districts, will sustain another blow. The privatization movement claims another victory. Now parents will be able to get a tax-credit when they send their children to little religious academies where the teachers are uncertified and the curriculum is Bible-based. […]
Alan Singer: Why Did Newsday Defame Teachers?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Alan Singer points out that instances of verified cheating are extremely rare. Newsday identified 36 cases in a 10-year period on Long Island in New York. He flips the narrative and says that teachers did not cheat 99.99999% of the time. The media misses the point. The problem with high-stakes testing is not cheating, which […]
Yes, There Is Hope for Change in Florida
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This reader says that there is a growing move to push back against Jeb Bush’s disastrous reforms. Twice, the state’s parent activists have defeated the efforts of Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee to pass a “parent trigger.” Why would parents join to defeat “parent empowerment”? They knew that the parent trigger was a corporate reform […]
Teacher Educator: How to Respond to the NCTQ Report
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
This advice was received as a comment, and it is directed to others in teacher education programs. This teacher educator from one of the California State universities writes: In reading each of your own campus reports, you are already well aware of how inaccurate the NCTQ “findings” are. In reading the report in full, I […]
Michigan: How to Destroy Communities
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
I was tempted to call this post “the outrage of the day.” It is hard to read it without a sense of blood-boiling rage. It was written by Stacy Erwin Oakes, a Democratic legislator from Saginaw. Governor Rick Snyder wants to eliminate public education. He wants a state where every family shops for an education […]
Philadelphia: Blame Teachers First Is a Bad Strategy
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Philadelphia, which has been under state control for a dozen years, has a massive deficit. Governor Corbettt imposed draconian budget cuts when he took office. The state’s solution to Philadelphia’s fiscal crisis: strip the schools bare. Lay off thousands of teachers, gut the arts and sports, libraries and guidance counselors. This hurts students. Which suburb […]
Anthony Cody: Things That Money Can’t Buy
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
Anthony Cody has a piece of good advice for Bill Gates: You can’t buy the respect of teachers. You have to earn it. You have spent hundreds of millions of dollars coercing teachers to do what you want. Teachers know that you know less about teaching than they do. And they are tired of having […]
Arne Offers More Time for Everyone to Get on Board Common Core Express
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago
To prove that he is definitely not over-reaching, definitely not telling states what to do, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is giving states more time to meet his deadlines to tie Common Core test results to teacher evaluation. He is apparently responding to Randi Weingarten’s request to postpone “high stakes” until teachers have curriculum and […]
Republicans in NC Step Up Their War Against Public Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Far-right Governor Pat McCrory has brought in an aggressive leader for his strategy to privatize public education and dismantle the teaching profession. That is Eric Guckian, the governor’s tip advisor on demolishing–re, transforming –North Carolina’s education system. Guckian is a TFA alum with long experience in the corporate reform movement. He wants “an aggressive K-12charter […]
G.F. Brandenburg Transcribes Gary’s Wit
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I am still waiting for Gary Rubinstein to post his brilliant and funny speech last night at the Skinny awards in Néw York City. These awards are conferred by Class Size Matters, the city’s leading voice for public education. Fortunately, that great blogger G. F. Brandenburg transcribed Gary’s remarks here. It is, as you will […]
An Amazing Website: Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
This is an astonishingly moving and candid website where teachers write a personal letter to Bill Gates, explaining how his ideas and policies have influenced their lives and classrooms. Add your own experience if Bill Gates has changed your life too.
Publisher Is Not a Funder of Pro-Voucher PennCAN
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Here is a correction I just received. Please read the article, especially the correction at the end, which says: Correction: We initially reported that Robert J. Hall, publisher at Interstate General Media, parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com, was a PennCAN funder. The PennCAN funder appears to be a different Robert. […]
Breaking News: Secret Penn. Poll funded by Pro-Voucher Group PennCAN
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
An earlier post described a secret GOP poll that acknowledges Governor Corbett’s weakness and recommends that he could gain popularity by attacking the Philadelphia teachers’ union. The strategy is that he can portray himself as a “leader” and “reformer” trying to solve the Philadelphia fiscal disaster by blaming the union. New documents reveal that the […]
Secret Poll Urges Pa. Governor to Attack Philly Union to Improve His Image
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
A secret poll conducted on behalf of the Pennsylvania Republican Party found that Governor Tom Corbett is highly unpopular and likely to lose to his Democratic challenger. Corbett’s biggest vulnerability is on education issues, which voters of both parties consider important. The poll recommends that the governor can improve his image on education issues by […]
Latest News from the National Alliance for Charter Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
I thought readers might be interested in reading the latest update from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. As you will see, they are about to have a big national conference. The newsletter comes from Nina Rees. Nina has a long history as a reformer: she worked as a domestic policy advisor to Vice […]
This Is a Great Organization, Good Video (Link Fixed, I Hope!)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
The National Opportunity to Learn Campaign is funded largely by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. Schott is one of the few national organizations that supports public education, not privatization. This is a good video that it funded. Takes only a minute to watch.
NSBA: Dems Support Federal Control of Education
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
On a party-line vote, Democrats on the Senate committee reported out a bill that expands the role of the federal government in education and makes the Secretary of Education the national superintendent of schools. The National School Boards Association describes the legislation here, which NSBA opposes. Summary of Senate HELP Mark-up of the Strengthening America’s […]
Massachusetts: Will Common Core Dumb Down Our Students?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Tom Birmingham was president of the State Senate in 1993 when the state passed its landmark education reforms. From those reforms came a historic new investment in public education and new standards and assessments. Today, Massachusetts leads the nation on NAEP at both grades four and eight in reading and math. However, the state abandoned […]
“A Danger to National Security: Mainstream Education Reporting”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Last night, I attended the 5th annual Skinny awards, hosted by Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters. A large and enthusiastic crowd cheered this year’s winners: teacher bloggers Gary Rubinstein and Arthur Goldstein. Gary Rubinstein teaches at Stuyvesant High School. He was honored as a great blogger, with special mention of his deconstruction and demolition […]
Good News from Florida (Sort Of)
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
Florida has an unusually nutty teacher evaluation program. Jeb Bush and Bill Gates determined some years ago that teachers cause low test scores, so the way to fix education is to fire teachers who don’t get high test scores from their students. There was this little problem: most teachers teach non-tested subjects. So Florida addressed […]
Is the Common Core “Literary Kudzu” or an “Empty Suit”?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
In this post, Bill Korach calls Common Core an empty suit and Will Fitzhugh describes it as literary kudzu. Korach writes: “Remember when standards actually expected students to learn something like: “Why did the German’s decision in WWI to launch unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping, cause America to enter the war against the Germans?” […]
EduShyster Offers Free Career Advice for Those Who Want an Excellent Job
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 days ago
EduShyster offers free career advice to those who worry about being unprepared for the new economy or being fired. She takes her cues from the New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. The first tip is to make a point of rooming with Tom’s daughter at Harvard. The second tip is to learn who Kanye West […]
Mark NAISON on the New BTA: Yes, You Too Can Join
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Several people wrote to say that membership in the highly distinguished Badass Teachers Association was closed, that they applied and were turned down. This seemed unlikely to me, given the group’s desire to spread, so I contacted its founder Mark NAISON and asked him if there was a glitch. I also asked him if he […]
Ohio Charters Spend More on Administration than Public Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
One of the claims of charter advocates is that could supply better education for less money. These claims have not panned out. When charters enroll the same kids, they usually get the same results. Charters range in quality across a wide span, and some achieve “success” by high rates of attrition or excluding difficult kids. […]
Michael Feuer: The Flaws of the NCTQ Report
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Some in the mainstream media have given credence to the report of the National Council on Teacher Quality about teacher preparation. They should have talked to some of the institutions that were graded before venturing an opinion. In this post, Dean Michael Feuer of the George Washington University School of Education explains how far wrong […]
Robert Skeels Attends a pRev Meet and Greet
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Robert Skeels attended a “meet and greet” sponsored by pRev (the organization formerly known as Parent Revolution). Read what he learned as he socialized with those who are prepared to close down 50 public schools in Los Angeles. Why? Well, firing people makes better schools. Or does it?
The New BTA Association: Are You One?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
I received the following communication and think it will appeal to some readers of this blog. Your move. Dr. Ravitch – Dr. Mark Naison began a Facebook page as a “joke” a few weeks ago of Teachers he felt were “badasses” in fighting corporate reform. He invited me to join right away I did. […]
Linda Darling-Hammond on the NCTQ Report
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University is one of the nation’s leading experts on teacher preparation. This is her commentary on the report released by the National Council on Teacher Quality, which attempts to rate the quality of the nation’s colleges of education by reviewing their catalogues and course syllabi. What Can We Learn about Teacher […]
That NCTQ Report on Teacher Education: F
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
The just-released NCTQ report on teacher education gives an F to the nation’s colleges of education. It was published in association with U.S. News & World Report. But the report itself deserves an F. To begin with, there are professional associations that rate the nation’s education schools, based on site visits and clear criteria. NCTQ […]
Hillsborough County: A Culture of Fear
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
Many years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that students have First Amendment rights. In 1969, in a decision called Tinker V. Des Moines Community School District, the High Court voted 7-2 that the school could not prevent students from wearing black armbands to protest the war in Vietnam. Hillsborough County, Florida, never heard of […]
How Pennsylvania Betrayed Its Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 3 days ago
This commentary was written by a retired superintendent of schools. Pennsylvania’s Tragic Betrayal of its Public Schools By Joseph Batory, Former Superintendent of Schools, Upper Darby School District, Drexel Hill, PA With regard to the inadequate funding of Philadelphia Public Schools, the city’s politicians have been and continue to lacking in political courage and moral […]
Michael Weston: Teacher Evaluation Will Not Change the BIG Problem
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Michal Weston, a teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida (at least for now), is running for the local school board. Regular readers know that he was recently fired by his principal for speaking out too much. Since Hillsborough County was one of the few that received a big Gates grant, it is heretical to question the […]
Major Rally in Harrisburg, Pa., on June 25
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A new groups called GPS (Great Public Schools) Pittsburgh plans a major rally at the state Capitol in Harrisburg to demand adequate funding for public education across the Keystone State. The state funds low-performing cyber charters and expands the number of privately managed schools that perform no better than public schools. Meanwhile the lights are […]
NY Commissioner King Will Speak at Gulen Charter Graduation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
New York State Commissioner of Education will speak at the graduation ceremonies of a charter school in Syracuse affiliated with the Gulen network. King himself came out of the charter sector, so his favoritism towards charters is not surprising. The Gulen network is the largest charter chain in the nation. It is allied with a […]
What Is the Role of Profit in School Reform?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Ken Previti, a retired teacher, has been watching the evolution of school “reform,” and he wonders when the public will catch on to the schemes and fear-mongering. What is it all about? Sell-sell-sell. Just doing what business does. Monetizing the children.
Parent Revolution Creates a “Truth Site” to Debunk Me
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Parent Revolution, funded with millions of dollars by the Walton Family Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Broad Foundation, has decided to create a “truth site.” The story says: “The site’s initial focus will be on attempting to debunk claims made by NYU education historianDiane Ravitch, who earlier this month quasi-apologized for calling Parent Revolution […]
Jan Resseger on Absurdity of Ohio VAM
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
This just in from an advocate for children who live in poverty: This week the Cleveland Plain Dealer has a new series, “Grading the Teachers.” It is basically an endorsement of the new Ohio Value Added Measures (VAM) program by which teachers will be rated. Scores are being made available on-line. Ohio’s VAM formula, according […]
How the Bloomberg DOE Kills Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
The Bloomberg administration loves small schools. Conversely, it hates large schools, especially large high schools. The city used to have dozens of large high schools, some of which had a storied history. Now few remain. One that was slated to close last year was Long Island City High School, but it was saved by a […]
EduShyster: Are You a Koppitalist?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
As Teach for America expands into a global marketplace, EduShyster compares Koppitalism to Late Capitalism. What do they have in common? How hard is it to bring Excellence to everyone in the world?
Reader: How to Describe Corporate Reform in Plain English
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader commented on an earlier discussion with these thoughts: *************************************************************************** “”Does anyone else feel like we are basically being ignored?” – 2old2tch While I applaud the sentiment and aspirations of this letter I am saddened with the weak tea rhetoric and carefully qualified points in academic insider language. This is how academics exchange views […]
First Grade Teacher: How I Conquered the Testing Monster
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
In response to the question, “Can You Do the Wrong Thing in the Right Way?,” this teacher responded with a fascinating account of how she conquered the testing monster in her first-grade classroom. She writes: I’ve been thinking about testing too. A lot. I teach first grade. My students arrive at the tender age of […]
Imposing Standardization on Other People’s Children
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
Robert D. Shepherd, one of our many brilliant readers, offered the following explanation of the impulse to standardize the education of children across the nation: “It’s no secret that income inequality has skyrocketed in the United States in recent decades, that economic and social mobility have plummeted, that wealth has been increasingly concentrated at the […]
Choice, Competition, and Deprofessionalization in Chile
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 4 days ago
A reader sent the following observation about parallels between educational developments in Chile under the dictator Pinochet, an admirer of free-market reforms, and in the U.S. today. He writes: “I have recently been studying the neoliberal privatization of public education in Chile since this is the path we are now on in the USA. Initiated […]
Teacher: Do What’s Right No Matter What They Tell You
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
A teacher offers this advice to other teachers: “Okay, the reality of the situation is a once slow suffocation. The people in power want public education to wither and limp along on life support. This will help further marginalize minorities and low-income families, so the power base has little to no competition politically, economically, or […]
PBS Blog: Common Core Has Fatal Flaw
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
On the PBS blog, economist Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University expresses skepticism about the one-size-fits-all academic nature of the Common Core. Lerman strongly supports youth apprenticeship programs. Lerman is skeptical of Common Core for two reasons: One is that it lacks any evidence. In other words, as I have written repeatedly, […]
Ohio Teachers Subjected to Junk Science Ratings
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Now it is teachers in Ohio that have been rated by a secret value-added formula. Teachers in affluent schools were twice as likely to score well as those in low-income schools. Here is the key language: “The details of how the scores are calculated aren’t public. The Ohio Department of Education will pay a North […]
NYC Teacher Ratings Will Flunk More Teachers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
The politicians won’t rest until they can fire more teachers. John King is their man. He has the system that mo one undestands but that is guaranteed to find some teachers to fire. The politicians know that if they fire a bunch of teachers, it will surely lead to higher achievement and will close the […]
Monica Ratliff Responds to Critics
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Since she upset the heavily-funded favorite in the recent Los Angeles school board runoff, many eyes are on Monica Ratliff. Some of her supporters were concerned when she appeared at an event where the Gates-funded Educators for Excellence presented a report on teacher evaluation. The event was attended by Superintendent John Deasy and school board […]
Michael Weston on Common Core
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Michael Weston has an annoying habit of thinking for himself. That’s why he got fired. He just doesn’t get it. He is supposed to teach students to think for themselves but he is not supposed to do it himself.
My High School Added to the National Register of Historic Buildings
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
I don’t know if anyone in the world cares about this except me and a few gray heads in and around Houston. Our high school was just named to the National Register of Historic Buildings. I graduated in 1956. San Jacinto at that time was a racially segregated school, as were all the public schools […]
A Gift for You This Sunday
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Robert D. Shepherd shared this poem by Billy Collins, who was the nation’s poet laureate from 2001-03. I think what Shepherd had in mind when he shared this was the tendency of certain thinkers and standards writers to over-intellectualize the experience of literature. Introduction to Poetry By Billy Collins I ask them to take a […]
Texas Parents Rage Against Perry Veto
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
https://www.facebook.com/TexasKidsCantWait Texas parents created a Facebook page to vent their anger at Governor Perry for vetoing HB 2836, which would have reduced the heavy burden of testing in the elementary and middle school grades. Presently, as much as one month–sometimes more–of the school year is devoted to testin and testing preparation. HB 2836 passed both […]
Who Distorted Charlotte Danielson’s Message?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
A reader comments: “I was present when Dr. Danielson spoke in depth during the formulation of the current Maryland evaluation system and at a Maryland State Education Association Convention. She stated that there was no research to measure teachers using student test scores. In fact, she stated that if a teacher was fired due to […]
Edgar Guest: in Praise of Father
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
by Edgar Guest My father knows the proper way The nation should be run; He tells us children every day Just what should now be done. He knows the way to fix the trusts, He has a simple plan; But if the furnace needs repairs, We have to hire a man. My father, in a […]
Lewis Carroll on Father William
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
There are far better ways to celebrate Father’s Day, but here is one to make you smile. FATHER WILLIAM by: Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) “OU are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head– Do you think, at your age, it is […]
Community Residents Stop Giveaway by Bloomberg’s DOE to Developers
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
Mayor Bloomberg’s third term really is coming to an end. In an unprecedented move, the Mayor’s Department of Education (which does nothing substantive without his approval) abandoned plans to tear down two schools so that developers could build luxury projects on their land. This retreat was the result of strong community opposition from parents and […]
The End Result of the Parent Trigger Is….?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 5 days ago
An anonymous comment from an educator poses an important question: Parent Revolution must be trying to figure out what to do with themselves. Publicly, they can try to positively frame the debate using language such as “parent empowerment” and “parent choice” and “we can’t wait” and “won’t back down” and “kids can’t wait” and “this […]
Memories: My Mother’s Piano
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Gayle Greene, a professor of English at Scripps College in California, wrote this beautiful tribute to the meaning of the arts in her life. She reflects on her mother’s piano, the beautiful music that somehow inspired her own love of words and literature. When you read about her mother’s piano, you will for a brief […]
Pennsylvania Can’t Afford Good Schools But Corporate Tax Breaks Are OK
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Pennsylvania blogger Yinzercation reviews the state budget and notes that the legislators are fine with cutting the arts, kindergarten, libraries, books, supplies, and teachers, but they won’t touch the numerous tax breaks available to corporate interests. This is a good post because it not only bemoans the loss of essential services in schools but lays out […]
Governor Rick Perry’s Worst Veto
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Governor Perry of Texas vetoed HB 2836. This was a bill that would have reduced the pressure to test and test and test, then test some more, in the early grades. He earlier approved a bill to reduce the amount of testing for high school students but the anti-testing moms forgot about the elementary school […]
Corbett’s Budget Cuts in Pa. Target Poor, Minorities
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
The Public Interest Center of Philadelphia analyzed Governor Corbett’s budget cuts. It should be no surprise to learn that the cuts fall most heavily on the neediest children, the children who are low-income and children of color. Their communities are not Governor Corbett’s political base. Even so, most public schools across the state have suffered […]
Sarah Darer Littman: How to Create a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Sarah Darer Littman watches in wonder as the Gates Foundation uses its billions to reorganize public education in Connecticut. Their goal: more Achievement First charters, regardless of their high suspension rates for children in kindergarten and their poor record relating to students with disabilities. Gates wants close collaboration with AF and other “high performing” charters. […]
The Problem with Teacher Evaluation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Michael Weston of Hillsborough County, Florida, explains what is wrong with teacher evaluation: “Of course we use the Danielson rubric in Hillsborough County Fl, where it forms one of the three pillars of the Gates funded “Empowering Effective Teachers”. The second pillar is value-added, the third is duplicity / deception. Quite frankly, whether Charlotte is […]
Carol Burris Reviews John King’s Evaluation Plan and Finds It Wanting
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in Rockville Center, Long Island, spent her Saturday analyzing State Education Commissioner John King’s Educator Evaluation plan. Here is her review: “When I took a look at the details of the plan imposed by Commissioner King on NYC, I was taken aback. The first thing I noticed […]
RRatto on Teacher Evaluation
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
I agree with the following comment by RRatto. If checklists for teacher evaluation were so great, how come they are never used in the nation’s elite private schools? They are a remnant of factory thinking, and unworthy of any profession. Checklists are great for auto mechanics and home builders. They are distinctly non-professional. RRatto writes: […]
Do Low-Income Parents Want Charters or Great Public Schools?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Katie Osgood refers obliquely here to the famous John Dewey quote that what the best and wisest parent wants for his children is what we should want for all children: “Here is the fundamental question: If low-income parents were offered fully-funded neighborhood schools with all kinds of “choice” offered within the schools like arts, music, […]
Alan Singer: Who Is Charlotte Danielson?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
Charlotte Danielson is the leading guru of teacher evaluation. Alan Singer asks who she is, what is her background, and why will so many teachers be evaluated by her rubric.
What Ralph Waldo Emerson Might Say About School Reform Today
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 6 days ago
This arrived in my email. It came from a retired school teacher in Nebraska. He said the retired teachers will not sit by and watch the capture of our public schools by corporations. The retires helped to defeat a charter bill in Nebraska. He wrote: Hi Diane Just received the following letter from Ralph Waldo […]
How Great Is Choice?
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
One of the major “reforms” of the Bloomberg administration was to wipe out the idea of neighborhood schools for students in high school and middle school. The mayor believes in the free market. It sounds better in theory than in reality. In a city with 1.1 million students, this is no easy matter. Read about […]
How “No Excuses” Schools Deepen Race, Class Divisions
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Experienced journalist Natalie Hopkinson is alarmed by the popularity of the idea that black children need a different kind of education than white children. She is especially concerned about the KIPP model: “As it built into a national network, KIPP students’ test scores soared, attracting media attention, and then millions in corporate and public support. […]
Newark: The End of Neighborhood Schools
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson has proposed the end of neighborhood schools. All district schools and charter schools will be part of a pool. Or something. Reformers don’t like neighborhood schools. They like a free market where everyone chooses and no one has any loyalties. Michigan has abolished district lines and schools advertise for students. They […]
The Unfairness of the “Parent Trigger”
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
I earlier posted about Steve Zimmer’s resolution proposing a change in the Parent Trigger law to permit full information to parents, both pro and con, before taking a vote that might lead to firing the principal, the staff, or privatizing the school. An educator in Los Angeles sent the following explanation as to why this […]
Katie Osgood: The Difference Between Magnets and Charters
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Katie Osgood teaches children in a hospital setting in Chicago. Here she responds to a comment from a charter advocate who insists that charter schools are no different from magnet schools: Osgood writes: In regards to magnet schools, I have always believed that there are equity issues surrounding this practice. However, they were begun with […]
Public Education Is Not Failing, But NCLB and RTTT Are
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Ron Berler has written about his year in a so-called “failing school” in Norwalk, Connecticut. The school has a dedicated staff trying its best to raise the achievement levels of students who enter school far behind. Yet it is a “failing school” because no matter how much progress the students make,the children are still not […]
The Shame of Providence
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Providence and the state of Rhode Island allowed a school to use developmentally disabled students to do manual labor for little or no pay. Both the city and state received a stern letter from the Civil Rights Division of the U. S. Department of Justice. “Both Providence and the state allowed the Harold H. Birch […]
Steve Zimmer Proposes Safety Lock for Parent Trigger
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Steve Zimmer proposed the following resolution to the Los Angeles Board of Education. His goal is to make sure that parents are fully informed and protected against stealth campaigns to trick parents into handing their school over to a charter operator or firing the staff. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES Governing […]
A Word from the Cripples
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
The state of Pennsylvania, the School Reform Commission, Governor Corbett, and the Legislature have decided to strip bare the publuc schools of Philadelphia. They are doing to these students what they would never do to their own. They are vandals. This morning, i received this poem written by a student, Siduri Beckmann. Why is Siduri […]
Happy Birthday, EduShyster! One Year in Pursuit of Excellence
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
In this post marking the one-year anniversary of her blog, EduShyster interviews herself. She answers such pressing questions as: Do you really consume wine by the box? Will the education reform movement survive the coming Zombie apocalypse? (I promise you will love this one, especially the illustration.) If you were an education reform group, which […]
Hey, Kids! $100 If You Enroll in This Charter School
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
David Safier writes here about a charter school in Arizona that offers students $100 to sign up. Arizona was once known as the Wild West of charter schools, but now other states are catching up as charter operators join the Gold Rush.
The Gates Foundation’s Strangest Grant
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
The Gates Foundation gave $10 million to the Discovery Institute. This is a conservative public policy institute that promotes “intelligent design” and is skeptical of evolutionary theory. It was founded by Bruce Chapman, an official in the Reagan administration. The purpose of the grant is for research, advocacy, and transportation. Presumably this mean the Gates […]
Crazy Crawfish Tells All: How He Became an Anti-Reformer
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
In this blog post, Crazy Crawfish reveals his true identity. He was working inside the Louisiana Department of Education when Bobby Jindal took control. The story he tells is alarming and shocking. It all started with Katrina. That event created a massive shock and provided an opening for Jindal: “Jindal immediately started privatizing and tormenting […]
Lucy Calkins Gathers Feedback on Pearson Exams
dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 week ago
Students in New York recently completed a battery of tests aligned with the Common Core and developed by Pearson. The tests remain secret though some bootleg copies have circulated. They should be released for public review. Although educators were not allowed to disclose the test questions, Lucy Calkins of Teachers College created a website where […]