This Post Went Viral Today
Congratulations to Yevonne Brannan, whose post about the legislative attack on public education in North Carolina went viral today. Nearly 30,000 people read her post. That is amazing! Congratulations, Yevonne, and forgive me for misspelling your first name in the post. Yevonne is one of the leaders of Public Schools First NC. She and other devoted parents, teachers, and citizens will win this b
Georgia Withdraws from PARCC Testing Consortium
The U.S. Department of Education is prohibited by law from interfering in curriculum, but Secretary Duncan was itching to get the Common Core standards adopted. First, he said that states would not be eligible for a share of $5 billion in federal stimulus funds unless they adopted common college-and-career-readiness standards. Wink, wink, almost every state agreed to adopt the Common Core. Then t
North Carolina: A First Look at the Destruction of Public Education
Lindsay Wagner is an excellent journalist at NC Policy Watch. She covers the legislature. Here is her summary of the slash-and-burn policies that the legislature applied to public education: 1. Vouchers. $10 million set aside. This week, legislators will consider vouchers for students with disabilities. This is an ALEC priority, but ironically students with disabilities have greater rights and pr
Connecticut Teacher On Vallas’ Record
A Connecticut teacher named Linda who comments frequently on the blog decided to research the record of Paul Vallas. This is her summary: “I have been keeping track for a while now…easy to goggle Vallas and Pelto, Ravitch, Mercedes Schneider, Philly Notebook, George Schmidt, substance news. http://madisonamps.org/2012/05/23/who-is-paul-vallas-and-why-is-he-coming-to-madison/ Vallas launched the na
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-22-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The First Review of “Reign of Error”!This is the first review of my new book. Kirkus sends out early reviews that are read by journalists, librarians, and others in the publishing industry. This reviewer provides an accurate summary of the book. He or she got the main point and presents it succinctly here. REIGN OF ERROR The Hoax o