Lewis Carroll: Professional Development for the Common Core
This poem was suggested to me by a friend who does professional development for the Common Core in New York City. This past week, by coincidence, Jason Griffiths, the founder of the Brooklyn Latin School quit his job and went to work for a controversial charter school, because he was tired of being compelled to go to professional development for Common Core when his school already was the top ran
Crooks & Liars Asks: Why Is StudentsFirst Nonprofit?
Blogger Crooks & Liars asks why Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst is a nonprofit. He writes: “If ever there was an organization that stands out as one that should never have been granted nonprofit status and doesn’t deserve to continue having it, it’s StudentsFirst. One look at their 2011 tax disclosures reveals a fat, political, ideological organization. StudentsFirst not only crosses the line,
Must Be Election Time: Chris Christie Belittling Teachers Again
Jersey Jazzman notes that Governor Chris Christie is back with his favorite lines, ridiculing teachers for being overpaid and underworked. That means, of course, that he is running for re-election and who better to kick around that the state’s teachers? Here is Christie: “[NJ Governor Chris] Christie said parents must stand up to organizations who he said care more about pensions, wage increases,
A Grassroots Group Grows to Fight Corporate Takeovers
Ellen Lubic and other education activists have formed a new organization called Joining Forces to help parents fight off corporate takeovers of their public schools. Imagine this: an earnest young man or woman comes to your neighborhood, even rents a house there, and button-holes parents to collect their grievances against the neighborhood school. What about that principal? Is there a teacher you
When Joel Klein and Condi Rice Accused Public Schools of Endangering National Security
A reader who goes by the name “Democracy” reminds us of the much-hyped report by a task force of the Council on Foreign Relations, whose co-chairs were Joel Klein and Condoleeza Rice. It blamed the public schools for endangering national security and for the nation’s economic problems. I reviewed it here. This is “Democracy’s” comment: “Aah, Joel Klein. Klein was a recent co-author – with Condalee
NYC Educator: Who Should Be Blamed for Low Scores?
Arthur Goldstein reviews StudentsFirst’s charge that Mayor Bloomberg and his Department of Education were assigning poorly-rated teachers to high-minority schools. It is mildly amusing to imagine that StudentsFirst and Mayor Bloomberg are adversaries, as Goldstein points out. They have a shared interest in demonizing teachers, demanding that they be held accountable for test scores, no matter wha
Diane in the Evening 7-13-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: More than TFA Dissidents Meet TomorrowA reader comments on an earlier post about a conference tomorrow in Chicago that will discuss TFA and the privatization movement. She writes: “Diane, it is not only ex-TFA members. I am also one of the presenters at the conference, representing traditionally trained teachers in New Orleans who
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-13-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Reform as Crony CapitalismResponding to another reader, Robert Shepherd challenges the claim that reformers want a free market in schooling: “We are NOT seeing the emergence of free market alternatives to public schools. We are seeing is crony capitalist alternatives dependent upon federal and state regulation and the public dole t
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 7-13-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGTODAYDoes John White Care About Voucher Fraud?Robert Mann, a professor of communications at Louisiana State University, tries to imagine how Bobby Jindal and John White would react if they heard that Headstart centers kept sloppy records and couldn’t pass an audit. He writes: “Imagine if almost every one of those schools