Rudy Crew and Oregon Have a Messy Divorce
Rudy Crew left his job as czar of education for the state of Oregon after one year. He is the former chancellor of public schools in New York City and Miami. Crew will return to NYC to become president of Medger Evers College, part of the City University of New York. As he left Oregon, officials there complained about his travel expenses and vacation time. As czar, he handsome good ideas, but the
Will North Carolina Abandon Public Education?
June Atkinson, the state superintendent in North Carolina, can’t remember a worse time for public education or a te when teachers were so disrespected. NC ranks 46th in the nation in teachers’ salaries. Teachers must teach 15 years to reach $40,000 a year. What a disgrace! It started, she says, 3-4 years ago at the national level. Let’s see, that would coincide with the launch of Race to Top. Thi
Philadelphia: Corporate Reform Takeover Nears
As Rahm Emanuel once memorably said, when he was President Obama’s chief of staff, never let a crisis go to waste. Naomi Klein surely agreed in her book “Shock Doctrine,” which showed how crises, both natural and man-made, are used to achieve other goal unrelated to the crisis. Hurricane Katrina made it possible to wipe out public education and the teachers union in New Orleans. The budget cuts an
EduShyster Welcomes You to Lake Wobegone Academy!
Read EduShyster as she takes you to the Lake Wobegon Academy of Excellence and Innovation. That is a school where every single student is excellent! Why? Because every single teacher is excellent! No more Bad teachers. No more “good” teachers. And that is why every student is excellent! No more median. At last, a school where No Child Is Left Behind, where every child Races to the Top and wins
Tennessee: The State Makes a Slight Mistake
This notice went to first- and second-grade teachers across the state of Tennessee. The state made a little error. This little error will count for 35-50% of each teacher’s evaluation. My first thought when I read it was that I was appalled that teachers of first and second grade are being evaluated by the test scores of their students. My next thought was to wonder whether anyone in the Tennessee
Alabama Debates the Common Core Standards
An interesting exchange about the pros and cons of the Common Core standards. First, the case for the Common Core by Chip Cherry, president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Then, the case against the Common Core by a teacher named Russell. It is a sharp debate. Worth your time to read. Both short pieces.
Now the Gates Foundation Is Destroying Higher Education
With $36 billion, the Gates Foundation has too much money, too much power, and not enough common sense nor willingness to listen to those who warn that they are doing harm to basic social institutions. Now the foundation has decided to destroy the civilizing and humanizing mission of higher education, and turn it into a process for acquiring job skills and degrees. Read this article in The Chroni
As Mitch Daniels was leaving the governorship of Indiana, he was named president of Purdue–a major research institution–by a board that he had appointed. Since Daniels was a politician with no scholarly credentials, the appointment must have raised some eyebrows. The release of emails during Daniels’ governorship shows him to be petty, vindictive, opinionated, and intolerant of views he does not
How School Choice Works in New Orleans
Mercedes Schneider attempts to explain here how school choice works in New Orleans. It is complicated, confusing, and messy. More often than not, the schools choose, not the parents. More often than not, students leaving a “failed” and closing school may “choose” to go to another F-rated school. The one choice that is not available is the choice of a neighborhood school. They don’t exist any more.
Diane in the Evening 7-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Connecticut Supreme Court Will Rule on Vallas MatterThe fate of Paul Vallas will be decided by Connecticut’s highest court. An earlier court decision ruled that he lacked the qualifications specified in state law.by dianerav / 38min FAIRTEST: Florida Grading System Is a ScamA statement today from FAIRTEST: National Center for Fai