TeacherKen: Is There a Pension Crisis?
TeacherKen, aka our friend Kenneth Bernstein, who often comments here, reflects here on “the great pension scare.” Ken reflects on a blog post by Paul Krugman, the Nobel-winning economist and regular writer for The New York Times. Krugman says the scare is vastly exaggerated. The topic is particularly timely because pensions are under attack in several states and in Detroit, following the declar
San Jose Online Courses Flop
Enthusiasts of online education are forever gushing about the prospects for high-quality, low-cost education, delivered to masses of students sitting at a computer. In January, San Jose State announced a partnership with a firm called Udacity, and the results to date have been a disappointment. Udacity is funded by equity investors as the next new big thing. Technically, the Udacity program is not
Percy Bysshe Shelley on the Billionaire Boys Club
I was trying to decide which poem to share with you, when I saw that a reader suggested one of my favorites: “Ozymandias.” What a lesson this poem teaches about life, time, the illusory nature of power and fame. And when we read it, we ask ourselves what matters most, what endures, what can we do in this life that matters? Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and t
Los Angeles Times: A Wise Editorial about NCLB and Race to Top
The Los Angeles Times published a first-rate editorial about the disastrous federal micromanagement spawned by NCLB. It also takes the Obama administration to the woodshed for its own misguided micromanagement of the nation’s public schools. It says: “The nation is ripe for rebellion against the rigid law and the Obama administration’s further efforts to micromanage how schools are run.” It adds:
Michigan Debates Common Core
Strongest supporters of Common Core: business community, Jeb Bush, StudentsFirst, other corporate reformers. Strongest critics: Republicans. As usual, the debate is framed as rightwing vs. rightwing. It is way more complex than that. There ought to be a law that anyone commenting on or writing about the Common Core should be required to read them first.
This Teacher Does Not Love inBloom
Peg Robertson read the article in the Denver Post in which the president of the Colorado Education Association praised inBloom and said that it would provide great learning tools. Peg is a teacher and parent in Colorado, and she is a leader of United OptOut. She is opposed to inBloom. Here she explains why. Read her article in its entirety. Here is the core of her critique of the teacher who suppo
A Teacher’s Letter to Bill Gates
Teacherbiz writes a friendly but very candid letter to Big Brother Bill Gates. Teacherbiz has some good advice: “You know that feeling you get when you think you’re doing something good—and then you realize you’re actually doing harm? I’ve experienced it, and it’s not a good feeling—and the only way to get rid of that bad feeling is to change your course of action and make up for the damage you’ve
This Teacher Loves inBloom
InBloom is very controversial, to say the least. This is the collaboration funded by the Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation, to gather confidential student data and aggregate it into a massive database. The actual work will be done by Wireless Generation, which is part of Joel Klein’s Amplify, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Many parents are unhappy about the relea
Diane in the Evening 7-20-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Whose Opinion Will You Advocate Today?A teacher sends this description of what passes for critical thought in his school. Read it through and ask yourself whether it makes any sense always to advocate someone else’s opinion. What if their opinion is wrong? What if they are spouting nonsense? If everyone advocates someone else’s opi
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 7-20-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGTODAYVultures Circle Detroit Art MuseumWatch the billionaires scoop up the treasures of the Detroit Institute of Art. Is ours a society where the public sector can be ransacked for gain, where legislatures and governors walk away from any responsibility to protect the common wealth?by dianerav / 57min Weston: Why Grading