Larry Lee Writes to Checker Finn and Mike Petrilli about Alabama Accountability Act
Larry Lee is a native of Alabama who has taken a great interest in community schools. A few years ago, he was the lead author of a report about ten outstanding rural schools in Alabama. If you read it, you may find yourself crying when you learn how hard parents, teachers, principals, and communities are struggling to educate the children of poor rural communities. He wrote about the importance of
Why Microsoft Declined: A Rotten Employee Evaluation Rating System
An article by Will Oremus in Slate blames the decline of Microsoft on its poisonous stack-ranking system for evaluating employees. This system involves ranking employees in each unit from best to worst, then firing those with the lowest rating. This is demoralizing and causes bitter rivalries and office politics. Jack Welch is credited with devising this system of internal competition. It sets em
The Onion on TFA
What does The Onion think about Teach for America? This article provides the young corps member’s view, and the reaction of a student. I posted this when it first appeared, but it up is such a funny satire that I had to post it again.
Civil Rights Groups Call for Duncan’s Ouster
A large national alliance of civil rights organizations has joined under the umbrella heading of “Journey for Justice.” This coalition has called for the resignation of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. To understand why, read the flyer it distributed. Anyone who thinks that closing public schools and replacing them with privately managed charters and with vouchers is somehow part of the civil r
Gesell Institute: The Common Core Standards are Wrong for Young Children
The Gesell Institute of Human Development issued a statement in 2010 that was completely ignored, but its warning bears hearing. In March 2010, the Gesell Institute released this statement. It fell on deaf ears. The core standards being proposed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are off the mark for our youngest learners. We at Gesell Institute
Diane in the Evening 8-24-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Virginia School Boards Fight State TakeoversIt is a curious fact that there has never been a successful,state takeover of a local school district. Correct me if I am wrong. Maybe there is one somewhere but I don’t know of any. Pennsylvania took control of Philadelphia in 2001, and Philadelphia is near bankruptcy. New York took cont
