School reform: The problems — and some solutions
I recently published an excerpt from a new book titled “Public Education Under Siege” edited by University of Pennsylvania historian Michael B. Katz and UCLA education scholar Mike Rose. The book is a series of essays that discuss he problems with technocratic educational reform; the intersection of education, race, and poverty; and alternatives to modern school reform. Here is a Q & A I did with the authors about their book and public education today.
Q) Why did you write “Public Education Under Siege”?
A) Well, maybe the best way to answer that question is with an example from the news. At the end of July, the Walton Family Foundation (the philanthropist arm of Walmart) donated $20 million to Teach For America to recruit and train close to 4000 teachers to work in underresourced schools across the country. The largest percentage of these recruits will be coming to Los Angeles, where one of us lives. If the past is prologue, most of the new TFA crew will work in L.A. charter schools. There’s a lot about this story that is good news, right? The Walton Foundation is spending its fortune and shining its considerable spotlight on education, and Los Angeles will get at least 500 sharp, idealistic young people in its schools. This scenario fits well in the current mainstream school reform agenda. But the story also raises for us a host of questions about contemporary reform, and we produced “Public Education Under Siege” as a kind of sourcebook to use in exploring those questions.
A) Well, maybe the best way to answer that question is with an example from the news. At the end of July, the Walton Family Foundation (the philanthropist arm of Walmart) donated $20 million to Teach For America to recruit and train close to 4000 teachers to work in underresourced schools across the country. The largest percentage of these recruits will be coming to Los Angeles, where one of us lives. If the past is prologue, most of the new TFA crew will work in L.A. charter schools. There’s a lot about this story that is good news, right? The Walton Foundation is spending its fortune and shining its considerable spotlight on education, and Los Angeles will get at least 500 sharp, idealistic young people in its schools. This scenario fits well in the current mainstream school reform agenda. But the story also raises for us a host of questions about contemporary reform, and we produced “Public Education Under Siege” as a kind of sourcebook to use in exploring those questions.
Q) So what are those questions?
A) One set of questions has to do with teaching itself: What does it involve? What does it take to nurture it and do it—and how can we determine when it is done well? A
The most ridiculous ed idea of the week
A) One set of questions has to do with teaching itself: What does it involve? What does it take to nurture it and do it—and how can we determine when it is done well? A
The most ridiculous ed idea of the week
The most ridiculous ed idea of the week so far comes to us from Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott organized a three-day education summit for ed leaders, legislators, teachers and parents. He sent interim Education Commissioner Pam Stewart to lead it, opting not to attend himself. Read full article >>
Twerk, MOOC, girl crush — words added to Oxford Dictionaries Online
Twerking, a sexually provocative way of dancing made famous by Miley Cyrus this week at the MTV Video Music Awards, is one on a long list of new words that have just been added to Oxford Dictionaries Online. The free … Continue reading →