A Message to the Los Angeles United School District Board
Dear Board Members, As you are well aware, friends of Superintendent Deasy in the business community and the charter corporate community plan a massive rally tomorrow to show you how badly L.A. needs Superintendent Deasy. Please do not forget that you were elected by the people of Los Angeles to use your own judgment, not to be swayed by billionaires and their minions. Superintendent Deasy let it
A First-Person Report on John King’s Meeting in Portchester, New York
As John King dutifully carries his “listening tour” to a dozen localities in New York state, touting the virtues of Common Core and high-stakes testing, he is running into a problem: No one likes what he is selling. However, as the report below indicates, he doesn’t care. He listens without hearing. It doesn’t matter what parents and educators say. His mind is made up. He is going through the moti
Providence Journal: Analysis of a Hatchet Job on Me
The Providence Journal ran an article by journalist John Hill about my book and my appearance at the University of Rhode Island that was intended to discredit me. It declared that my arguments were “mostly false,” based on the writer’s skewed interpretation of the facts presented in my book, Read it for yourself. As best I can tell, the writer is defending No Child Left Behind, and was deeply affr
Deasy Resignation Drama Diverts Attention from iPad Fiasco
Benjamin Herold of Education Week has written an excellent overview of the confusion surrounding Los Angeles’ iPad purchase for every student in the district. The cost–anticipated ultimately to be in excess of $1 billion–is one concern at a time when classes are overcrowded, and many schools are in need of repair, and thousands of teachers were laid off. The uncertainty about how the iPads will be
Indiana: The Injustice of A-F Grading Systems
Jan Resseger here describes the eloquent case that Fort Wayne’s Mark GiaQuinta made against the A-F grading system. Fort Wayne refuses to grade its schools by A-F because the board, of which GiaQuinta is president, understands that it will stigmatize schools attended by poor children but do nothing to improve them. The A-F system was created to set schools up to fail and be handed over to charter
John King Meets the Public Again
After his fiasco in Poughkeepsie, and his hasty decision to cancel all future public forums, the New York Regents sent John King out on the road again. His next meeting in Albany was not the disaster of the Poughkeepsie meeting, For starters, he didn’t lecture the audience for over an hour. He showed a certain openness to dialogue, though little evidence that anything he heard would change his min
Who Is Destroying Public Education and the Lives of Chilldren?
I received this letter from a teacher. She speaks fearlessly and is not afraid to publish her name. She must have tenure. In many states, she would be fired instantly for writing what she believes to be true. We live in a time of lies and distractions. Listen to the experts, those who work with children every day. Our poilcymakers–few of whom have ever worked in a school–don’t trust teachers, don’
John Wilson: Top Ten Reasons Not to Contract with TFA
John Wilson explains on his blog on Education Week why states and districts should NOT contract with Teach for America. He writes: “Lately, I have been reading numbers of articles about Teach For America (TFA) written by former participants in the program as well as by researchers and investigative reporters. It appears that there is general consensus that TFA is not the answer to teacher shortag
New Mexico: Parents Organize to Boycott State Tests
Across the nation, parents are organizing to fight the corporate takeover of their children and their schools. The first step: organize to boycott the state tests. Without your child’s data, the machine stops running. As parents, you have the power. The latest report from Néw Mexico: “Hi Diane, As I’m sure you know, New Mexico has one of the masters of Chiefs for Change, Hanna Skandera, in the
Jason Stanford Has News for Arne Duncan
Jason Stanford listened to Arne Duncan’s put down of the “armchair pundits” who oppose Duncan’s obviously brilliant plan to reform American education. How can we forget how Duncan saved the Chicago public schools? But I digress. Stanford, a veteran journalist in Austin, describes himself as an “armchair dad” of children in the public schools of Texas. He has news for Secretary Duncan. Texans are
The Three Segments of the Melissa Harris-Perry Interview and Panel Discussion on MSNBC
From a reader: The interview and panel discussion were broken into three segments which do not follow one another sequentially online for some reason, so here are the direct links to all three parts. Part 1) The Case Against School Privatization http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/the-case-against-school-privatization-57195587667 Part 2) How Charter Schools Can Lead to Disparity http
Susan Ochshorn Reviews “Reign of Error”
Susan Ochshorn is an advocate for early childhood education. This is her life, and she is good at it. In this post, she reviews Reign of Error and assesses its stance on the issues that matter most to her. Of course, she is delighted that early childhood education is high on my policy agenda. (She needs to talk to Chris Hayes, who said that there is research on both sides, which puzzled me.) She
Teacher to Parents: Join Us, We Need You, It Is All About Your Children
A teacher left this comment on the blog: I am a teacher and PARENTS have everything to do with joining the dialogue on education (http://parentsacrossamerica.org/ ). And the teachers I see day in and day out want to know what parents think, what they see and hear from their children outside the school environment… we desperately want parents to understand what “reforms” are requiring of teachers
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-27-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: NY Principal: “Reforms” Kill Love of LearningTim Farley is a brave man and a fearless educator. He wrote the following letter and he also testified in a similar vein to State a commissioner King. Tim Farley is a principal in New York state and his wife Jessica is a teacher. In addition, they are parents of four school-age children.
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 10-26-13 -13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGBill Gates Explains Why His High School Experience Was So GreatAll students should have the high school experience that Bill Gates had. A wonderful campus with a rich curriculum, experienced teachers (79% with advanced degrees), small classes, excellent arts programs, great sports activities, up-to-date science laboratori