NPR Lauds Pitbull’s Charter Money Pit
I never thought I would see the day when NPR ran a story complimenting a misogynist rapper for opening a charter school. This rapper, who calls himself Pitbull, writes lyrics that are too filthy to repeat on NPR or on this blog. But there is Claudio Sanchez, reporting on the charming phenomenon that celebrities who are not educators and who apparently have no education themselves are opening chart
Mother to John King: I Have a “Special Interest”: My Son
This letter was distributed to every member of the New York State Board of Regents, along with many elected officials in New York State. Dear Distinguished Elected Officials, I am the parent of two children one presently enrolled in the Spackenkill school district, the other is a junior in college studying computer science, much to my chagrin. I have an advanced degree and have practiced in the
NPR Lauds Pitbull’s Charter Money Pit
I never thought I would see the day when NPR ran a story complimenting a misogynist rapper for opening a charter school. This rapper, who calls himself Pitbull, writes lyrics that are too filthy to repeat on NPR or on this blog. But there is Claudio Sanchez, reporting on the charming phenomenon that celebrities who are not educators and who apparently have no education themselves are opening chart
What You Need to Know About New York City’s Charter Schools
New York City’s charter schools are often held up as exemplary, which is the spin that the Zbloomberg administration has fed the edit for a dozen years. This insider says the spin is wrong. He writes: The current mayoral election in New York City has brought long overdue debate and discussion to the real outcomes of corporate-style management of public schools. No longer are New Yorkers compelled
Parent: I Was at the Poughkeepsie Meeting
This comment came from a mother who attended the infamous meeting where State Commissioner John King announced his intention to have a dialogue with parents, then lectured the audience for over an hour, and interrupted those who disagreed with him. Having announced five such meetings, he canceled the other four, claiming that “special interests” had manipulated the parents. This parent says she w
Which Is the Most Corrupt State? This Reader Says Arizona
A comment from a reader in Arizona who read the earlier report about the private schools for children with disabilities that fleece New Jersey taxpayers. The reader writes: “AZ has just as much, if not more, corruption. The administrators for BASIS schools (a charter school, most likely invading your area) make six figures and created a for profit corporation to run their schools, so now no one
The Charter School Bubble in New York City
In case you had not noticed, there is a mayoral election going on in New York City. The Democratic candidate, Bill de Blasio, is the front-runner, currently about 40 points ahead of his Republican challenger Joe Lhota. De Blasio has made clear that he will strengthen the traditional schools that enroll 95% of the city’s public school students. Charter school advocates are outraged that he would sh
John Thompson Asks Whether I Hurt Reformers’ Feelings
In his review of Reign of Error in Schools Matter, historian and teacher John Thompson contemplates the urgent issue of whether I hurt reformers’ feelings. To be precise, the question posed by his review is “Should Diane Ravitch Be More Careful to Not Hurt Reformers’ Feelings?” This is an interesting question that I have pondered these past few weeks, indeed, for the past few years. It is true. I
Brock Cohen: Schools That Fell into the Rabbit Hole
Brock Cohen taught for a spdozen years in the public schools and is now pursuing a graduate degree. Here he tries to explain the madness of local, state, and federal mandates that crush teachers, principals and schools as they labor under the burden of being labeled a “failing school.” Here is a sample of how these mandates destroy schools instead of helping them: “Most of my 12-plus years as a hi
Mercedes Schneider: Who Created the Common Core? How Did It Happen?
Mercedes Schneider follows an interesting story. How did it happen that “the states” agreed to create common standards? What was the federal role? Who led this effort? How did it work? Was it really led by the states? How did it happen that the United States has national standards that so few people are aware of? If this a good thing?
Russ Walsh Writes a Delightful Review of “Reign of Error”
Russ Walsh, who works at Rider University in Pennsylvania, asks a simple question: What if Chicken Little had 70 billion dollars? Would his comical error in believing the sky is falling have been dismissed so quickly? Would the acorn of truth have been discovered and Chicken Little disgraced? Instead of making Chicken Little the laughingstock of the barnyard, would we instead be drawing up plans f
CarolinaCAN Deserves an F Minus for Hurting Children
Lately, the organization 50CAN has spread from state to state, bringing bad ideas that hurt children and promote corporate control of public schools (aka privatization). The CAN strategy always begins with grading and labeling schools, so that those at the bottom are demoralized and feel like failures, no matter how hard they try. North Carolina has CarolinaCAN, which is grading schools as the fi
John King Is Unfit for His Position as State Commissioner
Arthur Goldstein, who teaches at Frances Lewis High School in Queens, New York, observed the video in which John King was completely unable to maintain order when faced with an audience of angry parents. He condescended to them, which seems to be his default mode, and they responded angrily. He could not control the class. He probably wanted to expel them, but he couldn’t. They were not “bad stude
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-14-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Bruce Baker: Should Economists Be Paid by Their Hair Color?Bruce Baker continues to be one of our most valuable academic scholars of educational madness. In this post, he explores and explodes the claim by certain economists that teachers should not get a pay increase for anything except higher test scores. This is the only value t