EduShyster: John King’s Gift to the Opt-Out Movement
EduShyster has a guest blogger who graduated from the fine public schools of Long Island, then went on to excel in the nation’s finest universities. In this post, Sue Altman thinks that John King is the best thing that ever happened to the opt-out movement. The more he talks, the more he angers parents. She thinks he canceled his planned visit to Long Island because the parents and the students ar
Reader: A Motto for Mr. Pitbull’s Charter School?
Yesterday, I posted a story about a charter school in Miami founded by a rapper known as Pitbull. This fellow was lauded by NPR for his philanthropy in founding a charter school. The fact that he has no qualifications to run or create a school is of no matter. He is known for his vulgar language and his contempt for women. The school will be managed by a for-profit corporation that has become very
Why Does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Love Common Core?
I got a letter in my email today (cited below) from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, telling me how the future prosperity of our nation depends on adoption of the Common Core standards. I wonder how many members of the Chamber have ever seen a copy of the Common Core standards? Why do they think they will produce miraculous changes in test scores? What evidence do they have about the validity of thes
Professor: Do Not Write Letters of Recommendation for TFA
This professor urges her colleagues not to write letters of recommendation for TFA. In this post, she explains why. Ironically, she is a TFA alum, yet she thinks that TFA has become part of the neoliberal attack on the public sector. Sh writes to her colleagues in higher education: “I encourage each of you to stand with me in refusing to write letters of recommendation for students who are applyi
Letisha James Rocks the PEP: “Save Your Emails”
I can’t begin to summarize the emotional impact of this 4 minute speech by Letisha James, who will soon be the Public Advocate of New York City. She recently won a run-off election to be the #2 ranked official in the city. Her election in November is a foregone conclusion. As you will see in the video, she is a fierce advocate for public schools and for children with special needs. She is a powerf
America’s Student Revolutionaries
This article was posted today on Huffington Post. They gave it a wonderful title, better than mine: “Our Kids Today: The Greatest Generation?” The members of the Providence Student Union are the most creative and best informed critics of high-stakes testing in the nation. They can run rings around the public officials in Rhode Island when they explain the damage done by high-stakes testing. Th
A NY Parent Objects to Commissioner King’s Cancellation of Parent Meetings
John King, Commissioner of New York’s education system, was booed repeatedly when he held his first parent meeting in upstate New York. The parents expressed their low opinion of his policies, his mandates, the Common Core, the Pearson testing, and the contempt King shows for teachers, principals, and public schools. He opted out. He canceled all future public meetings with parents. This Long Isla
De Blasio Vs. Lhota: Are Charter Co-Locations Fair?
A report from an insider at the New York City Department of Education, in response to the first debate between Democratic candidate Bill di Blasio and Republican candidate Joe Lhota: New York City last night was treated to two starkly different visions of public schools. We had a mayoral debate in which a progressive candidate who believes in voice for parents and communities battled a candidate i
News from Wisconsin: “Reign of Error” Puts Voucher Advocates on Defensive
A progressive Wisconsin newspaper reports that “Reign of Error” has thrown voucher advocates onto the f Defensive. Despite the obvious failure of vouchers in Milwaukee, Governor Scott Walker has expanded the voucher program to a larger geographical area and lifted the income limits for participants. His goal becomes clear: he has no interest in saving poor children from “failing public schools,” b
Denver: Fight the Testing Madness on Saturday
Hi SOS Supporters, On October 19th, there are two actions against high stakes testing in Denver. Please join or support them in whatever way you can. If you enjoy dressing as a Zombie, join the Zombie crawl and protest turning our students into testing zombies. Visit the tumblr to learn more. http://testingkillsbrains.tumblr.com/ Also, they are specifically looking for volunteers at the followin
Haimson: How Charter Co-Locations Hurt Public School Children
Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters explains here in shocking detail how charter co-locations harm New York City’s neediest children. Here is a sample: “These proposals will uniformly disadvantage the children in the existing schools, cause even more overcrowding and larger classes, and push disabled students out of the spaces they need for special services. Some of the examples have been descr
Politico: Vouchers Are $1 Billion Waste of Taxpayer Dollars
Stephanie Simon, one of the nation’s best investigative education journalists, reports that vouchers are a costly failure. In every case where they were adopted, voucher advocates claimed they would “save poor kids from failing public schools,” but nowhere has the promise been true. Voucher advocates insist that they are supporting the “right” of children to attend a private or religious school wi
A Terrifying Report about Child Abuse in Texas Schools–and in Your State Too
Do students have the right not to be subjected toe tall and psychological abuse? If a side and chronic stress rsise test scores, are they acceptable? A group of mental health professionals prepared the following report. It is long. It is painful to read. This is what many schools are doing to our children. They must be stopped. This borders on criminality. Wake up. It is happening in many states
Will the Reformers Kill Common Core?
Jeff Bryant at the Education Opportunity Network is not a critic of Common Core. He is a thoughtful observer. In this brilliant post, he shows that the worst enemies of Common Core are its advocates. Why are kindergarten children given standardized tests? Why are teachers compelled to follow scripted curricula? Why are teachers and parents’ voices disregarded? Why the rush? Why the gloating over
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: 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 nat