Connecticut Principal: What Is School Reform?
In this post, Jonathan Pelto combines two excellent articles by a retired principal in Connecticut. The veil is lifting over the misappropriation of the honorable word “reform.” Across the nation, it has become a synonym for more testing, more privatization, and dependence on inexperienced “teachers” who will almost all be gone within three or four years. This principal has the wisdom of experienc
NC: We Don’t Want No Teachers No-how
Before you write to tell me that the headline has a triple negative and to correct my grammar, please be aware that it was written knowingly and with a sense of outrage. In this article, Lindsey Wagner of NC Policy Watch describes the massive demoralization of teachers and the prospect that some teachers will leave North Carolina to find a state where teachers are not treated with contempt, as th
NYC Community Takes a Stand Against Charter “Co-Locations”
The Community Education Council in District 3 on the upper west side in Manhattan passed the following resolution last night, unanimously. Be it noted that the CECs reflect parent opinion but under mayoral control are powerless: Public hearing is Oct. 10, 6 pm, at MS 149/207, 34 W 118th St. COMMUNITY DISTRICT EDUCATION COUNCIL 3 District 3 Community Superintendent CEC3 Resolution Vol. 13 (P) No. 8
Meet Anthony Cody at Connecticut College on October 24!
This will be a wonderful event. You will love hearing Anthony Cody and other leading advocates for Real Reform. WHAT: “School Reform(?)” A Talk By Anthony Cody on the multiple and often contradictory messages and meanings of school reform. WHEN: Thursday, October 24th 7:30PM WHERE: Connecticut College, Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center, 270 Mohegan Avenue New London, CT 06371 SPONSOR:
EdWeek Takes Note of NBC’s “Education MisinforNation”
I am reposting this because I immediately discovered I left off the link. No excuses! I have said in the past that I am dismayed that Education Week takes money from the foundations it covers, like Gates and Walton. I have said that I am dismayed at its shameless advocacy for the edtech shlock and profiteering now inundating the schools. But Education Week has great reporters, who tell it like i
EdWeek Takes Note of NBC’s “Education MisinforNation”
I have said in the past that I am dismayed that Education Week takes money from the foundations it covers, like Gates and Walton. I have said that I am dismayed at its shameless advocacy for the edtech shlock and profiteering now inundating the schools. But Education Week has great reporters, who tell it like it is. In this blog, Mark Walsh reports on the controversy over NBC’s biased selection of
TeacherBiz Reviews “Reign of Error”
Ani McHugh, who blogs as TeacherBiz, wrote about the book after she heard me speak in Philadelphia on September 16. She was impressed that despite my age, I still spoke with “the energy and passion of a much younger woman.” She doesn’t realize that 75 is the new 55. She brings to her review the unique perspective of Philadelphia, a city under siege, trying to maintain a semblance of education desp
Moi Naturale: My Bad Experience with KIPP
Moi Naturale is a new blogger. She is Evan Seymour, who worked for KIPP in New Orleans until she learned that had a disability and was unceremoniously abandoned, including losing her health insurance. This is her report on her disenchantment with charter schools. I will be perfectly frank here. I have seldom criticized KIPP. In part, it is because I like Mike Feinberg, one of the founders. I was v
Researchers: Literary Fiction Is Excellent Preparation for Real World
There have been many debates since the promulgation of the Common Core standards about the appropriate balance between literature and “informational text.” The writers of the Common Core think that American children spend too much time reading fiction, not enough time reading “informational text.” But the New York Times reports a new study, published in the journal Science: “It found that after re
Mole in Success Academy Speaks
I received an email from an anonymous teacher in Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain called Success Academy (formerly known as Harlem Success Academy until Eva decided to move into other neighborhoods in New York City). When everyone else in the state bombed on the Common Core tests, Eva’s schools had high scores. I asked the teacher about what happens inside these hallowed halls. The teacher said the t
A Good Discussion at Stanford
I spoke at Stanford on September 30, and afterwards there was a panel discussion with Stanford’s Linda Darling-Hammond and Hoover Institution economist Eric Hanushek, moderated by veteran journalist Peter Shrag. There was a commentary afterward by doctoral student Channa Mae Cook, who had been a charter principal in New Orleans. I have known all of the panelists except for Channa Mae Cook for many
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: What to Do with Your Child’s Test Scores: Send ‘em Back!Some parents in New York have devised a creative way to protest the absurdly hard Common Core tests that most kids “failed” last spring. They are sending the scores back to the State Commissioner John King. The word is getting out. The tests were designed to create failure. Te