Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Michelle Rhee Is Really Bad At Her Job
Leonie Haimson tells us that Reformy John King, New York's Education Commissioner, is so scared of continuing parental outrage at his test-obsessed policies that he has to basically turn his "listening tour" into a scripted political rally:The Brooklyn stop on Commissioner King's "listening tour", asdescribed here, featured one of the few friendly audiences he has faced, overw
No Love for the Merit Pay Fairy in Newark
As I wrote before, merit pay in Newark is turning out to be a big, fat scam imposed on the teachers who bargained in good faith to accept it into their contract. The teachers aren't getting nearly what they were promised, there is little reason so far to believe that merit pay has increased teacher effectiveness, and there's plenty of reason to believe that much of the merit pay bonus money is not
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No, gentle reader, this did not come from The Onion:User Actions FollowStudentsFirstNYVerified account@StudentsFirstNYBecause of #CommonCore, kids in Bed-Stuy will be able to compete in the same global economy as kids in wealthy suburban districts....7:15 PM - 10 Dec 13Silly me: I actually read stuff, so I was thinking maybe poverty and racism and inequity and poverty and poverty and poverty and poverty had something to do with the differences in outcomes between kids in Bed-Stuy and the "wealthy suburbs."Thank goodness StudentsFirst has come along and disabused me of such nonsense
A couple of weeks ago, I noted that Tom Friedman - the NY Times's own Mustache of Understanding - was in danger of losing his Wanker-In-Chief title to Frank Bruni. The bald-faced food critic, you see, had attempted to opine on education, with predictably disastrous results; how could bushy-nosed Friedman ever top Bruni's stunning display of ignorance and laziness and stay on top of the wankeriffic heap?Oh, me of little faith. If there's one thing I think we've come to learn over the years, it's that Tom Friedman will never give up in his battle to remain the least well-informed bloviater in ou
Chris Cerf, NJ Education Commissioner, at the New Jersey Educators Association convention, Atlantic City, 11/8/13*:I always look forward to this event and I'm really delighted. And I want to extend my appreciation particularly to the leadership of the NJEA, with whom I feel that we've had a sometimes spirited discussion, but always a positive and a respectful one.NJ Governor Chris Christie, 11/5/10:“These teachers have all summer off. Can’t they have their convention during the summer?’’ the governor said as he spoke to a clutch of high schoolers surrounding him.“They got to get two days off f
DEC 10
How The "Reform" Virus Is Spreading To NJ's Suburban Schools
New Jersey's schools are considered to be at the top of the nation; our suburban schools, in particular, are among some of the very best in the world. Nonetheless: the "reform" virus is spreading out from the urban areas into the 'burbs with frightening speed.How is this happening? Let's look at a test case:Last month, I told the tale of one Tim Capone, superintendent of the Highland Par
DEC 07
Intimidation & Harassment From Montclair's Reformy BOE
UPDATE: OK, I was over the top on that first graph; the Stasi were obviously much worse than the Montclair BOE. Changing...If you are interested in repressing the free expression rights of your fellow citizens, may I suggest sending your resume to the Montclair, NJ Board of Education?Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey obtained a temporary restraining order yesterday to st
DEC 04
Everything You Heard Today About NJ Teachers Is Wrong
So I guess someone at the NJ Department of Education decided that today (the day after PISA Day) was the perfect time to tell the world that many of our state's teachers suck: More than a quarter of teachers who were reviewed in a two-year pilot program of the state’s new evaluation system were rated only "partially effective" or worse in one part of the new system, according to a new r
DEC 01
'Twas the Night Before PISA Day!
'Twas the night before PISA Day, when all through the foundationsThe wonks were all dreaming about Bill Gates's donations;The rankings were crafted for each nation with care,In hopes that more grants would come from billionaires;The children were tested and stressed at their desks;While visions of bubble sheets made them feel quite grotesque;Suburban moms in their 'kerchiefs, and dads in their cap