Message to N.C. Teachers “We Hope You Die Young”
This teacher deconstructed the proposal to change compensation for teachers in North Carolina, which follows on last year’s full menu of legislation intended to reduce the pay, job security, and rights of teachers in that state. Bear in mind that the specifics of the plan are evolving, but here goes, from Kafkateach: “I originally started this blog as a coping mechanism to deal with the absurdit
David Sirota: Who Is Thomas Friedman?
Yesterday, Thomas Friedman published yet another article lambasting American public education. Every time he writes about public schools, it is a put-down. He said in one article that America is “in decline” because of low scores on international tests, because McKinsey & Co. said so. Google his name and “Teach for America,” and you will get more than 100,000 hits. David Sirota, an investigati
Charter Chain Defends Teaching Creationism
Last week, Slate published an article about a large Texas-based charter chain that teaches creationism in its science classes. A spokesman for the chain, Responsive Education Solutions defended the practice. “According to the article in Slate, students in Responsive Education Solutions charter schools get a different spin on biogy and history, to accord with religious dogma. “ Zack Kopplin wrote:
Lodge McCammon in 2011: Flipping the Classroom, Larger Class Size, Pay per Pupil
A reader pointed out that Lodge McCammon proposed his plan to change teacher compensation in North Carolina at least two years ago. McCammon is the author of the much-discussed 60-30-10 proposal. Actually, Lindsay Wagner cited this article in her report this morning. The article was written by McCammon, not taken out of context. He wrote then: “RALEIGH — Our nation is plagued by a failing system o
I Left My Heart in San Diego
Must be something funny in the water in San Diego. Back in the 1990s, when it was widely seen as one of the best urban districts, the San Diego business community de died it was no good and needed a tough master to bring it to heel. So they hired Border Czar and attorney Alan Bersin as superintendent, and he launched controversial, pedal-to-the-floor reforms that I wrote bout in “Death and Life of
Update on North Carolina Proposal: The Story Evolves
This morning I posted about a bizarre proposal to change (demolish) the teaching profession in North Carolina, called the 60-30-10 plan. It included features such as, all teachers re-applying for their jobs in 2015. Flipped classrooms. Larger class sizes. Teachers paid per student. No teacher allowed to teach more than 20 years. Constant churn. No profession, just a temp job monitoring work on co
A Video of My Talk in Bedford, NY, about Common Core, Teacher Evaluation, and the Mess Caused by Federal Policy
I spoke at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York, on January 16. Here is a video of my talk. I explain how federal policy has taken control of every public school in the nation, promoting policies that have no research or evidence behind them, closing schools, and causing demoralization among teachers and administrators. I recommend a moratorium for testing of the Common Core. I recommend reg
Author of NC Proposal Responds
Lodge McKammon, author of the 60-30-10 plan for teachers in North Carolina, which would encourage larger class sizes, sent this comment: “For the record, this article in NC Policy Watch was published before I had a chance to speak with the author. These are, in a sense, some of the ideas that I have been brainstorming over the past few years. However, this write-up (including the document) is tak
Oprah’s Star Charter School in New Orleans Is Closing Down
It seems like only yesterday that the Oprah television network featured an exciting new charter school in New Orleans that promised to turn around the John McDonogh school. The new charter group was led by Steve Barr and his Future Is Now organization. “One year after the Oprah television network featured New Orleans’ John McDonogh High School in “Blackboard Wars,” hoping to depict a successful c
Tennessee Parents Fight Back Against Corporate “Reform”!
Please support this wonderful new organization of parents and other citizens in Tennessee, organizing to reclaim public schools from bad policy and corporate takeovers. Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence MISSION: TENNESSEANS RECLAIMING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE (TREE) IS ROOTED IN FIGHTING FOR STRONG, EQUITABLE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND IS COMMITTED TO GROWING CHILD-CENTERED EDUCATION POLICY.
North Carolina: Greatest Insult to Teachers Ever Cooked Up in Backroom
I thought this must be a joke. It is not. North Carolina legislators are considering a law that would demolish the teaching profession and encourage teacher turnover. Call it the “here-today-gone-next-year” policy. The goal is to cut costs by increasing class sizes, pushing out senior teachers, and using technology to “flip” classrooms. According to NC Policy Watch: “A new plan to raise some t
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Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Jersey Jazzman: The Newark 5 Are Not Alone!The indefinite suspension (firing) of five principals in Newark–who spoke out against the closure of their schools– by Chris Christie’s appointee Cami Anderson is going viral! Time for an anti-bullying program in New Jersey. Jersey Jazzman shows in this post that the bullying agenda of Gov