BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Judge Throws Out Teacher Tenure Law
A judge tossed out a significant part of Governor Bobby Jindal’s law denying due process for teachers. The judge said the teacher did not have a fair hearing. GOOD NEWS!
Chalkbeat: NYC Charter Principal Has a Long History of Faking His Résumé
Chalkbeat reports that the principal of a NYC charter school has gone from one position to the next, touting fake credentials. Despite the fact that he had been forced out of other schools, despite the fact that he made numerous other unsubstantiated claims about jobs he had held, he was hired to run a charter for transfer students, a school for students at risk of not graduating. His résumé is
Breaking News: NC Court Halts Voucher PlAn
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2014/02/21/breaking-court-halts-north-carolina-school-voucher-plan/
Why Is the US DOE Supporting Gulen Movement?
We understand that Arne Duncan prefers privately managed charter schools to public schools, but why is he supporting the Gulen Movement? Is it because it is the largest charter chain in the US, with nearly 150 charters, all led by Turkish men? Politico.com writes: “GULEN INSTITUTE LANDS HIGH-PROFILE SPEAKER: Ken Bedell, a senior advisor in the Education Department, spoke Wednesday at a conferen
Peter Greene: Why We Need Data Walls for Everyone
Peter Greene here rages against data walls, until he realizes that everyone should be subject to the se public shaming so they too can feel humiliated and outraged. He writes; “Suddenly I get it. Data walls aren’t just an indefensible abuse of children. They aren’t just a way to make school a bit more hostile and unpleasant, a way to shame and bully the most fragile members of our society. They’
Major Study: College Admission Tests Matter Less Than HS Grades
A major new study finds that college entrance tests matter less than high school grades. Indeed, the rise of the test-tutoring industry has increased the significance of family income as a predictor of scores on the ACT And SAT. Tutors can earn hundreds of dollars PER HOUR to prepare young scions for the tests. Here is the press release about the study by William Hiss, former head of admissions a
The Vergara Trial: Harvard Expert Takes Stand
The Vergara trial is an effort by a wealthy tech entrepreneur to win a judgment that any due process rights for teachers harms the civil rights of minority students. The defense (the California Teachers Association) called Harvard professor Susan Moore Johnson to testify. Johnson is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the teaching profession. Plaintiffs’ lawyer attempted to rattle her by a
“A Sea of Red”: A Néw Model of Unionism
In September 2012, the Chicago Teachets Union went out on strike to protest the conditions of teaching And learning in the schools. Surprisingly, the strike was supported by parents, who understood that the teachers were fighting for their children. More than 90% of CTU’s members supported the strike, outwitting the pernicious efforts by Jonah Edelman and Stand for Children to make a strike imposs
Beardsley: Will South Carolina Fall for Rhee’s Humbug?
One of our Marion’s leading experts on teacher evaluation, Audrey Amrein Beardsley, here evaluates Michelle Rhee’s efforts to promote her failed ideas in South Carolina. Rhee trots out her familiar rhetoric about bad teachers and failing schools in one of the nation’s poorest states, urging them to buy her snake oil. Will they buy? Or will they do some research?
Connecticut Pumps Millions into Google Books But….
Jonathan Pelto reports that Connecticut districts are spending lavishly on Google Chromebooks, while Google admits it is data mining to promote advertising and sales. Google to Connecticut: Thank you!
Why Does the US DOE Want to Mine Student Data?
Race to the Top provides incentives for unprecedented collection of student data. Bill Gates and Rupert Myrdoch created a new corporation called inBloom to collect and store this data. They say it is good for students and teachers but it is hard to understand why the government and private corporations need so much confidential data about everyone. Here is one article that creates a context. It
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-20-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: David Safier: Corporate Reformers Fund Fake Dems to Support Vouchers in ArizonaDavid Safier is a journalist and friend of public education in Arizona. In this post, he explains how the usual assortment of corporate reformers amd make-believe Democrats have descended on Arizona to push vouchers. First, they donated handsomely to the