The Height of the Ridiculous
Oliver Wendell Holmes was a remarkably gifted man: physician, author, poet, a man of many talents . This poem, which he wrote in 1833, is a favorite of mine. These days, we are surrounded by so much that is ridiculous that satire becomes nigh impossible. But that’s all the more reason to laugh when we can. *********************************************** The Height of the Ridiculous I WROTE some
United Opt Out Site Severely Damaged: Message from Peg Robertson
My computer guru friend who is working on the UOO site states: “The United Opt Out site was attacked, and essentially corrupted from its internal databases. The hacker crippled every single SQL table, and left them unrepairable, and our site frozen and inaccessible to administrate.” He is trying to recover files now.” Question: who wanted to prevent parents from getting information about how to op
This is No Joke: Hackers Attacked Website of United Opt Opt
Coincidence? Just as state testing begins in state after state, the website of United Zopt Out was hacked, with the intention of destroying it. That is the go-to site for parents seeking information about state laws and their rights. Contact Peg Robertson to see when it will be up again. writepeg@juno.com http://www.pegwithpen.com/ http://www.unitedoptout.com/
A Flash Mob in a Fish Market In Odessa
This is not an April Fools’ joke. Russian troops are massed on the borders of Ukraine. People are shopping in the fish market in Odessa, going about their daily life. Then a flash mob appears. What do you think they do? Why do these notes always speak of hope? Why do they stir us so? Why do we hear this music and think of a better world? Thank you, Andrew Sullivan, for posting this beautiful scene
Share Your Story about the Common Core Tests
An invitation to join a new website and share your stories about the Commin Core tests. Hello friends, I am writing with exciting news about testingtalk.org, a national website created to gather on-the-ground feedback about the new Common Core tests being piloted this spring. Your help in spreading the word about testingtalk.org is critical. With this new forum, parents and educators across the co
NPE: We Met in Austin to Drive a Stake Through the Heart of the Vampire
Jeffrey Weiss, a reporter at the Dallas Morning News, asked me why the Network for Public Education decided to hold its first national meeting in Austin, Texas. I remembered something that Robert Scott, a recent state commissioner of education in Texas, said about high-stakes testing. He said it was “the heart of the vampire,” the heart of a new military-industrial complex. He put it this way: “Th
A Parent Seeks Your Help: Stop Abusive Testing
A comment from a reader: Hi! I’m going through the same problem right now with my son who will be taking the state testing for the first time this year. He is on the spectrum, and is incredibly bright, but can only demonstrate it on tests if it is presented to him in a way he understands. He thinks, reasons, and understands at a different level of comprehension than what is on these tests. I ask
Are You Attending American Education Research Association Meeting in Philadelphia?
If the answer is yes, please come to one or both of the two sessions where I am speaking on April 3. I will give the John Dewey Society lecture at the Convention Center, 100 Level, Room 114, from 4-7 pm. (Lots of time for discussion). My topic: “Does Evidence Matter?” Fair warning: The room holds only 600 people. Before the Dewey lecture, I will join Philadelphia parent activist Helen Gym and Carl
Rob Astorino, Cuomo Opponent for Governor, Will Opt His Children Out of State Testing
Rob Astorino, County Executive of Westchester County, announced today that he and his wife have decided to opt their three children out of state testing. Astorino opposes both the high-stakes testing and the Common Core as intrusions on local control imposed by Washington and Albany. Astorino, a Republican, is running for Governor against Andrew Cuomo. He has twice been elected as County Execu
This Public School Principal Decides to Homeschool His Youngest
Tim Farley has had it. He knows what the state and federal government is mandating is wrong. He knows it hurts children. He will do his best to protect the children from these harmful and spirit-deadening demands. But he will home-school his youngest child. He explains why here: Tim Farley writes: My wife and I have finally hit the breaking point. We can no longer sit by and watch the educational
Opt Your Child Out of State Testing: Don’t Feed the Machine
This week begins the make-or-break, do-or-die standardized testing that will label your child a success or a failure. I urge you not to let your child take the state test. Opt out. The best test for students is the test made by their teacher. Teachers know what they taught; they test what the students were taught. They get instant feedback. They can find out immediately which students didn’t u
US DOE Struggles to Prove That VAM Works, But It Doesn’t
As is well known, the U. S. Department of Education zealously believes–like Michelle Rhee–that low test scores are caused by “bad” teachers. The way to find these ineffective teachers, the theory goes, is to see whose students get higher scores and whose don’t. That’s known as value-added measurement (VAM), and the DOE used Race to the Top to persuade or bribe most states to use it to discover who
Sacrificing Social Workers, Psychologists, Counselors, the Arts, and Athletics for Test Prep
Kathleen M. Cashin and Bruce S. Cooper are on the faculty of Fordham University. Dr. Cashin, an experienced educator, is also a member of the New York State Board of Regents. She is regularly in the minority on votes that increase the pressure for high-stakes testing. Dr. Cooper is a scholar who has written about school finance for many years. In this essay, they criticize the state’s pressure to
The Dallas Institute: An Intellectually Exciting Experience for Teachers
This wonderful article in the American Educator describes the work of the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, which has been conducting summer seminars for teachers for 30 years. It opens the story through the eyes of a teacher named Keith Black: “Instead of being subjected to what he disparagingly calls “PowerPoint drudgery,” Black spent eight hours each day dis- cussing classic works of
New York’s Dumb State Budget Deal
In writing the state budget, New York legislators totally capitulated to the billionaire-funded charter industry. Of course, they were egged on by Governor Cuomo, who now sees himself as a national leader of the school privatization movement. (He is even leading a retreat with other prominent figures of the movement to turn public schools over to private management. Please note that the “philosoph
Katie Osgood: Don’t Change Our Kids, Change Our World
Katie Osgood works in a psychiatric hospital for adolescents. She weighs in here on the debate, if there is one, about “grit.” Grit meaning perseverance, determination, character. The kids she works with are in terrible trouble, and Katie says it is not their fault. She writes that: “…. the hyper-focus on individual character traits like “grit” is incredibility dangerous and damaging. “I think
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-30-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: A Hero Superintendent in Massachusetts Speaks Out Against the MadnessTodd Gazda, superintendent of schools in Ludlow, Massachusetts, posted a blog that expresses the outrage that so many educators feel today as a result of federal and state meddling in the work best left to educators. Gazda writes: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! For his coura