KrazyTA with a Tribute to Our Conversation!
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED. The symmetry of two ones followed by six zeros in less than two appeals to me. So please excuse a bit of long-winded impertinence about how I view this blog. DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED: “Diane Ravitch’s Blog A site to discuss better education for all.” 75 may be the new 45, but remember that Michelle Rhee literally is 44 years old and has a real staff of 120 and Diane Ravi
Brooklyn Parents: Can You Hear Me Now?
These remarks were delivered by a parent in Brooklyn at the Opt Out rally: “Good morning and welcome to Brooklyn! “My name is Kemala Karmen and I am the parent of a 4th grader at PS 146, the Brooklyn New School. In recent years, our borough has earned a reputation as a trendsetter in everything from Indie music to urban farming to participatory budgeting—pioneered in NYC by Council Member Brad Lan
Should We Send EduShyster to Hobnob with the Thought Leaders at Whiteface Lodge?
EduShyster volunteers to join the mighty and the very rich at Camp Philos, where our self-anointed thought leaders will figure out how to hasten the privatization of public schools and how to get rid of those expensive veteran teachers, while encouraging more young people to spend a year or two as “teachers” before finding their real career. Is that a real Paypal button? If it is, I am donating t
United Opt Out Website Working Now
Peg Ribertson’s technical advisor fixed the damage to the United Opt Out website. It is working again. Pay them a visit.
What Makes a Mass Movement?
A reader posted this video recently, and I couldn’t stop laughing. What makes a movement? Here is the answer. Be a leader, be a follower. Let’s build a mass movement!
Bob Shepherd: You Can Always Trust Data
A frequent commentator, Bob Shepherd, with many years in curriculum development, education publishing, and assessment, offers sage advice: “The tests are infallible. They are objective measures. And we know that because they produce data. And not just any old data. Data with numbers and stuff. Very rigorously determined raw-to-scaled-score conversions and cut scores and proficiencies. Super-doope
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
April Fools’ Day: How Governor Cuomo and the Legislature Tricked the Parents of New York
Carol Burris here describes how Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York legislature pulled a fast trick on the parents of the state.
Peter Greene: VAM for Dummies
Peter Greene just keeps writing hit after hit. This one explains what VAM means and why it works well in manufacturing but not in dealing with human beings. He explains how Pennsylvania measures teacher quality: PVAAS uses a thousand points of data to project the test results for students. This is a highly complex model that three well-paid consultants could not clearly explain to seven college-e
The Onion Explains the 13-Step College Admissions Process
Valerie Strauss posts here a hilarious explanation of the college admissions process, as devised by those witty folks at the Onion. The Onion would have a hard time satirizing the education “reform” movement of our time, where every day is April Fools’ Day.
Eleven Million Page Views in Less than Two Years!
Dear Friends, Today this blog reached the unbelievable number of eleven million page views! I had no idea this would happen when I wrote the first post on April 26, 2012. Thank you for reading. More than that, thank you for participating. Many of you contribute regularly to what must be the liveliest discussion about education on the Internet. I read your comments and pick out some that are th
More than 70% of Parents at 3 Brooklyn Schools Opt Out
What happens when parents say “No, not with my child”? They protect their child against state-sanctioned harm. PRESS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL 9:15 AM APRIL 1, 2014 BROOKLYN, NY Contact 1: Elizabeth Elsass, 917-605-3640, rinelsass1@gmail.com Contact 2: Dani Liebling, 347-218-3107, daniliebling@yahoo.com GROUNDSWELL OF BROOKLYN PARENTS FROM BROWNSVILLE TO CARROLL GARDENS REFUSE STATE TESTS A grassr
Diana Senechal: Time to Teach the Inhumanities
Diana Senechal, author and high school teachers, has found what is needed in American education today: a renewed emphasis on the Inhumanities. Senechal has identified a district in Wisconsin where this new initiative is taking place. “Rhino Falls, Wisconsin—Citing a global trend toward ruthless school and workplace practices, Superintendent Mark Sequor called on for a steep increase in the inhum
Feel the Joy as Sister Christina Rocks It!
April 1 is a day for joy, not just a day for tricks and foolishness. If you want to feel some joy, watch this video of a nun who rocks Italy’s TV talent show.
EduShyster: Education Reform Inc. Vs. Democracy
EduShyster here reviews some of the very worst movies now available through Reed Hastings’ Netflix. She begins by reminding us that Hastings is certain that elected school boards will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history as corporate style charters take their place, relentlessly determined to push test scores through the roof. Hooray for the corporate takeover of public education and the d
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-31-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: US DOE Struggles to Prove That VAM Works, But It Doesn’tAs 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