Corporate Reformers in L.A. Try Agsin for Mayoral Control
A commission by a group called Los Angeles 2020 called for mayoral control of the public schools, blaming low test scores on the elected school board. The commission seems to think that getting rid of democracy will solve the children’s academic problems. In z curious contradiction, the commission commended Superintendent John Deasy, the official most responsible for policies that affect test scor
BREAKING NEWS: Experienced Teachers Get Better Results!
An editorial in the Los Angeles Times says that experienced teachers get better results than inexperienced teachers! It might seem too obvious to be a headline, but the fake reformers have railed against “last-in-first-out” and veteran teachers for years. Those “reformers” insist that the veterans are burned out while the new teachers are great on Day One. There is even a lawsuit in Los Angeles t
D.C.: Will Neighborhood Schools Become Obsolete?
This thoughtful article by Emma Brown in the Washington Post shows the debates in the District of Columbia about the future or the demise of neighborhood schools. Some see the neighborhood school as a relic of the past, with school choice being the wave of the future. Others think of the neighborhood school as the heart of the community, where children and parents walk to school together, plan tog
Peter Greene: How a “Reluctant Warrior” Can Stand Up and Fight
Peter Greene, high school teacher in Pennsylvania, read Anthony Cody’s article about teachers taking action, and he remembered why he had been reluctant when he should have spoken out. Then he realized that the time had come to speak up and not allow his profession to be diminished by uninformed critics. In this post, he gives practical advice about how teachers must overcome their reluctance and
Paul Thomas: The War on Teachers in the Age of Value-Added
Paul Thomas follows Anthony Cody’s previously cited post by describing the unrelenting attack on teachers, which has intensified with the use of statistically inappropriate measures. He writes: “As Cody notes above, however, simultaneously political leaders, the media, and the public claim that teachers are the most valuable part of any student’s learning (a factually untrue claim), but that hig
Anthony Cody: Teachers, It is Time to Wake Up and Fight Back Against the Machine
Anthony Cody here describes teachers as “reluctant warriors,” as men and women who chose a profession because they wanted to teach, not to engage in political battles over their basic rights as professionals. The profession is under attack, as everyone now knows. Pensions are under attack. The right to due process is under attack. The policymakers want inexperienced, inexpensive teachers who won
Valerie Strauss: the Real Losers in the de Blasio-Moskowitz Charter Battle
Valerie Strauss clearly explains who were the losers in the bruising battle between the billionaires and de Blasio: students with disabilities.
Dallas: “Support Our Public Schools” Does Not Mean Support Our Public Schools
In Dallas, billionaire John Arnold is supporting an initiative to turn the whole district into a “home rule district” or a “charter district.” The organization that is collecting signatures has a typical reformer name: “Support Our Public Schools.” When today’s reformers say they want to “support our public schools,” it usually means the opposite. Buyer beware. But what is a home rule district
New Study Finds That Early Childhood Care and Education Has Lasting Effects
This article reports on a long-term study of the lasting effects of early childhood education. The article is misleadingly titled “Project to Improve Poor Children’s Intellect Led to Better Health, Data Shows.” But the study involved far more than improving young children’s intellect. “In 1972, researchers in North Carolina started following two groups of babies from poor families. In the fi
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-13-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Billionaires Rule! How Governor Cuomo and Hedge Fund Managers Protected Charter SchoolsI am late posting this article because it appeared about the time I started dealing with health issues (a bad fall that took out the ACL in my left knee). It deserves wide reading because it is an accurate portrait of the money and power behind t