Anthony Cody: It Is Time for Bill Gates to Throw in the Towel
Anthony Cody points out that for the past dozen years or so, Bill Gates has had his fun experimenting with education reform. Obsessed as he is with measurement and data, he imagined that he could impose his narrow ideas on American public schools and bring about a magical transformation. Does American education need reform and improvement? Absolutely. Stuck as it is in the paradigm of testing and
Politico: Rightwing Authors Warn: Watch Out for Teachers, They Are Obstacles to Our Reforms
Politico reports this morning: “WATCH OUT FOR TEACHERS: Harvard professor Paul E. Peterson is out with a new book urging Americans not to be lulled into thinking of teachers as regular folk. On the contrary, he writes in “Teachers versus the Public,” they’re part of a large and powerful special interest group — and their interests often diverge from the public’s. “We tend to think of teachers as
EduShyster: The Waltons Love Little Children, Not Their Parents
After reading in the New York Times about how many gazillions the Walton family has given to create charter schools (and vouchers) so that poor children can escape from failing public schools, EduShyster was deeply moved by their charitable impulses. And then she thought about their parents, the ones who work for Walmart. She writes: “Tough love “I will stop briefly for a moment, reader, to all
Will Jonathan Pelto Run for Governor of Connecticut?
On issues related to education, Connecticut’s Governor Dannell Malloy is one of the worst governors in the nation. Jonathan Pelto, who served in the state legislature, is considering a run against Malloy. Pelto knows that Malloy has repeatedly let down students, parents, teachers, and communities. Malloy has followed the money–the hedge fund money–which supports charter schools for the few. Pelt
Jeff Bryant in Salon: Why Common Core Is in Deep Trouble
Jeff Bryant is a marketing and communications expert, and he understands why Common Core is in deep trouble. The “education reform movement” is not really a movement. It has no mass base. It is a public relations campaign created by a very small number of people with deep pockets. They thought they could pull a fast one. But the American public is not buying. The fake “reformers” made claims
Randi Weingarten on the Real Retirement Crisis
In one of her very best articles, AFT President Randi Weingarten names the real retirement crisis. Many American workers, having paid into pension funds, will retire into a life of poverty because of a campaign to wipe out defined benefit pension plans. Randi writes: “America has a retirement crisis, but it’s not what some people want you to believe it is. It’s not the defined benefit pension pl
Mercedes Schneider: Who Are the 24 People Who Wrote the Common Core Standards?
A few days ago, I posted the names of the members of the “work groups” that wrote the Common Core standards. There was one work group for English language arts and another for mathematics. There were some members who served on both work groups. Altogether, 24 people wrote the Common Core standards. None identified himself or herself as a classroom teacher, although a few had taught in the past (
Susan Ochshorn: Will Little Children Be Sucked into the Academic Vortex?
Susan Ochshorn rightly worries that the current policy craze for universal pre-kindergarten will push developmentally inappropriate practices into the early years. Kindergarten will become what first grade used to be, and four-year-olds will be expected to read and take standardized tests. Ochshorn writes: “Fast-forward to the polar vortex of 2014. Nerissa Ediza’s tweet, on February 1, says it a
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-27-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Does Anyone Still Believe in VAM? The “Center for American Progress” Does.Despite the fact that major scholarly organizations have debunked value-added measurement as a way of identifying and quantifying teacher quality, there are still a few lonely defenders of VAM. There is the U.S. Department of Education, which bet nearly $5 bi