Ms. McLaughlin Comments
An earlier post about the Vergara case contrasted the testimony of a plaintiff (a student) who said Ms. McLaughlin was a “bad” teacher with a video in which several students spoke highly of the same teacher, who was named by the Rotary as Pasadena Teacher of the Year. Christine McLaughlin, the teacher who was the subject of the post, left the following comment: “I was so surprised to hear of thi
Frank Breslin: Standardized Tests Reflect Family Income, not Teacher Quality
Here is a good example of taking facts to the public: Frank Breslin, retired teacher, writes an opinion article that explains the flaws of Common Core and standardized testing, as well as teacher evaluation based on flawed tests.
Is Ms. McLaughlin “Grossly Ineffective” or “Teacher of the Year”?
At the Vergara trial, a student identified one of her teachers as undeserving of tenure. She named Christine McLaughlin of Blair Middle School. Ms. McLaughlin had been selected as Pasadena Teacher of the Year. So which is she? This reader writes: “Here’s a video of one of the “grossly ineffective teachers” and “2013 Pasadena Teacher of the Year” named in this lawsuit (by her former student and pl
Jeff Bryant: Who Will Stop Charter School Corruption?
Charter schools have been the beneficiary of a myth, the myth that a free market in schooling will produce miraculous results. Unfortunately, like most myths, it is not true. Deregulation translates into lack of supervision and oversight. In the absence of supervision of public funds, scams, frauds, and corruption flourish. Jeff Bryant here reviews some of the egregious examples of charter school
Lisa Haver: NCTQ’s Advice to Fix Philadelphia Schools
In 2013, the National Council on Teacher Quality offered its advice on how to fix Philadelphia’s financially beleaguered public schools. Retired teacher Lisa Haver reviewed its counsel to the city. Haver is a founder of the grass-roots advocacy organization Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools. In this article, Haver wrote: “”Thank heavens,” you’re thinking. The district is so broke it’s look
Oklahoma Rejected Pass-Fail Third Grade Reading Test
I am late in reporting this story, but did not want to miss the opportunity to correct my oversight. One of the truly bad ideas that has been adopted in various states is that third graders must pass a reading test or flunk. They can’t advance to fourth grade. This is part of the punitive test-based accountability of our times, which hurts children and trusts standardized tests more than teachers
Peter Greene: The Arne Duncan Drinking Game
Peter Greene proves himself a man of infinite patience. In this post, he analyzes and deconstructs a speech that Arne Duncan gave to the annual meeting of the PTA. He writes: “Arne opens up his speech as pretty much anybody would (Glad to be here! Your organization is great! Let’s here it for your leaders!) and then moves on to tales of his children’s schooling. Their experience was not the typi
Inside China’s “Insanely Stressful” College Entrance Exam Process
Chinese students live (and sometimes die) for their test scores. Here is a portrayal of the “insanely stressful” examination system that rules the lives of all Chinese students. This is the system that American policymakers like Arne Duncan hope to import to the United States. This is the dream of “tiger moms” like Amy Chua and Michelle Rhee, to subject children to higher and higher stakes u
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 6-28-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGThe Millions Wasted on Testing Could Be Spent on…..Valerie Strauss ran this great article by Jim Arnold and Peter Smagorinsky. Jim Arnold recently retired from the superintendent’s position of the Pelham City Schools in Georgia. Peter Smagorinsky is Distinguished Research Professor of English Education at the University o