Louisiana Educators Explains Why He Opposes Common Core Standards
This statement was delivered to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. http://louisianaeducator.blogspot.com/2014/06/statement-to-bese-on-ccss-and-parcc.html Monday, June 30, 2014 Statement to BESE on CCSS and PARCC The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has scheduled a special meeting On July 1, at 11:30 A.M., to respond to the executive orders by Governor Jindal that wou
Bill Gates Blames Students for Failure of His Education Plans
At a meeting in Los Alamos, Bill Gates said it was easier to find cures for malaria and other diseases than to “fix” American education. Being the richest man in America, people hang on his every word. Gates again knocks U.S. education. He said that technology should help, but it only benefits motivated students, and the U.S. has lots of unmotivated students. Usually, he blames teachers. Now he b
Do Teachers’ Unions Have Any Friends in the Obama Administration?
We are living in an era when the very idea of public education is under attack, as are teachers’ unions and the teaching profession. Let’s be clear: these attacks and the power amassed behind them are unprecedented in American history. Sure, there have always been critics of public schools, of teachers, and of unions. But never before has there been a serious and sustained effort to defund public
Schneider: Will the Courts in New Mexico Decide Louisiana’s Tests?
Mercedes Schneider tells a strange tale about PARCC testing, John White, Bobby Jindal, AIR, and Pearson. Will AIR’s lawsuit against Pearson in the Arizona courts affect Louisiana’s choice of tests?
Florida Charter Schools: Follow the Money to Scams and Profiteering
The following article is by Patricia W. Hall, chair of the League of Women Voters Education team in Hillsborough County, Florida. It was originally published by La Gaceta in Tampa, Florida. The state League of Women Voters recently published a one-year study of charters across Florida. Charter School Explosion: Follow the Money Patricia W. Hall Although charter schools must, by Florida law, be ov
Paul Bruno: What if There is No Crisis in U.S. Education?
Paul Bruno, a science teacher in California, assembled a few charts to show that there is no “crisis” in American education. What we have today was aptly named “a manufactured crisis” by David Berliner and Bruce Biddle, in their book “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public Schools” in the mid-1990s. Last year, my book “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatizat
Jeb Bush’s Ardent Advocacy for Common Core
Conservatives are backing away from Common Core in response to angry parents who see it as a federal takeover of their local schools. Several states have dropped the Common Core assessments or the Common Core standards. But one conservative is not backing down: Jeb Bush. He has become the flag-bearer for the Common Core. He and Arne Duncan are the most ardent proponents for the embattled national
EduShyster: Who Wins When the Fight Against Tenure Hits the Road?
EduShyster explains the back story on the new team that has been assembled to eliminate teacher tenure wherever it still survives. The lead player in this docudrama is Campbell Brown, a one-time CNN anchor who now works full-time to oust sexual predators from our classrooms. EduShyster says she will be rewarded with more airtime and media FaceTime. Then there is the ex-Obama communications team,
Australia: Adopting the U.S. Model, With Sorrow
Phil Cullen writes The Treehorn Express in Australia. He regularly reports on that nation’s slavish copying of the worst American ideas, especially testing and accountability. The Australian national testing program is called NAPLAN. FELLOW EDUCATORS : Please send this along to people in schools as extensively as you can. Those who already do…..thanks from Treehorn and the other kids. The Treehorn
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-30-14Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Lucy Calkins Vs. David ColemanNew York City and Néw York State have enthusiastically embraced the Common Core standards. In the background, however, is a simmering–one might say boiling battle between literacy guru Lucy Calkins of Teachers College and Common Core architect David Coleman about teaching reading. Calkins supports bala