Missouri Governor Signs Bill to Review Common Core
Jay Nixon, Governor of Missouri, signed a bill to review and revise Common Core. It will remain in place for next two years,
Good News! David Sirota’s New Job
Just received good news from crack investigative journalist David Sirota: http://davidsirota.com/ July 14, 2014 ———————————————————— Friends: http://www.ibtimes.com I just wanted to share some exciting news in my world – as of July 21st, I will be starting a new job at the International Business Times (www.ibtimes.com). I will be a senior writer focusing on the intersection of politics, business
Clay Pell: A Fresh Face for Rhode Island Governor
Clay Pell, a grandson of Rhode Island’s legendary Senator Claiborne Pell, announced that he is running for governor. Since the other two candidates are allied with corporate reformers, Pell offers hope that he might take a different tack and actually help public education (despite his own elite schooling). Clay has two distinctions. First, he is 32, which would make him the nation’s youngest gove
A Spirited Debate about Common Core at AFT Convention
Stephen Sawchuck did a good job reporting the heated debate about the Common Core standards at the AFT convention. The Chicago Teachers Union wanted to dump them. The head of the New York City United Federation of Teachers mocked the critics of the standards. One union official said that the critics represented the Tea Party. That’s pretty insulting to the Chicago Teachers Union and one-third of t
Jill Lepore: What the Theory of Disruptive Innovation Gets Wrong
If your school has been closed, if the staff was fired in a “turnaround,” you have experienced the theory of disruptive innovation, which is associated with Harvard Business Professor Clayton Chistensen. Or perhaps your neighborhood school fell victim to Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of “creative destruction.” Just so you can see these ideologies from a critical perspective, be sure to read Harvard
Paul Thomas on Arne Duncan and the Myth of Low Expectations
Paul Thomas here reviews many of the public statements of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and finds a common theme: the cause of low test scores is low expectations. If only society, the schools, and parents had higher expectations, no child would be left behind, no child would ever get low test scores, children with disabilities would excel. Embedded in this claim is the strange belief tha
Help Joshua Katz Take Back Our Democracy in Florida!
I hope you remember seeing Joshua Katz’s fabulous TED talk, where he lacerated the fake reformers who are assailing hard-working teachers, smothering children with standardized tests, and privatizing public education for fun and profit. Josh is a math teacher in Orange County, Florida. Great news! Joshua Katz is running for school board in Orange County, Florida. That board is thinking of bringing
Pearson Errors: Would You Trust Your Child to This Corporation?
Pearson, the British megacorporation, appears to have won the PARCC Common Core contract, which is worth about $1 billion. Its tests will be administered to 6-10 million children in 14 states. The third grade tests will take eight hours. The high school tests will take 10 hours. PARCC is also developing tests for kindergarten, first and second grades. FAIRTEST has compiled a catalogue of known Pe
Finland: Frequent Recesses Keep Students Focused
When American teacher Tim Walker got a job as a teacher in Finland, he learned a lot about its successful schools. For one thing, students get a recess every hour for 15 minutes. They spend 45 minutes in class, then run out to the playground for a 15-minute break. At first, he bought this was unnecessary so he gave two consecutive classes. He had some very grumpy students who did not understand w
YESTERDAY
Mercedes Schneider on AFT Resolutions
Mercedes Schneider was unimpressed by the AFT resolutions. Plaintively, she writes: “It sure would be nice if a national union would aggressively confront the pro-privatization education agenda emanating from the Oval Office.” Neither NEA nor AFT would take on that Herculean task. She expects that nothing will happen to Duncan, no matter how many absurd things he says or does. He is coated with T
AFT: Yes to Common Core, Remediation Needed by Duncan
In a day of debates, the American Federation of Teachers voted to continue its support for the controversial Common Core standards while complaining about its faulty implementation. The delegates also voted for a resolution to put Secretary Duncan on a remediation plan that would be monitored by President Obama (ha-ha, when he is not busy with foreign crises). Politico.com wrote: “The “improvement
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-13-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Connection Between Jeb Bush, ALEC, K12, and MaineThis prize-winning story by investigative reporter Colin Woodard follows the money trail in Maine, as Governor Paul LePage seeks to make a name for himself in the world of digital learning. It was originally published two years ago, but remains relevant. Woodard dug through more
