Harvard Students Ask University to Cut Ties with TFA
Progressivism is not dead at Harvard University. A group of students called on the University’s President Drew Faust to cut ties with Teach for America unless the organization made major changes. “The group’s demonstration comes as part of a larger movement initiated by United Students Against Sweatshops, which holds that holds that Teach For America is working to privatize education through its
Daniel S. Katz on Eva Moskowitz’s “Incredible Hypocrisy”
Tomorrow Eva Moskowitz will close her chain of Success Academy charter schools in New York City and convene her students, parents, and teachers in a rally that is intended to support her demand for more charter schools. If a public school principal did this, he or she would be in deep trouble. Public schools don’t close for political rallies. Private schools can. The charter chain has dubbed the
FairTest: Weekly Report on Anti-Testmania
Here is what we should demand: Anyone who mandates a high-stakes test should take the test and publish their scores. Bob Schaeffer writes: In this week’s stories, all key public education stakeholder constituencies — parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, community activists, and the general public — add their voices to the ever louder call for assessment reform. Too many polit
David B. Cohen: What Energizes Great Teachers?
David B. Cohen is a National Board Certified Teacher at Palo Alto High School, respected by his peers and students. He is spending this year traveling California, meeting teachers, learning about their practices, and writing about the great teachers he finds. He has started a Kickstarter campaign and needs your help. Unlike the “reformers,” David is not looking for failure. He is looking for suc
Mike Klonsky Sort of Apologizes to Union Leader About Custodian Privatization
Mike Klonsky said some harsh things about SEIU Local 73 President Christine Boardman. She didn’t like what he wrote. She sent him a letter demanding a retraction or expect to get sued. So he reviewed what he wrote and retracted some things. If you are a blogger, and your blog is not supported by Walton or Broad or Gates, you don’t really want to fight a lawsuit, especially when the other side has
Peg Robertson Warns Parents: I Cannot Protect Your Children
Peg Robertson is a teacher and a founder of United Opt Out, a national group that encourages parents, students, and other educators not to take or give the state tests. She writes here that though she has refused to administer the PARCC assessments, someone else will do it. Try as she might, she admits, she cannot protect the children from endless test prep and the age-inappropriate practices intr
Joseph Ricciotti Explains the War on Teachers
Joseph Ricciotti, a former professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, wrote a powerful article in which he describes the sinking morale of teachers, weighed down by the dehumanizing and demoralizing policies of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind and Barack Obama’s Race to the Top. He writes: “The war on teachers began with the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) program when George W. Bush w
STOP Online Testing in K-2: Florida Parents Demand Sanity
Franziska Raeber describes how parents in Florida are organizing resistance to online testing of children in K-2. Please be aware that the purpose of online testing is to enrich the testing industry and tech corporations. The best tests are written and evaluated by teachers, who know what they taught and can use the tests for instant feedback, not to rank students, but to help them. This is true n
Jack Hassard: The Web of Influence Peddling Destroying Our Public Schools
Jack Hassard, a retired professor of science education at Georgia State University, here nails the corporate and political assault on public education. He calls it “the web of influence peddling.” In my recent book, I called a “Reign of Error” and a great “hoax” perpetrated by the privatization movement. We both agree on the ultimate goal: the destruction and privatization of a basic democratic in
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-30-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Tennessee: Most Teachers Say Abandon Common CoreTennessee is one of Arne Duncan’s favorite states because it was one of the first states to win Race to the Top funding, it has a rightwing governor and legislature, and an experienced, TFA-trained state commissioner. Thus, the state is committed to charters, to privatization, and to
