Salon: Why Left and Right and Center Turned Against the Common Core
Gabriel Arana, a writer for Salon, shows how Common Core became toxic, but he misses a few crucial points. He notes that there were few actual classroom teachers on the committee that wrote the standards, but in fact there were none. A few members had taught in high school, but in the past. None had ever taught in elementary school or middle school. He notes that Bill Gates paid for most of the
A New Argument for Vouchers
Voucher advocates used to claim that vouchers would dramatically raise test scores. They don’t. Then they said they raise graduation rates, which they do as long as you overlook high attrition rates. Now, the new siren song is that they save money! Politico reports “the fiscal case for vouchers:” “The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice touts vouchers as an ideal way to shake up the “gover
Peter Greene Wonders Why Thomas Kane Doesn’t Trust Teachers
Fearless Peter Greene criticizes economist Thomas Kane for his latest paper, called “Never Diet Without a Bathroom Scale and Mirror: The Case for Combining Teacher Evaluation and the Common Core.” Kane directed the study called Measures of Effective Teaching for the Gates Foundation. Greene calls the new study “grade A baloney.” Kane calls for “a massive adult behavior change exercise,” not an e
Great News for Supporters of Public Education
The new organization called Democrats for Public Education commissioned a poll, and it brought good news, reported here by Politico.com: NEW POLL DATA BUOYS PUBLIC ED ADVOCATES: With a month to go before midterms, the activists at Democrats for Public Education are urging candidates to speak up – loudly – about their support for neighborhood schools. DPE gave Morning Education a sneak peek at new
Help Colorado Opt-out Coalition Buy Billboards
This is an appeal from a group of concerned educators and parents in Colorado who want to let parents know that they have a right to opt their children out of high-stakes state testing. They want to rent two big highway billboards. Can you help them? (Sorry I don’t have the graphic for the billboard. I bet if you email them, they will send you the graphic of the billboard.) I sent them a check. I
Forward Institute: Wisconsin Shortchanges Neediest Children
The Forward Institute completed a study of school finance in Wisconsin and concluded that the state does not provide equality of opportunity to the neediest children. The study is called “Segregation of Opportunity.” “The study concluded the following: 1. The school funding system is depriving many Wisconsin children and communities the resources they need to provide equal educational opportunit
Adrienne Hill: A Day in the Life of a Data-Mined Kid
Did you know that your child is constantly data mined? Adrienne Hill writes about how extensively most children are now tracked, usually without their parent’s knowledge or consent. The federal government has given states hundreds of millions of dollars to help build a giant database, called a “statewide longitudinal data system.” Hill writes: “The government isn’t the only one trying to figure ou
Test Prep University for “No Excuses” Teachers
You too can learn to be a “no excuses” teacher in a charter school that gets high test scores. There are a few changes required in your attitude; you too can earn a new graduate degree from a new graduate school that will remold your personality and teach you not to accept any excuses. Paternalistic? Yes. Colonialist? Call it that if you wish. Results are what matters. All you need to do is enrol
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-1-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: STOP Online Testing in K-2: Florida Parents Demand SanityFranziska 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,
