Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, August 6, 2015

8/6/2015 – Why Chris Christie Hates Teachers

8/6/2015 – Why Chris Christie Hates Teachers:

8/6/2015 – Why Chris Christie Hates Teachers

Why Chris Christie Hates Teachers

By Jeff Bryant

“What was the most surprising thing about New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie’s recent remark that the “national teachers union” deserves a “punch in the face” … was how tepid the response has been from anyone but members of the teachers’ unions themselves … But the antipathy, or apathy, many politicians tend to have toward teachers derives from the reality that politicians tend to have unreal expectations about teachers and what they do.”
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NEWS AND VIEWS

Reform Makes Broken New Orleans Schools Worse

Salon

“There is … an aggressive effort already underway to sell the New Orleans [education] model … But … the real cost … 7,000 teachers whose firing was described as a wound that won’t heal; the shunting aside of special education students and English language learners, especially in the first years of the experiment; the loss of trust among New Orleanians who believe they’ve been shut out of any meaningful decision-making regarding their city’s schools … The question of who gets to be part of the conversation regarding the shape and future of schools in New Orleans is … touches on a fundamental – and still unresolved – debate about the very purpose that schools should serve.”
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More Than Half Of School Of Choice Students End Up Moving Schools Again, Study Shows

Michigan Live

“More and more families are opting to move their children out of the schools they would attend by residency to neighboring districts … But a new study for the first time reveals that fewer than half stay in that neighboring district. And the students who most often bounce between schools are the students most likely to be hurt academically by the instability … Low-income students … African-American students … students who are struggling academically are more likely to switch schools … But those same at-risk students are the ones who are most likely to give up on their schools of choice … That matters, because studies show that the more students bounce between schools, the less they learn.”
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ALEC Admits School Vouchers Are For Kids In Suburbia

The Center For Media And Democracy

“With vouchers gaining momentum nationwide, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) … has decided to drop the pretense that vouchers have anything to do with social and racial equity, and is now pushing vouchers for the middle class – a project which, if pursued enough in numbers, will progressively erode the public school system … Talking points at the end of the bills state … ‘children from low- and middle-income families should receive public support for their education regardless of whether they are attending a public or private school’ … ALEC is not the only organization coming clean on vouchers … Most students receiving vouchers last year were already attending private schools – meaning vouchers were being used a taxpayer subsidy for private education rather than as a way for students to escape underperforming public schools.”
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Years Of Cuts Threaten To Put College Out Of Reach For More Students

Center On Budget And Policy Priorities

“In almost all states, higher education support remains below what it was in 2008 … 47 states … are spending less per student in the 2014-15 school year than they did at the start of the recession … The average state is spending $1,805, or 20%, less per student … In 13 states, per-student funding fell over the last year … Average annual published tuition has risen by $2,068 nationally, or 29%, above the rate of inflation … Nearly every state has shifted costs to students.”
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World Bank Peddling Private, For-Profit Schools In Africa, Disguised As Aid

Mintpress News

“Private, for-profit schools in Africa funded by the World Bank and U.S. venture capitalists have been criticized by more than 100 organizations who’ve signed a petition opposing the controversial educational venture … The schools project is called Bridge International Academies and 100,000 pupils have enrolled in 412 schools across the two nations … The statement reflects a growing global movement questioning Western policies pushing private education in developing countries. It was written and signed by 30 organizations in Uganda and Kenya and supported by 116 organizations around the world, including Global Justice Now and ActionAid. They claim BIA uses highly standardized teaching methods, untrained low-paid teachers, and aggressive marketing strategies targeted at poor households.”
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8/6/2015 – Why Chris Christie Hates Teachers: