Pulitzer Prize Winner Thinks Ravitch Is Jindal | deutsch29

Pulitzer Prize Winner Thinks Ravitch Is Jindal | deutsch29:

Pulitzer Prize Winner Thinks Ravitch Is Jindal

On October 30, 2015, New Orleans-based online news publication, The Lens, carried an opinion piece by its news editor, Jed Horne, who is described at the end of the article as “a veteran journalist who was awarded a Pulitzer Prize as part of the Times-Picayune team that covered Katrina and the recovery.”

After reading his opinion piece entitled, “Jindal and the Core: Louisiana Snubs the Manchurian Candidate,” I checked more than once to see if I had read Horne’s tag line correctly.

The arrogant propaganda that this Pulitzer-Prize-winning, veteran journalist passed off as newsworthy is an embarrassment to journalism, let alone The Lens and the Pulitzer.

Though the title does not betray as much, it is clear upon reading Horne’s opinion that one of his primary intentions was to rip education historian Diane Ravitch for the public endorsement that her Network for Public Education (NPE) offered to three candidates in the October 24, 2015, Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) elections.

The candidates, Lee Barrios, Lottie Beebe, and Jason France, are all known for their outspoken opposition to many issues related to corporate reform, including the Common Core.

All three candidates lost. Horne writes that they were “spurned by voters.” He also takes pleasure in pairing Ravitch with Jindal based on their opposing Common Core. Pulitzer Prize Winner Thinks Ravitch Is Jindal | deutsch29:

Race Curriculum Controversy in Seattle | Seattle Education

Race Curriculum Controversy in Seattle | Seattle Education:

Race Curriculum Controversy in Seattle

There was an unfortunate controversy created by one set of parents that surfaced in the press over the last two years about a teacher who educates his students to the realities of racism.

This is his story:

Race Curriculum Controversy

Jon Greenberg

At first glance, Seattle—home to an openly gay mayor, a Socialist city council member, the highest minimum wage in the country, and a citywide initiative dedicated to “racial equity”—appears to be at the forefront in the struggle against injustice, even one of the most insidious, persistent, and misunderstood forms: racism. Nevertheless, Seattle became home to an embarrassing race curriculum controversy, one in which the school district turned its back on the city’s commitment to racial justice and ignored repeatedly its constituents’ outcries—all stemming from the formal complaints of precisely one white family: “We are concerned that the classroom situation has become a very hostile, unsafe learning environment not only for our own daughter, but all the students in the class—characterized by personal attacks, racial stigmatization, emotional out- bursts, moral intimidation, dehumanization, social polarization, and authoritarian indoctrination. ”

Truthfully, I always knew such an email was coming. In 2001, I was hired to help open the Center School, a small school in Seattle Public Schools, and I began teaching the Race Unit in 2002. Drawing in part from a district-wide training on racism called Courageous Conversations, the Race Unit established safe norms for racial dialogue before tackling loaded subjects like institutionalized racism and White privilege. Students next examined their own racial identities and explored strategies to challenge racism. From the unit’s inception, students embraced it. “Wait until the Race Unit,” seniors told the lower grades. Such feedback from students of a variety of racial backgrounds was commonplace:

• “This unit changed my life. Everybody in my class was bonded by it.
• “If it weren’t for this class, I would’ve been another stuck up kid in the world who judges people constantly. Now I look at people and see more than racial profiles…
• “This curriculum prepared me for the world and made me a better person. It should be taught in every school.”
• After nine years of resoundingly positive student feedback—without so much as a comment of concern from parents—I forgot what I always knew was coming. On December 7, 2012, during the 10th year of the curriculum, the email arrived. As student safety has always been and will always be my paramount concern, I agreed to a meeting.

Escalation

The father and mother, both white, tag-teamed a series of yes-or-no questions about the Race Curriculum Controversy in Seattle | Seattle Education:

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/31/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Badass Teacher Association Web Site

Charters grapple with admissions policies, question how public they should be - The Washington Post

Charters grapple with admissions policies, question how public they should be - The Washington Post: Charters grapple with admissions policies, question how public they should beAt Achievement Prep, the test scores of low-income African American children rival those at wealthy neighborhood schools. Over at D.C. Prep, middle school graduates routinely go on to top high schools. And at Latin America

by mike simpson / 33min 

Jitu Brown in Camden | WeArePCAPS

Jitu Brown in Camden | WeArePCAPS: Jitu Brown in CamdenThis is a speech given by Jitu Brown, from Journey for Justice and a leader of the recent hunger strike to stop the closure of Dyett High School In Chicago and make it a community school. Jitu is speaking to parents, teachers and community members in Camden where a growing coalition is fighting for local control and against the privatization o

by mike simpson / 1h 

Public School Shakedown - A Project of The Progressive | The Progressive

Public School Shakedown - A Project of The Progressive | The Progressive: PUBLIC SCHOOL SHAKEDOWN - A PROJECT OF THE PROGRESSIVEA fundamental struggle for democracy is going on behind the scenes in statehouses around the country, as a handful of wealthy individuals and foundations pour money into efforts to privatize the public schools. The Progressive launched Public School Shakedown in September

by mike simpson / 3h 

Reading & Math Scores Fall -- Obama Education Agenda’s Bad Report Card | National Review Online

Reading & Math Scores Fall -- Obama Education Agenda’s Bad Report Card | National Review Online: A Train Wreck for Reading and Math Scoresby FREDERICK M. HESS & JENN HATFIELD On Tuesday, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that the nation’s reading and math scores were down almost across the board on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This marked a st

by mike simpson / 3h 

Stadium Developers give big to Luke Bronin – Sarah Bronin responsible for approving big changes that Stadium Developers want - Wait What?

Stadium Developers give big to Luke Bronin – Sarah Bronin responsible for approving big changes that Stadium Developers want - Wait What?: Stadium Developers give big to Luke Bronin – Sarah Bronin responsible for approving big changes that Stadium Developers wantThe City of Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 260 Constitution Plaza,

by mike simpson / 3h 

PUBLIC EDUCATION ARE WE WINNING? | Jacobin

Are We Winning? | Jacobin: Are We Winning?The Obama administration’s new rhetoric on testing shows the tide may be turning against corporate education reformers.ast year, students in Washington DC sat for exactly 6,750 tests. The average American student takes approximately 112 tests between pre-K and twelfth grade (yes, pre-K, when one’s senses of space, self, and time are still developing).Those

by mike simpson / 5h 

Seattle Teachers Strike for the Public Schools Seattle Students Deserve | CLASSROOM STRUGGLE

Seattle Teachers Strike for the Public Schools Seattle Students Deserve | CLASSROOM STRUGGLE: Seattle Teachers Strike for the Public Schools Seattle Students DeserveBack to school time for most communities across the U.S. puts students and teachers back in the classroom charting a course for the next ten or so months. Yet one collective of courageous educators put their community building exercise

by mike simpson / 5h 

Peg with Pen: Digital Badging & Hickenlooper: The Emperor Has No Clothes

Peg with Pen: Digital Badging & Hickenlooper: The Emperor Has No Clothes: Digital Badging & Hickenlooper: The Emperor Has No ClothesI am spending my Halloween morning reading through all the docs related to a digital badge grant application here in Colorado (however this is moving nationwide so I recommend everyone take a look).Beware the "Commission" - as they will be referred t

by mike simpson / 5h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Reformsters and Dinosaurs

CURMUDGUCATION: Reformsters and Dinosaurs: Reformsters and DinosaursLast night my wife and I watched our newly acquired copy of Jurassic World, a movie that doesn't have an original idea in its head, but is still plenty of fun to watch. Even more than when we saw it in the theater, I'm struck by how the themes of education reform are laced through the film, and though I wrote about the movie at th

by mike simpson / 5h 

2014-15 Alabama Teacher of the Year Abruptly Resigns | deutsch29

2014-15 Alabama Teacher of the Year Abruptly Resigns | deutsch29: 2014-15 Alabama Teacher of the Year Abruptly ResignsAnn Marie CorgillOn October 29, 2015, as AL.com reports, the 2014-15 Alabama Teacher of the Year, Ann Marie Corgill, quit her job.She is state certified to teach primary through third grade. Corgill is also National Board Certified to teach through seventh grade.Corgill began the 2

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Parents’ Dilemma: What Should My School Do about New Technologies | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Parents’ Dilemma: What Should My School Do about New Technologies | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: The Parents’ Dilemma: What Should My School Do about New TechnologiesSixty-seven percent of parents in a recent survey agreed with this statement: “I don’t mind my child spending more screen time if he or she is learning.”  And in another survey of parents, 67 percent said t

by mike simpson / 6h 

The NAEP Scores: It doesn’t look like the “education reform” policies are working | Seattle Education

The NAEP Scores: It doesn’t look like the “education reform” policies are working | Seattle Education: The NAEP Scores: It doesn’t look like the “education reform” policies are working…and much to the detriment of millions of students who have spent most of their school years slogging through it.From the National Education Policy Center:NAEPscuses: Making Sense of Excuse-Making from the No-Excuses

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Black Box of charter school funding and the disastrous results | Seattle Education

The Black Box of charter school funding and the disastrous results | Seattle Education: The Black Box of charter school funding and the disastrous resultsFrom PR Watch:New Finding: What ED Doesn’t Know About Charter School Spending is Stunning “The waste of taxpayer money—none of us can feel good about,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Hu

by mike simpson / 6h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: R.I. P. Alex Poinsett

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: R.I. P. Alex Poinsett: R.I. P. Alex PoinsettI'm deeply saddened by news of the passing of old friend and renowned journalist/author, Alex Poinsett at age 89.Poinsett spent three decades as Ebony Magazine's senior editor. He was author of five books: “Black Power Gary Style: The Making of Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher,” and “Walking with Presidents:  Louis Martin and t

by mike simpson / 6h 

California Indian Voice in Schools…. Long Overdue | Cloaking Inequity

California Indian Voice in Schools…. Long Overdue | Cloaking Inequity: California Indian Voice in Schools…. Long OverdueImagine your reaction if your elementary aged child came home from school and announced that in order to get a passing grade in a class that they will have to construct a model that recreates the Twin Towers while under attack. Certainly, your sensibilities as with most of us who

by mike simpson / 6h 

Hillsborough schools to shelve Gates-funded experiment that cost $100M+ to implement | Seattle Education

Hillsborough schools to shelve Gates-funded experiment that cost $100M+ to implement | Seattle Education: Hillsborough schools to shelve Gates-funded experiment that cost $100M+ to implementIn Seattle we are working on an estimate of the cost of all the standardized tests that are being taken by students in our school district as well as estimating the cost of implementing the Common Core Standard

by mike simpson / 6h 

Study on online charter schools: ‘It is literally as if the kid did not go to school for an entire year’ - The Washington Post

Study on online charter schools: ‘It is literally as if the kid did not go to school for an entire year’ - The Washington Post: Study on online charter schools: ‘It is literally as if the kid did not go to school for an entire year’A new study on the effectiveness of online charter schools is  nothing short of damning — even though it was at least partly funded by a private pro-charter  foundation

by mike simpson / 6h 

Should a Documentary Be Nominated For Best Picture? - Films Exposing Corporate Reform | Diane Ravitch's blog

Films Exposing Corporate Reform | Diane Ravitch's blog: Should a Documentary Be Nominated For Best Picture? - Films Exposing Corporate ReformFilm-makers Jack Paar and Ron Halpern are making a film about the corporate assault on public education.It will be called “Corporatized.”There are a growing number of videos about the corporate assault on public education. More are on the way. Videos are an i

by mike simpson / 6h 

A Tough Month for Charters | Live Long and Prosper

A Tough Month for Charters | Live Long and Prosper: A Tough Month for ChartersCharters are in the news this month, and not in a good way. Eva Moskowitz, the queen of New York City’s Success Academies, was featured in a PBS News Hour Report by John Merrow. The video report, embedded below, discusses Moskowitz’s charter schools and their tendency to freely use student suspensions as a means to disci

by mike simpson / 7h 

Testing Blamed for Drop in National Math Scores | Al Jazeera America

Testing Blamed for Drop in National Math Scores | Al Jazeera America: Critics blame focus on testing for drop in national math performanceNew U.S. test results showing a drop in students’ math performance  — the first such decline since the national assessments began in 1990 — have given ammunition to critics of test-driven policies that have governed public schools for nearly 13 years.Math scores

by mike simpson / 7h 

The Story Of The Seattle Race Curriculum Controversy Finally In Print | PopularResistance.Org

The Story Of The Seattle Race Curriculum Controversy Finally In Print | PopularResistance.Org: The Story of the Seattle Race Curriculum Controversy Finally in PrintAbove Photo: From PopularResistance.org.It’s finally here: the story of the Seattle Race Curriculum Controversy in print (at least 1700 words of it, anyway). I confess that Z Magazine wasn’t my first choice for publication. I haven’t re

by mike simpson / 7h 

Arne Duncan and the Fairy Tale of Educational Reform » Missouri Education Watchdog

Arne Duncan and the Fairy Tale of Educational Reform » Missouri Education Watchdog: Arne Duncan and the Fairy Tale of Educational ReformHansel and Gretel fell for the witch’s promise.  Don’t fall for Duncan’s and Obama’s promise on less testing.  Don’t think the US Department of Education and NGOs will lessen their involvement in state educational development and delivery.  Duncan tells PBS his pl

by mike simpson / 7h 

What’s Scary to Kids: Having Dyslexia and Being Held Back in Third Grade!

What’s Scary to Kids: Having Dyslexia and Being Held Back in Third Grade!: What’s Scary to Kids: Having Dyslexia and Being Held Back in Third Grade!With certain states jumping on the retention bandwagon, even though we know retention doesn’t work, where do students with dyslexia fit? Students with reading difficulties should not have to flunk third grade to get the help they deserve.Many children

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Petrilli: Creaming Is a Feature

CURMUDGUCATION: Petrilli: Creaming Is a Feature: Petrilli: Creaming Is a FeatureYou have to give Mike Petrilli, Head Honcho of the Very Reformy Fordham Foundation, credit. He will say what many charter supporters will not.The standard charter claim is that charters can do what public schools cannot-- take the same kids and get them to score well on standardized tests raise their achievement levels

by mike simpson / 7h 

Ben Carson accidentally stumbled on a great idea for improving education - Vox

Ben Carson accidentally stumbled on a great idea for improving education - Vox: Ben Carson accidentally stumbled on a great idea for improving educationLast year, Ben Carson appeared to endorse a massive change in the way the US funds schools, asking reporter James Hamblin, "Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the money in a pot and redistribute it throughout the country so that public schools

by mike simpson / 8h 

Hillsborough schools to dismantle Gates-funded system that cost millions to develop | Tampa Bay Times

Hillsborough schools to dismantle Gates-funded system that cost millions to develop | Tampa Bay Times: Hillsborough schools to dismantle Gates-funded system that cost millions to developTAMPA — After six years of effort, high hopes and more than $180 million spent, the Hillsborough County school system is unraveling the teacher evaluation system it developed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Found

by mike simpson / 8h 

Your State And Local Elections Are Now A Super PAC Playground

Your State And Local Elections Are Now A Super PAC Playground: Your State And Local Elections Are Now A Super PAC PlaygroundDon't underestimate the importance of super PAC money in local elections this year.WASHINGTON -- The influence of billionaires in the post-Citizens United era is in no way limited to the 2016 presidential and congressional elections.While the super-wealthy dominate those race

by mike simpson / 8h 

Chicago Teachers Union president calls Gov. Bruce Rauner a 'sociopath' - Chicago Tribune

Chicago Teachers Union president calls Gov. Bruce Rauner a 'sociopath' - Chicago Tribune: Chicago Teachers Union president calls Gov. Bruce Rauner a 'sociopath'Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis sat with House Speaker Michael Madigan at the union's annual fundraiser Friday and in a speech took several shots at Gov. Bruce Rauner.Senate President John Cullerton also was at the event, which

by mike simpson / 8h 

YESTERDAY

Comprehensive Common Core survey sent to teachers, principals | EdSource

Comprehensive Common Core survey sent to teachers, principals | EdSource: Comprehensive Common Core survey sent to teachers, principalsEvery superintendent and principal in California, along with 7,000 teachers statewide, received an extensive questionnaire this week asking for their perspectives on how well the rollout of the Common Core State Standards has been handled.The nonprofit research age

by mike simpson / 21h 

Success Academy Founder Calls ‘Got to Go’ List an Anomaly, Except for all those other times- The New York Times

Success Academy Founder Calls ‘Got to Go’ List an Anomaly - The New York Times: Success Academy Founder Calls ‘Got to Go’ List an AnomalyBig Education Ape: Success Academy parent's secret tapes reveal attempt to push out special needs student - NY Daily News... http://bit.ly/1N0DVqvEva S. Moskowitz, the founder of the Success Academy charter school network, said on Friday that a list singling out

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/30/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMCommon Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big Picture | educationalchemyCommon Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big Picture | educationalchemy: Common Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big PictureI said it over three years ago and I’ll say it again. Common Core was, and is, an agenda crafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It was never about “commun

by mike simpson / 23h