Tucker writes in HuffingtonPost that the Washington Post has a long history of giving favorable treatment to Rhee (I would add,more in their editorials than their news pages).
Tucker is disturbed that the Post swept the latest scandal under the rug.
“The newspaper’s latest effort comes on the heels of Henderson being censured for soliciting donations from city contractors, including one accused of serving kids spoiled food and stealing millions. (That contractor, Chartwells, reached a settlement with the District in 2015, agreeing to pay the school system $19.4 million.)
“The donations Henderson secured were directed to the DC Public Education Fund, which she controlled. (The Post also contributed to the fund but failed to disclose that.)
AP’s Ben Nuckols broke the story in April. The Post then followed up with their story, tucked away on page B4 of the Metro section.
“This week’s story–on Henderson being censured by D.C.’s ethics board — was even harder to find. “The WP buried the story on the Obituaries Page B6!!!!” former DCPS guidance counselor Sheila Gill-Mebane wrote on Facebook.
“The Post’s story wasn’t just hard to find. While other news outlets highlighted the censure in their headlines (“Former DC Schools Chief Censured Over Ethics,” read one), the Post kept it in smaller script.
“This is just the latest example of the Post downplaying the Rhee/Henderson era’s serious shortcomings and scandals, which have included: widespread cheating on standardized tests; the widening of an already vast achievement gap; shortchanging ‘at risk’ students; and lead in schools’ water.”
Rhee was interviewed by Donald Trump for the position as Secretary of Education. Some of Trump’s allies oppose Rhee because she supports the Common Core, which Trump vowed to eliminate, but also because she would insist on testing and accountability for charters and voucher schools.
Karen Wolfe, a public school parent and blogger in Los Angeles, reports on the upcoming battle royal for control of the school board. The charter ndustry is planning a raid on the school board, and their candidates can expect to be showered with money from billionaires who want to privatize more of the public schools. As karen points out, most of the donors will be able to hide their names until
As I have mentioned many times, the highly successful schools of Finland emphasize play, the arts, and creativity. They don’t begin teaching reading until children are in first or second grade. The Finns want school to be a stress free, joyful experience for children. And it works. The schools have been described by international organizations as the best in the world. Stuart Egan, high school te
My friend and colleague Anthony Cody tells the story of his family’s travails during the McCarthy era and links it to events of the present day. Not long after I first met Anthony, about five years ago, he briefly summarized the story of his parents and the hardships they endured because of McCarthyism. As a historian, I urged him to write about it. The events of the past week provoked him to do
This is a very funny scoring rubric that incorporates the skills that separate winners and losers, starting January 20. It says it applies to grading college essays, but it would work well in the school grades as well. It does not reflect the Common Core.
Commonweal, the Catholic magazine, published an editorial about the election of Donald Trump. The editors are deeply concerned about Trump’s lack of empathy for those in need. They hope he will govern with policies and attitudes different from those he expressed in the campaign. The editors wrote: “It seems unlikely, but perhaps the enormous responsibilities of the presidency will calm Donald Tru
Reader Vale Math posted this comment: “I read today, people trashed a woman’s car and spray painted anti-Muslim messages on the car with swastikas as they thought she was wearing a hijab. She was wearing a head scarf because she lost her hair due to lupus. So now, Trump supporters are attacking people with cancer and auto-immune diseases. “At a local school, a black student was told she should be
State police in Michigan are investigating online schools for financial fraud and inflating enrollment. https://www.tuscolatoday.com/index.php/2016/11/16/state-police-probing-possible-fraud-at-vassar-schools-mep/
Mattew Iglesias has a dire view of the next four years. The federal government has vast powers with which to reward friends and punish enemies. And Donald Trump has made it clear that he will do both. A government that operates with these principles would be systemically corrupt, he says. The next 100 days are critical in demanding that Trump choose cabinet appointees whose qualifications are mor
Post-truth is reality today. Craig Silverman writes in Buzzfeed that more people linked to fake news sites than to real news sites in the final months of the election. “Of the 20 top-performing false election stories identified in the analysis, all but three were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton. Two of the biggest false hits were a story claiming Clinton sold weapons to ISIS and
Mike Pence attended the Broadway show “Hamilton” last night. The show is a remarkable re-imagining of America’s founding with a cast of actors of different races, mostly black and brown. I saw it a few weeks ago and was greatly moved by its vision of an inclusive nation. The cast and audience were aware of Pence’s presence. He received some applause but also loud boos. At the end of the show, the
North Carolina has two virtual charter schools, one operated by Pearson, the other by Michael Milken’s K12 Inc. Both have high attrition rates and poor student performance , as reported in state data. “Students at one of the state’s two brand new virtual charter schools are dropping out at a rate that exceeds the maximum allowed by state law, according to a report authored by the North Carolina O
NYSAPE (New York State Allies for Public Education) is the coalition of 50 organizations of parents and educators who have twice led successful opt outs from state testing, with more than 200,000 students refusing the tests for the
