What I Am Thankful For Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

What I Am Thankful For

by dianeravitch / 6min

These past few weeks have been very difficult for many of us. For the first time in my long life, I fear that our country is going backward, not forward. We have had bumps along the way and regressions from our ideals and dreams. We have had too many wars. We have way too much poverty. We have too much indifference to the sufferings of others. But throughout my life, I have thought that we were m

YESTERDAY

Betsy DeVos: A Disastrous Choice for the Nation and Public Schools

55by dianeravitch / 9h

Get to know the DeVos family. They are billionaires who are funding extremist groups and the rightwing assault on public education. This article at Alternet describes their far-reaching power, made possible by their billions. The family is dedicated to school privatization. “The former chair of the Michigan Republican Party, DeVos backed a failed ballot initiative in 2000 to amend the state const

Stephen Dyer: Betsy DeVos PAC was Fined $5.2 Million in Ohio for Violating Campaign Finance Laws

52by dianeravitch / 10h

Our new Secretary-of-Education designate Betsy DeVos has an Ohio problem, writes Stephen Dyer of Progress Ohio. “DeVos has a bad history here in Ohio. In 2006, she allowed David Brennan to launder campaign cash through her All Children Matter PAC. That led to the largest fine ever levied against a candidate or PAC by the Ohio Elections Commission — $5.2 million. By all accounts, that fine was lar

A BATS Reading List to Learn About Betsy DeVos

100+by dianeravitch / 11h

Here are some suggested readings from the BATS: Here are some pieces you can read about DeVos. She is NO friend to public education and has been attacking public education in Michigan for over a decade. Here is what the teachers of Michigan say: http://www.mea.org/aft-michigan-and-mea-presidents-respond-selection-betsy-devos-us-secretary-education Chalkbeat reports what you should know about DeVo

BATS Oppose Betsy DeVos as Inexperienced, Unqualified, and Hostile to Public Schools

400+by dianeravitch / 11h

The BATS released the following statement on Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos: PRESS RELEASE The Badass Teachers Association FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MARLA KILFOYLE, Executive Director BATs MELISSA TOMLINSON, Asst. Executive Director BATs contact.batmanager@gmail.com 516-987-4405 BATs Board of Directors Statement on Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education The Badass Teachers Association, a ne

G. F. Brandenburg: The Only Worse Candidate Than Betsy DeVos Would Have Been Rhee

27by dianeravitch / 14h

G. F. Brandenburg weighs in on Trump’s selection of Betsy DeVos to be Education Secretary. He was disappointed to learn that between 20-33% of teachers voted for the Orange One.

Betsy DeVos and Campbell Brown: Good Friends

28by dianeravitch / 15h

The corporate reform movement must be popping the champagne corks with the selection of Betsy DeVos as Trump’s Secretary of Education. Finally, a secretary who advocates for the elimination of public schools without embarrassment and who will fight unions and teacher tenure. As it happens, Betsy DeVos and her husband are funders of Campbell Brown’s website The 74 (along with Walton, Broad, and Bl

Peter Greene: Who is the Real Betsy DeVos?

96by dianeravitch / 15h

Peter Greene has done his homework and he walks us through the career of Betsy DeVos in this illuminating post. Open the piece to read it in full and to see the links to Peter’s research. She is close to Jeb Bush. She and her billionaire family fund ALEC, the far-right group that drafts model legislation to privatize all government functions. She is a supporter of Scott Walker, scourge of unions.

Mitchell Robinson: From Michigan, This is the Real Betsy DeVos

1Kby dianeravitch / 16h

Mitchell Robinson is a professor of music education at Michigan State University. He writes here about the Betsy DeVos that the people of Michigan know, the one who wants to monetize education spending and voucherize the schools so that families can spend their education dollars wherever they want. Robinson writes: The news that Donald Trump has named Betsy DeVos as his choice for Secretary of Ed

Clinton Now Leads Trump by Two Million Votes

32by dianeravitch / 18h

is this a democracy? One man, One Vote? Clinton now has a 2 million vote lead over Trump in the popular vote.

Oakland: Parents Group Marks the Departure of Antwan Wilson to D.C.

11by dianeravitch / 18h

This is a statement by Parents United for Public Schools, on the news that their Superintendent is moving to D.C. “Parents United for Public Schools released the following statement on the announced departure of OUSD Superintendent Antwan Wilson: “The departure of Superintendent Antwan Wilson midway through his contract to lead our schools presents Oakland with a unique opportunity to learn from

Washington Post: Meet Betsy DeVos

27by dianeravitch / 18h

In case you don’t know anything about Betsy DeVos, the Washington Post has a good summary. So does Wikipedia . She is a huge fan of vouchers. She supports Common Core. She thinks vouchers will give every child a great education. The story says that some studies find that voucher students are more likely to go to college. Those studies show that voucher schools have high rates of attrition. The st

Trump Picks DeVos for Secretary of Education

99by dianeravitch / 19h

i guess my withdrawal of support for Betsy DeVos came too late. I just received a news flash from CNN that Trump offered her the U.S. Department of Education post, and she took it. Now we will have a “reformer” who does not hide her contempt for the public schools. She loves vouchers. She opposes any any regulation or oversight for charter schools. She wants privatization, perio.

News Flash! I Withdraw My Support for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education; I Support Bill Evers!

71by dianeravitch / 20h

A few days ago, I said that I support Michigan billionaire and hard-right voucher advocate Betsy DeVos, because she would show the world that “reformers” are out to destroy our public schools. No ambiguity there. She would demonstrate the close link between “reform” and the rightwing. But I hereby formally withdraw my support for DeVos’s candidacy. To be sure, it was meant in jest, but many reade

Boston: When Will Mitchell Chester and Tommy Chang Be Held Accountable?

21by dianeravitch / 21h

The citizens of Massachusetts spoke loudly and clearly on November 8 when they overwhelmingly rejected Question 2. They don’t want more charter schools. They want strong and well-resourced public schools. But the state of Massachusetts and the Boston school superintendent Tommy Chang have decided to close Mattahunt Elementary School despite the pleas of the parents and the local community. The st

D.C. Mayor Chooses Antwan Wilson as Chancellor of Schools

7by dianeravitch / 22h

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser selected Antwan Wilson as the next chancellor of schools, p romising that he would continue the policies of Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson. Wilson has been superintendent in Oakland for the past two years. He is a graduate of the unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy. He has pledged to tackle the achievement gaps in D.C., which are the largest of any urban district

G. F. Brandenburg: Lies Reformers Tell

5by dianeravitch / 23h

G. F. Brandenburg, a fearless blogger who taught math for many years in the schools of D.C., writes here about the hypocrisy of reformer rhetoric. He writes: If you look at the lingo used to justify all the horrendous crap being imposed by “Ed reform”, you’ll see that it’s all couched in lefty-liberal civil rights language. But its results are anything but. Very strange. He takes, for example, th

Computer Security Experts at U of Michigan: Vote May Have Been Rigged

81by dianeravitch / 1d

According to New York magazine, the votes in three swing states- -Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin–are suspicious and should be audited. Clinton’s lead over Trump in the popular vote is now 1.75 million and still rising. Hillary