Catch Diane Ravitch's blog If You Can | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Catch Diane Ravitch's blog If You Can  

A site to discuss better education for all

Watch Rev. William Barber, Our Most Eloquent Spokesman for Civil Rights, Speak at the Schott Foundation Dinner

2by dianeravitch / 11min

Reverend William Barber II is our most eloquent spokesman for civil rights today. Some believe he is the next Martin Luther King Jr. He just stepped down as head of the North Carolina NAACP, where he saw daily assaults on voting 

Brave New World: What Links Trump, Brexit, Robert Mercer, Rupert Murdoch, and Steve Bannon?

3by dianeravitch / 27min

This is an article in The Guardian that I will not attempt to summarize. What I will Di is urge you to read it. It is about money, power, and a coordinated attack on democracy. It is about data mining psychological warfare financed by a 

Thomas Ultican: Shakespeare and the “Ocean God”

2by dianeravitch / 25min

Thomas Ultican teaches physics and mathematics to high school students in San Diego. In this post, he describes a wonderful day at the home of one of the nation’s greatest oceanographers, where middle school students performed scenes from Shakespeare. The event was sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society to raise funds for middle and high schools. You will enjoy his account of a very wonde

Los Angeles: The Scurrilous Smear Campaign Against Steve Zimmer

4by dianeravitch / 1h

The run-off campaign in District 4 in Los Angeles for School Board has turned into a national issue. The race between Steve Zimmer, president of the Los Angeles school board, and his challenger, Nick Melvoin, has become an epic struggle between supporters of public schools and supporters of privatization. Zimmer entered teaching through Teach for America but, unlike the typical TFA, he stayed in

Center for Popular Democracy: Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

4by dianeravitch / 2h

Is it reasonable to give taxpayer dollars to entities that are deregulated and unsupervised? That are unaccountable and non transparent? What do you think will happen when government funds are turned over to organizations that are basically on their own and who make campaign contributions to legislator who prevent accountability for their donors? The Center for Popular Democracy explains what you

“Change Is Never Easy,” Say Reformers

5by dianeravitch / 3h

Ed Johnson is a relentless watchdog over public education in Atlanta. He happens to be a devotee of the thought of W. Edwards Deming, and he opposes the current corporate reform philosophy of disruption, top-down orders, ranking, rating, punishment, and rewards. Johnson understands that accountability begins at the top, and that the role of leadership is to support those who work in the organizat

An Urgent Message to the Citizens of North Carolina

9by dianeravitch / 4h

Public education is in jeopardy in North Carolina. Please take action now! The North Carolina Senate introduced SB 603, a bill creating a new voucher program that would give $9,000 a year to students with disabilities going to non-public schools. Send an email to tell your house member to vote NO for SB 603. SB 603 is a bill that: Expands opportunities for fraud Costs more to administer than trad

YESTERDAY

Great News! Missouri Does Not Pass Voucher Plan

23by dianeravitch / 12h

The Missouri legislature ended their legislative session without passing legislation that would authorize “education savings accounts,” a form of voucher that parents could use to spend anywhere for anything. It is a path to allowing parents to spend public money on anything regardless of quality. Where ESAs exist, many children are getting a subpar education or none at all. Other countries must

Jeff Murray of Fordham Institute: Do English Teachers Have a Responsibility for Students’ Vocational Training?

2by dianeravitch / 20h

Jeff Murray is the Ohio operations manager of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute’s offices in Columbus. He read an essay by a high school English teacher who was offended by Governor John Kasich’s proposal that teachers should be required to shadow business people if they wanted to be rectified. Murray was disturbed when a high school English teacher objected. The teacher wrote: “I believe, as a pro

Andy Borowitz: An Impeachment Shocker (SATIRE)

2by dianeravitch / 21h

Andy Borowitz has the latest news about the prospects for Trump’s impeachment.

L.A. Times Endorses Trump-DeVos Ticket for School Board

200+by dianeravitch / 22h

I was curious to see whether the L.A. Times editorial board would stand up for public education or would join the chorus of privatization and greed. Would the editorial board be offended that billionaires are swamping the district with millions to promote the privatization candidates? Would they recall all the stories about charter scandals and corruption that the newspaper has reported? Would th

Los Angeles: Outside Money Continues to Pour in to Buy Control of LA School Board for Charter Industry

21by dianeravitch / 1d

If you live in Los Angeles in one of the districts where there is a run-off, please vote for Steve Zimmer or Imelda Padilla. Don’t let the billionaires buy control of the public schools. They don’t want to improve them. They want to turn them over to the unregulated, scandal-ridden charter industry. Don’t be fooled: c harters and choice and privatization are the Trump-DeVos agenda! Howard Blume r

Gary Rubinstein: Rick Hess is the Reformer Who Thinks

4by dianeravitch / 1d

Gary Rubinstein read Rick Hess’s latest book, “Letters to a Young Education Reformer” and found much to admire, even though Gary is one of the most perceptive critics of what is now called “reform.” He writes: “I was eager to receive Rick Hess’s latest book ‘letters to a young education reformer.’ Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conse

Sue M. Legg: Charters Bomb in Florida

9by dianeravitch / 1d

The Florida Department of Education, firmly in the hands of the Jeb Bush team, tried to spin the “success” of the charter industry, but Sue M. Legg of the League of Women Voters in Florida says, “Not so fast.” In this post, she explains that charter schools enroll a lower percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, of English language learners, and of students with disabilities

Andrea Gabor: Why Are the Few Veteran Teachers of New Orleans Demoralized?

8by dianeravitch / 1d

Andrea Gabor reviews research produced by the Education Research Alliance of New Orleans about veteran teachers, those who taught before Hurricane Katrina and returned. “ERA’s analysis provides an important before-and-after-the-storm 

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