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

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

Friendly Friday Diane Ravitch's blog

 A site to discuss better education for all

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

1by dianeravitch / 23min

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 

Andy Borowitz: An Impeachment Shocker (SATIRE)

by dianeravitch / 4min

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

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

1by dianeravitch / 6min

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 

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

by dianeravitch / 2min

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 

Gary Rubinstein: Rick Hess is the Reformer Who Thinks

1by dianeravitch / 52min

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

4by dianeravitch / 1h

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?

6by dianeravitch / 2h

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 glimpse of the city’s schools from a unique perspective—the small group of pre-Katrina teachers who returned to teaching following the storm, and who have remained i

YESTERDAY

Trump’s Amazing Interview with “The Economist”

8by dianeravitch / 18h

I promise you, I am really trying not to post about Trump. Some articles, however, are too compelling to pass up. This is one of them. The latest Trump interview once again reveals appalling ignorance and dishonesty – Vox https://apple.news/Ak-YKQ5ZJR6OLq0yvVV_LDw

Politico: DeVos Makes Some Political Appointments

9by dianeravitch / 19h

Politico reports: Ed Department has made about three dozen political hires By Caitlin Emma 05/11/2017 12:45 PM EDT The Trump administration has made about three dozen political appointments to the Education Department, according to a list obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request. That’s about a quarter of the agency’s 150 political vacancies. Some of the job titles on the

Rev. Barber Plans to Lead National Movement

17by dianeravitch / 20h

The inspirational leader Rev. William Barber 11 is stepping down from his post as chair of the North Carolina NAACP to launch a national movement. http://nypost.com/2017/05/11/naacp-leader-who-led-north-carolina-protest-movement-to-step-down/ His strong voice for moral strength, equal rights, dignity, courage in the face of adversity, and love is needed more than ever today.

Bret Wooten Asks Some Important Questions about Our National Investment in Education

10by dianeravitch / 21h

Bret Wooten, a businessman in a small town in Texas, sent this letter to newspaper in the state. He asks whether we really care about our future if we neglect our most important investment: Our children. He previously posted his reaction to visiting his wife’s classroom. Are you concerned about the future of this country? Me too, but not in the way most people seem to be. We as a nation are willi

Sue M. Legg: Florida’s Budget Bill is a Train Wreck for Public Schools, a Boon for Charter Operators

14by dianeravitch / 22h

Here we go with the Great Money Heist in Florida. HB7069 passed both houses of the legislature and will go to Governor Rick Scott for his signature. In two posts , Sue M. Legg of the League of Women Voters analyzes the devastating impact of this budget bill for public schools. She hopes that Governor Scott will veto the bill. As she explains, money is being shifted to charter organizations and ta

Bianca Tanis: A Teacher Visits a Montessori Classroom and Loves It

100+by dianeravitch / 22h

Bianca Tanis teaches a combined kindergarten-first grade special education class in the Hudson Valley in New York. She is on the board of New York State Allies for Public Education, the group leading the campaign against high-stakes testing and privatization in the state. She writes: I had the opportunity to spend the day visiting a public Montessori school in Kingston yesterday. I have been cons

The Best Shout-Out to the Graduates of Bethune-Cookman, Class of 2017

30by dianeravitch / 23h

Blogger Luvvie Ajayi salutes Bethune-Cookman’s graduates for standing up against Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos , a woman with zero understanding of their lives or the life of Mary McLeod Bethune. She writes, “Thank You for Telling Betsy DeVos ‘Nah.'” She writes: “Y’all are the real MVPs. Really and truly. I am applauding you with the fervor I’d use during praise and worship right now. You kn

Georgia: Governor Deal Vetoes Legislation to Allow Opt Out from Testing

11by dianeravitch / 1d

Rightwing corporate reformers like to go on and on about parental choice. Choice. Choice. Choice. The one choice they will not tolerate is parents who want their children to refuse the state tests. No choice! Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia vetoed a bill that would make it easier to parents to opt their children out of state standardized tests. He also blocked the possibility of students taking t

Audrey Amrein-Beardsley: The Top Ten Research-Based Reasons Why Standardized Tests Should NOT Be Used to Evaluate Teachers

9by dianeravitch / 1d

The value-added assessment model that was forced on states by Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top is starting to fall apart, in the courts and in the experience of every state compelled to use it. In this post, evaluation expert Audrey Amrein-Beardsley explains the top ten reasons why large scale, standardized tests should not be used to evaluate teachers. She faced off against the rightwing National C

Alan Singer: How New Are New York’s New Standards?

6by dianeravitch / 1d

Alan Singer writes that the real test of the state’s new standard s will happen in the classroom. The proof of the pudding, he writes, is in the eating, not in what is said or written about it. He warns that the whole process may be tainted if the current testing regime remains in place. And he worries that the state aims to quash the opt out movement, which is the only public voice and which com

As New York Rebrands Its Common Core Standards, What’s in a Name?

7by dianeravitch / 1d

Newsday offers an amusing reflection on the change in the name of the Common Core state standards, which became toxic and set off the powerful opt out movement across the state, and especially on Long Island (which Newsday serves). In the last round of state testing, 50% of the eligible students on Long Island opted out of the English Language Arts state test, and 54% on Long Island opted out of

New York: Common Core Standards Get a New Name!

20by dianeravitch / 1d

In response to years of protests against the Common Core standards, the State Education Department has tweaked them, massaged them, tickled them, and given them a new name. The New York state standards are now “the Next 

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