Holiday Hump Day Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Holiday Hump Day Diane Ravitch's blog 

A site to discuss better education for all

The NEA Demands Accountability and Transparency from Charter Schools

4by dianeravitch / 34min

The National Education Association passed a resolution on charter schools on July 4, 2017, which is appropriate because public schools are the foundation of democracy. Add this to the resolution passed last year by the NAACP. And the 

The Heroes of This Blog! Add Your Name!

by dianeravitch / 9min

We have quite an amazing collection of readers on this blog. I often post your comments, because they are well-written, succinct, informative, and besides which, most of you know know more about teaching and the everyday life of the 

Is Texas the Future of America? Let’s Hope Not!

by dianeravitch / 19min

This is a fascinating and funny and scary article about politics in Texas, written by Lawrence Wright, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. The title of the article is “America’s Future is Texas,” and we better hope it is wrong. When I was growing up in Houston, the state was reliably Democratic, although the Democrats were conservative. Now the state is a red stat

Maine: Governor LePage Reluctantly Increases School Funding, Vows to Get Even Next Year

3by dianeravitch / 1h

Governor Paul LePage of Maine is one of the worst governors in the nation. Twice he was elected by a plurality in a three-way race. He hates public schools. A citizens’ initiative forced him to raise state spending on them. He vowed to get even next yea r. LePage started his time in office by doing whatever Jeb Bush wanted, such as agreeing to sign on to Jeb’s Digital Learning business to benefit

Wendy Lecker: How Chicago Targeted Black and Latino Schools and Communities for Destruction

8by dianeravitch / 2h

This article is an excellent analysis by civil rights lawyer Wendy Lecker of the deliberate destruction of public education in black and Latino neighborhoods in Chicago. Chicago has purposely sacrificed the needs of black and Latino students while protecting and enhancing the needs of white students. We have to bear in mind what Rahm Emanuel told CTU leader Karen Lewis when he was first elected:

Peg Tyre: Can a High-Tech Start-Up in Africa Educate Hundreds of Millions of Children and Make a Profit?

5by dianeravitch / 3h

Peg Tyre, veteran journalist, published a balanced and well-written article about Bridge International Academies in the New York Times Magazine. BIA operates numerous low-fee, for-profit schools in Africa and its investors hope to spread its brand across the world. Investors in Bridge include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Pearson, and other familiar names. The founders had no education experience

YESTERDAY

Paul Horton: The Real Meaning of July 4

36by dianeravitch / 19h

Paul Horton teaches history at the University of Chicago Lab School. He writes: Creating a Commonwealth: July 4th as a Concept For most Americans July 4th is a celebration of American Independence. It is a day of music, fireworks, and grilling. We are bombarded with empty rhetoric about freedom from civic boosters who never learned much history. Many embrace a narrow version of American exception

Three of the Founding Fathers Died on July 4

12by dianeravitch / 20h

This is a wonderful bit of trivia about American history. Three of the nation’s Founding Fathers died on July 4. All three were former presidents. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day in 1826. James Monroe died on this day a few years later. John Adams wrote: “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. Th

Nancy Bailey: Celebrate This Day By Celebrating Our Public Schools, a Mainstay of Democracy

21by dianeravitch / 23h

Nancy Bailey dedicates her post to the late, beloved Joan Kramer. “On this 4th of July, when we celebrate America’s freedoms, it’s a perfect time to discuss our free public schools, and where we are with them when it comes to school reform. It’s important to understand that our public schools have a new threat, as I will explain below. “Public schools, with all their faults, are the only truly de

Bill Phillis: We Need The Separation of Church and State

17by dianeravitch / 1d

Bill Phillis retired years ago as a Deputy Commission of Education in Ohio. He is passionate about equitable funding for the public schools. He has been relentless in exposing the raids on the state treasury by private profiteers like ECOT and for-profit charters. He founded an organization called Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy. If you live in Ohio, you should join his work. Bill Phillis

Melissa Heckler Learned About Education for Democracy in Namibia

20by dianeravitch / 1d

What a curiously interconnected world this is! Melissa Heckler read Paul Thomas’s post about his terrible Father’s Day and his reflections on our “gladiator culture.” She is in Namibia. She was moved by it and sent me the speech she gave at Bank Street College in New York City when she received an alumni award. She said: Good Evening. Thank you to the Alumni Board for this award. I am honored. To

A Poem to Honor a Warrior for Children, for Intellectual Freedom, for Public Schools

29by dianeravitch / 1d

An admirer of the late Joan Kramer wrote this poem in her honor: In memory of our friend and dearest warrior Joan Kramer – may we all fight the good fight till the very end. Tribute to the Warriors Dark, deceitful, dreadful The war continues. Hidden from the public Children succumb to oblivion. Masses are found naked In the valley of corporate reform. Masses of children Stripped of their humanity

July 4: A Day to Celebrate Our Heroes: UPDATED!

200+by dianeravitch / 1d

This post is updated since 9 a.m. With your excellent suggestions. I always enjoyed July 4 as a day to celebrate our nation and to honor its heroes. With an ignorant bully in the White House, it is hard to feel good about what is 

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