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Tuesday, July 2, 2019

A Note to Readers | Diane Ravitch's blog via @dianeravitch #REDFORED #CTA #StrongPublicSchools #ra19 #nea #neara19 #houston

A Note to Readers | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Note to Readers


Jersey Jazzman: Do Test Scores Go Up When Tests Are Harder?

Jersey Jazzman untangles a simpleminded assertion by New Jersey Reformers: Harder Tests Make kids smarterand Cause scores to go up. We have been hearing this claim since NCLB was enacted. And we must ask, what’s the connection between scores going up and learning more? Test prep can drive scores higher too.
Oklahoma: Teachers Accuse For-Profit Charter Chain of Fraud

Former teachers at for-profit Epic charter chain claim they were compelled to inflate enrollment. Charter spokesperson denies it. Administrators at Epic Charter Schools have been allowing, encouraging or pressuring teachers to manipulate students’ enrollment for years in order to improve employees’ bonus pay, according to at least seven former teachers. Four of the teachers allege the practices i
Gary Rubinstein: This Article is Propaganda for TFA and Charter Schools

Gary Rubinstein writes here about an article he was surprised to read in Chalkbeat. He was surprised because he expects more of Chalkbeat. The article lauds a young TFA teacher who has just finished her first year. He writes: The basic premise is that Angelique Hines a first year TFA teacher placed in a brand new charter school in Tennessee is featured in a series of interviews by Chalkbeat calle
Peter Greene: The Case That Could Shed the Wall of Separation

Peter Greene writes here about a case that could knock down the wall of separation between church and state. With two Trump appointees, the Supreme Court appears poised to rule in favor of state support for religious school tuition. Despite the fact that voters overwhelmingly reject vouchers (when the public is asked to voice its view). Despite the fact that studies consistently show that childre

YESTERDAY

A Note to Readers

I was traveling in Italy yesterday (birthday) and offline. I just read your lovely comments, and I thank you one and all for your kind words. I am now in a farmhouse in rural Tuscany, and it is as beautiful as represented in the movies. Only moreso.
My Favorite Cause: Please Support NPE and NPE Action

This is my favorite cause. Please join and support if you want to be part of the Resistance. The Network for Public Education began in 2013, founded by Anthony Cody and me. Since its humble beginnings, the Network has grown to 330,000 followers on its mailing lists. NPE led the protest against the appointment of Betsy DeVos, generating over 100,000 emails to the Senate in a matter of days. Since
My Father’s Favorite Singers and Favorite Songs

My father was born in Savannah, Georgia. He was the youngest of a very large family and the only boy. He was called “Cracker” all his life because of his home state. As a teen, he longed to be on the stage, and he dropped out of high school to give it a try. He was briefly in vaudeville, where he teamed up with a tall beautiful brunette from Savannah named Lillian Wise. They had an act called “Th
My All-Time Favorite Movie (and a Few Current Favorites)

My all-time favorite movie is “ Singin’ in the Rain. ” I have lost track of how many times I have seen it. Every time I see it, I enjoy it all over again. Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor are a great singing and dancing team. Nineteen-year-old Debbie Reynolds is beautiful, adorable, fresh, a wonderful ingenue. The music is delightful. TCM has an excellent history of the movie, which is about Hollyw
My Favorite Television Programs

There is something I must explain about my taste in entertainment. I don’t like horror films, and I don’t like graphic violence. That considerably narrows the range of what I watch. I want to be entertained or learn, not to be terrified or depressed by what I choose to see. Having said that, I confess that one of my TV favorites (now an oldie) was “The Wire.” It is a series about the long-running


Today Is My Birthday

I was born 81 years ago in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, at 12:01 am. Eighty is the new 60. No, the new 50. Or 40. I am third of eight children. My mother was born in Bessarabia and came to this country when she was 9 years 
Big Education Ape: My Favorite Things | Diane Ravitch's blog @dianeravitch - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/07/my-favorite-things-diane-ravitchs-blog.html






Big Education Ape: KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/06/keep-up-catch-up-with-diane-ravitchs_29.html