CORONAVIRUS EDITION: DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG CATCH UP NOW Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all

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

CORONAVIRUS EDITION

DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG

CATCH UP NOW 

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

Happy Birthday, Wilfred Owen

by dianeravitch / now

If you have never read the poetry of Wilfred Owen, do it now. Today is his birthday. This bio comes from Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac.” “It’s the birthday of poet Wilfred Owen (books by this author), born in Shropshire, England (1893). When he was young, his family was well-off, living in a house owned by his grandfather, a prominent citizen. But then his grandpa died, and it turned out t

Russia Will Change Constitution for Putin

by dianeravitch / 1h

We live in a new age of authoritarianism. Russian sycophants have cleared the way for Putin to remain in power for at least 16 more years. This from CNN: Vladimir Putin’s path to an extended presidency is almost clear after lawmakers voted to change term limit rules in the Russian constitution. Under current Russian law, Putin would have to step down as president in 2024, but the proposed amendme

Randy Rainbow on the Coronavirus Crisis

by dianeravitch / 2h

Randy Rainbow sings and acts “The Coronavirus Lament.” Timely and, as always, funny.

Arizona: SOS Arizona Needs Your Help to Stop Growth of Vouchers Forever!

by dianeravitch / 3h

The parents and educators who created SOS Arizona blocked the last expansion plan for vouchers by getting a referendum on the state ballot in 2018. They had to fight the governor, the legislature, the Republican party, the Koch brothers, the DeVos family, and other monied interests, who wanted to keep expanding vouchers until every student in the state was eligible for a voucher. The all-voluntee

Nancy Bailey: Online Learning Can Never Replace Human Teachers

100+by dianeravitch / 4h

Nancy Bailey wisely explains the lesson of the current emergency and boils it down to this fact: Online learning can never replace human teachers and support staff. Parents who are staying home with their children have taken to Twitter to express their admiration for teachers. “How do teachers do this all day with 30 children,” they wonder. Be sure to open her post and check out the links as well

YESTERDAY

New York: State Suspends 3-8 ELA Tests

2Kby dianeravitch / 14h

A principal shared with me a letter he received, with the following information: New York State Education Department is canceling the English language arts tests, grades 3-8. No word yet on math tests, but they seem sure to be suspended too. The virus is spreading, not contained.

Kansas Update: School Buildings Will Close, Not School

by dianeravitch / 14h

In the fog of the pandemic, it’s hard to keep track of school closings and cancellation of state testing. In Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly ordered closure of school buildings but schooling will continue. CLARIFICATION: Governor Kelly didn’t cancel school for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. She closed school buildings. Schools will be working to implement Continuous Learning plans for a

California: Governor Says Schools Likely to Close for Rest of Year

64by dianeravitch / 15h

Governor Gavin Newsom said that schools in California are likely to close for what remains of the school year. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-17/schools-closures-mobilize-meals “California public schools are likely to be closed for the remainder of the school year in response to the escalating spread of coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday afternoon. “I don’t want to mis

Kansas: Governor Closes Schools for Rest of Year

100+by dianeravitch / 16h

Governor Laura Kelly of Kansas announced that all schools are closed for the rest of the school year. Governor closes Kansas schools, puts most state employees on administrative leave Be prepared to hear about more states doing the same. No one knows how long the global pandemic will continue, but there’s no end in sight.

Colorado Cancels State Testing

28by dianeravitch / 17h

Chalkbeat reports that Colorado has canceled state academic tests for 2020. Colorado will cancel state tests in light of coronavirus school closures, officials say Any state that insists on giving the federally-mandated tests should be prepared to answer how they expect to test children who have been out of school for several weeks without instruction. Under the best of circumstances, the scores

Happy, St. Patrick’s Day, Sort Of

by dianeravitch / 23h

Garrison Keillor writes in The Daily Writers’s Almanac about St. Patrick: “Today is St. Patrick’s Day, the annual feast day celebrating a patron saint of Ireland. “St. Patrick was born around the year 385, in a village in Wales. When he was 16, a group of Irish pirates raided his village and took many of the young men back to Ireland to work as slaves. Patrick worked for six years as a herdsman i

Note to Ohio: Lincoln Did Not Cancel 1864 Election

by dianeravitch / 1d

James Hohmann writes today in Washington Post that Ohio Governor DeWine should pay attention to history: Abraham Lincoln did not cancel the elections of 1864. https://s2.washingtonpost.com/23f6e3b/5e70db23fe1ff6038cdcb2ae/Z2FyZGVuZHJAZ21haWwuY29t/10/114/2160de31454b787c80a706dd1b1faf11 ”Abraham Lincoln rejected calls to postpone the 1864 election amid the Civil War, even though his reelection rem

Providence: New State Takeover Superintendent Rolls Out Initial Plans

34by dianeravitch / 1d

Angelica Infante-Green, the Commissioner of Education in Rhode Island, selected Harrison Peters as the takeover superintendent of Providence. Peters announced his initial plans, which sound sensible, like implementing restorative justice in schools and assessing which schools need emergency repairs. However, the article suggests that the big reform plan will be rolled out in April. Keep an eye on

Fareed Zakaria: Why Is the U.S. Response to the Crisis Inept?

49by dianeravitch / 1d

Fareed Zakaria is a regular commentator on world affairs for CNN. This article appeared in the Washington Post on March 12: The outbreak of an epidemic is something like a natural disaster — a spontaneous, accidental eruption that is no one’s fault. But that does not mean we can do little about it and just wait for it to run its deadly course. The evidence is now clear: The spread of the virus ca

Peter Greene: This is What Administrators Are Supposed to Do

76by dianeravitch / 1d

Peter Greene writes here about the forgotten role of the principal and superintendent . It is not to promote misguided and harmful policies such as those that were central to No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, but to fight against them and to protect their staff as best they can against misguided mandates. For most of the past two decades, however, the folks at the top blew with the wind a

William Mathis: An Absurd Argument for Expanding Vouchers in Wisconsin

by dianeravitch / 1d

This review from the National Education Policy Center by William Mathis demolishes an absurd claim about the hypothetical economic benefits of expanding Wisconsin’s voucher program. The review is actually hilarious. 

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