Big Education Ape: KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/08/keep-up-catch-up-with-diane-ravitchs_22.html
I was there with my husband Richard. Dick was a close friend of Bayard Rustin, one of the day’s organizers. We took the train To Washington. We met with Dick’s law school classmate, Clifford Alexander, who was Secretary of the Army in LBJ’s administration. (Cliff was the father of Michelle Alexander, who later became a celebrated writer.) I was eager to join the march. Dick and I left Cliff in hi
The founder and headmaster of a charter school in St. Louis admitted to skimming $2.4 million in public funding by inflating enrollment. This is to be expected when private companies obtain public money without accountability or transparency. The former head of a failed charter school has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges in a scheme that cost taxpayers $2.4 million. Michael Malone, wh
Climate expert Bill Becker writes here about the state of America’s air, and Trump’s rollback of regulations to improve its quality. He writes: Our air still is not as clean and healthy as it could be, or should be. The most recent “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association (ALA) includes the sobering fact that nearly half of the American people live in places where it is still
Lucas Smolcic Larson writes in the Island Packet about the views of teachers concerning the return to school. The S.C. McClatchy newspapers asked educators if they felt ready to return to school during the coronavirus pandemic. Over 250 teachers, librarians, coaches and other educators from every corner of the state responded to the survey. The vast majority work at public schools, with about two
David Farenthold of the Washington Post follows how government money winds up in Trump’s bank account. Has there ever been a president who profited so handsomely from his office? The following article is excerpted in part. Farenthold writes: The Secret Service had asked for a room close to the president. But Mar-a-Lago said it was too late. The room was booked. Would agents like a room across the
The New York Times published a detailed investigation that explained how the Trump administration, acting through the Treasury Secretary, took control of the United States Postal Service and politicized it by selecting an unqualified Trump donor as Postmaster General. This is par for the course, as Trump has put unqualified Trump loyalists in charge of every agency. WASHINGTON — In early February
Leonie Haimson writes here about Bill Gates and his successful efforts to buy positive media coverage for himself and the projects he funds. She read the excellent investigative research on Gates’ strategic funding of influential media outlets by Tim Schwab. She writes: Reporter Tim Schwab just had a must-read piece in the Columbia Journalism Review about how the Gates Foundation provides grants
John Thompson is a historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma. He writes: The McAlester Public Schools are in the Oklahoma county where COVID is now #1 in the state in per capita COVID infections. A week before the scheduled opening, McAlester reports five positives linked to football. But its schools will still provide in-person instruction. This is just one of 50 schools with infections on the e
You have often read Gary Rubinstein’s sage insights into the hoaxes associated with “miracle schools,” charter schools, and Tesch for America. But his fist love is teaching mathematics. That is also his profession. So, in this
