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David Dayen: How Little Can the GOP Do for Working People?
by dianeravitch / 11min
David Dayen writes a daily update on the pandemic crisis for the American Prospect. It is called “Unsanitized.” I highly recommend it. In this post , he recounts the GOP’s lack of interest in helping anyone but their funders. How about going to the voters with a promise to help the 1%, not them? Or just distract them by prattling about law and order and Antifa? To read the links, open the post. F
YESTERDAY
Breaking! Federal Judge Rejects DeVos’ Efforts to Give Federal Funding to Private Schools
100+by dianeravitch / 12h
Secretary of Education DeVos issued a rule requiring states to share coronavirus relief funds with private schools, irrespective of need or low-income status. News from the NAACP, the Education Law Center, and the Southern Poverty Law Center: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 4, 2020 Contacts: Ashley Levett, (334) 296-0084 / ashley.levett@splcenter.org Sharon Krengel, (973) 624-1815, x24 / skrengel
Today in 1957: Arkansas Governor Faubus Calls Up National Guard to Preserve Segregation
by dianeravitch / 19h
Today is an important day in the history of education in the United States. Federal courts had ordered the schools of Little Rock to admit nine black students. Crowds of white supremacists gathered to block their entry. On this day, Governor Orval Faunus called up the National Guard to prevent the black students from entering Little Rock’s Central High School. From Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers
Happy Birthday, Richard Wright!
43by dianeravitch / 20h
Happy birthday to one of our best American writers! This tribute appeared in Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers’ Almanac.” I own a fifth edition of Wright’s Black Boy. What makes it special is that it’s signed in the frontispiece “Sophie Tucker.” It was her personal copy. When I was a child, Sophie Tucker was a popular singer whose theme song was “Some of These Days.” She appeared in Houston at the
Florida: Teachers Are Burning Out Under Stress
35by dianeravitch / 21h
The schools of Sarasota, Florida, have adopted what they call “a concurrent model, ” with teachers responsible for both in-person and remote learning. Some teachers say this is like working two jobs at once and wonder whether this is sustainable. School in Sarasota County started a few days ago, but some educators say they are already overwhelmed and exhausted by the new way of teaching amid the
Maurice Cunningham: Why the Waltons and Koch Support Charter Schools
by dianeravitch / 22h
Maurice Cunningham, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts, specializes in exposing the role of Dark Money in education. If you read my book, Slaying Goliath, you know that Cunningham’s research and blog posts helped to turn the tide against a state referendum in 2016 to expand the number of charter schools in Massachusetts. Cunningham showed that “Yes on Two” Organizati
Canada: “Individualism Run Amok”
by dianeravitch / 23h
This is an article based on an interview of me conducted by Carolyn Bassetti of the Canadian publication Alberta Views . I have recently been emailing with public education advocates in Canada who are alarmed by their government’s drift towards consumerism in education. They are as concerned as we are about the constant attacks on public education.
Trump: Wounded Vets Are “Losers”
66by dianeravitch / 1d
Jeffrey Goldberg writes in The Atlantic that Trump is contemptuous of veterans who were wounded or captured. He calls them “losers” and “suckers.” When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that “the helicopter couldn’t fly” and that the Secret Service wouldn’t drive him there. Neither c
SEP 03
Chris Barbic, Founder of Failed “Achievement School District,” Returns to Tennessee
33by dianeravitch / 1d
Chris Barbic has returned to Tennessee to join its “charter school center.” Barbic, you may recall, launched the much-lauded Achievement School District in Tennessee, drawing upon $100 million from the state’s $500 million Race to the Top grant. He promised to take over the state’s lowest performing schools, hand them over to charter operators, and propel them into the top 25% of schools in the s
A Study of Charter Schools and Special Education
100+by dianeravitch / 1d
The National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education has released a study of charter schools and special education by doctoral candidate Katherine Parham at Teachers College, Columbia University. From the dawn of the charter movement, the subject of charter schools and special education has generated significant controversy. Albert Shanker cautioned in a Washington Post op-ed in 1994 t
Peter Goodman:”This Is Not the End of Cities”
by dianeravitch / 2d
The media has been churning out stories about the exodus of people from cities, to escape crowding and coronavirus. People, they say, are rushing to the suburbs. New Yorker Peter Goodman dissents. He believes that city life will bounce back in time. New York City already is healthier than most other parts of the nation, though mass transit has not yet recovered from the pandemic. Everything groun
SEP 02
“Capital & Main” Wins Multiple Journalism Awards
by dianeravitch / 2d
Last night, while watching the PBS Newshour, I watched a segment about the demise of local journalism. The author of a new book on this subject—Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy— Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post, warned about the danger to democracy when citizens are uninformed about local and state issues and get their news only from national source
Jeff Bryant: Parents, Beware of Charter Schools
37by dianeravitch / 2d
Jeff Bryant warns parents not to be tempted by the advertisements or lures of charter schools. He cites the report by the Network for Public Education showing that the shelf life of many charter schools is limited, and their futures are uncertain. The report crunched nearly two decades of data and discovered that more than one in four charter schools closed after just five years. That’s less than
A Primer on Trump’s Humility
84by dianeravitch / 2d
A reader of the blog who calls herself “CarolMalaysia” has compiled some of the many statements made by Donald Trump about his successes. She writes: The Dotard knows exactly how wonderful he is. [Read this before eating. Nobody should throw up on a full stomach.] Trump’s favorite word is, “I”. ………………………………………………… LIKE A SMART PERSON “You know, I’m, like, a smart person.” “I am a really smart guy
Steven Singer: The Lessons Kids Learn from Reckless School Openings
49by dianeravitch / 2d
In the South and Midwest and other parts of the nation, the coronavirus continues to spread. No one can be sure what will happen even in places where it has apparently subsided. Steven Singer warns that reckless reopening not only endangers students but tells them they are not valued. The grownups say they need to keep the economy running, but are they risking the lives of children and teachers?
Science Writer: Should I Send My Children to School?
37by dianeravitch / 3d
Apoorva Mandavilli is an award-winning science reporter for the New York Times. She is a mother of two children. She lives in Brooklyn. In this article , she thinks through the pros and cons of sending her children back to school. To read the links, open the story. Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio and UFT leader Michael Mulgrew announced that the city’s public schools would open for blended learning on
SEP 01
Happy Birthday, Edgar Rice Burroughs!
by dianeravitch / 3d
This greeting was posted on Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers’ Almanac.” My older son fell in love with the Burroughs’ books, not just those about Tarzan, and read every one of them. He subsequently devoured every Agatha Christie novel. Dozens of them. It’s the birthday of American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875) (books by this author), born in Chicago, creator of the popular fictional character
The Economist: A Hopeful Prediction About the November Election
by dianeravitch / 3d
The Economist Magazine has a feature that calculates the likely outcome of the American presidential election. After a week of theTrump Convention, studded with lies and boasts, this was a quick picker-upper.
Nancy Bailey: Bill Gates and the Deprofessionalizing of Education
90by dianeravitch / 3d
Nancy Bailey has discerned a pattern in the education grant making of the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation: the deprofessionalizing of education. We are familiar, of course, with Teach for America, which peddles the wacky idea that any college graduate can be a successful teacher with only five weeks of training. Gates has pushed that line of unreasoning into an attack on school counselors. The mor
Trump Advisor Urges Swedish Model of Herd Immunity
by dianeravitch / 3d
One of Trump’s newest and most influential advisors on COVID has urged Trump to emulate the Swedish model, keeping the economy open while waiting for the population to develop “herd immunity.” The advisor, Dr. Scott Atlas, denies that these are his views, but his advice mirrors them. Trump has said repeatedly that the pandemic will magically “disappear,” which might happen at some point. But how
T.C. Weber: Tennessee’s Education Commissioner Has Two Jobs: Is That a Problem?
100+by dianeravitch / 4d
Blogger T.C.Weber, aka “Dad Gone Wild,” thinks there is something amiss in Tennessee. The State Commissioner of education Penny Schwinn is holding down two full-time jobs. He thinks that is odd. Does anyone else? She founded a charter school in California, where she is still listed as executive director. Interesting. Superwoman? He writes: Capital Collegiate Academy was founded back in 2011 by on
AUG 31
Robert Shepherd: The Trump Convention and the Return of the Fascist Spectacle
100by dianeravitch / 4d
Our regular commenter Bob Shepherd writes about the familiarity of the spectacle at the Trump National Convention: The Style of the Trump Fascist Spectacle (Known in Previous Years as the Republican National Convention) Did Albert Speer design this convention? Where was Leni Riefenstahl to film this Triumph of the Trumpian Will? Flags and marble, shot from below to make them as imposing as possib
Arizona: Charters Can Double Dip, No Problem
by dianeravitch / 4d
The state auditor in Arizona made a weird decision. She decided that the charter schools that applied for and received $100 million in federal funds from the Paycheck Protection Program didn’t really take federal funds at all. What? Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic writes: Arizona charter schools that received up to $100 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans can keep
Walter Stroup: What Texans Need to Know About Standardized Testing
by dianeravitch / 4d
Walter Stroup is chair of the department of STEM education and teacher development and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. In 2014, as a professor at the University of Texas, he publicly testified that the state was wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on standardized testing because the only thing that was measured was skill at passing standardized tests. This
Peter Greene: The Brookings Institution is in Charter School La-La Land
by dianeravitch / 4d
Peter Greene reviews a new charter school study from the Brookings Institution that exhibits near total ignorance of the perils of privatization. Any time that a study rests its case on DFER data, its a clue that it should not be taken seriously. DFER (Democrats for Education Reform) is an organization created by hedge fund managers to lobby for charter schools. Their “studies” and polling data s
Newsweek: Teachers Resigning to Avoid COVID
40by dianeravitch / 5d
The most important concern about reopening schools is the health and safety of students and staff. The Trump administration has adamantly refused to provide funding to states and cities to enable them to make schools as safe as they should be. As a result, Newsweek reports, significant numbers of teachers are quitting. This is a blow to students and schools across the nation. It was hard to recru
AUG 30
Politico: Trump’s Schedule This Week
by dianeravitch / 5d
Trump’s schedule for this week is a reminder that Michael Cohen, his former “fixer,” now a felon, wrote in the foreword to his new book Disliyal that Trump has no friends. It’s also a reminder that Trump never works. He watches TV, he golfs, he tweets, he lunches with lackeys. SNEAK PEEK … THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK AHEAD: Monday: TRUMP will have lunch with VP MIKE PENCE and will meet with Attorney Gen
Today is the Birthday of Molly Ivins
100+by dianeravitch / 5d
This tribute to a great political critic appeared in Garrison Keillor’s “The Writers’ Almanac.” Molly Ivins is sorely missed today. We can only imagine what she would have written about Trump and Pence and the other idiots running the government. It’s the birthday of the journalist and humorist who said, “The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires
Britain Will Open Schools Amid Uncertainty
by dianeravitch / 5d
This story by Stephen Castle appeared in the New York Times: LONDON — When pupils return to Southend High School For Boys next week, the cafeteria will serve takeout food only and lunch will be eaten outside. Lessons will stretch to two-and-a-half hours to reduce the need to switch classrooms. And new equipment has been bought to spray the sports changing rooms with disinfectant. “By and large, w
Texas: IDEA Corporate Charter Chain Plans Massive Expansion
100+by dianeravitch / 5d
The IDEA charter chain hopes to double its enrollment in Texas. This is the free-spending chain that planned to lease a private jet for $2 million a year but backed off after bad publicity; that flies its executives and their families in first-class; that bought premium box seats for professional basketball games; that pays its executives exorbitant salaries; that has received more than $200 mill
Derek Black: Betsy DeVos and the Theft of CARES Funding
100+by dianeravitch / 5d
In this article in the New York Daily News, constitutional lawyer Derek Black explains how Betsy DeVos used her authority as Secretary of Educatiin to send federal dollars intended for public schools to elite private schools and religious schools. Black’s new book, “School House Burning,” is an outstanding read. He writes: Betsy DeVos’ agenda to expand private education has floundered for three y
Mercedes Schneider: Betsy DeVos Hasn’t Had a New Idea in Thirty Years!
20by dianeravitch / 5d
Mercedes Schneider writes here about Betsy DeVos’s single-minded effort to divert public school funding to private and religious schools during the pandemic. As Schneider documents, DeVos excoriates public schools as “static,” but her own brain is locked in concrete. She has not allowed a fresh thought to enter her head in at least thirty years. She wants public money for vouchers, she wants to r
Jan Resseger: A Second Federal Judge Blocks DeVos’ Plan to Divert CARES Money to Private Schools
35by dianeravitch / 6d
Congress passed the CARES Act and included over $13 billion to public schools. DeVos issued a rule requiring that public schools share that money with private schools. Meanwhile, another $660 BILLION in the CARES Act was allotted to the Paycheck Protection Plan to protect small businesses and nonprofit organizations from going bankrupt; public schools were not allowed to apply for PPP, but charte
AUG 29
John Merrow: Betsy DeVos and the Day the GOP Died
200+by dianeravitch / 6d
John Merrow and I cling to a belief that once upon a time there was a Republican party that was reasonable and genuinely concerned about the future of the nation. We think of people like Eisenhower and McCain. But Merrow identifies a day when he says the GOP as we once knew it actually died: The day that Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education. Actually, it was two days. The first was
Masha Gessen: Trump, Our King, Speaks from His Palace
54by dianeravitch / 6d
Masha Gessen, a Russian-born journalist, writes in the New Yorker about Trump’s big speech, when he accepted renomination for the presidency. I did not watch. Trump makes me physically ill. I can’t bear to watch people in authority tell boldfaced lies without anyone correcting them. I heard he read from the teleprompter in a sing-song voice, which is always challenging for him because reading is
Thomas Ultican: What Is the Center for Reinventing Public Education?
24by dianeravitch / 6d
Thomas Ultican has yet again performed a public service by investigating a reformy think tank, where people get huge amounts of money from billionaires to tell the world that public schools are terrible and private management is the way to go. In the linked post, he delves into the philosophy and fundraising genius of the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington. As
Carol Burris: New York City Public Schools Should Re-Open
48by dianeravitch / 7d
Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education and a retired high school principal and a grandmother, argues in this article that public schools in New York City should reopen. She speaks for herself, not for the Network for Public Education. NPE issued a statement calling for
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all