Beware Women in the Workplace: A 1950s Educational FilmAs someone who graduated high school in 1956, this film reminds me of the world I grew up in.
A Reader: A Message for TeachersGary Stein, a teacher in his last year of teaching, read the post by retired superintendent Teresa Thayer Snyder and was inspired to share this message: After reading Ms. Snyder’s article and all of the responses to it on the dianeravitch.net page, I was reminded of the best advice for all teachers, and what seems to me the best advice for teaching, always, regardless of social circumstance or hi
Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske: States Need an Equity-Oriented Accountability System for Charter SchoolsDistinguished economist Helen Ladd and her husband, journalist Edward Fiske, studied the accountability system for charter schools in Massachuset ts. They specifically addressed equity issues of access, fairness, and availability of a high-quality education, not test scores. They found considerable variation among charter schools, as one would expect. They also found that some charter schools had
Arthur Goldstein Asks Michael Bloomberg to Stop Disrespecting TeachersArthur Goldstein has taught ESL for decades in New York City. He is tired of being lectured by billionaires like Michael Bloomberg about how to teach or what a slacker he is. He writes in The New York Daily News: There’s lots of talk about whether or not school buildings should be open. European school buildings recently shut over concerns that children do indeed spread the virus. Yet former Mayo
This Teacher Worked for K12 Inc. and Now Regrets ItI have been writing for many years about the low quality “education” that virtual charter schools provide their students. They make fabulous promises in their marketing materials, but the results for their schools are awful. Their students have low test scores, low graduation rates, and high attrition rates. Their teachers often have huge classes. Study after study has demonstrated that those who
Educators Everywhere See Chance to Ditch Exam StraitjacketThe Financial Times reports on a new phenomenon : educators around the world see the pandemic as an opportunity to break free of standardized exams. Tony Stack, a Canadian educator, was developing a new way to assess children even before coronavirus. The decision to scrap end-of-year assessments after the pandemic struck presented the chance to put the “deep learning” approach into practice. “It
Who Is Cindy Marten?The Biden administration selected San Diego Superintendent of Schools Cindy Marten to become Deputy Secretary of Education, the #2 job in the Department of Education. She has a long career as a teacher, as principal of a high-poverty school in San Diego, and as Superintendent of the state’s second largest district since 2013. Louis Freedberg of Edsource describes her career in this article. Marte
Rhode Island Senate Democrats Pass Three-Year Moratorium on New ChartersThe Rhode Island State Senate overwhelmingly passed a three-year moratorium on the opening of new charter schools. The vote was 30-6, with only one Democrat in opposition. Under the leadership of Governor Gina Raimondo, who is about to become President Biden’s Commerce Secretary, the state has welcomed charter operators (Raimondo was a hedge fund executive before she became Governor). This delay
Trump Is Triumphant—and VindictiveAfter the U.S. Senate failed to convict Donald J. Trump for inciting an insurrection, Trump issued a triumphant and frankly absurd statement, projecting his own behavior on the Democrats. After his Senate acquittal, a defiant Trump called his second impeachment by the House “another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our Country” and hinted at a return to national politics. “This
John Thompson: The Debate About Reopening Should Not Be PoliticizedJohn Thompson writes below about the ongoing confusion about whether it is safe to reopen schools. Trump and DeVos demanded that schools reopen without the resources to reopen safely. Now, the debate continues, with a mixture of science, hope, and fear. I am not a public health expert, and I offer no advice. But common sense suggests that teachers should be vaccinated first, along with other esse
Thoughts on the Perennial Pleasures of “Mrs. Dalloway”Jenny Offill wrote a new introduction to a new edition of Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway,” which will by published this month by Penguin Classics. It was excerpted in the New Yorker. Her beginning reminded of something that Fred Hechinger, longtime education editor of The New York Times, wrote long long ago. He said that the definition of a classic, to him, was that it changes in meaning as the
New York Times: Scientists Say Schools Should ReopenI am getting dizzy from the whipsawing of information and advice about whether, when, and how schools should reopen. They were open in Europe, and we envied Europe; then they were closed in Europe. Schools open, then close, then open again. I am not a scientist so I offer no advice. The scientists agree that schools can open safely if they observe the medical protocols. If I were a teacher, I wou
Sweden: Politicians Let Schools Sink into a Swamp of Corruption (Part 2)This article was written by Swedish teacher Filippa Mannerheim and translated by retired Swedish educator Sara Hjelm. It appeared in the Swedish publication EXPRESSEN . Mannerheim expresses her outrage at the corruption and inequity that have flowed from the Swedish policy of privatization. Her articles are a warning to those of us in the United States, as many states are now considering legislat
The Shame of Swedish Education: J’Accuse! (Part 1)The following article was written by Swedish high school teacher Filippa Mannherheim and translated by retired Swedish educator Sara Hjelm. It appeared in the Swedish publication Expressen. Sweden adopted a free-
