Republicans Refuse to Act Against Climate ChangePaul Waldman of the Washington Post w rites that Republicans, with only a few exceptions, refuse to do anything about climate change. The news gets worse, but they are determined to do nothing. CNN posted illustrations of what rising sea levels would do to the coastal cities in the not distant future, and the visualizations are terrifying. Sure, Democrats are predominant in New York and Californi
Watch Nancy MacLean and Me Discuss the Rightwing Attacks on Public SchoolsOn February 3, Duke University historian Nancy MacLean and I held a Zoom conversation called “Public Education in Chains,” about the nefarious conspiracy to undermine and privatize our public schools. The discussion was sponsored by Public Funds Public Schools and the Network for Public Education. Dr. MacLean is the author of many books, including the brilliant Democracy in Chains: The DeepHistor
Nancy MacLean: Milton Friedman, School Choice, Segregation, and PrivatizationNancy MacLean is an esteemed historian at Duke University, where she is the William H. Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy. She specializes in the study of race, gender, labor history and social movements in the United States. Her book Democracy in Chains: The Deep History ofthe Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America is must reading. In this important paper , she examines the role of e
Texas: Dan Patrick Threatens to Take Tenure Away from Professors Who Defy Anti-CRT LawKate McGee of the Texas Tribune writes that Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has t hreatened to kill tenure in Texas universities to compel compliance with his wish to stop any teaching about race or racism, which he calls “critical race theory.” Dan Patrick is a phony Texan. He wears boots, but he was born and raised in Baltimore. His birth name was Dannie Scott Goeb . He was the little Rush Limbaugh of
Philadelphia: District Will Regain Control of Two Low-Performing Charter SchoolsDon’t believe the hype about charter ”success.” As the Network for Public Education has documented in several reports, the failure and closure rate of charter schools is high. in Philadelphia, the district has battled to close two low-performing charter schools for years and only now is on the cusp of regaining their students. A state panel on Tuesday upheld the Philadelphia school board’s decisi
Tom Ultican: The History of the Nefarious “New Leaders for New Schools”When a bright young man or woman gets an idea to replace experienced educators with inexperienced tyros and is quickly funded by billionaire foundations, you can guess that the ultimate goal is privatization. For one thing, the enterprise rests on a base claim that “our schools are failing,” and that experience is irrelevant and probably harmful. Tom Ultican recounts the origin story of one such
Global Guru #1 !!!I am pleased to report that I was selected as ” Global Guru #1” by an organization that selects “global gurus” in different fields. I am happy to see my friends Deborah Meier, Andy Hargreaves, and Pasi Sahlberg on the same list. I’m honored to be in the company of such distinguished educators. In case you read the bio, there are two updates. I retired from active service at New York University on
Texas: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Wants to Ban “Critical Race Theory” in UniversitiesThis is when 21st century McCarthyism gets serious. Dan Patrick, the talk-show host who is now Lieutenant Governor of Texas, wants to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in higher education. Critical race theory, the study of systemic and institutionalized racism, has been taught and debated in law schools and colleges since the mid-1980s. Patrick wants to quash academic freedom in higher
South Carolina: Don’t Defund Our Public Schools With Vouchers!Paul Bowers, previously the education journalist for the Charleston, South Carolina, Post & Courier , writes his own blog. In this post, he calls on the state legislators not to pass voucher legislation that would predictably defund the state’s already underfunded public schools. South Carolina has a large budget surplus and one of the lowest tax rates in the nation. Governor Henry McMaster annou
