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Ban Guns, Not Books
24by dianeravitch / 22h
After the massacre of children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2014, there seemed to be an unstoppable public demand for federal gun control legislation. After the massacre of high school students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Davis High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, the demand for gun control seemed unstoppable, led by students from th
CBS Poll: Most Americans Oppose Banning Books and Support Teaching About Race
100+by dianeravitch / 23h
Last week, I reported a poll in Educatuon Week, which found that half the public thinks that schools should not teach about racism today. With opinion polls, the results are influenced by many factors, including how the questions are worded. A poll by CBS got very different results. Greg Sergeant writes in the Washington Post that Democrats should take heart from a CBS News poll: Most Americans o
MAR 03
Macron Speaks to Putin: “The Worst Is Yet to Come…Putin Wants All of Ukraine”•
French Macron Putin
by dianeravitch / 1d
The Washington Post reports that Putin callled French President Macron. They spoke for 90 minutes. Russian President Vladimir Putin called French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, in what appeared to have been a markedly more tense exchange than previous conversations between the two leaders. The 90-minute call failed to deliver a diplomatic breakthrough, and a senior French official said it
Heather Cox Richardson: Trump, Putin, and Ukraine
by dianeravitch / 1d
The following is an excerpt from historian Heather Cox Richardson’s blog . The rest of the post is about the January 6 Commission’s efforts to get to the bottom of Trump’s role in the insurrection. On July 27, 2016, even before the Republican National Committee changed the party’s platform to weaken the U.S. stance in favor of Ukraine in its struggle to fight off Russia’s 2014 invasion, U.S. News
How Public High School Debate Team Shaped Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
by dianeravitch / 1d
President Biden’s choice for the U.S. Supreme Court is a graduate of a Florida public high school, where she was a member of the debate team. Justice Jackson has described her participation on the debate team as a crucial factor in her intellectual development. Debate taught her critical thinking skills, writing, speaking, and self-confidence. The school still exists but the Governor and Legislat
Dave Pell: It’s All Connected: From Kiev to Mar-a-Lago
by dianeravitch / 1d
Dave Pell is a blogger whose writing I enjoy. Here is a great example. H e pulls together the events of the past five years and sees the connections. His blog is called “Dave Pell’s Next Draft.” He writes: It’s all connected. The years of Trump being manipulated into lauding Putin’s savvy and genius . The scene in Helsinki when Trump sided with Putin over America’s intelligence agencies. The weap
Georgia: School Choice Flyer Funded by DeVos Backfires
by dianeravitch / 1d
The Georgia branch of Betsy DeVos’ American Federation for Children made a mass mailing to voters in Republican districts urging them to fight against the “radical left” agenda of President Biden, Kamala Harris, and Stacey Abrams, which denies school choice. It backfired . A national advocacy group promoting school vouchers bombarded conservative Georgia voters with glossy mailers tying Republica
MAR 02
Texas: Republicans Who Support Public Schools Win Big Victories
by dianeravitch / 2d
Pastors for Texas Children have worked with a bipartisan coalition to support public schools and stop privatization. Rural Republicans have been an important part of the coalition that has repeatedly stopped voucher legislation and slowed charters. Big Night for Pro-Texas Public School Legislative Candidates GOP Candidates Again Rebuke Extremist Insurgents Financed By Ultra-Right-Wing Billionaire
Yale Historian Timothy Snyder Disputes Claim that Russia Wanted to Push Back Against NATO Expansion
by dianeravitch / 2d
Putin has said that he sent troops to Ukraine to “denazify” it and to “liberate” its people from its democratically elected government. Apologists for Putin’s “special operation” say that Putin had to act because he felt encircled by NATO. Yale historian Timothy D. Snyder is an authority of fascism and totalitarianism. He appeared on Democracy Now , where he explained that Russian claims about fe
Arizona: State Senate Censures Member Who Threatens Violence
by dianeravitch / 2d
Republicans and Democrats joined in a rare bipartisan vote to censure extremist Rep. Wendy Rogers. Rogers, a MAGA zealot, took part by video in a white nationalist conference where she called for “public hangings” of high-level officials and used anti-Semitic slurs. During the conference, speakers made racist remarks and cheered on Russian President Vladimir Putin, comparing the Russian leader fa
Heather Cox Richardson on the Ukraine Conflict
by dianeravitch / 2d
Historian Heather Cox Richardson has interesting insights on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The overwhelming resistance to Putin is remarkable, and Putin has turned to carpet-bombing cities and devastating civilian areas. Despite Russian efforts to convince the Russian public that the war “to liberate Ukraine from fascists” is going well, she points to the growing number of anti-war protests in
North Carolina: State Charter Board Votes to Revoke Charter of Torchlight Academy in Raleigh
by dianeravitch / 2d
I wrote a few days ago about the case of Torchlight Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. The state board warned that the charter school was in trouble because of its inadequate support for students with disabilities, as well as issues of management, finances, and oversight. The state board voted to revoke the charte r. This is in addition to the previous closing of two previous charters under the
Jennifer Berkshire: Who Is Driving Teachers Out of Their Profession?
by dianeravitch / 2d
Jennifer Berkshire, expert education journalist and co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door , writes in The Nation about the forces driving teachers out of the schools. She interviewed many teachers who explained why they were leaving. Some cited ”the bad teacher” narrative promulgated by Arne Duncan and his insistence that teachers be evaluated, based on their students’ test scores, which is
MAR 01
Arne Duncan Will not Run for Mayor of Chicago
by dianeravitch / 3d
Arne Duncan announced that his hat is not in the ring.
David Remnick: Putin’s Assault on Ukraine•
Putin Russia Ukraine
by dianeravitch / 3d
David Remnick is the editor of The New Yorker . He has written about Russian politics over many years. In this article , he analyzes Putin’s rationale for invading Ukraine. Vladimir Putin delivered a bitter and delusional speech from the Kremlin this week, arguing that Ukraine is not a nation and Ukrainians are not a people. His order to execute a “special military operation” came shortly afterwa
What You Need to Know About Senator Rick Scott of Florida
by dianeravitch / 3d
A reader sent this Wikipedia description of Senator Scott, who is apparently interested in winning the support of the far-right faction of the Republican Party in 2024, which has no scruples: In 1987, after serving in the United States Navy and becoming a law firm partner, he co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation . Columbia later merged with another corporation to form Columbia/HCA , which eve
Watch Out! Koch Foundation Is Funding “New Education Models”
by dianeravitch / 3d
It is a mystery of our times why so many billionaires have assumed the power to meddle in education. Gates, Waltons, Bloomberg, Koch, DeVos, Rock, and many more like to play the role of education minister. I have an almost complete list of the billionaires who dabble in education in my book “Slaying Goliath.” I say “almost” because after the book was published, I found more billionaires who were
FEB 28
North Carolina: The Fate of Troubled Charter Chain Will Be Decided Today (Probably)
by dianeravitch / 4d
The expansion of Torchlight Academy Schools in Raleigh, North Carolina, is in trouble. Despite their mishandling and misreporting of students in special education , their financial irregularities and missing records, they are still in business. The state charter board has closed two of their charters, but others are still operating, and Torchlight hopes to add more charters. One–the Three Rivers
Heather Cox Richardson: The War in Ukraine Has Changed the World
by dianeravitch / 4d
Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian who writes about current events from a deeply informed historical perspective. In today’s post , she reflects on how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the world. I remembered, as I read it, that Trump asked for only one change in the 2016 Republican platform: the omission of a boilerplate pledge to send military aid to Ukraine if it was th
Masha Gessen: Ukraine, History, Hope, and Memory
by dianeravitch / 4d
Masha Gessen is a Russia-born journalist who writes frequently for the New Yorker and other publications. The following article , written before the invasion of Ukraine, appeared in The New Yorker. Reflecting the pre-invasion fears, the article was titled “The Crushing Loss of Hope in Ukraine.” Few believed that Ukraine would survive for more than a day or two in the face of the mighty Russian mi
Russian State TV Loves Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard
by dianeravitch / 4d
Robert Mackey writes in The Intercept that Tucker Carlson and Tulsi Gabbard have become favorites on Russian state television because they praise Putin. The Putin regime loves FOX News. Carlson’s attacks on Biden and the American government thrills the Russian propagandists. “These people are so ghoulish,” Carlson said of U.S. officials who provided military aid to Ukraine. “Of course they’re pro
How to Improve Schools After COVID
by dianeravitch / 4d
What happens to schools when it is safe to reopen fully? Pundits call for more testing, longer school days, anything to make up for “learning loss.” Gretchen Dziadosz, executive director of the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice, has a better idea: community schools. She writes in the Columbus Dispatch: There is a cost-effective way to keep school doors open 12 hours a day and
FEB 27
The Heroes of Snake Island
by dianeravitch / 5d
Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were stationed on Snake Island, off the coast of Ukraine. A Russian warship approached and warned t hem to surrender. The response went viral. As the Russian military pounded targets across Ukraine with an array of bombs and missiles, a small team of Ukrainian border guards on a rocky, desolate island received an ominous message: Give up or be attacked. “I am a Russian
Rick Scott’s Radical Far-Right Agenda to Roll Back the Clock
by dianeravitch / 5d
Florida Senator Rick Scott released his 11-point plan for the future. It contains every “culture war” issue that gets Republicans riled up. A bortion, gays, race, gender, patriotism. I t contains not a single proposal to address climate change, the economy, jobs, healthcare, or any other idea to address real problems of real people. Rick Scott’s agenda: Our kids will say the pledge of allegiance,
Bob Shepherd: The Dirty Secret of the Standardized Testing Industry
by dianeravitch / 5d
Bob Shepherd, a frequent contributor to the blog, is an education polymath. He has authored textbooks, written assessments, developed curriculum, and was most recently a classroom teacher in Florida. He has a long history in the education industry. He explains here why standardized testing today is neither valid nor reliable. He begins: The dirty secret of the standardized testing industry is the
Jill Underly: The Debate About Parental Rights
by dianeravitch / 5d
Jill Underly is the state superintendent of education in Wisconsin. In this article, she responds to the demands in red states for “parent rights,” which is usually premised on the belief that teachers are “indoctrinating” their students and can’t be trusted. Superintendent Underly writes: Dr. Jill Underly is the Wisconsin State Superintendent, and she offers thoughts to parents and teachers faci
FEB 26
South Carolina: It Doesn’t Matter What’s Taught If There’s No One to Teach It
by dianeravitch / 6d
Patrick Kelly, director of governmental affairs for the Palmetto State Teachers Association, warned in an opinion piece in the Charleston (SC) Post and Courier about the state’s teacher shortage. Teacher salaries are low, and legislators are obsessed with the idea of telling teachers what they may and may not teach. Meanwhile the state has a budget surplus, and Governor Henry McMaster will use it
Nevada: Most Charter Students Enrolled in Schools Managed by Florida For-Profit Firm
by dianeravitch / 6d
Back in the early days of charter schools, their advocates imagined that most would be run by teachers or local educators with a passion to run their own school. The charters would be innovative and accountable, working closely with public schools to share good ideas. That was then, this is now. No one back in the late 1980s envisioned huge charter chains like KIPP. Nor did they imagine the emerg
FEB 25
What the Kenyan Ambassador Said About National Borders
by dianeravitch / 7d
Fareed Zakaria said on CNN a few days ago that the Kenyan Ambassador to the UN gave the best response to Putin’s assertion about national borders. Basically, he said that all the borders in Africa were created by the colonial powers, but Africans have agreed to live with them because the alternative would be endless war. Murtaza Hussain of The Intercept agreed. He wrote: AS EUROPE FACES the grim
Is Ukraine a Sovereign Nation?•
Russia Ukraine Putin
by dianeravitch / 7d
A few days before Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Putin justified the decision to make war by claiming that Ukraine did not exist. It was a fake nation, invented by Lenin. But… The Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler debunked Putin’s web of lies . The reality is that Ukrainian culture and language have existed for centuries and a Ukrainian nationalist movement sprang up in the mid-1800s, a
Oakland: The Indispensable School that the Board Wants to Close
by dianeravitch / 7d
Community members and two members of the Oakland school board asked for a one-year delay in the decision to close schools. The board turned down their request. The two board members who have valiantly opposed the closures are Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Williams. Zack Haber wrote at Medium about one school on the closure list that is indispensable. It is Community Day School, which takes in stu
Texas: Charter $$$ Flood Race for State Board of Education
by dianeravitch / 7d
The charter industry has set its sights on Texas, since the state has a rightwing Governor and Lieutenant Governor and Republicans control the state legislature. So charter money is flowing to candidates for State Board of Education. In El Paso, board member Georgina Perez decided not to run again, so the charter industry is backing a charter school leader to take her place. Perez is a charter cr