Here Comes Common Core, Ready Or Not « Diane Ravitch's blog

Here Comes Common Core, Ready Or Not « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Here Comes Common Core, Ready Or Not

by dianerav

A teacher in Florida wants to know how the Common Core standards are supposed to change her teaching, why she should drop literature for informational texts, which dominate other subjects, and what the PARCC assessments mean. Will states have the money they need to buy computers for the assessments? Will they have the funds to pay for professional development for the new standards and assessments? So much remains unknown.
If students are reading in their history and science classes (as they should be), I see no reason to limit the amount of literature in English classes. There is plenty of time to read “informational texts” outside of the English curriculum.  I never read an “informational text” in an English class growing up. We never even had an English textbook. Instead we given actual books and the lessons revolved around what we were reading. What a 

Big Education Ape Editorial: Can’t can’t do nothing*

Can’t can’t do nothing* 

CAN

After listening to Chris Christie’s Key Note Speech,  I thought what country is he talking about? Certainly not America. America is the land of CAN. Yet Gov. Christie seemed to be saying we can’t educate our children, can’t provide for the old and sick, we can't have good jobs, we can’t have a middle class, we can’t have the America that we grew up in. It was as if he was saying that America can’t do anything, Sort of permanent recession.  

Since 1776 America has found ways to have a can do spirit, it is sort of built in our DNA. I believe that America can do anything because we are America.  So I say to Governor Christie and any others that say America Can’t simply… BULLSHIT

*Old Okie saying told to me by my grandmother and repeated to me by my parents, teachers and coaches whenever I would say I Can't.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-29-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Is This Ironic?

by dianerav

A reader comments on the fact that StudentsFirst–the Michelle Rhee organization that is raising $1 billion to attack teachers and public schools– is promoting the parent trigger film:

Talk about Double Standards!

by dianerav

When any educator dares to challenge the conventional wisdom and say that our schools are not failing, they can expect to be excoriated by reformers. A reformer these days is someone who believes that the “system” is obsolete and broken and must be handed over to private corporations.
Reformers dismiss NAEP scores because they show that test scores of all groups–blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asians–are at an historic high. Reformers love the international scores, because they show that the US 

What the Maine Press Said

by dianerav

Yesterday I posted a letter that Superintendent Paul Perzanoski wrote to his staff in Brunswick, Maine. He defended educators against the bullying of the governor and–since the governor had such disdain for the state’s students, teachers and public schools– suggested that the governor should take a standardized test and publish his scores. Since I have often made the same suggestion, I admired him for saying so. Here’s the local press reaction.

A First-Person Account of Chinese Schools

by dianerav

This is a phenomenal article that explains why the writer decided to leave China, which he loved.
This was one important reason:
Apart from what I hope is a justifiable human desire to be part of a community and no longer be treated as an outsider, to run my own business in a regulated environment and not live in fear of it being taken away from me, and not to concern myself unduly that the air my family breathes and the food we eat is doing us physical harm, there is one overriding reason I must leave China. I want to give my children a decent education.

Why Did You Become a Teacher?

by dianerav

This reader explains why she became a teacher. She didn’t do it because she loves the children but because she loves to teach. What do you think?

Would you please address this statement which I heard last night in Chris Christie’s speech. It is about the idea that people become and stay as teachers because they love children. I really disagree with this. Yes, teachers may love children but that is not really why they become teachers. I became a teacher when I went to college

Jersey Jazzman Reviews Joel Klein

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman parses the latest article by Joel Klein, who frankly admits that the real goal of reform is to open up the education system to entrepreneurs and investors. As more start-ups produce new products and innovations, schools are sure to benefit, he predicts.
Klein also thinks that the R&D cycle for schools is much too slow. Randomized trials in education take years, but Apps for cellphones can be improved in a matter of months without all that slow processing of information.

Does New York State Welcome Performance Assessments?

by dianerav

Jennifer Borgioli, whom I met via Twitter and know as DataDiva, has sent me a post about performance assessments in New York. She is responding to an earlier post about the New York Performance Standards Consortium, which has thus far not gotten permission form the state to add 19 schools to its group. The Consortium many years ago won an exemption from all state standardized testing (except for the Regents ELA

A Teacher Reviews Frank Bruni’s Article about the Parent Trigger

by dianerav

This retired teacher hasn’t seen the controversial movie about the parent trigger.
But he read Frank Bruni’s article and found it insulting to teachers.
He criticizes Bruni for accepting the “reformers” claims that unions and tenures are the bane of U.S. education.
And he points out that students in affluent suburbs get high test scores and have high graduation rates even 

Look at This Great Poster

by dianerav

This morning I posted about Neil Armstrong and the letter he wrote to one of his teachers when she retired, thanking her for what she had done for him. She was his math teacher in elementary school.
A reader asked if she could turn what I had written into a poster, and I said “of course.”
Hours later, I received this link. Look at it: It is beautiful!
I am touched and grateful.

An Angry Teacher in Louisiana Replies

by dianerav

A reader said he was shocked, shocked by a post that linked to an article that spoke disparagingly of Governor Bobby Jindal and State Commissioner of Education John White. He thought it was “uncivil” to refer to them in disrespectful language.
This teacher from Louisiana disagrees. Since there aren’t many places in Louisiana where his or her views may be expressed in print, I am happy to print them here.
But they are thieves, vandals, liars and profiteers here in Louisiana!

Labor Day in Chicago this year. « Fred Klonsky

Labor Day in Chicago this year. « Fred Klonsky:

Labor Day in Chicago this year.

by Fred Klonsky

In Chicago the kids go back to school after Labor Day.
In Park Ridge school starts two weeks before Labor Day.
As a result, Anne and I always thought of it as a little extension of summer. We would try to get out of town.
For many years our extended family would head up to Wisconsin to Lake Geneva. After a while we were joined by friends for all are part of the weekend. It became known as Camp Klonsky.
It would include an annual grudge match of doubles ping-pong on the porch of the main lodge. The porch was situated in a sweet setting, but it was never designed for a ping-pong game. The ball would always go over the railing. Most of our exercise was about constantly climbing over the railing to look for lost ping-pong balls.
During the years when Leigh went to the University of Wisconsin, she would take the Van Gelder bus to

Ten minute drawing: Christie and Romney in an elevator.

by Fred Klonsky

Pension reform: top-paid administrators to take biggest hit | EdSource Today

Pension reform: top-paid administrators to take biggest hit | EdSource Today:

Pension reform: top-paid administrators to take biggest hit

August 29th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

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The retirement age for new teachers will be pushed back two years; they’ll have to fork over about another 1 percent of their pay into the retirement system. And their bosses – principals and administrators ­– will see a ceiling of $132,120 as the portion of their pay used to calculate retirement pay. Those in the highest-paid jobs, earning $200,000 plus, may see pensions reduced by tens of thousands of dollars.

These are the primary changes specifically to members of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, or CalSTRS, from pension reforms negotiated between Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders. The package, which will affect every state and local public employee to variou

Report: Truancy is taking its toll - by Susan Frey

by Susan Frey

Having trouble getting your teenager up in time for school? Ask Whoopi Goldberg to help. The celebrity wake-up call is one of many successful strategies employed by New York City to try to get kids to school on time. A report based on a nationwide survey of truants — Skipping to Nowhere — released Tuesday by Get Schooled emphasizes the importance of developing new strategies to...

Dropout Signs Can Be Spotted Early Among Frequent School Ditchers -- Report

Dropout Signs Can Be Spotted Early Among Frequent School Ditchers -- Report:

Dropout Signs Can Be Spotted Early Among Frequent School Ditchers -- Report

by Joy Resmovits

It's the second day of school in Chaparral High School, a day assistant principal Todd Peterson calls "the second happiest day in the world for all the kids."

"They're measuring everybody up and they're making the decisions, one, if they like the teacher, and two, if they like the class," says Peterson, who leads the Las Vegas school.

These measurements can be critical: Early first impressions dictate who comes to school and how often, a question that influences who graduates, who goes to college and, ultimately, who gets a job. Students who miss 

Daily Kos: strongly suggest you read Nick Kristof this morning

Daily Kos: strongly suggest you read Nick Kristof this morning:

strongly suggest you read Nick Kristof this morning

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

His New York Times column is titled The Secret Weapon: All of Us, and it goes after the theme of the RNC, "We Built It."
A preliminary caution - some here will not like Kristof taking Democrats to task for criticizing Romney for outsourcing, but he tempers that with writing about the “You didn’t build that — you destroyed it.” meme Democrats are pushing at Romney.
Consider instead how he goes after the Republican claim to be job creators:

Prof. Robert S. McElvaine of Millsaps College examined employment data for the 64 years from the beginning of Harry Truman’s presidency to the end of George W. Bush’s. He found that an average of two million jobs were created per year when a Democrat was president, compared with one million annually when a Republican was president.More pointedly, and unfortunately for Romney, business executives have only a mediocre record when transferring their skills to government. In the last great economic mess, this country was led by a Republican who had been stunningly successful in business: Herbert Hoover. Hmm. More recently, President George W. Bush staffed his cabinet with C.E.O.’s who had been stellar in the private sector — and that didn’t work out so well, either.

And there is more.

Retired teacher: Make admins teach. Reduce testing. Eliminate gifted. Restore recess. | Get Schooled

Retired teacher: Make admins teach. Reduce testing. Eliminate gifted. Restore recess. | Get Schooled:

Retired teacher: Make admins teach. Reduce testing. Eliminate gifted. Restore recess.

by Maureen Downey

Retired Atlanta Public Schools teacher Scott Stephens — he taught English for 15 years at Grady High School and taught for a decade in Fulton County  — sent me a list of reforms.  I thought it was a great list and have his permission to share it here:
Courtesy of Scott Stephens:

1. All certified personnel at a school, including academy leaders, graduation coaches, instructional coaches, assistant principals and principals, should teach at least one class during the school year. This would be of benefit in two ways. First, it would help reduce class size and, most important, it would provide administrators with continued input from the classroom. I believe that when a number of people are at school, but not teaching, morale is adversely affected.
2. All students (K-12) need daily physical activity, both recess and structured physical education. Many students need to get rid of excess energy. Others need to lose weight and get in shape. Further, many discipline …

Charter-school debate's 4th round no less intense | Local News | The Seattle Times

Charter-school debate's 4th round no less intense | Local News | The Seattle Times:

Charter-school debate's 4th round no less intense

Initiative 1240, which would allow charter schools in Washington state, is similar in many ways to a pair of ballot measures that voters previously rejected. But the political realities around the contentious issue have shifted.

By Brian M. Rosenthal

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Charters don't work - the data clearly shows that. I want to compliment the times on a ... (August 28, 2012, by centrist1) MORE

Another similarity: this initiative will fail as hard as the charter referendums and... (August 28, 2012, by unamerican socialist) MORE

PJ, Can you please back up your comment with data? Current studies show that... (August 28, 2012, by annie628) MORE

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As the charter-school debate heats up once again, expect supporters to argue the initiative on the ballot this time around is a whole lot different from versions that have been rejected in the past.

For the most part, it isn't.

Initiative 1240, which would allow a limited number of public charter schools in Washington state, is similar in many ways to the measures defeated in 2000 and 2004, although it would allow for fewer schools and provide slightly tighter controls.

What is different this time around are the political realities surrounding the issue — though it's unclear whether that new backdrop will help the initiative or hurt it.

Once derided as experimental, charter schools have become increasingly common nationwide, likely helping to demystify them. The general sentiment about regular public schools, meanwhile, is that many are still not doing enough to 

GOP platform’s contempt for public education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

GOP platform’s contempt for public education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

GOP platform’s contempt for public education

By Valerie Strauss

It was obviously too difficult for the authors of the 2012 Republican Party platform to hide their contempt for public education, because it is evident throughout the section on schooling.

What’s more, the education section is used to promote the party’s cultural values, going on at some length about support for abstinence
(Jae C. Hong/AP)education and its opposition to using federal funds in “mandatory or universal mental health, psychiatric, or socio-emotional screening program.” The message appears to be that schools should teach kids not to have sex but shouldn’t use federal funds to screen students who may be so mentally ill that they are dangerous in a classroom.

The platform says that school choice is “the most important driving force for renewing our schools,” and proceeds to hail homeschooling, private 

Schools Matter: A lousy way to evaluate teachers

Schools Matter: A lousy way to evaluate teachers:

A lousy way to evaluate teachers

by skrashen

Letter: Remove the requirement
(original title: Not the way to evaluate teachers)
http://www.smdp.com/letter-remove-the-requirement/111188

Published in the Santa Monica Daily Press, August 28, 2012

State Assembly Bill 5 removes the requirement that increases in student test scores be included in teacher evaluations (“10th graders sail through exit exam,” Aug. 23). Good idea.

A number of studies have shown that rating teachers using student test score gains does not give consistent results. Different tests produce different ratings, and the same teacher’s ratings can vary from year to year, 

Modern School: California Millionaires’ Organize Against Prop 30

Modern School: California Millionaires’ Organize Against Prop 30:

California Millionaires’ Organize Against Prop 30

by Michael Dunn

Three business executives (Floyd Kvamme, David Marquardt, and Mark Stevens) recently sent out a fundraising appeal to their millionaire friends and colleagues seeking their support in opposing California’s Proposition 30, according to the California Progress Report. The initiative on November’s ballot, is supposed to bring in an extra $9 billion a year from increase taxes.

These millionaires and their wealthy allies are upset that the legislation would increase their income taxes by 1-3%. They are also careless: the letter somehow managed to fall into the hands of the California Nurses Association and California Federation of Teachers, which 

Today in Labor History—August 29

by Michael Dunn

August 29, 1968 – Chicago police brutally assaulted demonstrators, reporters and bystanders at the Democratic national convention. (From the Daily Bleed)

Popout

August 29, 1970 – LAPD brutally attacked 10,000 Chicano antiwar demonstrators, killing three, including journalist Ruben Salazar. The attacked led to a week of rioting. (From the Daily Bleed)

Popout
(Video shot by Tom Myrdahl, August 29, 1970)

Why Are Women More Interested in Going to College Than Men? - Education - GOOD

Why Are Women More Interested in Going to College Than Men? - Education - GOOD:

Why Are Women More Interested in Going to College Than Men?

by Liz Dwyer

It's been a generation since the gender balance on campus began to shift in favor of the ladies. More women than men have been going to college since the 1980s; since 1996, more women have been graduating; and last year U.S. Census data revealed that women now earn more graduate degrees. According to a new report from the National Center for Education Statistics, the trend of women dominating higher education is going to continue.
Much of the data in this latest report confirms what we already know—more women than men end up enrolling in college and end up graduating. But, the data also reveals that female students are more likely than men to want to go to college and that disparity in aspiration starts early. Indeed, 59 percent of female high school freshman 

The “Target” Approach to Better School Meals | California Progress Report

The “Target” Approach to Better School Meals | California Progress Report:

The “Target” Approach to Better School Meals

by callen

By Dana Woldow
PEACHSF
Wouldn’t it be great if many good causes - feeding hungry kids, organic farming, fighting global warming, growing small local businesses - could all be supported by school meal programs? In a perfect world, every worthy goal could benefit from these government funds. In the real world, underfunding of school meals by Congress means that schools must prioritize to ensure scarce resources are going towards feeding the most kids, and that means student needs trump other noble causes.
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