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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Is Your Governor A Shill for Corporate Education Reformers? Do you have to fear your Public Schools being Privatized?

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ISSUES

GOVERNOR GRADES
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Mid Day UPDATE: Good News from the Heritage Foundation LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch



What Does Equal Educational Opportunity Mean in Chicago?

by dianerav
An article that appeared in “In These Times” describes the school where Mayor Rahm Emanuel sends his children. It is the University of Chicago Lab School. President Obama chose it for his girls when he lived in Chicago. Arne Duncan is a graduate.
It is a wonderful progressive school, originally founded by John Dewey. It has small classes, a broad and rich curriculum, wonderful facilities, a beautiful library, seven full-time arts teachers for a student body of 1,700


This Mainstream Writer Respects Teachers

by dianerav
This is a column written for U.S. News and World Report by an experienced journalist.
Yes, she understands what teachers are dealing with.
Thank you, Susan Milligan!
We can’t improve education if we don’t improve the conditions of teaching and learning.
It is hard to read the comments that follow this post or any other.
There are many people who seem to think that teachers are vastly overpaid, greedy, lazy, selfish, and


A Reader in South Africa Comments

by dianerav
I wish I could say that things here in South Africa were different, but as I read your blog, I felt as though I was reading about my own country. We have schools that have no text books, no libraries, no educational equipment, no computer facilities, no sport facilities – they are basically a shell and when these schools do not perform the government immediately blames the teachers and principals. Never mind that the children have had to walk up to 15km to get there, or that they have come to school with no food in their tummies…these schools lack basic support from the government and yet they are held accountable for non-performance. Every year when the Matric results are released I wait for the onslaught from government…it makes my blood boil.

This Teacher Is Appalled by the Lack of Respect

by dianerav
A reader comments on an earlier post by a Chicago teacher who explained why he was striking:
I was a high school teacher in New York City, and I agree 100% with Kevin. Before teaching in NY I was a public school teacher in Hong Kong. What struck me the most about teaching in the US is that teachers here are expected to be “supermen” and “superwomen” who should be able to turn classrooms of kids, no matter how difficult and how little support they receive from parents and politically-driven administrators, into high-achieving academic-minded students.
The worst schools in Hong Kong have their own school campus (buildings and playgrounds). In NYC, 5 schools 

Do Testing and Accountability Promote Critical Thinking?

from Diane Ravitch's blog by dianerav
Jan Carr, an author of children’s books, is a dedicated public school parent. She wrote a post wondering why the powerful elites in our society are so obsessed with testing and data. She wondered why they care so little for developing critical thinking.
Jan wrote: “I’ve been a scrappy public school mom for 12 years and counting, and I’ve watched the increasing encroachment of the data and accountability business, which would have our kids prepping for and taking 

Good News from the Heritage Foundation

by dianerav
The Heritage Foundation has released a study showing that the poor are really pretty well-off in America. Lots of them own their own home, have a car and air-conditioning.
Message: Stop whining about the poor. They should thank their lucky stars they are living in America! They should not expect a handout as they are doing just fine. Forget about the vast income inequality that exists in our society. Who cares?
Are the kids homeless and hungry? Blame their parents or their absent father. Are they sick because the parents don’t have health insurance and can’t afford a doctor? Their fault.
What would you call this report? “Compassion is for the weak”? “The poor will always be with us”? “Poverty is your problem, not mine?”?

The Diane Rehm Show: Me Vs. Three

by dianerav
Diane Rehm is one of the best interviewers on national radio (WAMU in DC).
I always enjoy being on her show.
This morning, I was invited to discuss the Chicago teacher strike, and discovered to my chagrin, that the lineup was three against one.
I defended the teachers and discussed their aims and the conditions in the Chicago public schools.
On the other side was Rick Hess of the conservative American Enterprise Institute; Andrew Rotherham of Bellwether Partners; and former Mayor Adrian Fenty of D.C.
The three of them versus me. Mayor Fenty would like to see tenure abolished. He blames the unions for all the

Should Schools Be Run Like Businesses?

by dianerav
Listen to an excellent panel discussion, featuring the brilliant Dissent writer Joanne Barkan. She is the author of“Got Dough: How Billionaires Rule Our Schools,” which you should read.


How Some African American Leaders Went Wrong on Reform

by dianerav
Karran Harper Royal is a leader of Parents Across America.
She lives in New Orleans, where she went to public schools. Her child attends a charter school.
She spoke at the SOS 2012 meeting in Washington, where she analyzed why some African American leaders

Nashville School Board Turns Down Charter for Third Time

by dianerav
The Metro Nashville school board turned down a charter proposal for the third time, even though the state education department ordered the board to endorse the charter.
The local board feared that the charter would appeal mainly to affluent white families, both because of the curriculum and the expectation that families would make a large up-front “voluntary” contribution.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120911/NEWS04/309110094/Metro-defies-state-denies-Great-Hearts

What Price for High-Performing Charters?

by dianerav
Here is an alarming story about a chain of high-performing charter schools in Minnesota.
These are truly no-excuses charter schools.
They focus relentlessly on getting those highly prized test scores.
And they do it.
They boast of “drill and kill.”
The children study the tests, get ready for the questions, and they get high scores.


He Will Vote For Obama

by dianerav
This reader will vote for Obama because Romney would be a catastrophe on many levels:
I am just the opposite of many here.  I will be abandoning the Green party for the first time in years because, while I did not vote for Obama, the difference between Democrat and Republican is, for the first time I can remember, significant enough to warrant my voting for a less than ideal candidate to avoid electing a truly awful one by default.  Even if ed. policy is your only issue, I don’t see how anyone thinks the strong ALEC-driven push to privatize the entire 

K12 Cyber Schools in Trouble Again

by dianerav
K12, the giant cyber corporation that sells for-profit schooling, is in trouble in Seminole County, Florida, because the state insists that teachers must be certified. But having certified teachers is more expensive than having uncertified teachers, which cuts into K12′s profit margins.
The Florida Department of Education has opened an investigation into K12.
So, you can see, this is a big problem for regulators, who have this quaint attachment to the idea that teachers should meet a standard of some sort, but also for K12, whose profit margins are at risk.
You will note in the first article that K12 has another problem: The NCAA refuses to accept the credits of K12′s 

You Will Not See This in Any National News

by dianerav
This is what the Chicago Teachers Union wants.
The strike is not about pay.
It is about the conditions of teaching and learning.
It is about class size.
It is about curriculum.
It is about social workers for 

New York Times’ Editorial on Chicago: Still Clueless

by dianerav
A few weeks ago, the New York Times published an editorial saying that teachers needed more carrots and sticks to make them work harder and produce higher test scores. The assumption is that they are not working hard now (a Gates-Scholastic survey in the spring said the typical teacher works an 11-hour day now); and that waving a bonus in front of them would raise student test scores (even though merit pay has never worked, even with a bonus of $15,000 for doing so); and that the threat of firing might move the needle (even though it is the kids who need to “produce,” and threats don’t produce better education).
Today the Times blames the Chicago teachers’ strike on the teachers and suggests it is all the fault of their


Conservative Pundits Pummel Chicago Students

by dianerav
Jersey Jazzman calls out the conservative pundits who, in an effort to embarrass Chicago teachers,try to show how awful student perormance is in that district and paint it in the worst possible light.
If they are casting stones, you kinda wonder why they don’t throw them at Arne Duncan and Mayor Daley, whose policies determined what happened in the schools.
What they do is akin to blaming the war in Iraq on the soldiers, not the policymakers.




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Ed Waivers, Junk Ratings & Misplaced Blame: Jersey Edition « School Finance 101

Ed Waivers, Junk Ratings & Misplaced Blame: Jersey Edition « School Finance 101:


Ed Waivers, Junk Ratings & Misplaced Blame: Jersey Edition

by schoolfinance101

I’ve been writing over the past few weeks about NCLB waivers and the schools that are being targeted by states under the waiver program as targets for federally endorsed state intervention. [all of which is built on highly suspect legal/governance assumptions]
My concerns here operate at a number of levels. First, the current Federal Administration has again used an “incentive” application process to coerce states to adopt really, really ill-conceived policy frameworks. These policy frameworks consist of two major parts:
  1. school and district performance classification schemes that are largely if not entirely built on 
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RheeFirst! » DC auditor slams Rhee’s deceptive accounting

RheeFirst! » DC auditor slams Rhee’s deceptive accounting:


DC auditor slams Rhee’s deceptive accounting

by admin


When Michelle Rhee closed 23 schools in DC, the damage to communities was evident.  Rhee justified the closures by citing supposed cost savings, but a recently released investigation by the DC Inspector Generalshows that those savings, like so much of Michelle Rhee’s legacy, have turned out to be illusory.
The $9.7 million price tag that Rhee quoted at the time turned into a whopping $40 million. Even on Rhee’s terms, the number should have been $17.7 million, and the IG report  cites an additional $21.8 million when considering “permanent asset damage” caused by the closings.
Conveniently underestimating costs by a factor of four is typical of Rhee, who plays fast and loose with 
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Corp reform media blaming teachers, touting charters Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Corp reform media blaming teachers, touting charters:


Corp reform media blaming teachers, touting charters

by admin
The corporate reform-backed media is  doing its “Education Nation” best to prop up Rahm Emanuel’s union busting efforts, with a lot of help from Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
Parents Across America’s Leonie Haimson was put up against three white male corp reformers on CNBCyesterday. I know, not fair that the men were  so overmatched, but one of them still managed to suggest that the parents supporting the CTU are victims of Stockholm Syndrome (I’m now cursingoin Swedish…ooh – guess they’re right!).
ABC News (we watch broadcast news at my mom’s house) did a story claiming that Chicago charter schools (which are, you know, open now) are better than comparison schools.
Here’s what Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin quoted today from someone who actually knows the truth about 
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Chris Hedges on the Chicago teachers’ strike | Seattle Education

Chris Hedges on the Chicago teachers’ strike | Seattle Education:


Chris Hedges on the Chicago teachers’ strike

by seattleducation2011


From Democracy Now’s program on September 11, 2012:
Chris Hedges: Dems Owe Chicago Public Teachers Support For “Most Important Labor Action in Decades”
As the Chicago public school teachers’ strike enters its second day, we’re joined by the journalist and author Chris Hedges. “The teacher strike in Chicago is arguably one of the most important labor actions in probably decades,” Hedges says. “If it does not prevail, you can be certain that the template for the attack on the union will be carried out across the country against other teachers unions and against the last redoubt of union activity, which is in the public sector of course, fireman and police.” Hedges continues, “It is always the ruling class that determines the parameters of rebellion and resistance. And the Chicago strike illustrates the bankruptcy of both traditional labor and the Democratic Party. And that is why the Occupy movement was so important.” Hedges is the author of the new book with illustrator Joe Sacco, “Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.”

That same day there was a live report from Chicago by Democracy Now reporter Jaisal Noor.
Thousands Rally in Chicago Teacher’s Strike, Pushing Back Against Corporate-Backed Education Reform
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Chicago teachers say they’ve been handed an ultimatum | The Raw Story

Chicago teachers say they’ve been handed an ultimatum | The Raw Story:


Chicago teachers say they’ve been handed an ultimatum

By David Ferguson
Wednesday, September 12, 2012 10:52 EDT
Chicago teachers strike via Flickr
 
Chicago Teachers’ Union representatives say that school district officials have issued them an ultimatum with regards to their demands, according to ABC News. The strike is entering its third day as talks are set to resume at 11:00 a.m. today, Central time.
At the end of Tuesday’s talks, David Vitale, the president of the Chicago Board of Education told reporters that his side had presented a written proposal to the CTU and would not be returning to the table until the teachers’ union (which is which one poll found is supported by 47 percent of Chicago voters) had issued a written response of its own.
Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the CTU went before reporters after Vitale and told them that the 
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