Morning UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-18-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Huffman Punishes Nashville for Defying His Order

by dianerav

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman is withholding $3.4 million from the Nashville public schools as punishment for the defiance of the school board. The board voted four times to deny a charter to an Arizona company called Great Hearts, even though Huffman ordered the board to approve the application.
Clearly, Huffman does not believe in local control.
This seems to be an attitude of today’s reformers. Arne Duncan decided to rewrite NCLB to meet his own 

These Ed School Professors Spoke Up

by dianerav

This reader is grateful to the 88 education scholars who protested the misuse of test scores in Chopicago. They told Mayor Rahm Emanuel he was wrong. That takes guts. And it matters. It’s important for teachers to know they are not alone. And they are not wrong.
The reader writes:
Let’s not forget the CReATE group of 88 professors who sent a letter “to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard and the Board of Education signed by 88 faculty members from 15 local universities warning that

The Foundation of Current Reforms Is Weak and Beyond Repair

by dianerav

An earlier post predicted that the faux reforms of the day will collapse like a house of cards when the public realizes the damage done to children and the quality of education. This reader says that the tests that are the foundation for all of the current education reforms–like merit pay and evaluation by scores–are fundamentally and irreparably flawed.
Queue the Kafka indeed! I’ve worked in the educational publishing industry for years, and I have had occasion to read hundreds of state tests. Almost every test that I have read has been RIDDLED with errors–was so full of errors that it looked like some sort of rough draft. Often, the errors on the state tests are such that the officially 

Where Are the Ed School Professors?

by dianerav

A reader responds to a post about decimating the education profession:
So where are the voices of legions of education professors who are willing to support the profession of teaching? I see some here on this blog but never see anything written by them in my local paper…..and these folks know the ropes. Colleges of Education will just quietly go away unless the people who work there start advocating for their programs and public schools.

Spread the word: Stop School Closings!

by dianerav

A note from a friend:
Attached you will see our media advisory that we are just about to get out. We are part of a national alliance of youth, parent and community groups who have joined to fight against school closures. We believe they have displaced our communities, in some places like Chicago increased the violence and are a violation of our civil rights.
Cities like Detroit, Chicago, NOLA, Boston, Philly just to name a few will ride to D.C. on what we are labeling our “Journey for Justice”. 500 youth and parents will converge on D.C. on the 20th of September and send a 

This Video Shows Up Bunk VAM

by dianerav

Researchers at Arizona State University produced a 14-minute video to demonstrate how value-added-assessment actually works and how inaccurate it is.
It is easy to watch and presents a clear explanation of this flawed measurement system that reduces teachers and students to data.

Diane Ravitch set to kick off Hunter Lecture Series

By James Harrison

Published Tuesday, September 18th 2012

Devotees of education reform—which champions broader school choice, increased accountability through testing, charter schools and voucher programs—will likely be challenged Tuesday night, as Diane Ravitch kicks off the fifth annual George T. Hunter Lecture Series with an address on challenges facing the nation's public school systems.

Ravitch, 72, is nationally renowned not only for her experience at the top levels of education administration, but also for the depth of her knowledge of the history of education in America. Currently on staff as a research professor at New York University, Ravitch served as assistant U.S. secretary of education to current Tennessee senator and former education secretary Lamar Alexander, as a part of the administration of former President George H. W. Bush.

Most recently, she is known as the author of the best-selling book "The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education" and has one of the most influential 

Are We Decimating the Teaching Profession?

by dianerav

An earlier post described research showing that experienced teachers are leaving the profession in droves. In 1988, the modal number of years of teacher experience was 15 (meaning there were more teachers with 15 years experience than any other cohort). By 2008, the modal years of teacher experience was ONE. There were more first-year teachers than any other group. This can’t be good for children or for the quality of education as every study I have ever seen says that first year teachers are the weakest of all because they are brand-new and just learning the ropes (sorry, TFA). There are anecdotal reports that enrollment in teacher education programs is plummeting. Here is more:
This was in my local paper on September 11, 2012: “The number of teaching credentials issued from 2004-2010 

Texas Workforce Commissioner Says NCLB Fails

by dianerav

Tom Pauken is not only the Texas Workforce Commissioner, he is a prominent member of the Texas Republican party.
Read what he says about NCLB.
He says that labeling schools by test scores based on formulas written in Washington, D.C., and Austin is a 

All Things Education: What's with many Democratic Party leaders supporting people who support people who support destroying the Democratic Party?

All Things Education: What's with many Democratic Party leaders supporting people who support people who support destroying the Democratic Party?:

What's with many Democratic Party leaders supporting people who support people who support destroying the Democratic Party?

by Rachel Levy

 
IT IS A RULE: YOU CAN'T BE AGAINST PEOPLE AND FOR CORPORATIONS AND CALL YOURSELF A DEMOCRAT...EVER!

I'm going to steal a page out of Diane Ravitch's blogging book (stylistically).

I'm still having a hard time understanding education reform politics.

I do not understand how Democrats and progressives put up with self-proclaimed liberals and liberal groups such as Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, StudentsFirst, Stand for Children, and Democrats for Education Reform.

I wrote about this before, although not as directly as I am going to here.

All of the afore-mentioned groups and individuals either give money to or make money for or support Republican politicians and organizations. See here, here, here, here, and here.

These candidates are anti-women's rights, anti-gay, and anti-immigrant.

In Chicago the chickens have came home to roost for the IEA leadership’s “teacher-led reform.” « Fred Klonsky

In Chicago the chickens have came home to roost for the IEA leadership’s “teacher-led reform.” « Fred Klonsky:

In Chicago the chickens have came home to roost for the IEA leadership’s “teacher-led reform.”

by Fred Klonsky

It was only a month ago that IEA’s Executive Director Audrey Soglin was still extolling the virtues of Illinois’ Senate Bill 7 at a meeting of the National Council of State Legislators.
She was still claiming it as a national model of school reform. She was still calling it “teacher-led school reform.”
There is no need to tell once more the story behind Senate Bill 7, the role of Jonah Edelman and his Stand for Children organization, the hundreds of thousands of dollars handed out to state legislators and the capitulation – 

CUNY Administrator Apologizes to QCC Campus for English Dept Threat « Student Activism

CUNY Administrator Apologizes to QCC Campus for English Dept Threat « Student Activism:

CUNY Administrator Apologizes to QCC Campus for English Dept Threat

by Angus Johnston

After the scandal surrounding a CUNY administrator’s threat to dismantle the Queensborough Community College English department broke wide in the academic media yesterday, that administrator — a QCC vice president — sent a letter of apology to the department’s chair. That apology, and an accompanying letter to the college’s faculty, went further than a Sunday letter from the QCC president to disavow her initial threat, and to pledge greater respect for faculty involvement in governance in the future.
In her letter to faculty, QCC vice president Karen Steele said she “deeply regret
The TED video could not be loaded.
last week’s missive, saying it was “over-dramatized” and “sent in haste.” There are, she said, “no plans to enact” the “hypothetical” cuts to the department she threatened, and she pledged to “work mightily … to ensure all our 

Mitt Romney and the American Social Safety Net

by Angus Johnston

There’s not much I can say that everybody doesn’t already know about Mitt Romney’s attack on the 47% of Americans who, he says, just won’t “take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” But I do want to make a couple of small points.
The problem Romney has with the Democratic base — the reason they won’t vote for him no matter what he does — has very little with any supposed dependency they have on government handouts. The 47% who pay no federal income taxes are spread out across the ideological spectrum. They include white Alabama retirees, Idahoans on Social Security disability, active duty military. Hell, a third of American voters with household incomes under $30,000 went for McCain.
So that’s the first thing, that he was slagging a big chunk of his own base. But that’s been pointed out before. 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Taking a break from picket duty to read the contract

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Taking a break from picket duty to read the contract:

Taking a break from picket duty to read the contract

by Mike Klonsky

Chicago teachers take break from the picket line to study the contract.

America's Radio News has been providing good coverage of the strike by calling on sources other than Rahm's overworked and under-truthed PR squad. Yesterday they interviewed Katie Osgood who gave them an accurate assessment of Day 6. Today, I will be on at 11:15 a.m. CDT. You can listen live here.

*****

With an eye on the Chicago teachers strike, D.C. council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) is pushing a plan that 

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

When Teachers Strike Nobody Wins

by Cheryl S. Williams

It seems everyone has an opinion about the teacher strike currently taking place in Chicago.  I do too, but it’s not about who’s to blame.  There’s plenty of that to go around.  What I do know is that regardless of how this strike ends, nobody will have won—

• Students will have missed valuable learning time
• Teachers and their union will be vilified for selfishness
• The mayor and school board’s judgment will be suspect
• Parents will be disappointed and frazzled with child care challenges
• The President’s “reform” agenda will be questioned
• The citizens of Chicago will be embarrassed and dismayed for their city

While I have followed the events as they’ve unfolded in Chicago between the mayor, the school board he appointed, and the teachers’ union, the facts I’m able to glean from public sources only raise questions in my mind as to what’s really going on.  I do know that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are under-resourced and that
read more

Schools Matter: The MythBusters at OECD

Schools Matter: The MythBusters at OECD:

The MythBusters at OECD

by Jim Horn

The next time you see one the series of teacher bashing TV ads from the global warming skeptics at Exxon-Mobil, please refer mentally to the myth busting summary shared below.  It was posted at AlterNet, and it offers a link to the OECD report for skeptics, of global warming or otherwise.

A new international report demolishes several deeply held myths about our educational system. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, which compares the 

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot | EdSource Today

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot | EdSource Today:

11 parcel taxes, 44 school bonds on November ballot

September 18th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald

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Gov. Jerry Brown and attorney Molly Munger aren’t the only ones asking voters for more money for schools in November.

Eleven districts are asking for parcel taxes and 44 districts have put school construction bonds on the ballot, according to Mike McMahon, a school consultant and Alameda Unified trustee who tracks local ballots. Six are new parcel tax requests, four are renewals, and one proposal asks for an additional parcel tax, McMahon says. They range from a low of $39 per parcel to $199 per parcel in the San Bruno Park School District.

Parcel taxes have been common in the Bay Area – not only in wealthy communities, but in less posh places like Martinez Unified, which is asking $50 per parcel, and San Leandro Unified ($39 per parcel).

In this round, however, five of the 11 districts are in Central or Southern California: Santa Barbara Unified, Ventura Unified, and three in Los Angeles County – Centinela Valley Union High School 

Residue of once-promising finance reform bill in Brown’s hands - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

Introduced as a comprehensive plan for K-12 finance reform, Assembly Bill 18 is a shell of its former self. The bill that the Legislature ended up passing last month would merely create a 21-member task force to explore various options and formulas for fairer and simpler school funding and make recommendations to the Legislature by April 1. But even this seemingly non-controversial rewrite of the...

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A rough start for Oakland’s special education students - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

A rough start for Oakland’s special education students - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

A rough start for Oakland’s special education students

Monday, September 17th, 2012 at 5:20 pm in 1 Comment

Stacey Smith is an Oakland school district parent and volunteer who has served on the District GATE Advisory Committee, the school board’s Special Committee on School Based Management, and the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. What she writes about does not reflect the view of any group.
The 2012-13 school year did not begin well for Oakland’s 5,000-plus special education students.
Last June, after a united protest by teachers, families and community members, the school board directed Superintendent Tony Smith and staff to hold off on special education budget cuts and program changes. The original proposal sent teachers and special day classes to different schools while cutting key staff. It also 

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Fighting bullies — one school community at a time

By Valerie Strauss

We hear a lot about the problem of bullying but less about programs that actually help curb the insidious problem. Here are some that have helped in different communities, written by John Gomperts, president and chief executive officer of America's Promise, a nonprofit network of organizations that helps promote volunteer action for young people.

By John Gomperts

As the school year starts, young people settle into unfamiliar classrooms with new classmates. Sadly, at some point in the school year, far too many of these kids will be confronted by a bully. A recent SAFE survey found that one in four kids in the United States is bullied on a regular basis, making it one of the most common forms of violence young people experience. And people know about the problem and 

Schools Matter: Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit

Schools Matter: Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit:

Vancouver Sun gives me too much credit

by skrashen

Credit where credit is due.

I am quoted in “Raise a Reader” (Vancouver Sun, Sept 17) as follows:
“University of Southern California linguist, professor emeritus and literacy activist Stephen Krashen said … research suggests that a single “home run” book or series can create a voluntary reader.
A study done by Krashen involving 214 fourth graders from three Los Angeles elementary schools found that over half of the students could identify the particular book that first interested them in reading.”

Jim Trelease, the author of the Read Aloud Handbook, came up with the idea of the “home run book,” the idea 

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach - Gov. Jerry Brown - The Sacramento Bee

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach - Gov. Jerry Brown - The Sacramento Bee:

Jerry Brown and Molly Munger both want to raise taxes to help schools - - but differ on approach

By Kevin Yamamura
kyamamura@sacbee.com

Published: Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 1A

If Gov. Jerry Brown and civil rights attorney Molly Munger agree on one thing, it's that California needs to raise taxes to give schools more money.

Voters who share that view now have to consider two distinctly different paths devised to accomplish the goal.

On the November ballot, the tax hike with the most votes should prevail if both succeed, though courts would likely have to sort out which parts of each initiative survive.

Munger's initiative, Proposition 38, would radically upend a school-financing approach that state officials and local districts have long practiced. The measure would generate $10 billion annually

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/18/4829448/jerry-brown-and-molly-munger-both.html#mi_rss=Education#storylink=cpy

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square | National Education Policy Center

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square | National Education Policy Center:

Is Poverty Destiny?: Ideology v. Evidence in Education Reform | Voices on the Square

 

P.L. Thomas

September 17, 2012

• Gates Foundation [Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation]
 
• Anthony Cody
 
• Radical Scholarship Blog
 
• Foundation Involvement in School Reform
• Neo-Liberal Reform(s)
 
• Poverty
 
• School Reform and Restructuring

In the spirit of his Education Week blog, Living in Dialogue, science educator and activist Anthony Cody entered into a five-part exchange with the Gates Foundation (GF) about education reform.

These point-counterpoint posts serve well to illustrate the essential difference between Social Context Reformers, represented by Cody, and "No Excuses" Reformers, represented by the GF:

“No Excuses” Reformers insist that the source of success and failure lies in each child and each teacher, requiring only the adequate level of effort to rise out of the circumstances not of her/his making. As 

NYC Educator: ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!

NYC Educator: ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!:

ATR Opportunity of a Lifetime!

by NYC Educator

 By special guest blogger Suddenly ATR

I was invited to a "Teacher Recruitment Fair." I spent the better part of the previous night printing out copies of my resume, recent observations, and fiddling with my portfolio. I got a rather troubling email though from the DOE, which said (and I quote): "Thank you again for registering for tomorrow’s Teacher Recruitment Fair at 4PM ET. As a reminder, this event will take place at Citi Field, located at 123-01 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, NY 11368. Additionally, we would like to take this time to let you know that we expect a relatively limited number of schools to be in attendance."

 At a little before 4 PM I arrived at Citi Field along with a 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?:

Do Home Schoolers "Belong to the Government"?

by stlgretchen

Does being "missional" or "democratic" mean home schooling should be discouraged?  Whose idea of "social contract" should apply in your childrens' education?

A recent article (adapted from a blog Strange Figures) in the St. Louis Post Dispatch about home schooling raised interesting questions about the role of home schoolers in society, both from a religious and secular standpoint.  The author, Sharon Autenrieth, questions the premise of a "societal compact" in 

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION - Perdaily.com

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION - Perdaily.com:

UTLA TEACHERS: THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL GOING ON AT THE CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION

by Leonard Isenberg

Imagine union leadership that truly represents rank-and-file interests and those of students...instead of themselves and the school district. 

Strike Continues as Chicago Teachers Mull Contract's Gains and Losses

Theresa Moran

|  September 17, 2012

Striking Chicago teachers will remain out of the classroom until Wednesday at least, as union members debate their tentative contract. The agreement makes gains on key issues while accepting concessions on health care and job security. Photo: CTU.

http://labornotes.org/2012/09/strike-continues-chicago-teachers-mull-contracts-gains-and-losses

Striking Chicago teachers will remain out of the classroom until Wednesday at least, after delegates decided to give union members time to debate the tentative contract negotiators brought to them on Sunday.

Delegates said that all members of the union--not just elected representatives--should get a chance to review and weigh in on the proposed agreement before a decision was made to go back to work.