What Hurricane Sandy is Teaching Us About Students Under Stress - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

What Hurricane Sandy is Teaching Us About Students Under Stress - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

What Hurricane Sandy is Teaching Us About Students Under Stress

by Anthony Cody

This week as the East Coast cleans up after Hurricane Sandy, we are hearing from teachers how they are responding to the trauma and stress their students are bringing to class.
From Brooklyn Heights Montessori teacher Launa Schweizer, we learn how her students are coping.

As the day wore on, I discovered that the children who had spent the week without power, who were displaced by rising water, or who had seen significant property damage, had little ability to do schoolwork. They craved the comfort only their friends could provide, but actual focused learning was impossible. They arrived without their homework, despite having been out of school for a full week. Despite my repeated reminders, they kept getting up and wandering around the classroom.

I'll admit it: my patience and enthusiasm began to fray.

Until I realized: those children didn't need my lessons. Not right away. Instead, they needed school 

ELECTION UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-7-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law Repealed

by dianerav

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was rebuked by voters yesterday as they repealed the law that gave dictatorial powers to emergency managers appointed by the governor to control fiscally distressed districts.
Public Act 4 of 2011 was rejected by a vote of 52-48.
Snyder installed emergency managers to take control of public education in Detroit, Highland Park, and Muskegon Heights. The managers in the two small districts abolished public education and handed the students to for-profit charter chains to run. The Detroit emergency manager imposed a drastic plan to lay off teachers, privatize many schools, and increase class sizes.

Warning!! Washington State Ain’t Over Yet!

by dianerav

Hold off on popping the champagne corks, corporate reformers.
Voters in Washington State advise that the state is an all-mail-in state and many ballots have not yet been counted.
This from one reader:
It’s not over yet. There are still over 600,000 ballots to be counted and nearly 300,000 of those are from the two largest metropolitan areas. One of those counties is leaning no and the other is ever so slightly leaning yes. I’m still hopeful that the balance will change. Oh, and in WA, it’s not terribly uncommon for the voters to pass an initiative and for the courts to overturn it. Our I-1185 is definitely going to pass like several times before, but the courts keep determining the basic concept of the initiative illegal. I am hopeful that if the charter school initiative 

The Bill Gates Challenge

by dianerav

Now that Bill Gates and his billionaire buddies have managed to buy a law authorizing charter schools in Washington State, over the objection of virtually every education-related group in the state, almost every parent association, local school boards, superintendents, principals teachers, and the League of Women Voters, it is time for him to show his real faith in charters.
Bill, put your children in the first charter school to open in Washington State.
Show that you really believe in them.
Demonstrate your sincerity.
Not for other people’s children, but for yours too.
Bill, you know there is no evidence for the superiority of charters ov

Billionaires Buy Charter Law in Washington State–but Just Barely

by dianerav

Bill Gates, Alice Walton, the Bezos family (of amazon.com) and a handful of other billionaires poured more than $10 million into a charter referendum in Washington State and won, but just barely.
For their investment, the state gets 40 charter schools over the next five years. Watch for new legislation and more millions to lift the cap.
Watch charter schools drain resources from public schools.
Watch the privatization movement pick up steam as Gates and Walton use their richest to persuade voters to abandon public schools for privately managed schools.
These are the latest results:


 

Teacher: Stop the Scripting!

by dianerav

A frustrated teacher writes:
I am in my 21st year of teaching and have been close to quitting every year for the last six years. The pressures to conform and follow a script even when I know it’s bad for kids have been really, really stressful. I am a creative teacher, and I feel like I’m fighting for the right to work 3 times harder than I have to. We now have teachers who are “script followers” telling those of us who aren’t standardized that we are sub-par because we actually plan our lessons rather than doling out prefabricated workbook pages. I haven’t quit yet because I’m not sure what else I would do– teaching is truly a calling for me. I also have a great, supportive principal who gives me the autonomy I need to get the job done– which I do with most kids. As for the shortage– our small 

The Most Important Education Vote Yesterday

by dianerav

The most important education vote yesterday occurred in Indiana.
As the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette pointed out in its editorial, this election has national implications.
Tony Bennett had become the face of rightwing reform in America.
His mission was to bring the ALEC agenda to life in the Hoosier State.
He was head of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change, the group of state superintendents that were most eager to privatize public education, expand charters and vouchers, turn children over to for-profit corporations, and reduce

Luna Laws in Idaho Go Down to Stunning Defeat

by dianerav

Voters in Idaho gave Mitt Romney a landslide  but simultaneously voted overwhelmingly to repeal the “Luna Laws,” the brainchild of state superintendent Tom Luna.
This stunning victory for public education demonstrates that not even red-state Republicans are prepared to privatize public education and dismantle the teaching profession.
The Luna Laws imposed a mandate for online courses for high school graduates (a favorite of candidates funded by technology companies), made test scores the measure of teacher quality, provided bonuses for teachers

Why Do Hedge Fund Managers Love Charters?

by dianerav

Julian Vasquez Heilig has a scintillating new post on one of the most interesting questions of our age:
Why do hedge fund managers adore charters?
Many sit on charter boards.
They have their own PAC called Democrats for Education Reform to spread campaign cash to charter-friendly

Indifferent to Kids–and Proud of It!

by dianerav

Three teachers in training from Louisiana State University went to a meeting of the state board of education and were stunned by what they saw.
This is the board that Governor Jindal worked so hard to install, the board whose last election attracted an avalanche of out-of-state money.

Good news from Colorado

by dianerav

Stand for Choldren endorsed five Republican candidates in Colorado, and all five lost!
A friend in Denver reports:
“In addition to going for Obama tonight, Colorado stood up to Stand for Children. All 5 Democratic candidates where SFC supported Republican opponents won, albeit one by 115 votes.
“Maybe they have overstepped their “power.” And earlier in the day I heard the Colorado Executive Director of said organization resigned.
“Now back to getting public education back.”

Who Tried to Buy School Elections?

by dianerav

Robert Valiant has launched a website to gather information about who funded campaigns for charters and vouchers and against teachers, unions and public education.
If you have links to newspaper articles or other reliable sources, please post them to this website.
I hope that a law firm or investigative journalist will find out where Rhee collected money and which races she supported. She certainly influenced the legislature in Tennessee, where she helped Republucans gain a super-majority, enabling her ex-husband TFA State Commissioner Kevin Huffman to impose the full rightwing reform 

President Obama Re-Elected, and Now…

by dianerav

Now that President Obama has been re-elected, supporters of public education must redouble our efforts to end educational malpractice and rejuvenate American education.
It’s time to stop the privatization of public education.
It’s time to stop using invalid methods to judge teacher quality.
It’s time to stop high-stakes testing.
It’s time to stop closing schools.
It’s time to stop teaching to the tests.
It’s time to end the obsession with

Stand on Children Loses in Colorado

by dianerav

Barack Obama's victory speech – full text | World news | guardian.co.uk

Barack Obama's victory speech – full text | World news | guardian.co.uk:

Barack Obama's victory speech – full text

US president addresses supporters in Chicago after decisively winning a second term

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. (Sustained cheers, applause.)At a rally on Wednesday in his hometown of Chicago, Barack Obama delivers a victory speech Link to this video

Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. (Cheers, applause.)

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people. (Cheers, applause.)

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.

(Cheers, applause.) I want to thank every American who participated in this election. (Cheers, applause.) Whether you voted for the very first time (cheers) or waited in line for a very long time (cheers) – by the way, we have to fix that – (cheers, applause) – whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone (cheers, applause), whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference. (Cheers, applause.)

I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. (Cheers, applause.) We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future. From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service. And that is a legacy that we honour and applaud tonight. (Cheers, applause.) In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.

(Cheers, applause.)

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice-president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden. (Cheers, applause.)

And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago. (Cheers, applause.) Let me say this publicly. Michelle, I have never loved you more. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you too as our nation's first lady. (Cheers, applause.)

Sasha and Malia – (cheers, applause) – before our very eyes, you're growing up to become two strong, smart, beautiful young women, just like your mom. (Cheers, applause.) And I am so proud of you guys. But I will say that, for now, one dog's probably enough. (Laughter.)

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics – (cheers, applause) – the best – the best ever – (cheers, applause) – some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning.

(Cheers, applause.) But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together. (Cheers, applause.) And you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way – (cheers, applause) – to every hill, to every valley. (Cheers, applause.) You lifted me up the whole day, and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you've put in. (Cheers, applause.)

I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics who tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym or – or saw folks working late at a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else.

You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organiser who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. (Cheers, applause.) You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. (Cheers, applause.)

You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who's working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. (Cheers, applause.)

That's why we do this. That's what politics can be. That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won't change after tonight. And it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty, and we can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter – (cheers, applause) – the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future.

We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers – (cheers, applause) – a country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation – (scattered cheers, applause) – with all of the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened up by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. (Cheers, applause.)

We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on Earth and the best troops this – this world has ever known – (cheers, applause) – but also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being.

We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag – (cheers, applause) – to the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner – (cheers, applause) – to the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president.

That's the – (cheers, applause) – that's the future we hope for.

(Cheers, applause.) That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go – forward. (Cheers, applause.) That's where we need to go. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path. By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock, resolve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward.

But that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. (Cheers, applause.) A long campaign is now over. (Cheers, applause.) And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you. And you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead. (Cheers, applause.)

Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. (Cheers, applause.) You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.

And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together – reducing our deficit, reforming our tax code, fixing our immigration system, freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do. (Cheers, applause.)

But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizens in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us; it's about what can be done by us together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. (Cheers, applause.) That's the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores. What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared – (cheers, applause) – that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, so that the freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great. (Cheers, applause.)

I am hopeful tonight because I have seen this spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbours and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job. I've seen it in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb and in those Seals who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back. (Cheers, applause.) I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm. (Cheers, applause.)

And I saw it just the other day in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his eight-year-old daughter whose long battle with leukaemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for healthcare reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care. (Cheers, applause.) I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd, listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes because we knew that little girl could be our own.

And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president. (Cheers, applause.)

And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future. (Cheers, applause.) I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope.

[Audience member: "We got your back, Mr President!"]

I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the road blocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight. I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. (Cheers, applause.)

America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunities and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founding, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, abled, disabled, gay or straight. (Cheers, applause.) You can make it here in America if you're willing to try.

(Cheers, applause.)

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

And together, with your help and God's grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on earth. (Cheers, applause.) Thank you, America. (Cheers, applause.) God bless you. God bless these United States. (Cheers, applause.)

Jersey Jazzman: California Billionaires Mostly Fail in Perth Amboy

Jersey Jazzman: California Billionaires Mostly Fail in Perth Amboy:

California Billionaires Mostly Fail in Perth Amboy

by Duke

As I reported last week, a group of wealthy Californians and Coloradans - many affiliated with Rocketship Education, a charter management company - poured a ton of money into the Perth Amboy, NJ school board race. How they decided on Perth Amboy, a district 3,000 miles away, remains a mystery.

The tens of thousands of dollars they spent got them one seat in the small city, even though they backed four candidates on the "Better Schools Now!" ticket. Another seat was won by a member of the rival "New Vision, New Voices" slate; the other two seats were retained by incumbents.

Incumbent board president Samuel Lebreault, however, lost his seat. Lebreault was one of the chief critics of the controversial superintendent Janine Caffrey; whether the new board will chose to allow her to finish out her 

Students Last: Election Results: Public Education Loses

Students Last: Election Results: Public Education Loses:

Election Results: Public Education Loses

by Students Last

New York City - From their broadcast studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, MSNBC called tonight's election. At 9:01pm EST, Rachel Maddow announced that public education had lost the election. "With only 1% of precincts reporting, MSNBC can confirm with a 0% margin of error that public education has lost." Citing the 100% likelihood that either President Obama or Mitt Romney would win Maddow said, "Given that both candidates support policies that promote privatization of education while ignoring fundamental flaws in our economic system that perpetuate childhoods spent in poverty, we are confident in declaring public education a loser this evening."

Comments on the election came from many circles. NBC broadcaster Brian Williams expressed relief, "I was afraid we might have to actually invite some public school teachers to next year's Education Nation but with this 

SELF-DEFENSE FORM AGAINST THE LAUSD'S TEACHER WITCH HUNT - Perdaily.com

SELF-DEFENSE FORM AGAINST THE LAUSD'S TEACHER WITCH HUNT - Perdaily.com:

SELF-DEFENSE FORM AGAINST THE LAUSD'S TEACHER WITCH HUNT

by Leonard Isenberg

With hundreds of teachers being targeted and removed from their teaching positions with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on trumped up charges without even basic constitutional guarantees of due process of law and in complete derogation of their rights as clearly laid out in applicable legal precedent, it is important that teachers so targeted seize the initiative, while not passively submitting to this witch hunt. To that end, the following document should be used to put LAUSD on notice, when they move for your illegal 

Teacher Evaluation for Effectiveness — Whole Child Education

Teacher Evaluation for Effectiveness — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Teacher Evaluation for Effectiveness

November 6, 2012 by Megan Wolfe

Teachers know it, parents know it, and even students know it, but there seems to be no consensus across states, districts, and schools about how to measure it and ensure that it is measured fairly. I'm talking about teacher evaluations. Having an effective teacher at the head of the class is the most important in-school factor influencing student learning and teacher evaluation systems are supposed to assess just how good teachers are in the classroom, with the goal of helping them improve as needed. But many teachers report that they are not evaluated often enough and, in some cases, are not even evaluated in the subjects they teach.

Research shows that students with high-performing teachers can progress three times as fast as students with low-performing teachers. Students deserve access to highly effective teachers in every subject, including (but certainly not limited to) math, science, language arts, history, civics, music, art, foreign languages, and physical education. To help teachers understand their own performance and help them improve, they deserve a fair and accurate assessment of their skills. Teacher effectiveness is dependent on accurate and fair evaluations based on multiple measures, including their students' performance in the subjects they teach

Online Instruction Outsources Jobs | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Online Instruction Outsources Jobs | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Online Instruction Outsources Jobs

by larrycuban

Imagine the perfect online teacher

Highly mobile, fully equipped, and ready at a moment’s notice to appear before a camera and teach.
Humor aside, the “perfect online teacher” is also the efficient answer to spiraling education costs. In both higher education and K-12, fulltime permanent teachers are major budget items. To reduce labor costs, both colleges and universities and K-12 districts have resorted to outsourcing.
Look at higher education. Replacing full-time tenure-line professors teaching undergraduates with part-time adjuncts–75 percent of all teaching in higher education is done by part-time instructors– and increasing the percentage of online courses in community colleges, four year regional universities, and non-elite institutions has occurred in the past two decades (CAW_portrait_2012). Although Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) have yet to generate significant income for elite and non-elite higher education institutions, another venue for  

School ‘Politicians’ In Mock Elections | toteachornototeach

School ‘Politicians’ In Mock Elections | toteachornototeach:

School ‘Politicians’ In Mock Elections

by aristotlethewise

School ‘Politicians’ In Mock Elections Promise 
Good School Lunches, Less Homework

As voters head to the polls today, groups of younger, not-quite-18 voters are taking part in democratic elections of their own.
At a time when studies show that civic education — which includes lessons on citizenship, government, law and current events — is lacking in most school curriculums, students are taking advantage of this year’s election cycle to defy the trend.
In a report for NBC’s TODAY show, Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of President George W. Bush, visited schools across the country to check out what America’s youngest “voters” are doing to take part in the democratic process.
At Watson Elementary School in Rockville Centre, N.Y., Kate Zimmer’s first grade class is busy filling out their 

School Tech Connect: Dear Illinois Legislature

School Tech Connect: Dear Illinois Legislature:

Dear Illinois Legislature

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Please note two things:

First, the people of Chicago have spoken very clearly (over 86% of those voting) indicated that they want to vote for the members of their school board, like residents of every other town in the state.

These people have utterly no faith in the politically appointed board's competence, especially with regard to the mayor's radical 100-school closure plan, which is accompanied by a bizarre, destructive, 60-charter school opening plan.

So, while CPS may be shopping for an addendum to the school facilities law, your responsibility is to respect the will of the people.  You need to move forward with legislation for an elected, representative school board in Chicago. The only responsible move for Barbara Byrd Bennett and CPS is to declare a moratorium on school closings until the school board is reconstituted with democratic legitimacy.

It currently has no democratic legitimacy.

Second, please know that I stood outside polling places yesterday and talked to voters. Every single 

An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers | Education on GOOD

An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers | Education on GOOD:

An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers

Dear President Obama: Congratulations!
I’m sure this is a moment you want to savor, a time to take a deep breath, get some rest, hydrate, regain your balance, and take a long walk in the sunshine. It might be as well a good time to reflect, rethink, recharge, and perhaps reignite. I sincerely hope that it is, and I urge you to put education on your reflective agenda.
The landscape of “educational reform” is currently littered with rubble and ruin and wreckage on all sides. Sadly, your administration has contributed significantly to the mounting catastrophe. You’re not alone: The toxic materials have been assembled as a bipartisan endeavor over many years, and the efforts of the last several administrations are now organized into a coherent push mobilized and led by a merry band of billionaires including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Sam Walton, and Eli Broad.
Whether inept or clueless or malevolent—who’s to say?—these titans have worked relentlessly to take up all the available space, preaching, persuading, promoting, and, when all else fails, spreading around massive amounts of cash to promote their particular brand of school change as common sense. You and Secretary Arne Duncan—endorsed in your efforts by Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan, and a host of reactionary politicians and pundits—now bear a major responsibility for that agenda.
The three most trumpeted and simultaneously most destructive aspects of the united “school reform” agenda are these: turning over public assets and spaces to private management; dismantling and opposing any independent, collective voice of teachers; and reducing education to a single narrow metric that claims to recognize an educated person through a test score. While there’s absolutely no substantive proof that this approach improves schooling for children, it chugs along unfazed—fact-free, faith-based reform at its core, resting firmly on rank ideology rather than any evidence whatsoever.
The three pillars of this agenda are nested in a seductive but wholly inaccurate metaphor: Education is a commodity like any other—a car or a refrigerator, a box of bolts or a screwdriver—that is bought and sold in the marketplace. Within this controlling metaphor the schoolhouse is assumed to be a business run by a CEO, with teachers as workers and students as the raw material bumping along the assembly line while information is incrementally stuffed into their little up-turned heads.
It’s rather easy to begin to think that “downsizing” the least productive units, “outsourcing” and “privatizing” a space that was once public, is a natural event. Teaching toward a simple standardized measure and relentlessly applying state-administered (but privately developed and quite profitable) tests to determine the “outcomes” (winners and losers) becomes a rational proxy for learning; “zero tolerance” for student misbehavior turns out to be a stand-in for child development or justice; and a range of sanctions on students, teachers, and schools—but never on lawmakers, foundations, corporations, or high officials (they call it “accountability")—is logical and level-headed.
I urge you to resist these policies and reject the dominant metaphor as wrong in the sense of inaccurate as well as wrong in the sense of immoral.
Education is a fundamental human right, not a product. In a free society education is based on a common faith in the incalculable value of every human being; it’s constructed on the principle that the fullest development of all is the condition for the full development of each, and, conversely, that the fullest development of each is the condition for the full development of all. Further, while schooling in every totalitarian society on earth foregrounds obedience and conformity, education in a democracy emphasizes initiative, courage, imagination, and entrepreneurship in order to encourage students to develop minds of their own.
When the aim of education and the sole measure of success is competitive, learning becomes exclusively selfish, and there is no obvious social motive to pursue it. People are turned against one another as every difference becomes a potential deficit. Getting ahead is the primary goal in such places, and mutual assistance, which can be so natural in other human affairs, is severely restricted or banned. It’s no wonder that cheating scandals are rampant in our country and fraudulent claims are commonplace.
Race to the Top is but one example of incentivizing bad behavior and backward ideas about education as the Secretary of Education begins to look and act like a program officer for some charity rather than the leading educator for all children: It’s one state against another, this school against that one, and my second grade in fierce competition with the second grade across the hall.
You have opposed privatizing social security, pointing out the terrible risks the market would impose on seniors if the voucher plan were ever adopted. And yet you’ve supported—in effect—putting the most endangered young people at risk through a similar scheme. We need to expand, deepen, and fortify the public space, especially for the most vulnerable, not turn it over to private managers. The current gold rush of for-profit colleges gobbling up student loans is but one cautionary tale.
You’ve said that you defend working people and their right to organize and yet you have publicly and noisily maligned teachers and their unions on several occasions. You need to consider that good working conditions are good teaching conditions, and that good teaching conditions are good learning conditions. We can’t have the best learning conditions if teachers are forced away from the table, or if the teaching corps is reduced to a team of short-termers and school tourists.
You have declared your support for a deep and rich curriculum for all students regardless of circumstance or background, and yet your policies rely on a relentless regimen of standardized testing, and test scores as the sole measure of progress.
You should certainly pause and reconsider. What’s done is done, but you can demonstrate wisdom and true leadership if you pull back now and correct these dreadful mistakes.
In a vibrant democracy, whatever the most privileged parents want for their children must serve as a minimum standard for what we as a community want for all of our children. Arne Duncan attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (as did our three sons); you sent your kids to Lab, and so did your friend Rahm Emanuel. There students found small classes, abundant resources, and opportunities to experiment and explore, ask questions and pursue answers to the far limits, and a minimum of time-out for standardized testing. They found, as well, a respected and unionized teacher corps, people who were committed to a life-long career in teaching and who were encouraged to work cooperatively for their mutual benefit (and who never would settle for being judged, assessed, rewarded, or punished based on student test scores).
Good enough for you, good enough for the privileged, then it must be good enough for the kids in public schools everywhere—a standard to be aspired to and worked toward. Any other ideal for our schools, in the words of John Dewey who founded the school you chose for your daughters, “is narrow and unlovely; acted upon it destroys our democracy.”
Sincerely,
William Ayers
Illustration by Fatim Hana