Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:
Teacher in Connecticut: Why Not Do What Works?
This comment was posted in response to Richard Rothstein’s critique of Arne Duncan’s laissez faire approach to integration: As a teacher in an extremely poverty-ridden neighborhood school in an urban district in CT and a parent who sent my children to an integrated school in Evanston, IL, (where white children were from generally affluent families and black/Hispanic children were from generally po
by dianerav / 3min
Wendy Lecker: Our Orwellian Education Policy, part 2
Wendy Lecker extends her analysis of reformer actions and policies and how they purposely do the opposite of what they say. In part 1, she quoted Orwell’s definition of doublethink: “To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed,
2 by dianerav / 11min
Chicago Bombshell! TFA Plans to Staff 52 New Charters as 50 Public Schools Die
Edushyster obtained internal planning documents from Teach for America in Chicago. The document displayed on her website shows plans for 52 new privately-managed charters that will open over the next five years. These charters will be staffed largely by TFA’s young recruits, with five weeks of training. Just weeks ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 public schools, claiming they were “underutilized.
1 by dianerav / 4min
Jack Schneider: What Do Students Remember about Their Favorite Teacher?
This is an excellent article by historian and former high school teacher Jack Schneider. He writes about the students who remember him fondly many years after graduation. What do students remember? Here is a sample: My best teachers taught me how to read, write, and cipher. But they also treated me with kindness and humanity. They made me feel like I was welcome in their classrooms. They instil
2 by dianerav / 37min
In an
interview with New York magazine, outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg accused frontrunner Bill de Blasio of running a "racist" campaign. He graciously conceded that de Blasio is not a "racist" personally, just that his campaign is racist.
What bothers Bloomberg is that de Blasio may well be his successor and has shown no deference to Bloomberg. In fact, he has been the mayor's sharpest critic. What an insult to Bloomberg!
So what does the mayor do? He says that the de Blasio campaign is racist.
Why? Because de Blasio has a biracial family, and he has made commercials with his handsome son who sports a big Afro. How dare he show off his mixed-race children! According to the mayor, that's not fair: it's racist!
But whose children and wife should be in his commercials if not his own?
Would anyone think twice about any other candidate showing off his wife and children?
New York Principal: “I Am a Nine”
This principal works hard to support his staff and inspire them. This principal protects the children in his school. This principal learned that the State rated him as a 9. Nine out of twenty. That meant that no matter how many more points (out of 80) he might accumulate, he could never be rated “Highly Effective.” So, in the spirit of evaluation madness, he decided to offer nine suggestions for S
3 by dianerav / 3min
NYC Teacher: How to Improve the Public Schools
This teacher began her second career during the Bloomberg era. She writes: “I started working as a teacher for the NYCDOE during the Bloomberg regime (“second” career). It is, unfortunately, the ONLY regime that I worked as a teacher in. Previously, I had worked in the corporate world. “From the beginning, it was obvious to me what Bloomberg was trying to do. I had seen it in the business world.
by dianerav / 15min
“Connecticut Post” Endorses Pro-Public Education Slate in Bridgeport
Bridgeport’s only newspaper, the “Connecticut Post,” endorsed the same three candidates as the Network for Public Education. The newspaper wants to see an end to the rancor and it wants the board members to be independent. Their goal, like that of NPE, is to elect a board that cares about the students, their community, and their public schools, and is not subject to dictation by politicians and ou
by dianerav / 8min
NPE Endorses Pro-Public Education Candidates
The Network for Public Education has endosed candidates in several crucial local school board elections. NPE has a process that involves surveys of all candidates in each contest. We give our endorsement to those who support their community public schools and oppose privatization and the pernicious misuse of high-stakes testing. We don’t have money, but we count on the help of all those who care a
by dianerav / 3min
Love Letter to a Teacher
Kimberly Blanton sent this to me. She wrote: “I am a former Boston Globe/ Economist reporter who now writes a blog at a Boston College think tank. I recently met and fell in love with a teacher. I am so amazed at how hard he works for his students, and I am even more puzzled by why teachers have become so vilified.” Now, if only all the editorial writers and pundits had a real teacher in their liv
by dianerav / 5:38 AM UTC-7
This Is Why We Will Win: We Have the Best Humorists
We will win for many reasons: First, because everything the “reformers” have tried is failing, and they keep doing it again and again, and failing again and again. Second, because the public really likes their local public schools and hates all that excessive standardized testing (see the latest PDK/Gallup Poll). And third, we have the best humorists. We already have Edushyster and StudentsLast. N
3 by dianerav / 1h
Who Is Killing Democracy in Education?
Paul Horton, who teaches history at the University of Chicago Lab School, wrote the following essay for this blog: “Democracy and Education: Waiting for Gatopia? “John Dewey arrived at the University of Chicago in the middle of the Pullman strike. He wrote his wife, still in Ann Arbor, that he had met a young man on the train who supported the strike very passionately: “I only talked with him for
28 by dianerav / 1h
Student Who Spoke Up at Michelle Rhee’s Teacher Town Hall Tells Her Story
Hannah Nguyen reports what happened at the “teacher town hall” in Los Angeles that featured Michelle Rhee, George Parker, and Steve Perry. The event was tightly controlled and scripted, and most of the discussion among the panel consisted of complaints about unions. Yet this student managed to be heard. There is a link to the video embedded in her story. What a brave and articulate young woman!
6 by dianerav / 2h
Gary Babad: Obama Threatens to Use Educational Weapons of Mass Destruction in Syria
Gary Babad is a New York City parent who enjoys fame for his parodies, which he posts from time to time on the NYC Parent blog. He has created his own news service (GBN), which gets scoops from improbable and often non-existent sources. This is one of his best. According to informed sources, President Obama will turn the Syrian situation over to the Department of Education if he doesn’t get cleara
3 by dianerav / 8h
Advice from a Money Manager
This comment was just posted in response to an earlier piece today: I’m also a money manager and have noticed the same phenomena remarked upon by your correspondent. It is certainly true that moneyed oligarchs, their children, or their friends never have to suffer the consequences of the education mayhem they are unleashing. They are chefs that do not eat the cooking. They know the answers and a
17 by dianerav / 8h
Diane in the Evening 9-8-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Teacher: a Letter to My Union LeaderRandi, Dennis, I have a B.S. in Biology from UCLA and have a M.S. from Texas A&M University. I decided to go into public school teaching to share my love of science with children . However, ever since I entered the public schhols in NYS, I have been placed in the most economically challenged
by mike simpson / 1h
