The direction of ed reform

The direction of ed reform

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Valerie Strauss

Monday, December 6, 2010

If you have any doubt about the direction of school reform in this country, consider these two events:

Former Florida governor Jeb Bush - who remains powerful in politics - hosted a two-day education conference in Washington last week that was all about how foundations and businesses could affect schools. A few days later, Florida's governor-elect, Rick Scott, named Michelle Rhee as the most prominent member of his education transition task force.

Bush, Scott and Rhee all share the same business-driven vision of education reform. In fact, rumors are flying through the Sunshine State that Scott wants Rhee to become the next education commissioner there.

Some in Florida have even painted a scenario in which Bush runs and wins the presidency in 2012 and appoints Rhee as secretary of education. Bush has said he is not running in

From The Same Thing: Paying Some Teachers More Than Others Isn't a Radical Notion :: Frederick M. Hess

From The Same Thing: Paying Some Teachers More Than Others Isn't a Radical Notion :: Frederick M. Hess

From The Same Thing: Paying Some Teachers More Than Others Isn't a Radical Notion

by Frederick M. Hess • Dec 6, 2010 at 8:18 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Note: Over the next few weeks, I'll occasionally be flagging nuggets from my new book, The Same Thing Over and Over, just out from Harvard University Press. For more, check out the book on Amazon.

Teacher unions insist that it would be something akin to the end of Western Civilization should we venture to pay history teachers more than gym teachers, or math and science teachers more than history teachers. As Bob Chase, then-president of the NEA, said a few years back in USA Today, "Please don't distract us with ill-considered half measures, such as paying math and science teachers more than other teachers. We might as well hang a sign in the teachers' room saying: In this school, if you don't teach math or science, your work is literally 'less valuable.' This is insulting--and wrong."

Paying individuals unequally can be unfair and divisive. A century ago, for instance, high school teachers were paid more than elementary teachers simply because secondary teachers were more likely to be male. But

NJ Spotlight | Christie to Name New Education Commissioner by Year End

NJ Spotlight | Christie to Name New Education Commissioner by Year End

Christie to Name New Education Commissioner by Year End

The possibilities make for a crowded pack. Here are some in the running, past and present

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By John Mooney, December 6 in Education |1 Comment

Ever since Gov. Chris Christie ousted Bret Schundler as his education commissioner in late summer, trying to determine who he'll name in his place has been something of a guessing game.

Related Links

Acting Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks: The Unanswered Question

Christie promoted assistant commissioner Rochelle Hendricks to acting commissioner, adding her to the list of candidates. Former Washington, DC, superintendent Michelle Rhee's name surfaced briefly, but then was discounted.

Now Christie's office said he will make a decision by the end of the month, and the rumors -- some informed, some not so much -- have intensified. Here are a few of the most mentioned names:

Rochelle Hendricks

A state Department of Education employee since 1987, Hendricks is one sure finalist for the post after serving as Christie’s acting commissioner, and winning support from a cross-section of interests. She brings a combination of department experience and an outspoken voice for reform,

Gay and lesbian teens are punished more at school, by police, study says

Gay and lesbian teens are punished more at school, by police, study says

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By Donna St. George

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 6, 2010; 12:05 AM

Gay and lesbian teens in the United States are about 40 percent more likely than their straight peers to be punished by schools, police and the courts, according to a study published Monday, which finds that girls are especially at risk for unequal treatment.

The research, described as the first national look at sexual orientation and teen punishment, comes as a spate of high-profile bullying and suicide cases across the country have focused attention on the sometimes hidden cruelties of teen life.

The study, from Yale University, adds another layer, finding substantial disparities between gay and straight teens in school expulsions, arrests, convictions and police stops. The harsher approach is not explained by differences in misconduct, the study says.

"The most striking difference was for lesbian and bisexual girls, and they were two to three times as likely as girls with similar behavior to be punished," said Kathryn Himmelstein,

Schools likely on Schwarzenegger’s hit list | Thoughts on Public Education

Schools likely on Schwarzenegger’s hit list | Thoughts on Public Education

Schools likely on Schwarzenegger’s hit list - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess Democrats aren’t likely to pay much attention to the midyear budget cuts and ideas for closing a $25 billion deficit that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to offer today. But it’s a safe bet that one of Schwarzenegger’s likely proposals to cut ...

Highly skilled interns should be considered ‘highly qualified’ teachers - by Jennifer Anastasoff The word “intern” conjures up visions of a high school student making copies as a volunteer, a college student struggling through their first unpaid office job, or – depending on where you sit – free help. Professionals who become intern teachers in ...

Cathie Black blasts tenure for teachers as 'lifetime guarantee' while teachers union protests

Cathie Black blasts tenure for teachers as 'lifetime guarantee' while teachers union protests

BY MEREDITH KOLODNER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, December 6th 2010, 4:00 AM

Marcus Santos

Cathie Black blasted tenure for teachers as an unreasonable 'lifetime guarantee.'

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The icy relationship between the Education Department and the teachers union shows no sign of thawing under the new schools chancellor.

Incoming schools chief Cathie Black blasted tenure for teachers in an interview that aired yesterday on Channel 7.

After saying she couldn't imagine running an organization based on the current method of evaluating teachers, she added: "Nor can I imagine at age 25...saying to somebody, 'You have lifetime guarantee for this position. Just show up every day.' It's inconceivable."

Principals can grant tenure to teachers after three years.

Outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein worked unsuccessfully for years to get rid of a provision that allows the least senior teachers to be laid off first.

Black, 66, said she's also against the policy because it could cause the system to lose

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/12/06/2010-12-06_comments_could_mean_war_with_union_ending_tenure_on_blacks_list.html#ixzz17Ktv0N7p

The Answer Sheet - Do international test comparisons make sense?

The Answer Sheet - Do international test comparisons make sense?

Do international test comparisons make sense?

Tomorrow we will learn the latest results from the Program for International Student Assessment, known as PISA and promoted as the most comprehensive study to test and compare student performance internationally. Each time PISA, or other international test results are released, there is angst in the United States because American students aren’t ranked as high as Japan and Finland and Singapore and South Korea and a bunch of other countries. Experts are quoted about how the United States is going to slip into oblivion if we can’t get these scores up, and other experts are quoted as saying that we have to speed up specific school reforms (the current ones in vogue involved high-stakes standardized testing, expanding charter schools, etc.) so that we can reclaim our rightful place at the top of these test result lists.

NYC Public School Parents: Yong Zhao on the Detrimental Effects of Exam-Driven Education in China

NYC Public School Parents: Yong Zhao on the Detrimental Effects of Exam-Driven Education in China

Yong Zhao on the Detrimental Effects of Exam-Driven Education in China

by Steve Koss

In the past dozen years, undergraduate college enrollment in China increased some 800% to over six million students. What might on its face seem like a triumph of educational progress has turned into a national nightmare, with countless thousands of those freshly minted college graduates now either going unemployed or having to settle for demeaning blue-collar positions.

In their online “Room for Debate” feature, the New York Times invited four experts to address the question, “What Is a College Degree Worth in China?” Qiang Zha, from York University in Toronto, argues

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

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It's war

Mr. President. There's A War Going On In This Country... A War Being Waged By Some Of The Wealthiest And Most Powerful People against the working families of the United States of America. (Sen. Bernie Sanders)

From the 'barricades'

First, it is wrong to assert that students' poverty and family circumstances severely limit their educational potential... Public education is a service-delivery challenge, and it must be operated

The latest school 'reformer'

by Mike Klonsky

Oh Lord. It looks like machine boss, IL House Speaker Mike Madigan wants a slice of the school reform pie. He's creating panel to see about requiring teacher performance based on test scores, to be a factor in compensation. He also

Another Look at the Senate DREAM Act Whip Count « Student Activism

Another Look at the Senate DREAM Act Whip Count « Student Activism

Another Look at the Senate DREAM Act Whip Count

by Angus Johnston

The DREAM Act is scheduled to come to a vote in the Senate this Wednesday, if all goes according to plan, and though the consensus is that defeat is far more likely than passage, it’s still too early to call it. Last week sponsor Dick Durbin released a new, scaled back version of the bill, and it’s possible that his changes will bring some new votes on board.

In my last vote count post, I said that there were forty-seven senators definitely in favor of the DREAM Act, and another thirty-seven definitely against it. One of those thirty-seven, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is still regarded as a possible “get” by some activists, but she reiterated her opposition to the bill over the weekend. She won’t be

Parent group may join fight against Black's appointment - am New York

Parent group may join fight against Black's appointment - am New York

Parent group may join fight against Black's appointment

Photo credit: Office of the Mayor

A Brooklyn father’s lawsuit to block Cathie Black‘s school-chancellor appointment may lead a group of 15 parents to join the legal fight.

Norman Siegel, who represents the Deny Waiver Coalition, said Sunday that the group supports Eric Snyder, who was the first parent to file a lawsuit against Black's appointment.

Snyder charges that state Education Commissioner David Steiner was wrong to give Black a waiver because she does not have a master’s degree, which state education law requires, according to court papers.

“We agree with him [Snyder], and we think the point

Queens Teacher: Senator Sanders on Wealthiest Americans : "Their Greed Has No End"

Queens Teacher: Senator Sanders on Wealthiest Americans : "Their Greed Has No End"

Senator Sanders on Wealthiest Americans : "Their Greed Has No End"

by Queens Teacher

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Education deformers are part of the larger movement to break the back of the middle class in order to put more

Walk Up And Donate Yourself — The Jose Vilson

Walk Up And Donate Yourself — The Jose Vilson

Walk Up And Donate Yourself

by Jose

Local Hero

Out of the hundreds of e-mails I get every day, I always catch one that I thought had a shred of authenticity, but ends up just annoying the hell out of me. This time, I came across an e-mail from Borders, an e-mail I asked to receive, but didn’t think I’d get. In this particular e-mail, I saw an advertisement for Waiting for Superman, and it read:

Support Out Schools!
Shop at Borders, get up to $30 to donate to a c