No Miracle in New Orleans « Diane Ravitch's blog

No Miracle in New Orleans « Diane Ravitch's blog:

No Miracle in New Orleans

by dianerav

The next time you hear an “education reformer” talk about the miracle in New Orleans, tell them about this chart.
The “reformers” would like you to believe that New Orleans has solved the problem of low academic performance. All it took was a devastating hurricane to wipe out the public schools and sweep away the teachers’ union. In the wake of this cataclysmic event, goes the story, new and innovative charter schools arose, staffed by eager young college graduates willing to work 80-hour weeks. And everyone succeeded beyond the reformers’ wildest expectations.
The chart shows the proportion of students in each charter school and voucher school who were rated basic or above on state tests of reading and math.
You will notice that the statewide average (in a low-performing state) of students who reached basic or above 

Vallas on Spending Spree – Another Major Contract For Another Firm He’s Used Before - Wait, What?

Vallas on Spending Spree – Another Major Contract For Another Firm He’s Used Before - Wait, What?:

Vallas on Spending Spree – Another Major Contract For Another Firm He’s Used Before

by jonpelto

The illegally appointed Bridgeport School Board is meeting tonight.  One of their agenda items is a discussion about extending the City’s contract with Paul Vallas.  Reportedly, board members want to sign a multi-year contract with Vallas in order to prevent the democratically elected board that will soon take office from conducting their own review of whether Vallas is the most appropriate person to lead Bridgeport’s schools.

But the Vallas contract is just part of a web of contracts and deals that have been signed or will be signed locking down Bridgeport’s options for the future.

When Paul Vallas recently presented his “Good Schools Budget: 2013 Budget and School Improvement Plan” it included a vague reference to a company called the Public Consulting Group (PCG.)  His presentation read, “PCG Group is auditing the district’s 

Shanker Blog » Reviving Labor After Wisconsin: Unions Need A New Approach Emphasizing Civil Rights

Shanker Blog » Reviving Labor After Wisconsin: Unions Need A New Approach Emphasizing Civil Rights:

Reviving Labor After Wisconsin: Unions Need A New Approach Emphasizing Civil Rights

by Richard D. Kahlenberg

Our guest authors today are Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, and Moshe Z. Marvit, a civil rights attorney. They are authors of the book Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right: Rebuilding a Middle-Class Democracy By Enhancing Worker Voice.
Conservatives are calling the failure of public sector unions to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker labor’s “Waterloo.”  Just as private sector unionism has declined from a third of the workforce in the 1950s to less than 7 percent today, Charles Krauthammer writes in the Washington Post, “Tuesday, June 5, 2012, will be remembered as the beginning of the long decline of the public-sector union.”
This forecast seems an exercise in hyperbole (many voters don’t think recall elections are an appropriate response to policy disputes) but the setback for labor was indeed serious.  One of the lessons of Wisconsin is 

The Day I Was Terminated « Diane Ravitch's blog

The Day I Was Terminated « Diane Ravitch's blog:

The Day I Was Terminated

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 18 minutes ago

A few years ago, when I began speaking candidly about the destructive policies that are now called “education reform,” I had the comfort of knowing that no one could punish me. I didn’t want a job, I didn’t want a political appointment, and I didn’t want a foundation grant. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I [...]

The Textbooks in Voucher Academies

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 hour ago

There are now three states in which vouchers enable students to bring public funding to religious schools: Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana. Some of these schools will be evangelical schools that use Christian textbooks written specifically for this market, as well as for home-schoolers. The list of schools approved to receive voucher students in Louisiana includes [...]

To Fire or Not? They Report; You Decide

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

A very interesting, long article in the Washington Post demonstrates how hard it is to determine whether a teacher “deserves” to be fired and raises important questions about teacher tenure. I often point out that tenure in K-12 education is different from tenure in higher education. In higher education, a tenured professor has a job [...]

Some Sure-Fire Ways to Beat the Bracelet

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

Here are some creative ideas about how to beat the wireless sensor that will be embedded in every child’s galvanic response skin bracelet, if Clemson’s studies come to fruition. Bear in mind that the teacher will be evaluated in relation to the children’s level of excitement, engagement, and anxiety. Are they alert? Are they aware? [...]

Why We Should Care About Galvanic Response Skin Bracelets

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

A few days ago, I learned from Leonie Haimson who learned from Susan Ohanian about a grant from the Gates Foundation to Clemson University to conduct research into the uses of a “galvanic skin response” bracelet. This is a wireless sensor that tracks physiological reactions. What made this grant of special interest was that it [...]

A Teacher’s Advice for Bill and Melinda Gates

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 2 hours ago

Let’s assume that Bill and Melinda Gates really want to improve the teaching profession. Let’s assume that they have no idea about the negative effects of their current agenda. Let’s assume they want to do what is best for teachers and students and American education. Certainly, they are not in it for the money; they [...]

This Teacher Knows How to Game the GRS Bracelet

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 21 hours ago

This teacher sent a comment; he or she has figured it out. If the galvanic response skin bracelet will give teachers a high effectiveness rating when students are excited, there is an easy way to game the system and fool the bracelet: Can this galvanic contraption distinguish between different types of excitement? Sometimes a beautiful [...]

Do Not Accept the New Normal

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

Since No Child Left Behind began its reign of error a decade ago, the American public has slowly but surely changed its understanding and expectations of schools. We have come to think that every school must “make” every student proficient, and if it cannot, then the school is a “failing” school. We have come to [...]

This Teacher Asks a Good Question

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

I received a comment from a teacher of children with high needs. The teacher writes about the challenges she or he faces every single day and the small victories achieved when a child is able to understand expectations or accomplish a limited task. Yet no matter how demanding the job, the teacher will be judged [...]

A Flaw in the Galvanic Response Skin Bracelet

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

A reader writes: What grabbed me was this part: “electrodermal activity that grows higher during states such as excitement, attention or anxiety and lower during states such as boredom or relaxation.” So, this means that they can’t tell the difference between excitement, attention and anxiety? So all you have to do is keep a class [...]

More about Our Brave New World

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

Yesterday I posted a blog about the Gates Foundation funding research at Clemson University for something called Galvanic Response Skin bracelets. The project will enable researchers at Clemson to work with researchers in the Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project to measure student engagement physiologically. MET is the Gates program to identify the most [...]

A Teacher Talks About Reality

dianerav at Diane Ravitch's blog - 1 day ago

In response to my blog about the latest Voucher Follies, this teacher wrote as follows: There’s this little thing about miracles. They are miraculous. Now, don’t tell me. I know. That’s saying the same thing. The thing is, miracles are not normal. They are the stuff that converts normal humans into saints. Saints are rare, [...]

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Jonah Edelman

Jonah Edelman of Stand for Children bragged last year that “the union cannot strike in Chicago. They will never be able to muster the 75 percent threshold needed to strike.’’ -- Sun-Times, "Sources: CPS teachers authorize strike"

N.Y. high school student 

“Everyone in school either has a prescription or has a friend who does.” -- Risky Rise of the Good-Grade Pill

Valerie Strauss

In the ‘you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff’ category, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is spending about $1.1 million to develop a way to physiologically measure how engaged students are by their teachers’ lessons. This involves “galvanic skin response” bracelets that kids would wear so their 

Adult ed falls to flexibility | Thoughts on Public Education

Adult ed falls to flexibility | Thoughts on Public Education:

Adult ed falls to flexibility

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Districts are sweeping the funds into K12

Posted on 6/11/12 • Categorized as State Budget

By Kathryn Baron

This is the first of two articles on the state of adult education in California. The second piece will run on Wednesday, June 13.

The sun was still melting through the gray morning sky as teacher Don Curtis rode his bicycle into a warehouse yard belonging to Oakland Unified School District, opened a large garage door, and backed his classroom into the parking lot.

The mobile classroom parked at West Oakland Middle School. (click to enlarge)

“It has taken some getting used to driving this vehicle, trust me. The big thing is the back end; when you turn, the back end swings out quite a 

LAUSD: COURT TO RULE IF STULL CAN BE USED TO SCAPEGOAT GOOD TEACHERS - Perdaily.com

LAUSD: COURT TO RULE IF STULL CAN BE USED TO SCAPEGOAT GOOD TEACHERS - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD: COURT TO RULE IF STULL CAN BE USED TO SCAPEGOAT GOOD TEACHERS

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
According to a recent Los Angeles TImes article, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant will rule today on requiring the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to use student test scores in teacher STULL evaluations, which are supposed to determine if the teacher is doing a good job or should be placed in a category of teachers ultimately facing dismissal. LAUSD, specifically this case engage in the post hoc fallacy when they try to scapegoat teachers for the failure of students simply based on the fact that they were in the teacher's class and, 

$1.1 million-plus Gates grants: ‘Galvanic’ bracelets that measure student engagement - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

$1.1 million-plus Gates grants: ‘Galvanic’ bracelets that measure student engagement - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

$1.1 million-plus Gates grants: ‘Galvanic’ bracelets that measure student engagement

by Valerie Strauss

In the ‘you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff’ category, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is spending about $1.1 million to develop a way to physiologically measure how engaged students are by their teachers’ lessons. This involves “galvanic skin response” bracelets that kids would wear so their engagement levels could be measured.
Read full article >>

Challenging Eli Broad’s school memories

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.
Read full article >>

Michael Lewis tells Princeton grads: You are the ‘lucky few’ — and don’t let it go to your heads

by Valerie Strauss

Here’s the commencement speech that best-selling author Michael Lewis delivered at the recent Princeton University commencement ceremonies. This (full text below) was published on the school’s website, provided courtesy of Princeton University Office of Communications.
Read full article >>

Schools Matter: Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform

Schools Matter: Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform:

Evaluate This! Shows the way forward for authentic education reform

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

"I am heading for a four-year college. The classes that most helped me prepare for this were NOT test prep classes. They were the ones where I got to explore stuff and do projects." — Tiffany Tuggle (CEJ Member and Senior at UCLA Community School)
Jessica Kochick teaches at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex in the Westlake District of Los Angeles near my home. Jess and I come out of the same political tradition, and over the years we've worked together on several struggles fighting the racist, classist, neoliberal policies of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). A year or two ago, Jess was discussing standardized testing and Value Added Measures (VAM) — or Average Growth Over Time (AGT) in LAUSD parlance — with several of us and suggested an event demonstrating how the vast majority of real pedagogy can't be measured on standardized tests or quantified in any similar fashion.
Her vision eventually led to Evaluate This!, an education fair showcasing projects at various schools sites 

1984: Melinda and Bill Gates’ Dystopian Ethos of Propaganda « Living Behind the Gates

1984: Melinda and Bill Gates’ Dystopian Ethos of Propaganda « Living Behind the Gates:

1984: Melinda and Bill Gates’ Dystopian Ethos of Propaganda

by livingbehindthegates

“Our ethos is all that we currently hold to be true. It is what we act upon.  It governs our manners, our business, and our politics.” ~ Howard Zinn

Big Brother: [voice-over] “This is our land. A land of peace and of plenty. A land of harmony and hope. This is our land. Oceania. These are our people. The workers, the strivers, the builders. These are our people. The builders of our world, struggling, fighting, bleeding, dying. On the streets of our cities and on the far-flung battlefields. Fighting against the mutilation of our hopes and dreams. Who are they? ” ~  IMDb, “1984″

    

Yes, WHO are THEY?  

They tell you this is our land.

The Educated Reporter: A Troubling Time Capsule: JFK On The State Of Education

The Educated Reporter: A Troubling Time Capsule: JFK On The State Of Education:

A Troubling Time Capsule: JFK On The State Of Education

by Emily Richmond

In his commencement speech at San Diego State College, the President of the United States covered unsurprising territory in describing the challenges facing the nation’s public schools – inequities for minority students, a high dropout rate, and the need for better teacher training.

What might be surprising is that the president was John F. Kennedy, and he was addressing the class of 1963.

“Our current education programs, much as they represent a burden upon the taxpayers of this country, do not meet the responsibility,” Kennedy said on June 6, 1963 at what is now San Diego State University. “The fact of the matter is that this is a problem which faces us all, no matter where we live, no matter what our political views must be.”

Five days after that graduation speech—and 49 years ago today—Kennedy delivered his historic speech on civil rights from the Oval Office. His commencement address “was a recognition of what needed to be done,” said 

NYC Educator: The Bad Business of Being a "Bad" Teacher

NYC Educator: The Bad Business of Being a "Bad" Teacher:

The Bad Business of Being a "Bad" Teacher

by NYC Educator

 by special guest blogger Turnaround Teacher

I am working at one of the dozens of high schools that Mayor Mike, in his wisdom, has decided to "turnaround." "Turnaround" really means "closing," with all teachers put in excess and forced to reapply for their own jobs. Rumors circulate about how many teachers will be re-hired, but we all know that if only 50% of the staff is rehired, the school gets some extra $1.5 million.

The teachers at our school are all obviously feeling various emotions about these events. Angry and pissed-off are probably the most common, followed closely by worried and sad. But of all the things the school is going through, I think the one that teachers find the most degrading is that we have to re-apply for our own jobs. The inference is that we are teachers of a failing school, so we must all be bad teachers. That's 

Gloria Romero, the Charter Queen on Seducing Gov.Jerry Brown and Starving the Beast

Last Stand for Children First: The Secret to Effective Teaching - Galvanic Response Bracelets

Last Stand for Children First: The Secret to Effective Teaching - Galvanic Response Bracelets:

The Secret to Effective Teaching - Galvanic Response Bracelets

by Last Stand for Children

Diane Ravitch recently broke the story of the Gates Foundation awarding grants to both Clemson University and The National Center on Time and Learning for a combined 1.2 million dollars to study the use of Galvanic Response Skin bracelets to determine student engagement.   This high tech bling measures emotional arousal via skin conductance, a form of electrodermal activity that grows higher during states such as excitement, attention or anxiety and lower during states such as boredom or relaxation.

I am happy to report than working in conjunction with Tyrell Corporation, we have developed a prototype bracelet 

Daily Kos: a few brief thoughts after Providence

Daily Kos: a few brief thoughts after Providence:

a few brief thoughts after Providence

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

I was delighted with how packed the room was for the session I organized on education with Diane Ravitch and John Jackson.  Both Diane and John enjoyed themselves.  While I am aware of a diary that was critical of the session, I was honored by the number of people who came up to me and thanked me for the session, who got value from it.
I found the part of Providence in which we were located to be delightfully walkable.  I enjoyed many of the events and parties outside of the convention center.
For me one of the most important parts of each convention is the chance to connect with people.  There were many whose screen names I knew but whom I had never met, and I was delighted to be able to have a face to go with the name.  I was honored by the kind words about my writing, and good wishes for whatever may come next now that I will be retired - tomorrow will be my last day in the school building, and officially as of July 1 I will no longer be employed.
A brief explanation, something some people knew.  I did not get to see as many people as I wanted to, in part 

Jersey Jazzman: Jonah Edelman: Massive Fail!

Jersey Jazzman: Jonah Edelman: Massive Fail!:

Jonah Edelman: Massive Fail!

by Duke

While I hate the thought of the damage a strike will do to Chicago's children and teachers, I can't help but take a little satisfaction in thinking that Jonah Edelman has much to answer for to his masters:

Chicago Teachers Union officials are expected to announce Monday that they have handily met a new 75 percent strike authorization threshold, despite a blitzkrieg of emails and ads against the action, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. 

The union concluded three days of voting Friday and a weekend of ballot counting by meeting its tougher new strike threshold “easily” and “overwhelmingly,’’ sources told the Sun-Times. 

Although the vote moves the CTU one step closer to its first strike since 1987, union officials have