LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-12-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Why Charter Lobby Pushed San Diego Bond Issue

by dianerav

San Diego had a bond issue on the ballot. It passed handily.
It appeared to be a great victory for public schools.
But unknown to many, there was a sweet deal tucked into the bond issue.
The district will get $2.8 billion in loans, but $350 million is set aside for charters.
Decisions about how to allocate the money will be made by a committee, this article says, dominated by representatives of the charter industry.
Here is another name to add to the billionaire boys’ club: Irwin Jacobs of Qualcomm. This La Jolla billionaire believes that most students in the San Diego schools should eventually be in a charter school. Jacobs gave

A Superintendent’s Advice to President Obama

by dianerav

Jere Hochman runs an exemplary school district in Bedford, New York.
Before the election, he wrote an eloquent letter (which I posted though I may not have used his name) on why everyone should support President Obama.
He convinced me.
He also promised me that after the election, he would speak out about the need to change the punitive testing and accountability policies of this administration.
He is speaking out. 
The biggest problem in education today is the politicians, who are interfering in matters they do not understand,

The Real Crisis in The Cleveland Public Schools

by dianerav

Louis Filippelli, a teacher in the Cleveland public schools, writes that all of the most popular nostrums about school reform are wrong.
The governor, the mayor, the teachers’ union, the business community, and elected representatives are on the wrong track, he says.
More money, he writes, won’t solve the fundamental problem in the school, which is the lack of parent and student responsibility.
Filippelli maintains that the leaders are averting their eyes from the real crisis:
“The assumption that large numbers of student failures must be the fault of an incompetent, lazy, burned-out,

Support Indiana Superintendent-Elect Glenda Ritz

by dianerav

Parent groups in Indiana have posted a petition on change.org calling on the elected officials of the state to respect the voters’ choice of Glenda Ritz. In early statements, the governor, the governor-elect and some legislative leaders indicated tat they would stand by Tony Bennett’s agenda, which the people of Indiana rejected. Parents called on the state’s leaders to abide by the democratic process.
This is the Indiana petition. Please sign it and circulate it on blogs and Facebook pages:
“Indiana voters elected Glenda Ritz as our new Superintendent of Public Instruction by a large margin. She received roughly 1,300,000 votes–about 100,000 more votes than the governor-elect, Mike Pence. Now, however, Governor Daniels refuses to acknowledge that our election of Glenda Ritz sent a clear message on the direction of school reform, saying instead: “The consensus and momentum for reform and change in Indiana is rock solid.” 

A Union Leader Joins the Honor Roll

by dianerav

Ronnie Greco, who is leader of the Jersey City Education Association, joins our honor roll of heroes of public education.
Ronnie refused to sign Jersey City’s application for a Race to the Top grant for $40 million.
Ronnie quickly figured out that not a penny of the $40 million would solve any problem that Jersey City public schools have.
It would not be used to improve teaching and learning conditions.
It would not be available to reduce class size.
It would be used to impose merit pay, which has never

Teachers’ Facebook and Phone Campaign for Obama

by dianerav

Two teachers have started a campaign to take their message to the White House: stop the Race to the Top!
The message of their campaign:
Give all students the same education your girls are getting! Abandon Race to the Top and stop privatizing public schools.
Join them!

Diane in the Evening 11-11-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: Teachers’ Facebook and Phone Campaign for Obama by dianerav Two teachers have started a campaign to take their message to the White House: stop the Race to the Top! The message of their campaign: Give all students the same education your girls are getting! Abandon Race to the Top and stop privatizing public schools. Join them! EduShyster Credits Stephanie Rivera for SFER Expose by dianerav Earlier, I published a post about Students for Education Reform, linking to a post by EduShyster. SFER is a junior version of Democrats for Education Reform, the group form... more »

Instead of a Tuition Hike, an Ambition Tax at Cal State « Student Activism

Instead of a Tuition Hike, an Ambition Tax at Cal State « Student Activism:

Instead of a Tuition Hike, an Ambition Tax at Cal State

by Angus Johnston

The passage of Proposition 30 in California last Tuesday saved the state’s three public higher education systems from devastation, providing funding to forestall huge tuition increases and enrollment cuts. Young voters made the difference in that vote, amounting to nearly a third of the electorate and supporting Prop 30 by a two-to-one margin.
But the struggle over college accessibility in California is far from over, as new proposed fees at Cal State demonstrate.
On Thursday, Cal State administrators unveiled three new fees for CSU students, intended — in the LA Times‘s gloss — “not primarily to generate revenue but to change student behaviors.” But those “student behaviors,” as the Times goes on to make clear, are only even arguably problematic because the system is so badly 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Election Results

"Mitt Romney is the president of white male America." -- Maureen Dowd, NYT 

Rehabilitating Michelle Rhee 

Debate about how to improve schools will continue, as in the sadly effective effort by the teachers union in Chicago and in some election-day initiatives to defeat reform. Evidence that the common-sense changes engineered by Ms. Rhee are paying off should be part of the discussion and hopefully will spur other systems to follow the District’s lead. -- Washington Post editorial

Testing: Enough is enough

About a month and a half ago, astute journalists covering the historic Chicago teachers’ strike realized the issues brought up by the strike weren’t just about money, but were also a reaction to the tsunami of testing that is overwhelming teachers and students. -- Lisa Guisbond of FairTest

'YOLO --"You only live once"

  738 minutes in 3 weeks

In my school, in just three weeks’ time, I have calculated that we 

Teachers For Social Justice: 2012 TSJ Curriculum Fair Program & Speakers

Teachers For Social Justice: 2012 TSJ Curriculum Fair Program & Speakers:

2012 TSJ Curriculum Fair Program & Speakers

by sarah-ji

The 2012 Teaching For Social Justice Curriculum Fair is only a few days away, and we are excited to announce the program schedule and keynote speakers. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Pre-register NOW if you haven't done so already. This will save you time Saturday morning as well as help us avoid a bottleneck during registration.
• Please note the NEW LOCATION! Due to forces out of our control, we had to change the venue to Kenwood Academy H.S. at 5015 S. Blackstone. 
• Take a look at the workshops so you can plan accordingly.
• BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLE. We will not be providing plastic bottles of water.

Here is the schedule for the day as well as the keynote speakers and program.

Schedule of the Day 
10:00 - Registration, Curriculum Exhibitors, and Resource Tables**  Open
11:00am-12:00pm - Opening Program (auditorium, 1st floor)

• Cuban Street Rumba—Yoruba Opening Salutation "Elegwa"
• Carlos "Quinto" Equis-Aguila, Cuban Master Drummer
• José Morales
• Welcome and Introduction - Prudence Browne, TSJ
• Brandon Johnson, Chicago Teachers Union
• Lorena Jasso, Social Justice High School Parent  
• Aquila Griffin, Dyett H.S. Student, Kenwood Oakland Community  Organization
• Kuumba Lynx, “Arizona Poli Tricks."

12:30-1:45 pm - Workshops Session 1* and Organizing (school closings, elected school board)
1:00-2:30pm - Lunch (Cafeteria, 2nd floor)
2:30 - Curriculum Exhibitors and Resource Tables close
2:30-3:45pm - Workshops Session 2* and Organizing (school closings, elected school board)
Closing Program 4:00-4:30   (Auditorium)

Call to Action, Call to Organize

• Karen Lewis, President, CTU
•  Closing Song: Sound of Soul

Teacher Bashing Is a Loser - John Wilson Unleashed - Education Week

Teacher Bashing Is a Loser - John Wilson Unleashed - Education Week:

Teacher Bashing Is a Loser

By John Wilson on November 8, 2012 8:05 AM

Across America, the final votes are being counted and recounted, but we can be sure of one result that will not change: bashing teachers is not a winning proposition in this country. American voters still believe in those teachers that helped shape their lives and that are doing the same for their children, and they are not willing to support ill-conceived policies that demoralize and destroy the careers of their favorite teachers. Even clearer is a second message from this election: those who entrust their children to teachers to nurture and educate them will trust the opinions of those teachers far more than the views of bureaucrats or politicians who promote unsubstantiated programs that are not supported by those who have to implement them. These messages were made very clear on November 6.

To illustrate this, let's look at one of the reddest states in America, Idaho. The voters were not fooled by misleading slogans like "Students Come First" or the rhetoric of Tom Luna, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. They rejected three recently passed state laws that 

Culture, Not Curriculum, May be Key to High School Reform - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Culture, Not Curriculum, May be Key to High School Reform - High School Notes (usnews.com):

Culture, Not Curriculum, May be Key to High School Reform

By KELSEY SHEEHY

November 12, 2012 RSS Feed Print

School leaders can improve student achievement by empowering teachers and engaging parents, one expert says.

Resurrecting a strugglinghigh school is more about changing culture than curriculum, according to Charles Payne, a University of Chicago professor and affiliate of the university's Urban Education Institute.

Schools should be places where teachers are trusted, students are challenged, and parents are engaged, Payne said Friday at an annual conference hosted by the Education Trust, an advocacy group. When that happens, students show up and teachers stick around, and that alone can boost student achievement.

"If you can get your students to ... show up regularly, if you 

Historian David McCullough: No ‘professional teacher should major in education’:

Historian David McCullough: No ‘professional teacher should major in education’

Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 12, 2012 at 7:30 am

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(cbsnews.com)

Everyone’s a critic about the teaching profession. That includes award-winning historian David McCullough, who was profiled on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday by correspondent Morley Safer. Along with talking about teacher education, he noted that young Americans are  “historically illiterate” — and it’s not just the fault of teachers, but parents too. Here’s how part of the interview went, according to a transcript on the “60 Minutes” website:

Revolt against high-stakes standardized testing spreads

by Valerie Strauss

Even as policymakers find new ways to use standardized tests as a measurement tool, a rebellion against the high-stakes assessments is growing. Here is the latest on where the revolt stands, from Lisa Guisbond, a policy analyst for the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest. It is a Boston-based organization that aims to improve standardized testing practices and evaluations of students, teachers and schools.
Read full article >>

Obama Won, But Did Educators Lose In the Process? | Alternet

Obama Won, But Did Educators Lose In the Process? | Alternet:

Obama Won, But Did Educators Lose In the Process?

As long as accountability remains the educational law of the land, students are bound to lose out, says a professor of education.

November 12, 2012  |  

 

Photo Credit: mistydawnphoto via Shutterstock.com

 

For three decades, one block of American voters and workers has lost politically regardless of which party or candidate has won: educators.

That was again likely the case in 2012 despite the re-election of Barack Obama and despite a few positive political victories vis a vis education ballot initiatives and theelection of state-level education leaders . Since the rise of Ronald Reagan and the release of “A Nation at Risk” -- apolitically biased report under Reagan that characterized public education as a failed institution -- educators have had no political party , because both major political parties have dedicated their entire education agenda and policies to the accountability movement, founded on a laughable "our standards and tests are 

NYC Educator: Act of God No Excuse, Declares Mayor Michael Bloomberg

NYC Educator: Act of God No Excuse, Declares Mayor Michael Bloomberg:

Act of God No Excuse, Declares Mayor Michael Bloomberg

by NYC Educator

If your house had ten feet of water rip through it, or if your living room is full of mud, or sand, or locusts,that's no reason for missing work. Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York, he has billions of dollars, and if he says so it must be true.

After all, his brownstone is still there, and it was not damaged. Why the hell was your residence damaged? If you had half a brain, you would've bought an east side brownstone rather than a ranch house in a flood area. Then you would've been able to go to work while the storm raged. So what if you were taken up by the wind, and flew around with Dorothy and Toto and a 

Jersey Jazzman: Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14

Jersey Jazzman: Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14:

Newark Teacher Contract Vote on Wednesday, 11/14

by Duke

The controversial Newark teachers contract vote is this Wednesday, November 14. Sandy pushed back the vote to this late date; now the teachers will have to decide whether to ratify a contract that features a whole lot of private money in exchange for accepting a merit pay system.

I really don't have much to add to my last post on the subject. The private funds make this an unusual situation, so, as much as I have worried about this being a precedent for the rest of the state, I think it will be hard for any other district to make the case that their teachers should follow suit.

Tom Moran can call the teachers opposed to this contract liars all day, but that doesn't change the facts: merit pay doesn't work, and the Newark teacher evaluation system is far too unreliable to distribute the bonuses fairly. In addition, there are some real concerns from the deal's critics about back pay, step guides, hours, work 

Arne Duncan’s federal School Improvement Grant Program forces schools to act like corporations reports two studies. « Fred Klonsky

Arne Duncan’s federal School Improvement Grant Program forces schools to act like corporations reports two studies. « Fred Klonsky:

Arne Duncan’s federal School Improvement Grant Program forces schools to act like corporations reports two studies.

by Fred Klonsky

Two studies that have recently been released by the Michigan-based Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice declare that Arne Duncan’s School Improvement Grant Program is in need of reform, andthat forcing schools to act like corporations runs counter to progress.
“The market-based character of turnaround policies diverts public attention from fundamental questions about adequate, equitable funding and the insidious effects on schools of socioeconomic and racial isolation.”
Read More: http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Research-Based-Options/02-Trujillo_Turnarounds.htm
And here: http://greatlakescenter.org/docs/Policy_Briefs/Research-Based-Options/02-Trujillo_Turnarounds-PB.pdf
Then go to the previous post and call the White House as part of the national effort to end Race to the Top.

Eduflack: Just Say No to ALEC's Latest Move

Eduflack: Just Say No to ALEC's Latest Move:

Just Say No to ALEC's Latest Move

by Eduflack

Every three or five years, I changed school districts as a child.  I spent my K-12 years in four different states.  With each move, I was faced with a different set of academic standards and a different set of expectations.

After some moves, I found myself greatly ahead of the curve.  In another, I found myself behind what was expected.  And in my final move, made before my junior year of high school, I actually had my new high school try to say I was ineligible to be valedictorian because I had taken chemistry "too early" in the sequencing.

We are now a nation on the move.  Families move in search of work, to take care of family members, or simply to find better opportunities.  With each of those moves, each and every child should be able to expect the same thing from school  Sixth grade should be sixth grade, whether it is sixth grade in Connecticut, Georgia, Colorado, or California.

Fortunately, over the past several years 45 states came together to develop a common set of standards for our 

Diane Ravitch vs. the Education-Reform Movement : The New Yorker

Diane Ravitch vs. the Education-Reform Movement : The New Yorker:

ANNALS OF EDUCATION

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Diane Ravitch takes on a movement.

BY DAVID DENBYNOVEMBER 19, 2012

ABSTRACT: ANNALS OF EDUCATION about Diane Ravitch, who has emerged as one of the leading opponents of the education-reform movement. Now seventy-four, Ravitch has been a forceful voice in education debates for more than four decades. A research professor at New York University since 1995, she has taught at Columbia University’s Teachers’ College, served as an Assistant Secretary of Education, and edited education journals. She has written ten notable books on education history and policy. Most recently, she has written a series of scathing rebuttals of reform measures in The New York Review of Books and some two thousand posts on a blog she started in April, which has received almost a million and a half page views. Since the publication, in 2010, of her book “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,” she has barnstormed across the country giving speeches berating the reform movement, which, in addition to test-based “accountability,” also supports school choice and charter schools (public institutions that often receive substantial private funding and are free from many regulations, such as hiring union teachers in states that require it), and which she calls a “privatization” movement. The reform movement has the support of President Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan; it is also championed by the Republican Party; by many governors, mayors, and schools chancellors; and by a variety of wealthy entrepreneurs and fund managers, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Whitney Tilson. It has changed educational thinking in states such as Florida, Wisconsin, and Louisiana, and in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, Los

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/11/19/121119fa_fact_denby#ixzz2C16LUAli

Obama’s Tears and No Voter Left Behind | Cedar's Digest

Obama’s Tears and No Voter Left Behind | Cedar's Digest:

Obama’s Tears and No Voter Left Behind

Posted on November 11, 2012 

Like many progressive Obama supporters, I was moved by his tears as he thanked his Chicago staff and volunteers this past week. Whether or not you believe he is a great president, it is pretty clear he is a good man and genuinely grateful for his audience’s service to his cause. This rare crack in the remarkable poise reminded me of Charles Pierce’s piece on the greatness of Obama in his Esquire blog:

Part of what drives people crazy about him — and if you wanted to see crazy, you should have seen the fugue state that overcame the Fox election all-stars last night, because I’ve seen jollier police lineups — is that he so clearly understands his own genuine historical stature, and that he wears it so easily, and that he uses it so deftly. It is not obvious. He does not use it brutally or obviously. It is just… there with him, a long and deep reservoir of violence and sorrow and tragedy and triumph out of which comes almost everything he does.

As most of Pierce’s writing, this is well worth your time and attention. Later, Pierce describes Obama’s big project, the virtual (and vital) referendum that we voted on last week, as “the creative project of self-government.” These are the notes Obama strikes 

OCCUPY EDUCATION - (via Imagining Learning | Why Contribute) JOIN US...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - (via Imagining Learning | Why Contribute) JOIN US...:

(via Imagining Learning | Why Contribute) JOIN US in creating a...

(via Imagining Learning | Why Contribute)
JOIN US in creating a national collective voice of the wisdom of young people on education by sponsoring a Listening Session.
Please donate 10 dollars or more to help sponsor an upcoming listening sessions in the south!  We have 4 listening sessions in the next week (Charleston, SC and Atlanta, GA) and another 5 planned for later this month including Alabama, North Carolina, Mississippi and Florida.
That is over 75 students who will be able to share their visions for reinventing education with the world. Every 10 dollars add one student’s voice to the national collective voice of Young People! We are looking to raise 500 dollars by the end of the week! We need your help!
You can donate using paypals or by visiting our donate page  

If you can’t donate, Please help by reblogging this post or one or more of these other links:

• our Facebook page www.facebook.com/imagininglearning
• Charlie Kouns, our founding steward’s TedxTalk
•  the “What is a listening session?” video
• website www.imagininglearning.us

Thank you in advance for your support to help create a National Collective Voice of Young People on Education!
-Imagining Learning 

Thinking About Schools: Dear Mr. President, Part 1

Thinking About Schools: Dear Mr. President, Part 1:

Dear Mr. President, Part 1

Dear Second Term President Obama:

You are in an enviable position, perhaps the most enviable in the educational world today.  You do not need to worry about re-election.  You’ve got a good three years to affect substantial, meaningful change.  You can say whatever the hell you want (sorry, but it's time to throw some Bill Russell elbows, Mr. President).  You’ve got the microphone, the votes, and the next Supreme Court nomination(s). You’re a dad. You know the roots of American students, you know what it means to dream, and you went to Harvard.  

Actually, the only way you can screw this up is by replacing Arne Duncan with Michelle Rhee. 

The problems with public education today are not rooted in unions, lack of accountability, or Finland-envy.  The problems are the politicians.  Period.  And, unlike all of those other local, state, and national posers, you Mr. President, no longer need to worry about getting elected.  No politics.  No fund raising.  No debating