LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 9-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Why Does Congressman Jared Polis Call Me “Evil”?

In a series of Twitter posts last night, Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado called me “an evil woman.” He said that my ideas were harming public education. This is puzzling. What do I do that makes the rich and powerful fume and blow their cool? I have met him twice in DC. The first time, I met with members of the House Education Committee and described my last book, The Death and Life of the Gre

2 by dianerav / 14min mark as read  //  save

Yinzercation: Our Pep Rally in Pittsburgh

Jessie Ramey, who writes Yinzercation, and Kipp Dawson, a union activist and teacher in the Pittsburgh public schools, invited me to come to their city. I had my first event there, and it was sensational! I will let Jessie describe it. Let me add that I especially wanted to meet Kipp, because I learned that she worked as a coal miner for more than a decade. I imagined a burly woman, but she turned

8 by dianerav / 22min 

Teacher Tom with Link Added!

When I posted a great piece by preschool Teacher Tom of Seattle, I forgot the link. It is added here, so I am re-posting. This is a mistake I occasionally make (no excuses!), so I want to rectify it so you can visit his great site and read the whole post, not just my excerpts.

by dianerav / 16min mark as read  //  save

NYC Whistle Blower: How the DOE Is Like Enron

I know a mole inside the New York City Department of Education. He/she knows how the DOE manipulates data to burnish the mayor’s image. This is a good reason to oppose mayoral control of the schools. He/she says the mayor’s small schools close with regularity; that the data cannot be trusted; that the Department has shown preference to charter schools but they got lower scores on the Common Core t

3 by dianerav / 25min 

Bruce Baker: How to Eliminate Accountability and Transparency While Claiming the Opposite

Bruce Baker of Rutgers University here dissects the fundamental flaws at the heart of the corporate reform agenda. This is the set of policy prescriptions that he reviews: What I have found most intriguing over time is that the central messaging of these reformy template policy prescriptions is that they will necessarily improve accountability and transparency of education systems, and that they w

1 by dianerav / 25min 

Teacher Tom Reviews “Reign of Error”

Teacher Tom teaches pre-school children in Seattle. He is also a writer and artist. Here he wonders why the leaders of the so-called reform movement insist on doing things that never work, like merit pay, or doubling down on truly bad ideas. He writes: “Listen, I don’t know why smart people like Bill Gates (Microsoft), Arne Duncan (US Secretary of Education), and Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation)

by dianerav / 1min 

A Last-Minute Bad Idea from NYC Department of Education

In its ongoing effort to destroy neighborhood schools and communities, the NYC brought out a plan to centralize kindergarten admissions. This paren activist says it is time to fight back now: “Last week, the DOE announced the roll-out of a new $800,000 kindergarten admissions process, known as Kindergarten Connect. “Kindergarten Connect, like the centralized system currently used for high school a

23 by dianerav / 6h 

Diane in the Evening 9-18-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Jersey Jazzman Reviews “Reign of Error”Jersey Jazzman connects the dots in his review of “Reign of Error.” He sees the connection between school and society. He writes: “There is one chapter in this part of the book that caught me by surprise: “The Toxic Mix,” as frank a discussion of race, inequality, and segregation as I have rea

by mike simpson / 3h 

9-19-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos:

Leaves on the Current - another phase in her treatment

Because she has done so remarkably well in her recovery from her blood cancer, we are going to be entering a new phase. Next Wednesday we will spend a day getting trained for dealing with the next phase of her treatment.  Assuming no obstacles are found as a result of a series of medical tests next week - the first full week of October she will spend four days having stem cells extracted from her

5 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 6h  

9-16-13 teacherken at Daily Kos

teacherken at Daily Kos: Awaiting the chance to offer some newsabout Leaves on the Current.  Wish I could say more, but we are on hold until she talks with her oncologist, probably tomorrow. Don't worry.  The discussion is because of how well she is doing. But it could represent some major changes in the short term. In the meantime, given my new teaching position and ensuring she gets the best car

by mike simpson / 20h

What if Self-Interest Doesn't Explain Everything? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

What if Self-Interest Doesn't Explain Everything? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

What if Self-Interest Doesn't Explain Everything?

By Deborah Meier on September 19, 2013 7:53 AM

Today, Michael J. Petrilli of the Fordham Institute once again joins Deborah Meier on Bridging Diffferences. The two will co-blog for several weeks.
Dear Deborah,

I'm glad you brought up the topic of democracy. In future posts, I plan to explore the habits and attributes we hope to inculcate in our youthful, budding citizens, including a commitment to self-sufficiency. But today let's continue the conversation about democratic governance of our public schools.

You and I have more in common than we might want to concede, in that we share a somewhat cynical view of politics. Namely, we see most political actors and institutions as acting out of self-interest. You, and many other liberals, are obsessed with "the rich," worrying that they will buy elections and promote their own narrow interests (while becoming even richer in the process). I, and many other ed-reformers, am obsessed with the teachers' unions and other "adult interest groups," worrying that they will buy elections, run their own candidates, and promote their own narrow interests.

Yet look at what just happened in New York City: Neither the candidate of the rich nor the 

9-19-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Why These Blowout Polls Between Lhota And De Blasio Can Become Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

Two polls out this week showing Bill de Blasio beating his GOP opponent Joe Lhota by 41% and 43% respectively.We have almost seven weeks to go before the election and and a lot can happen in that time for Lhota to turn this race around.The problem for him, however, is that if he doesn't turn the race around sooner - like in the next three weeks - and have some polls come in showing him substantial

by reality-based edu... / 29min 

Quinnipac Poll: De Blasio 66%, Lhota 25%

A second post-primary poll finds GOP mayoral nominee Joe Lhota has an uphill climb in this race:Democrat Bill de Blasio hammers Republican Joe Lhota 66% to 25% in a mayoral matchup with a major racial gap, a new Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday shows.The public advocate leads the ex-MTA chief by 30% or more among every age, income and education democraphic.Lhota's negatives are way higher -- he's

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Joe Lhota May Not Even Win Staten Island

Staten Island is considered a GOP stronghold in NYC.  The borough voted for Giuliani twice and Bloomberg three times (77% the first two times, 66% the last time.)A Republican who wants to be elected mayor of NYC cannot lose Staten Island and expect to win the election.Joe Lhota lost Staten Island in the GOP primary.According to Capital Tonight, Staten Islanders are pissed at Lhota for the Verrazan

by reality-based edu... / 50min 

Cranky Bloomberg Doesn't Think City Is "Repudiating" Him

The NY Times has a telling article about a press conference Mayor Bloomberg gave yesterday in which he was, uh, let's just say not in the happiest mood about the direction of the mayoral campaign.Here we present the article, almost all in full, for your enjoyment: At a news conference on Wednesday on the Lower East Side, Mr. Bloomberg snapped at several reporters who wanted to hear his thoughts ab

by reality-based edu... / 12min 

Why Won't NYSED Commissioner John King Face Parents Over His Education Agenda?

Via NYC Eye, we learn that the first of four hearings on the NYSED/Regents education reform agenda was held on Long Island, and it did not go well for the deformers from the state:The growing focus on testing in New York’s schools is sickening students, bewildering parents and threatening to undermine public confidence in the state’s education system, speaker after speaker said Tuesday at a public

by reality-based edu... / 16min 

Performance Assessment Thursday

We are giving the ELA Measures of Student Learning Performance Assessments to students today and tomorrow so that every teacher in the school can be evaluated to see how much growth students make from September to June.Because it makes total sense that social studies, science, art, physical education and other teachers outside of English Language Arts be evaluated using the ELA Measures of Student

by reality-based edu... / 20min 

UFT Plants "Kiss Of Death" On Bill De Blasio's Head

The UFT officially endorsed Bill de Blasio for mayor today after backing Bill Thompson in the primary. Thompson had refused to concede the race for mayor until all the votes were counted, but finally called it quits on Monday after many of his supporters reportedly told him he had to go. Jill Colvin at Politicker reports that Mulgrew took personal credit for telling Thompson the game was over:Whil

by reality-based edu... / 2h  

9-18-13 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: New York Daily News Gets Nearly EVERYTHING Wrong On Navy Yard Shooter StoryMore classic DN journalism - just about everything wrong:The cover of Tuesday's New York Daily News about Monday's Navy Yard shooting is now almost entirely wrong.The cover features a large AR-15 gun with the headline "Same Gun, Different Slay," and a photo widely circulated on Monday of peo

by mike simpson / 10h 

9-19-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

This Week’s “Links I Should Have Posted About, But Didn’t” – September

I have a huge backlog of resources that I’ve been planning to post about in this blog but, just because of time constraints, have not gotten around to doing. Instead of letting that backlog grow bigger, I regularly grab a few and list them here with a minimal description. It forces me to look through these older links, and help me organize them for my own use. I hope others will find them helpful

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 12min 

September’s (2013) Best Tweets — Part Three

Every month I make a few short lists highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. I’ve already shared in earlier posts several new resources I found on Twitter — and where I gave credit to those from whom I learned about them. Those are not included again in this post. If you don’t use Twit

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h  

9-18-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: “So, You Want To Be A Principal?”So, You Want To Be A Principal? is Part Two of my Education Week Teacher series providing advice to educators who are considering becoming a principal. Justin Baeder, Allan R. Bonilla and Josh Stumpenhorst are share their reflections2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h A Collection Of Useful Infographic

by mike simpson / 10h 

9-19-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

TMoE Excerpt

Posted some days ago @thechalkface:Part of the story we tell in TMoE focuses on how value-added modeling (VAM) grew up out of the backwoods of Tennessee to become an essential component of the national Common Core testing delivery engine that now appears to be running on fumes way short of its destination.Had anyone at the Gates Foundation or ED cared enough about how VAM has affected learning in

by Jim Horn / 19min 

Achievement Gap? Nope, parts 1 and 2

The term “achievement gap” is misleading and thus one of the problems with the education reform debate.Please see the following posts addressing why:Achievement Gap Misnomer for Equity Gap, pt. 1Achievement Gap Misnomer for Equity Gap, pt. 2

by P. L. Thomas / 1min 

New Report on Race to the Top Finds Many Wrecks in the Ditch or Over the Cliff

EPI and The Broader, Bolder Approach have an important important report on how things are going with Race to the Top (RTTT), or as it may be more aptly known, HUAP (Hurry Up and Privatize).  In examining what the states have done to get some of Arne's 3.4 billion bucks, the authors find confusion, conflict, corruptionism, confoundedness, and cautious dread (that's as optimistic as it gets in RTTT

2 by Jim Horn / 5min 

Alison Stewart's Great History of D.C.'s Dunbar High School

Alison Stewart's First Class brings us full circle. Actually, Stewart guides us through a variety of recurring social, moral, and educational cycles that undoubtedly will continue to repeat themselves in one way or another. Her history of the rise and fall of Washington D.C.'s elite Dunbar High School tells a story that cannot be ignored if we really believe that education can be the civil rights

5 by John Thompson / 49min 

Alison Stewart's First Class is a Must Read

Alison Stewart’s First Class brings us full circle. Actually, Stewart guides us through a variety of recurring social, moral, and educational cycles that undoubtedly will continue to repeat themselves in one way or another. Her history of the rise and fall of Washington D.C.’s elite Dunbar High School tells a story that cannot be ignored if we really believe that education can be the civil rights

by John Thompson / 8min 

Schools Matter: George Schmidt's Review of The Mismeasure of Education

Schools Matter: George Schmidt's Review of The Mismeasure of Education: George Schmidt's Review of The Mismeasure of EducationWe are back home!, and I have to say it feels pretty good.  The folks over at Chalkface are great, and we had a great time there, but you know there's no place like home, right?  So we will be here at SM until we win, and then we will continue to be here to defend democrati

by mike simpson / 3h

Jersey Jazzman: @jaredpolis: America's Worst Congressperson

Jersey Jazzman: @jaredpolis: America's Worst Congressperson:

@jaredpolis: America's Worst Congressperson

What a schmuck:

Yes, 75 year old Diane Ravitch -- grandmother, author, and historian -- is "evil" in the eyes of this sitting member of Congress. Aren't you proud, Colorado?

This empty suit is the 7th wealthiest member of Congress. But Polis is really just another phony Democrat who pushes idiocy like Race To The Top so he doesn't have to have a serious conversation about income inequity. It's all part of the hard work of the rich and powerful, slaving away to protect their big piles of filthy lucre from the hordes storming the gates of Versailles. "Let them eat charter school cake!" says Le Comte de Jared.

It's a very interesting dynamic we have going on right now in this country when it comes to economic justice. Folks like Polis have no problem with political, media, and financial systems that allow pirates to accumulate obscene amounts of booty -- so long as they get a chance to get in on the action. To them, social "progress" is a billionaire who's black, or gay, or female.

It never seems to occur to them, however, that someone needs to edge their perfectly manicured lawns. Someone needs to bus their salad plates at their favorite five-star eateries.

- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/09/jaredpolis-americas-worst-congressperson.html#sthash.D2Sz9J25.dpuf

DR Alison Coviello; PhD and Principal of PS 154 Channels Super Villain Bane southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

DR Alison Coviello; PhD and Principal of PS 154 Channels Super Villain Bane

A very wise man within the realm of the NYC DOE once paid me a great compliment, "You're the Howard Stern of education bloggers." I loved it! I shan't name him, but I have the utmost of respect for him and I know of some female bloggers, one an SBSB groupie, that have a wild crush on him.

One thing I guess that I'm like Howard is that I won't hold anything back about myself. And this is a
time I need to share some information.

On September 3, our first day back at 10:05 AM during PD I was summoned to the office. I knew right away why. When I arrived there was a man there to have me sign 3020a papers. DR Alison Coviello; PhD and Principal couldn't wait. In fact it was done in such a classless way. She knew this was coming. She could have had me wait in the office or wait until the break that was due in 10 minutes. But, she had to humiliate me there. In the office.

I had left personal belongings in the library and went back to retrieve them. Immediately I was surrounded by two of the biggest School Safety officers I have ever seen. These two weren't even assigned to PS 154, but my guess is they were sent there for me

100 Bloggers and Diane Ravitch | Reclaim Reform

100 Bloggers and Diane Ravitch | Reclaim Reform:

100 Bloggers and Diane Ravitch

Posted on September 18, 2013by Ken Previti

On Sept. 18, 2013 between 7:30 and 8:30 pm, about a hundred bloggers listened to and spoke with Diane Ravitch in a Shindig Video Chat event that was historical. Never before has an author launched a book by asking education bloggers to review her book, review it with a total freedom to react as they see fit. Never before has an online video chat with a hundred bloggers from all over the United States been as open and transparent as this was tonight.

I am very proud to have been invited along with these other bloggers. Our backgrounds and experiences are incredibly diverse. Our purpose of bringing sanity and true educational reform was the one specific bond that unites us all. All of us are doing our best to reclaim reform from the massively funded Corporate Education Industrial Complex encompassing everything from high stakes testing to selling the data collected from our children. Their profit margins are enormous. Their control of corporate owned media is powerful. Their purpose is profit. All of the bloggers also agree monetizing children is horrendous. The privatization plunder must stop short of exploiting our children.

Soon, I will detail some of what was presented and discussed. For now, I believe that the photo below will summarize my take-away from tonight’s event.

By the way, you may purchase the Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schoolsonline by going to AmazonHERE. You will benefit by everything you read in this revealing, articulate, well researched and delightful book. (During the 

Fire the Reformers! Education Should Develop Individuals, Not Worker Bees | toteachornototeach

Fire the Reformers! Education Should Develop Individuals, Not Worker Bees | toteachornototeach:

Fire the Reformers! Education Should 
Develop Individuals, Not Worker Bees 

by Joseph W. Gauld

Accountability is a big word in educational reform. Now it needs to be applied to those responsible for creating reform that is ineffective and discriminatory.

For more than five decades, business leaders, politicians, colleges and universities sold Americans the idea that academic test-score proficiency is the key to developing our workforce. They continually emphasized the higher earnings of college graduates and the prestige of going to top-rated colleges. This put colleges in a key position to influence the curriculum and quality of the system.

Now, coming out of a major recession, there is evidence the ideas of this business-political-college triumvirate didn’t work:

• 57.5 million native-born Americans, ages 16-65, were not working in the second quarter of 2013, up 17 million from the second quarter of year 2000.
• 53.6 percent of college bachelor holders under age 25 in 2012 were jobless or underemployed.
• Only 66.8 percent of American males are currently working, the lowest figure on record.

This last figure indicates a troubling bias: boys are a year to a year and a half behind girls in reading and writing; they record 80 percent of the discipline problems and drop outs in 

Coop Goes to High School Part 3 – Summer Swap to England | Lefty Parent

Coop Goes to High School Part 3 – Summer Swap to England | Lefty Parent:

Coop Goes to High School Part 3 – Summer Swap to England

September 18th, 2013 at 15:38

My passport picture around my 15th birthday in 1970

My mom was always a smart creative person with tremendous ingenuity and a strong sense that life at its best should be an adventure. She had never been to Europe herself, but she had grown up around more economically privileged kids whose families had, and she felt this sort of an experience was an important part of a young person’s full education and development. Despite her financial limitations, she was determined to find a way to make such travel happen for her two sons.

An opportunity presented itself in the spring of 1970 when my mom heard from an acquaintance that they had traded houses with a family in Oxford England for the summer, both being big college towns with people always looking to take classes at the other university. So my mom placed an ad in the Oxford University paper and got a reply from a graduate student who was looking to come to the University of Michigan with his wife to attend a special summer program. My mom worked it out with them that we would exchange both our houses and our cars for ten weeks, from the last week of June until late August. We got our passports and my mom managed to find a cheap charter flight for herself, my brother and I from the nearby Detroit airport to Amsterdam in late June returning from London Gatwick airport in late