Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Please Explain « Diane Ravitch's blog

Please Explain « Diane Ravitch's blog:


Please Explain

No, I am not a Luddite. No one can use technology as intensively as I do and be fairly accused of being anti-technology.
I am just naturally skeptical of the claims made for all miracle cures, whether it is snake oil, video game-playing, or the Land of Oz.
I promise you, when I see a guy with a crown who is buck naked, I’ll be the first to say so even if he is an emperor.
So I want to know: Can you really learn to be a carpenter at an online college? Can you learn HVAC online? Can you become a


Who Is Paying to Privatize Public Schools in Philly?

The William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia paid for the services of the Boston Consulting Group (the group that spawned Bain).
BCG recommended privatization of a large number of schools in the city, allegedly to save money. But as we know, charters don’t save money and on average, they don’t get better results. But they do manage to compete with public schools for limited public funding.
Now we learn that the foundation was not content to bring in the hired


Judge Rules City May Not Close 24 NYC Schools

The city and the teachers’ union went to court to battle over the city’s plan to “turnaround” 24 schools by firing thousands of teachers.
The judge listened to the arguments, retired to her chambers, and returned seven minutes later to say that she was sustaining the arbitrator’s decision. The city may not lay off the teachers. It violates their contract.
This battle involves more than 3,000 teachers and 30,000 students. No one is sure how the schools will be


News from New York City

Copied from website of NYC Educator (Arthur Goldstein):

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

UFT Wins “Turnaround”

NY Post’s Yoav Gonen reports on Twitter judge ruled DOE cannot restaff 24 so-called “turnaround” schools. Big loss for Mayor4Life. All his hopes to revive his flagging reputation now revolve around getting New Yorkers to stop drinking those darn Big Gulps.