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Sunday, August 12, 2012

Why Don’t Teachers Resist? « Diane Ravitch's blog

Why Don’t Teachers Resist? « Diane Ravitch's blog:


Why Don’t Teachers Resist?

In a discussion about a charter teacher who acquiesced to practices that were objectionable, some readers asked why she didn’t complain or take action. This reader explains why teachers must sometimes accept the intolerable:


You are exactly right-easier said than done! Charter Schools are a company, a business. If you work for an employer then they expect loyalty. Imagine if people working in chicken processing plants, common around here, complained about the inhumane treatment of animals-you get fired. If you work for Hewlett Packard and complain about the outsourcing of jobs to other countries because there are unemployed people here-you get fired. If you have a job driving a truck and complain about the fact you are expected to be on time no matter how many hours you have to drive even if safety is


The Charter School Threat to American Society

If charter schools served the neediest children, if they recruited the students who had dropped out, if they made an effort to collaborate with public schools in a joint undertaking, they would have a valued place in American education.
But in the current context, they have been turned into a battering ram to compete with public schools and skim the ablest students.
Where will this lead? Will we have a dual school system in ten years, with one system (the charters) for the motivated and able students, and the other system (the public schools) for those who didn’t get into a charter?


Are Schools Like Sports Teams?

Yes, we are “racing to the top.” Has anyone defined “the top”? Who is “racing”? Racing to higher test scores? Who will cross the finish line first? Does the “race” have anything to do with education?
A reader writes today:
The peons are being thrown crumbs again today and the elites are watching them scramble to be the winner in the latest Race to the Top!
\”Race To The Top Competition Opens To School Districts For New Grants To Close Achievement Gap\” from