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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Diane in the Afternoon 10-24-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:







What Happened When I Spoke in Chicago

An astute observer in Chicago reports on my appearance at the Chicago City Club.
As usual, I did not pull punches.
I don’t have time for that.
The amazing thing is that even though everything I said contradicted the axioms of Chicago-style “reform,” I got a standing ovation from a warm and friendly crowd of civic leaders at the City Club.


Yong Zhao to Commissioner King in NY: There Is No Evidence to Support Common Core

As readers of this blog know, I am agnostic about the Common Core standards, because they have never been tried anywhere.
We don’t know whether they will improve academic learning, whether they will increase the achievement gap, whether they will make any difference.
Recently the renowned scholar faced off with New York Commissioner of Education John King.
Commissioner King comes out of the charter sector and has very limited experience as a teacher or an 


What Will Happen to DFER Should Romney Win?

EduShyster is worried that Democrats for Education Reform might lose a friend in the White House if Romney wins.
After all, they are Democrats, right?
But it turns out that Ann Romney has a passion for both horses and charter schools, so DFER and SFER and all the other little -FERs should be OK.
At the end of this item, EduShyster invites readers: After what education reformer should Ann Romney name her next horse?
I don’t think there is a prize attached to the winning entry, but since we don’t work for bonuses, give serious thought to nominating your favorite reformer.


A Puzzlement

The Louisiana Constitution says that the state’s Minimum Foundation Budget must be used solely for public schools.
Governor Bobby Jindal is diverting portions of that budget to pay for students to go to religious and other private schools.
The budget for public schools has seen no increase for four years.
Every student who gets a vouchers reduces the funding dedicated to public schools.
Is this a problem?
Is there an inconsistency?
What part of “public” does Governor Jindal 


Change.Org Sells Out

Many people with liberal causes have used change.org to launch petitions drives.
In its founding, change.org declared its dedication to progressive values.
Many people were upset when change.org allowed Michelle Rhee to surreptitiously gather signatures on its site. You might sign a petition saying you want great teachers or you think teachers should be paid more, and without your knowledge or consent, you were a member of StudentsFirst. You would never get a notice informing that you had unknowingly “joined.” But you would be counted as a member.
Many were also upset that change.org hosted Stand for Children, which is anti-union, anti-teacher, anti-public education, and pro-corporate.
We thought those lapses were aberrations. But now we find that change.org is opening its doors to anti-union,


A Bad Week for John White, Jindal’s Superintendent

nice summary of a bad week for John White, who was hired to implement Governor Bobby Jindal’s plan to privatize public education in Louisiana.
The blogger has an apt title for the week, referring to a delightful children’s book: John White and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
Last spring, Jindal pushed through the legislature the nation’s most sweeping voucher plan, hoping to undermine public education.
The legislation encourages charters and enacts a teacher evaluation plan that is tied to test scores and