Friday, December 14, 2012

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 12-14-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

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School Shooting in Connecticut

I am in shock. Just heard the news of a mass murder of elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut.
CNN says “close to 20″ were killed.
News reports on AOL says it is 27, including at least 18 children and the principal.
They say the killer was a parent, who wore a bullet-proof vest and brought guns to the school.
I keep thinking that we have huge problems in this society, and our policymakers only want to talk about test scores.
It may be time to think about other things that matter more.


DC Teachers: Any advice for Omaha?

Carey Wright, who was chief academic officer in DC under Michelle Rhee, has applied for the job of superintendent in Omaha. Educators and parents wonder if she will import Rhee’s aggressive tactics to their district. She had a great PowerPoint but went out of her way to make two points: one, she is not Rhee. Two, she respects Rhee.
Published Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 1:00 am / Updated at 4:42 pm
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Omaha Public Schools superintendent finalist Carey Wright gives a presentation at the Teacher Administrative Center on Wednesday.
OPS finalist Wright says she won’t turn the district ‘upside down’
By Jonathon Braden and Joe Dejka
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
• Learn more about the three OPS superintendent finalists: Carey Wright, Mark Evans and Stephen Murley.
***
Carey Wright knew the question was coming. And by the time she met with the public in Omaha Wednesday 


RI Teacher: “I Quit”

This second-grade teacher explained on a YouTube video why he quit.
High-stakes testing and regimentation broke his spirit and that of his students.
Watch it and send it to your friends and to parents.
Help this go viral.

Why Republicans Will Not Use the V Word

Why do Republicans like Mitt Romney and Bobby Jindal fear to use the V word?
Why do they say “opportunity scholarship” when they really mean Voucher?
As with most everything else (as Gail Collins said in her latest book), the answer may be found in Texas.
Texas, as we all know, is a red red red state.
The next legislature is planning to take up the voucher issue.
It should be a slam-dunk, right, because Texas is a red state and 

Researcher Asks: When Does Reform Need Reform?

Julian Vasquez Heilig has done a round-up, Texas-style, of research on Teach for America.
Given that the focus of his research is equity, his round-up makes for interesting reading

Does StudentsFirst Support Collective Bargaining?

StudentsFirst likes to keep everyone guessing about its true purposes.
It wants “great” teachers but doesn’t think teachers should have any due process rights.
It either supports collective bargaining or is neutral on collective bargaining or is against collective bargaining.
It claims to be a liberal group that “puts students first” but gives campaign funds to reactionary candidates that support the Koch brothers agenda of privatization.
All of this will sort itself out over time, as the facts emerge.
Alexander Russo has


Privatization Accelerates in Memphis

Memphis is set to lose more charter schools to privatization. With Kevin Huffman, former PR director for TFA, now Commissioner of Education, backed by a rightwing majority in the legislature, public schools are being handed off to charter chains.
EduShyster supplies the details. The reform business is booming in Tennessee, especially in poor Memphis.



Exclusive! Pasi Sahlberg on TIMSS and PIRLS

At my request, Pasi Sahlberg has written comments on the latest international test scores. Sahlberg is a prominent Finnish educator and author of the award-winning book “Finnish Lessons.”
Sahlberg writes:
International testing mania
This week educators around the world got a new opportunity to benchmark their students’ performance to their international competitors when The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) released the results of TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) mathematics and science of 63 

Diane in the Evening 12-13-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: The Outrageous Attacks on Susan Rice by dianerav I don’t usually comment on matters outside education, but I had to say something about the bullying of Susan Rice. I don’t think I ever met Susan, but I knew her mother fairly well when I worked at the Brookings Institution, so I followed Susan’s remarkable career. Susan Rice graduated from Stanford University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She was a Rhodes Scholar with double degrees from Oxford University. She was on the staff of the National Security Council and an Randi Weingarten’s Excel... more »