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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Diane in the Evening 1-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:






Jonathan Pelto Reports: Has CNN Dropped Dr. Steve Perry?

According to Connecticut blogger Jonathan Pelto, CNN has severed its relationship with Dr. Steve Perry.
Dr. Perry became best known for his putdown of teaches and unions, as well as his claims about his own miraculous achievements as director of a magnet school in Hartford.
Pelto does a good job deconstructing those claims.
Jersey Jazzman deconstructed his claims last year in multiple posts. See here. And here. And here.
Could it be that CNN executives read Jersey Jazzman?

When Students Love Learning

I often get comments by teachers that move me close to tears. This is one of them. In the best of times, what the writer says would not be remarkable. In these times, these words remind us how education can be powerful and why these days it is not, it is just filling in the blanks.
I thought that several years ago the NCTE had come out with a position or paper arguing that rubrics were not appropriate for several reasons. I tried rubrics for several years and found them to be limiting and the products that I received in Social Studies, English and Humanities courses to be less than what I knew the kids could do. It’s a natural human thing to want to please and then focus on doing what is defined in front of you ala a rubric 

A Newspaper with a Split Personality

Two days ago, the New York Daily News published a beautiful tribute to the heroes of Sandy Hook, both the dead and the living. The newspaper called them its Heroes of the Year. The editorial was written with such eloquence and feeling that it brought me to tears.
I admit I was surprised by this editorial because the Daily News is known for its stridently anti-teacher, anti-union editorializing. (On the other hand, its reporters are unfailingly fair, and the newspaper publishes the amazing Juan Gonzalez, whose column has exposed numerous scandals.)
Today, the New York Daily News resumes its regular flaying of teachers and their union with one of the world’s

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Jersey Jazzman Deconstructs Joel Klein’s Record by dianerav Joel Klein served as Chancellor of the New York City public schools for eight years. He had no previous experience as an educator. But he came to the job with a determination to reinvent the system and wipe out whatever he found. He has often boasted of the dramatic gains that occurred under his leadership, at the same time that he claims that public education is in terrible shape due to teachers’ unions and tenure laws that protect incompetent... more »