Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Diane in the Evening 2-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:







What Is “Cage Busting”? EduShyster Explains It All to You

EduShyster wants to help promote Rick Hess’ new book, Cage Busters….or does she?
It is a ritual. Every author of a public policy book must launch it with a panel discussion at a think tank in DC. It’s a way of showcasing the book and branding it
Hess runs the education program at the American Enterprise Institute so he chose his panel. Hess branded his 


Breaking News: Mayor Bloomberg Gives $1 Million to L.A. School Board Candidates

This is an astonishing development.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, a multibillionaire, is giving $1 million to support three candidates in the Los Angeles school board election.
The candidates he is backing are in favor of privately managed charter schools and are generally anti-union.
The people of Los Angeles will decide in next month’s election whether the super-rich elite can buy control of the public school system and impose their pet project of privatization.
This bold effort to buy the school board is an affront to democracy.
Are the public schools of Los Angeles for sale to the highest bidder?


Kevin Drum: Another Bogus Ed Reform

Kevin Drum is a respected writer and blogger. He doesn’t usually write about education.
However, he has heard the claim that the best way to improve academic performance is to make school harder: higher standards, harder tests.
The San Jose school district tried this approach. It said that every student must take college prep classes. This is what Drum found:
“Do high schools with higher standards get better performance from their students? If you require everyone to 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-12-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Joel Klein, the Quintessential Corporate Reformer by dianerav Mercedes Schneider continues her review of the board of the National Council of Teacher Quality. Earlier entries reviewed the bios of Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee, and other prominent figures whose lives intersect again and again on the boards of the groups seeking control of American education, with the full- Is There a Method Behind the Madness of “Calibrating” Principals? by dianerav Jersey Jazzman read Carol Burris’s account of her “training... more »