Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, January 16, 2014

1-16-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:




What Will New Jersey's Universal Pre-K Look Like?
Universal pre-K is a no brainer when it comes to providing children with a good start.  Then again, brains appear to be in short supply here in New Jersey as voters swept a corrupt Christie administration into office AGAIN.  His record and polices that have hurt just about everyone in the state is as clear as the view from the George Washington Bridge on a sunny day. While Christie and his cronies


Public Meeting To Discuss Closing 12 Memphis Schools to Benefit Charter Industry and Gates Plan
A local columnist in Memphis, Wendi Thomas, has a cynical piece today in the Memphis Corporate Appeal on the planned shutdown of 12 more Memphis schools.  The Shelby County School Board, which represents the interests of the corporate machine, has brought in an economist from Chicago to assure the local media and politicians that the closure of 47 schools in Chicago is fine, because, after all, th

Comments on "Arne Duncan: School Expectations Are Too Low in the United States"
From US NEWS and WORLD REPORT, Jan 14, 2014 My comments posted on:http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/14/arne-duncan-school expectations-are-too-low-in-the-united-statesARE TEACHERS STUPID?"... teachers in America often come from the bottom of the academic barrel .... Duncan said ..."There is no evidence this is true - Please see: "Are teachers stupid?"  By Jeff McQuill


Full Interview, Part II, with Former Charter Teacher at Brooklyn Ascend
Part I of this interview with Emily Talmage, former charter school teacher, was posted yesterday here.  Part III will be posted tomorrow.INT:  How did the parents of these children feel about that [the rigidity with no accommodations]?R:  I don't really know because I don't really know if they were aware of what actually happened in the school.  I never saw a parent actually come in and observe a


Walking and Talking with Secretary Duncan
While too little focus is aimed at the substance of education reform claims and the criticisms of the reform movement, critics of misguided education reform are often discredited for their tone.Beneath the political civility of political appointees, such as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, however, are equally offensive implications, which compound the lack of evidence for their claims.On one l



1-15-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: Full Interview with Former Charter Teacher at Brooklyn Ascend, Part IIn the following interview, a teacher shares her story about working at Brooklyn Ascend, one of the total compliance, "no excuses" charter schools in Brooklyn.  Emily Talmage (formerly Emily Kennedy), who now happily teaches third grade in a Lewiston, Maine public school, has given permission to post her