This and That
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From Westside Seattle:
*In the wake of two fatal shooting deaths in the past year near Chief
Sealth International High School (CSIHS) the PTSA is sponsor...
Goodbye Doo Wop Don
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By Thomas Ultican 3/27/2024 Don Shalvey, with his self-selected twitter
handle @dooWopDon, passed away March 16th, succumbing to a lengthy battle
with brai...
A Slow-Motion World War III? by Tom Engelhardt
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I’ve been describing this world of ours, such as it is, for almost 23 years
at *TomDispatch*. I’ve written my way through three-and-a-half presidencies...
"Six presumed dead.'' The men on the Key Bridge.
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Woody Guthrie’s words keep coming back to me this morning. But we died in
your hills, we died in your valleys. We died in your orchards, we died on
your pl...
Poem: echoes (home)
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i carry your musicin my mind lana del reyor that “evangeline” song when i
am away from youwith your music in my mind i imagine us in our apartmentyou
lost ...
The Trouble With Classical Education
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Classical education, despite the fact that most people who use the term
appear to know exactly what they mean, is a wide, messy category. A recent
Emma Gre...
The Theory of Loose Parts
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In 1971, architect Simon Nicholson wrote an article for a magazine called *Landscape
Architecture *entitled “How Not to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loo...
The Company You Keep
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At the hearing last Thursday… (oh there’s a lot to write, but I won’t)… the
UFT’s lawyer was there… Alan Klinger… sitting with… the lawyers for the
City… s...
THE CAPTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT
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With all of the revelations about the capture of the US Supreme Court,
mostly thanks to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, we have become aware of major
schemes agai...
Cartoons on Artificial Intelligence
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No one yet knows how “artificial intelligence” (AI) will affect and shape
our individual and institutional behaviors in the years ahead. Wild claims
of sol...
March (2024) Useful Parent Engagement Resources
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“Gentle parenting” seems to be based on sound child psychology principles,
but these techniques may not be as effective for more serious challenging
behavi...
“Toward a More Perfect Union”
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I’ve always loved the elegant, aspirational phrase, “Toward a More Perfect
Union,” found in the opening sentence of our Constitution. It was our
Founding ...
Who Carried You?
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“One close friend of the Flemings remembers a time when three couples were
relaxing in the sun at Goldeneye. The men, in jest, each told the story of
how t...
What Choice Do We Have? [On School Choice]
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Here’s something I never got to tell you. About seven years ago, I wrote
this post that went viral. I didn’t expect to see some ...
Read More
The post W...
NPE Celebrates Women’s History Month
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NPE celebrates Women's History month by highlighting the accomplishments of
10 inspiring women from Jane Addams to Ida B. Wells to Christa McAuliffe.
The...
Let’s recall just how bad a president Trump was!
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For the record, concerning Covid:, this is from Quora: ———- President Trump
tweeted that 17,000 people died from Swine Flu under Obama. How does this
compa...
March 5, 2024: The time for delay has passed
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It is time to open the ballot sitting on my kitchen counter. Only, the more
I learn of politics, the…
The post March 5, 2024: The time for delay has pass...
A Change of Plans
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Last September, in a piece titled Where We Expect To Retire, I informed
folks that we were planning to move to Kendal Crosslands Communities, the
Crossla...
A Measly Case of Measles
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Or so would Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo would have you believe.
His vaccine-hesitant approach to public health discourages parents and
others f...
Wisdom from the Sage of Mount Vernon
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Words of wisdom appropriate to our time. …from George Washington, America’s
first President, on President’s Day. (Edited and updated from a previous
post) ...
What Price Will You Pay?
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Democracy dies when we give up freedoms, thinking they are a small price to
pay. That's why we need to defend our right to vote and defeat
authoritarian le...
1805
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*November 15*: Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific. Scientists now believe
that the Coastal Salish people bred small dogs for their fleece, which they
w...
We are making a CPESS documentary!
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In 2020, I was approached by Deborah Meier and Jane Andrais and I decided
we should document the story of Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS).
This ...
2023 In Review And What’s To Come In 2024
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2023 is almost complete and it was a busy, challenging, rewarding, and fun
year. The news of the world was sometimes too much to watch. Countries were
dest...
Volunteer in 2024
-
Be the change, volunteer and make the difference! Let’s face it, the world
is in turmoil, and divisive politics in our country is threatening our
democracy...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
-
Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Lying Liars of the NYC DOE
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The APPR travails continue.
When last I blogged I shared how my principal, XXXXXXXX XXXXX of PS XXX did
an end run around me. I was refused to be obser...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
Skin Deep
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She spends so much time on her outward appearance. There is never a hair
out of place. Her makeup is perfect and her clothes are stylish and match
to ...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
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*Defeating the Purpose of Education*
*Most people would agree that the primary purpose of education is to
prepare children for a good and productive life. ...
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. NOT!
-
There is a teacher shortage.And just to be sure you understand, it's not
that teachers don't want to teach.It's not that there aren't enough
teachers certi...
Abortion: Only For Those Who Need It!
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NOTE: This post contains my opinions on Catholicism based on my experiences
as a child in the 1960's and 70's. Take what you like and leave the rest. I
m...
Hello world!
-
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then
start writing!
The post Hello world! first appeared on Just another WordPress site.
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
On the Edge of Silence
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“There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the
fundamen...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
-
I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
GA run-offs need your help!
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Extremely important. Volunteer if you can. Thank you if you are already
doing so. Out of state opportunities here: Ralph …
Continue reading →
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen GarcÃa
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
A Citizens’ Rebellion 2020
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The United States began to form after the rebellion against the King of
England when the settlers in the colonies along the eastern coast reacted
to the in...
A Fundamental Redesign of Our Schools
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I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle
this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the
city o...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
Thoughts on schooling in the era of COVID-19
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Well, a whole lot has changed since I returned to blogging a month and half
ago. In case you didn't notice, and I'm sure everyone reading this did,
there's...
NAEP scores and "the science of reading"
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*Sent to US News. They just informed me that they no longer publish
letters to the editor. *
*Re: “National reading emergency” November 12*
*[https://www...
2019 NAEP Scores: Achievement Gap or …?
-
Here you go: A ‘Disturbing’ Assessment: Sagging Reading Scores,
Particularly for Eighth-Graders, Headline 2019’s Disappointing NAEP Results
NAEP 2019: Re...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Storm is Coming! (…again)
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A new Commissioner will have as much impact on our state ed system as a new
meteorologist will have on …
Continue reading →
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
3rd Grade Reading: Who is Failing?
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Education Trust Midwest has just released its study on third grade reading
and, predictably, the results aren’t great. This study uniquely compares
Michiga...
Opting out of the Dinosaur (end of year test)
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Today I sent in a second letter to refuse PARCC/CMAS for my son, Luke. The
first email I sent at the beginning of the year was not sufficient as they
requi...
Resurrection
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I realized it's Lent, but this blog, bless Jesus Christ, can't wait.
Ok, so with that said, I plan to discuss Class Action suits in existence,
as well as w...
IDEA Is Still The Law Of The Land
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Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the US Department of
Education (USDOE) rescinded 72 Dear Colleague and other letters of
explanation to ...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/2/2017
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Education Bloggers Daily Highlights 3/1/2017 Education Bloggers Daily
Highlights Courtesy of Big Education Ape A special thank you to education
blogger Mik...
Capturing the Spark
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It’s been a long time since InterACT was an active education blog, though I
remain quite proud of what we did here. Those of us who wrote blog posts
here h...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
WTU Peterson Slate: Not a 1 Woman Dictatorship
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Candi Peterson & GeLynn Thompson
Candidates for WTU Prez & GVP 2016By Candi Peterson, WTU Gen. Vice President
*Statements or expressions of opinions herein...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
Flaws at the Heart of Current Education Reforms
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Originally posted on Creative by Nature:
“Teaching is an art form rooted in the wise and careful use of educational
research and assessment tools. When gove...
Veteran educator Ann Cronin offers her plan to assess real student achievement. Skip the standardized tests and assess what students know and can do. She shows how it can be done, saving every state and district millions now wasted on the testing industry.
There seems to be no shortage of money to create new corporate reformer organizations, and they seem to open faster than anyone can keep track of them. Here is a new one: Results for America. You will recognize the names of some prominent figures in the Obama and George W. Bush administrations. Notable among them is Jim Shelton, who worked for Gates, Arne Duncan, and then led the Chan Zuckerberg
Theresa Hanafin writes a feature each morning in the Boston Globe called “Fast Forward.” It summarizes the latest news and weather. She often starts with a story from the Old Farmers’ Almanac. Today’s anecdote: an editor of the San Francisco Examiner wrote a young Rudyard Kipling in 1889 to tell him that he didn’t know how to use the English language. And here’s another joke: While you were sleep
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer originally offered the Benton Harbor District a desl that relieves them of their debt if they closed their high school. Residents and students rebelled at the idea of closing the high school. Governor Whitmer has reached a tentative deal with the district to save the high school. “ Representatives from the governor’s office and the Department of Treasury had a p
The New York Times published this story about billionaires who endorse a “moderate wealth tax” on themselves. The financier George Soros is part of a group of wealthy individuals calling for “a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest one-tenth of the richest 1 percent of Americans — on us. A letter being published online on Monday calls for “a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the
Since 1987, The Concord Review (TCR) has sought and published more than 1,300 history research papers by high school students from 41 countries in 121 quarterly issues. TCR.org. Over the course of these many years, Will Fitzhugh, the founder of TCR, has been turned down by every foundation while seeking funding for this worthy endeavor. In their drive for innovation, the nation’s philanthropies d
Bill Phillis of Ohio writes: Cleveland Plain Dealer analysis of trends in test scores in HB 70 districts: NO IMPROVEMENT The state takeover of school districts (HB 70 of the 131 st General Assembly) has caused chaos in school communities, fattened the wallets of consultants, but has not demonstrated improved test scores. The federal government, via No Child Left Behind (NCLB), has created c
Join the Battle to Save Our Public Schools! The Tide is Turning But We Need Your Help The narrative is shifting. As candidates jockey for position, public education issues are no longer relegated to soundbites. Major media outlets are reaching out to NPE Action to better understand why candidates are backing away from charters schools. Our NPE Action articles about the role of education policy in
Open this link to discover the big surprise that Steven Singer’s students gave him on the last day of school. It defines the term “psychic income.” it explains the rewards that teachers may get that are never never never available to lawyers, hedge fund managers, even billionaires. Eli Broad will never win this prize. No member of the Walton Family will ever receive what Steven got from his eight
Shawgi Tell is a professor at Nazareth College in upstate New York who writes frequently about education. David Osborne’s Twisted Logic David Osborne is one of America’s foremost neoliberal demagogues. He is a major representative of the so-called “Third Way,” a clever label for destructive neoliberal aims, policies, and arrangements. His constant attacks on public right can be found at the websi
This is a story about a high school in Missouri that should have been on the U.S. News list of the best high schools in America. The teachers are dedicated. Many of the kids are beating the odds against them. They are hard-working. They have grit and perseverance. They will make great contributions to society. Ray Hartmann of the Riverfront Times tells an inspiring story of students, teachers, an
Ed Johnson lives in Atlanta and fights daily against the malignant competition and punishment inflicted on the children of Atlanta by the school board and superintendent. He shares the philosophy of W. Edwards Deming, who taught the importance of collaboration and teamwork. He wrote this post and sent it to the school board: Cyberattacks and competition I have been under cyberattack for nearly a
John Thompson says we used to disagree, but he has come around . My memory is not what it used to be, but I recall that he took issue with my use of the term “corporate reformers.” He used to think that the “reformers” were trying to help and just needed the hand of friendship extended to them. Now he thinks otherwise. He knows that I tried to meet Bill Gates when I visited Seattle. My requests w
We have recently heard from political candidates who claim they oppose “for-profit charter schools” but support “non-profit charter schools.” What they don’t know is that this is a distinction without a difference. Many “non-profit charter schools” are managed by for-profit EMOs (Education Management Organizations). Some are theoretically “non-profit” but pocket big money on their lease agreement
Tom Ultican writes here about the billionaire takeover of Camden, New Jersey. It was easy. Working with Republican Governor Chris Christie, who was eager to have someone take responsibility for the schools in the state’s poorest district, the billionaires got what they wanted. Camden was their plaything, their Petri dish. Have they ended poverty yet?
Andy Spears explains how the Tennessee Legislature came to pass vouchers, after rejecting them multiple times. There was a popular new governor promoting an unpopular idea. And there was money. DeVos money. Dark Money. Lots of it. And aides to Governor Bill Lee who had previously worked for DeVos’s American Federation for Children (and Vouchers). Now there’s an FBI investigation of the deal that
Ed Johnson of Atlanta offers his reading list, to add to mine: In addition to the titles Diane Ravitch lists, below, include these: Andrea Gabor, After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform Caitlin Rosenthal, Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management Cathy O’Neal, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy Diane Ravitch
This is a wonderful article that appeared in Education Week, written by Margaret Pastor, a veteran educator in Maryland. When I started reading, I recoiled at the thought of giving standardized tests to babies in kindergarten. Disgusting. But keep reading, as I did (if you are a subscriber). Many of us in education have deep misgivings about the role standardized tests play in our schools. As a p
Readers of this blog are well aware of my views. When I have a chance to share them with others who are not readers, I grab that opportunity. I was recently interviewed by Julia Travers of “Philanthropy Women.” This is the interview .
The biggest battle in the fight against privatization has been to persuade the Democratic Party that it had been hoaxed by Republicans into adopting the Republican agenda. According to this article in The Washington Post, Democratic support for charter schools has evaporated, at least among the candidates. The title of the article is “Democrats abandon charter schools as ‘reform’ agenda falls fro
One of my friend’s in Mississippi sent this column by Bill Crawford in Meridian. Crawford says the Governor and Legislature regularly complain about federal mandates, and he agrees with them. But unlike them, he asks why the Governor and Legislator passed a law for charter schools that takes tax money away local districts without their consent. Isn’t this what they complain about when Washington
This article was published in the Detroit Free Press on a day when not many people were paying attention, December 25, 2018, but it should have been national news. The Waltons, heirs to the anti-union Walmart empire, have been investing in black organizations to spread their views about charter schools. The fact that the NAACP and Black Lives Matter have stood up to the bully billionaire behemoth
In no particular order. These are books I enjoyed and learned from. Anand Giridharadas, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World Rucker Johnson, Children of the Dream: Why Integration Works Noliwe Rooks, Cutting School: Privatization, Segregation, and the End of Public Education Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Gord
Helen Gym is a firebrand member of Philadelphia’s City Council . She leads the way on progressive issues. She got her start as a parent advocate fighting for public schools. Now there is speculation she will run for Mayor in 2023. Helen will be a keynote speaker at the convention of the Network for Public Education on March 28-29, 2020. Join us in Philadelphia for another great meeting!
I saw this item first as a Tweet, retweeted by Trump himself. It reminded me of my first visit to the Soviet Union, back in the 1980s. One of the high points was a viewing of Lenin’s Tomb. His body was in a glass casket. The young man showing us around said in a low voice that he had so much was in him that if they put a wick on his head and lit it, he would burn forever. A candle!
Kansas has a State Supreme Court that pays attention to the State Constitution and cares about the future of the state, which rests on the educational opportunities of its children. Isn’t that novel these days! Find us on About Us | More News June 24, 2019 HELP SUPPORT ELC ELC relies on the generous contributions of individuals, corporations and foundations to support our work. RELATED STORIES •
The front page of Sunday’s New York Times has a story titled “ Who Owns the West?” A couple of billionaires, that’s who. The U.S. used to be the Land of Opportunity. Now it is the Land of the Oligarchs. IDAHO CITY, Idaho — The Wilks brothers grew up in a goat shed, never finished high school and built a billion-dollar fracking business from scratch. So when the brothers, Dan and Farris, bought a
The parents of the children massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. have been subject to unending abuse by conspiracy theorists who claim that the massacre was a hoax, that it never happened, that the children and parents were “crisis actors,” and that it was staged by advocates for gun control. The parents have fought back with defamation lawsuits against Alex Jones, the chief
In my new book, Slaying Goliath, I focus on heroes of the Resistance. One of them is Professor Maurice Cunningham of the University of Massachusetts. He is a professor of politics and a blogger who believes in “follow the money.” His relentless pursuit of Dark Money in the Massachusetts charter referendum of 2016 (where voters overwhelmingly rejected charter expansion) led to the demise of the bi
Alfie Kohn has written many books critical of competition and ranking in schools. This article appeared in the New York Times. For a generation now, school reform has meant top-down mandates for what students must be taught, enforced by high-stakes standardized tests and justified by macho rhetoric — “rigor,” “raising the bar,” “tougher standards.” Here’s a thought experiment. Suppose that next y
Checker Finn and I used to be best buddies back in the days when I was on the other side (the wrong side) of big education issues. We became friends in the early 1980s. We created something called the Educational Excellence Network, which circulated a monthly newsletter on events and issues back in the pre-Internet days. I was a member of the board of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, which was c
Back in March 2019, Carol Burris and Jeff Bryant released a study of the federal Charter Schools Program on behalf of the Network for Public Education.. That study, “Asleep at the Wheel,” found that about a third of the charters that received federal grants in the $440 million program either never opened or closed soon after opening. The amount of money wasted was about $1 billion over several ye
Jan Resseger’s digest of the Senator Lehner HB 70-on-steroids plan The Lehner Plan is really a district’s worst nightmare. It would have scores of cooks in the kitchen with no one to be held accountable. It would also be a cash cow for “consulting school improvement organizations.” William L. Phillis | Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding | 614.228.6540 | o hioeanda@sbcglo
Beto O’Rourke has beefed up his campaign staff with the addition of Carmel Martin , who was Assistant Secretary for Budget and Policy in the Department of Education during the Obama administration. Martin is a supporter of high-stakes testing and charter schools. When my book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, was published, she joined me on a panel at the Economic Policy In
Veteran journalist Peg Tyre is on a study mission to understand education in certain Asian nations. She has written several reports, some of which were posted here. She has written to tell me that she has enjoyed the feedback from readers of this blog, so keep those emails and reactions to her coming. A teacher in a primary school giving a healthy-living lesson Japanese Teachers Put In Longer Hou
Jeff Bryant, a prolific writer about the Resistance to Faux Reform, will moderate a panel at Netroots Nation about how Philadelphia activists fought back and regained democracy. fought back and regained democracy. The session is called “What Philly Taught Us: How Philadelphia Activists Brat SchoolPrivatization to Restore Local Control.” Starts: Thursday, Jul. 11 2:30 PM Ends: Thursday, Jul. 11 3:
Peter Greene writes here about Sara Holbrook, a poet whose poems have been used on standardized tests. Back in 2017, Holbrook wrote an essay for Huffington Post entitled, “ I Can’t Answer These Texas Standardized Test Questions About My Own Poems. ” The writer had discovered that two of her poems were part of the Texas STAAR state assessment tests, and she was a bit startled to discover that she
Louis Freedberg of EdSource explains here why California charter schools are largely unsupervised, leading to a drumbeat of scandals like the recent indictment of 11 people charged with a theft of $80 million. He writes: As charter school conflicts intensify in California, increasing attention is being focused not only on the schools themselves but on the school boards and other entities that gra
There was a news story recently that a New York journalist accused Trump of trying to rape her, back in the 1990s. This sort of accusation now is so common that it tends to be ignored as yet another “he said-she said.” George Conway, husband of Trump’s senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, says that Republicans should believe her because they believed that Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broadderick, who h
Mercedes Schneider Reports the story of the New Orleans charter school that awarded diplomas to its seniors, but had to revoke 49% of them after a whistleblower pointed out that these students lacked the credits needed to graduate. She writes: Just shy of half of the Class of 2019 at John F. Kennedy High School at Lake Area did not meet graduation requirements and are therefore not eligible to re
Add this item to the Department of Unbelievable. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has hired an advocate of for-profit colleges to oversee higher education for the federal government . DeVos, of course, is known to have invested in for-profit education. Depending on whom you ask, Diane Auer Jones has returned to the Education Department with either a mission or a vengeance… Now, as the chief arc
Beth Lewis wrote this report about the great news from Arizona, where SOS Arizona is staying strong, united, dedicated, and powerful. SOS Arizona won NPE’s first annual Phyllis Bush Award for Grassroots Leadership, presented at the NPE conference last October in Indianapolis. Beth Lewis writes: We have good news from Arizona! Coming off of their huge victory in defeating Proposition 305, which wo
Ann Cronin is an educator in Connecticut. In this post , she explains what real achievement is, and it has nothing to do with test scores. There are all kinds of suggestions for improving student achievement – privatize public schools, increase the number of standardized tests that students take, implement national standards, and enforce no-excuses classroom discipline. None of these practices, h
Justin Parmenter, NBCT in North Carolina, writes here about the educational malpractice inflicted on the state’s youngest readers by order of State Superintendent Mark Johnson. A TFA alum, Johnson overruled the recommendations of expert professionals in the state and decided to assess and diagnose children’s reading skill with technology instead of a teacher. As the 2019-20 school year wound down
Thomas Pedroni, a professor at Wayne State University, argues that Governor Whitmer is in over her head in her efforts to direct the future of Benton Harbor schools. She doesn’t even have legal authority to take charge of the district, he writes. He writes: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is in over her head in Benton Harbor Area Schools. Suddenly, though, our fledgling governor is waking up to the reality
Governor Gretchen Whitmer spent four hours listening to constituents in Benton Harbor. They do not want her to close their high school. She has backed away from earlier deadlines and is seeking a compromise. This shows that she is different from Governor Rick Snyder. She listens. He never did. Late afternoon turned to early evening in the crowded pews of Brotherhood of All Nations Church of God i
I receive regular updates from “In the Public Interest” and find them to be very valuable. I learn about privatization of schools, prisons, libraries, and virtually everything else that is usually considered to be public. I urge you to sign up and receive updates. Unlike my blog, their emails are typically once a week or once every two weeks, aggregating many stories from across the nation. In th
Bill Phillis writes about Ohio’s connection to the biggest charter school heist in history (so far): More about the STEAM charters that have connections with the individuals indicted in California for an $80 million charter fraud Five STEAM charters were “licensed” to operate in Ohio. Two of them, sponsored by Ohio Council of Community Schools, closed after a short period (2 years for one a
Haha, the charter industry keeps intoning over and over that charter schools are not public schools, but of course they are not. They are private schools that receive public funding and want more of it every year. David Osborne, one of the loudest cheerleaders for charters, wrote in the Washington Post that charter schools are indeed private schools, and that is what makes them so fabulous. It se
The Brown decision of 1954 marked the beginning of a dramatic transition in American society. I attended segregated public schools in Houston. I remember segregated buses and water fountains marked “white” and “colored.” I remember the social codes that required black peoples to enter through the back door, never the front door. I remember segregated movie theaters, public swimming pools, beaches
This article in Education Week by two researchers—Joanne Golann and Mira Debs—ask why leaders of “no-excuses” charter schools think that children of color need harsh discipline. They interview parents and discover what they really want: As researchers who have taught in and studied these schools, we found that parents’ attitudes were not that simple. The Black and Latino parents we interviewed in
One of the most valuable sites online is KnowYourCharter in Ohio. This post lays out the waste of taxpayer dollars gobbled up by charters. Time to close the spigot of money going down the drain in Ohio, leeched away from public schools to fatten charter operators. Ohio has long been a hotbed of for-profit charter schools. While Ohio requires that all charter schools be technically non-profit, Ohi