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 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG 
A site to discuss better education for all



Kentucky: Charter Schools Will Harm Public Schools and End Local Control
Tina Bojanowski is a teacher who ran for the Kentucky legislature after the teachers’ strike and won. She is the only active teacher serving in the legislature. Right now, the legislature is debating whether to fund new charter schools. Tina wrote the following opinion piece . It does make you wonder when the Republican Party turned against local control, which they once championed. I can testify

YESTERDAY

John Merrow: “Parent Rights” and the War on Public Schools
By now, we have observed that the Koch-Walton-DeVos oligarchs take every opportunity to undermine public confidence in public schools. Wherever there is an organized attack on public schools and their teachers, it’s a safe bet that there’s dark money from libertarian billionaires. John Merrow wrote recently about the new “parents rights” groups that have led the fight against public schools. His
Charleston: The Power of Parents and Communities Blocked Privatization
The following article describes a victory for parents and communities, which blocked a privatization plan to close 23 schools. It appeared on “Parent Voices for Public Schools,” which is sponsored by the Network for Public Education. What’s the best way to improve public education? That question, hotly contested in communities across the country, has prompted an intense debate in Charleston, SC,
Steven Singer: How I Teach about the War in Ukraine
Steven Singer is an experienced English Language Arts teacher in Pennsylvania. In this post, he shows how he created a lesson about Ukraine and linked it to Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade.” He writes: How does one teach about war? With pictures or words? With speeches or documentation? With prayers or curses? With laughter or tears? I began my class like I always do – with a question . “

MAR 10

Chalkbeat: TFA Continues Decline in Numbers
Chalkbeat reports that Teach for America will field the smallest number of recruits in 15 years. The organization expects to place just under 2,000 teachers in schools across the country this coming fall. That’s just two-thirds of the number of first-year teachers TFA placed in schools in fall 2019, and just one-third of the number it sent into the field at its height in 2013. The latest drops ar
Eric Blanc Reports on the Minneapolis Teachers’ Strike
Eric Blanc wrote a book about the teachers’ strikes titled Red State Revolt: The Teachers’ Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics . He is in Minneapolis now covering the teachers’ strike that started last Tuesday. He writes in The Nation: Thousands of educators are on strike in Minneapolis, two years into a pandemic that has pushed public education to a breaking point across the country. With the
No More Hot Air About Swedish Schools!
Sweden is debating the effects of its program for school privatization, which began under a conservative government in 1992. The following article, translated from Swedish, was written by Lars Anell. Anell is an economist with a degree from the Stockholm School of Economics. He has worked at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was head of the development agency SAREC 1
New Hampshire: Pro-Public Education Candidates Sweep School Board Elections!
Tuesday’s school board election in New Hampshire was a triumph for parents and citizens who love their public schools ! This must have shocked Republican Governor Chris Sununu, the Republican-controlled legislature, and State Commissioner Frank Edelblut, who home-schooled his own children and is pushing a sweeping voucher plan for the state. AfterGlenn Youngkin was elected Governor of Virginia by

MAR 09

Fiona Hill Explains Why Putin Invaded Ukraine
You may remember Fiona Hill. She was the nonpartisan Russia expert on the National Security Council who testified in Trump’s first impeachment trial. Politico interviewed her at length soon after Putin invaded Ukraine. Hill provides interesting political and historical insights into why Putin invaded Ukraine. She has been observing both Russia and Ukraine for many years, as well as Putin. Hill sa
New Study Shows Value of Masks in Schools
Education Week reported a new study that confirms the value of masking during the pandemic. Mask requirements still offer one of the strongest tools to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in schools, say new studies. The findings come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from a nationwide study published this morning in the journal Pediatrics. They land as the latest pandemic wave reced
Wyoming: GOP Legislators Want to Defund Gender Studies in Higher Education
Now that Republican state legislatures have had their way imposing their personal views on what may or may not be taught in the public schools, they are taking aim at what may be taught in state universities. In Wyoming, the legislature wants to defund gender studies. Legislation to defund gender and women’s studies at the University of Wyoming has stoked faculty fears about how far lawmakers wil

MAR 08

Jennifer Berkshire: The Rightwing War Against the Woke in Elite Private Schools
Jennifer Berkshire writes powerfully in The Forum about the outraged parents of students at elite private schools who want to squash critical race theory and anything that smacks of liberalism. Bret Stephens had come to Boston’s historic Copley Plaza Hotel bearing an ominous warning: Illiberalism is on the march, and free speech is under siege. As it happens, his claim was borne out by the growin
Dark Money Funded the Campaign Against School Closures and Masking
David Sirota, investigative journalist, former speechwriter for Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and writer of the hit film “Don’t Look Up,” recently launched a blog called The Daily Poster. It’s well worth your time to read and to support The Daily Poster. This important post by Walker Bragman and Alex Kotch documents the Koch money behind the campaign to get schools open, regardless of th

MAR 07

Minneapolis: Union Plans Strike on Tuesday
For Immediate Release March 7, 2022 Contact: Natasha Dockter Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals natasha.dockter@gmail.com 651-387-5681 Minneapolis educators to strike Tuesday for safe and stable schools MINNEAPOLIS , March 7, 2022 – The educators of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers and Education Support Professionals will go on strike Tuesday for the safe
Virginia: Collective Bargaining Rights Survive Rightwing Assault
Thanks for Donald Cohen of “In the Public Interest” for drawing my attention to this important victory in Virginia. Members of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) mobilized to repeal an attack on their newly-won right to bargain collectively as a union. Unions offer a path to a secure middle-class existence. We need them now more than ever. AFSCME members in Vir
Chris Hayes: Why Putin Did Not Invade Ukraine Sooner
Chris Hayes explains Putin’s strategy in Ukraine. He identifies Putin’s enablers in the U.S., starting with Paul Manafort, who reaped millions as a lobbyist for Ukraine’s pro-Putin president. This is a must-watch.
Leonie Haimson: Legislative Hearings on Mayoral Control of NYC Schools Were “the Best Ever”
Leonie Haimson watched five hours of a legislative hearing about mayoral control of the NYC public schools. She writes that it was “the best ever” because legislators asked tough questions and did not accept the party line from the Chancellor, who was appointed by the new mayor Eric Adams, who naturally wants mayoral control. Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed a four-year extension of mayoral con
Naomi Klein: What Putin, Trump, and the Truckers Have in Common
Naomi Klein writes at The Intercept about the common thread that links Trumpism, the “Freedom Convoys,” and Putin: nostalgia for the past. NOSTALGIA FOR EMPIRE is what seems to drive Vladimir Putin — that and a desire to overcome the shame of punishing economic shock therapy imposed on Russia at the end of the Cold War. Nostalgia for American “greatness” is part of what drives the movement Donald
Peter Greene: History Is a Conversation, Not a Recitation
Many state legislatures have passed laws banning the teaching of “critical race theory,” even though most legislators don’t know what it is. Many have banned the use of “The 1619 Project,” which puts the African-American experience at the center of U.S. history. Many have prohibited teaching “divisive concepts,” which presumably means anything controversial. The people passing these laws say they

MAR 06

Heather Cox Richardson on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Heather Cox Richardson is a historian who blogs regularly, putting current events into perspective. She does not mention here that Putin has clamped down on critics inside Russia. The independent media established after the fall of the USSR have been closed down, both broadcast and print. It is now illegal to report accurately what is happening. Government censors have warned all remaining media
The Guardian: Kremlin Papers Seem to Show Putin Role in 2016 Election
Millions of words have been written about whether Putin interfered in the2016 election to help Trump. The matter will be debated for years to come, and I do not think the definitive answer has been revealed. Trump’s behavior while in office supported the belief that he was indebted to Putin. He was obsequious to Putin whenever they met. He always spoke admiringly about him and implied that they h
Umair Haque: Has World War III Started?
Umair Haque is a technologist and future thinker whose writings are insightful. A few days ago, he posted an article asserting that World War III has already started, and we are asleep. It is well worth your while to read this article in full. He argues that Putin has cleverly sowed dissension in the U.S., in the U.K., and in Europe. Based on new evidence, he believes that Putin helped Trump win
NEPC: School Choice Does Not Produce Equity
The National Education Policy Center reviewed a report about the relationship between school choice and equity. Basically, equity is an afterthought, not a goal. Rhetorically, school choice advocates regularly claim that these policies advance equity. Yet a new research report of school choice policies in five geographically and demographically diverse states found that equity has been little mor

MAR 05

Peter Greene: The Panic Comes for Dolly Parton
You won’t believe this. Peter Greene sums it up in a hilarious/sad post. Dolly Parton created a foundation to give free books to children 0-5. A committee of the Kentucky State Senate was discussing whether to partner with Dolly’s Imagination Library. One of the senators —Stephen Meredith—expressed concern with the term “age appropriate.” He thought it might be code for something bad, like indoct
New York City: Unions, Parents Sue to Block New Charter That Busts State Cap
Like most states, New York has a limit (a “cap”) on the total number of charters permitted to open in New York State and in New York City. The state cap is 460 charters. The city cap is 242 (included in the state total). The charter lobby has urged an increase in the number allowed, because there is no room for growth. Recently, the State University of New York authorized a new charter high schoo
After So Much Charter Failure and Fraud, Why Do State Legislatures Open More of Them?
I have always been puzzled by the indifference of state and federal legislators to widespread failure and fraud in the charter sector. The same mystery shrouds the decisions of the billionaires who keep pouring new money into new charters. No matter how many of the charters fail and close their doors, no matter how many of their founders are convicted of embezzlement or padding enrollment, no mat
Missouri: TFA-led Charter School Under $$$ Scrutiny
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a front-page story about the financial shenanigans associated with a charter school founded by two TFA teachers (one of whom was the son of the former mayor). The school has a large number of uncertified teachers and an uncertified high school principal and boasts of its staff’s lack of credentials. Its teachers have a high attrition rate. And its academic pe

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all