Betsy DeVos’ Financial Disclosure Fails to Account for Divestiture of 24 Assets - CREW

Betsy DeVos’ Financial Disclosure Fails to Account for Divestiture of 24 Assets - CREW

BETSY DEVOS’ FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FAILS TO ACCOUNT FOR DIVESTITURE OF 24 ASSETS

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ Annual 2018 financial disclosure report, obtained by CREW last week, has not been certified by the Office of Government Ethics more than six months after it was filed and fails to document how or when she divested from twenty-four assets included in her ethics agreement.

Periodic transaction reports (PTRs)—which disclose purchases, sales, or exchanges over $1,000 made by the filer, their spouse, or dependent child—also show that the Secretary increased her controversial interest in Neurocore in 2017. This activity all points to lingering concerns about Secretary DeVos’ vast financial interests and highlights a weakness in financial disclosure laws that makes it difficult to assess whether officials are living up to their ethical requirements.

 Neurocore

The issues with Secretary DeVos’ financial disclosure report begin on its first page. Signalling that there may yet be problems with it, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has still not certified the report more than six months after it was filed and after it was amended twelve times in a two-month span. While we do not know what has prevented OGE from certifying the report, it is clear that there are problems with it beyond its lack of certification.

Though not required by her ethics agreement, Secretary DeVos failed to sell her controversial interest in Neurocore, a company that works with children and adults on brain diagnostics and treatment that CREW has previously discussed in a 2017 report. In fact, Secretary DeVos increased her interest in the company in 2017. PTRs show that Secretary DeVos made three purchases of Neurocore stock in 2017: one for between $1,000,001-$5,000,000 on 4/07/2017, another for between $250,001-$500,000 on 6/13/2017, and the third for between $1,000,001-$5,000,000 on 7/06/2017.

Her financial disclosure report shows that she holds between $5,000,001 and $25,000,000 of stock in the company. According to a New York Times article, an advertising-industry review board found in June 2018 that some of Neurocore’s claims “were based on mixed Continue reading: Betsy DeVos’ Financial Disclosure Fails to Account for Divestiture of 24 Assets - CREW

Dogged Advocates for Justice Protest Ohio State School Takeovers of Youngstown, Lorain, and East Cleveland | janresseger

Dogged Advocates for Justice Protest Ohio State School Takeovers of Youngstown, Lorain, and East Cleveland | janresseger

Dogged Advocates for Justice Protest Ohio State School Takeovers of Youngstown, Lorain, and East Cleveland

After January, John Kasich will no longer be governor of Ohio. House Bill 70, the law that paved the way for the Youngstown—and now Lorain and East Cleveland—school takeovers is the biggest stain on his legacy.  In gerrymandered Ohio, with huge legislative Republican majorities after the November 2018 election—62 Republicans and 37 Democrats in the Ohio House and 24 Republicans and 9 Democrats in the Ohio Senate—it remains unlikely that HB 70 will be overturned.

House Bill 70 prescribes that any Ohio school district which has received “F” grades for three years running on the state’s school district report card be managed by an appointed Academic Distress Commission instead of the locally elected school board. The state takeover law was sprung on an unsuspecting public at an afternoon hearing of the Senate Education Committee in late June of 2015, when Senate Education Committee chair Peggy Lehner introduced a 66-page amendment to a House bill which had already been moving forward with widespread popular support to expand wraparound full-service Community Learning Centers.  Senate Bill 70 was rushed through committee and passed by the full legislature within 24 hours. The amendment—which had been cooked up by Governor Kasich, then-state superintendent (and now discredited) Richard Ross, and Ross’s assistant, David Hansen, the husband of Governor Kasich’s chief of staff—fully changed the content of what had been House Bill 70 to enable the state to nullify the power of elected local school boards and insert state overseer Academic Distress Commissions, which appoint a CEO to run the district on behalf of the state.

Three years have passed.  Lorain joined Youngstown under state takeover, and now East Cleveland has been added.  In May of this year, northeast Ohio Democrats Kent Smith (whose district includes East Cleveland) and Teresa Fedor (Toledo) introduced HB 626 to overturn Ohio’s state takeover law.  The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram‘s Carissa Woytach explains: “The bill would suspend the creation of new academic distress commissions, keeping other failing Continue reading: Dogged Advocates for Justice Protest Ohio State School Takeovers of Youngstown, Lorain, and East Cleveland | janresseger

You Don't Have To Like It (Students Watch and Talk About Us, Anyways) | The Jose Vilson

You Don't Have To Like It (Students Watch and Talk About Us, Anyways) | The Jose Vilson

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE IT (STUDENTS WATCH AND TALK ABOUT US, ANYWAYS)

A few times a month, I’ll be on the whiteboard, jotting down examples for my lesson with my back turned to my students. The students find ways to distract themselves (while believing they have nothing to copy down along with me, but that’s another story). I let them rock until I’m turned back around and then they know it’s go time. Today, however, I took the opportunity to listen in when one student said: “School sucks.” I didn’t stop them. In fact, they went off for about two minutes and my ad libs were as follows:

“Oh, word?”
“Yo, for real.”
“Nah, I hear that.”
“Um, I can’t talk about that. When you graduate, I’ll holla. Not now, though.”
“No, not saying you’re not graduating, but yeah, that’s too old.”

We took our students’ feedback for granted. If you ever want to know how a school is doing, you don’t have to ask the adults. Ask them if you wish. Well, most of them. Look at the reports and the jumble of quantitative data on any number of Excel spreadsheets. You don’t even have to necessarily visit the school, though that’s my #2 indicator, really. We could visit a school, get a peek at the gorgeous bulletin boards, and lay out gridded curriculum early and often. We can look at the accolades splayed near the entrance and the artwork on the walls. We can check the website with its responsive design and glossy photos, too.

And, if you want to know how a school’s doing, ask the students.

Our society vastly undervalues student opinion as a matter of course. In the way of efficiency and so-called rigidity, we continually push for institutions that force schooling upon students, not education Continue reading: You Don't Have To Like It (Students Watch and Talk About Us, Anyways) | The Jose Vilson

Changing One’s Mind about School Reform | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Changing One’s Mind about School Reform | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Changing One’s Mind about School Reform

The following post is an encore published nearly seven years ago. I have updated and added sections to it.

A few years ago, Diane Ravitch told (The Death and Life of the Great American School System) of her recent switch from championing school reforms (testing, accountability, and choice) as a federal policymaker, educational historian, and pundit to rejecting these policies. Ravitch’s turnaround got me thinking about what I had believed earlier in my career and believe now sixty years later.

I began teaching high school in 1955 filled with the passion to teach history to youth and help them find their niche in the world while making a better society. At that time, I believed wholeheartedly in words taken from John Dewey’s “Pedagogic Creed” (1897): “… education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform.”

And I tried to practice those utopian words in my teaching in Cleveland (OH) and Washington, D.C. between the early 1960s and mid-1970s. While in retrospect I could easily call this faith in the power of teaching and schooling to make a better life and society naïve, I do not. That passionate idealism about teaching and the role that schooling plays in a democratic, market-driven society gave meaning and drive to those long days working as a teacher, getting married, starting a family, and taking university classes at night.

That confident belief in the power of schools to reform society took me to Washington, D.C. in 1963 to teach Peace Corps returnees how to become teachers at Cardozo High School. I stayed nearly a decade in D.C. teaching and Continue reading: Changing One’s Mind about School Reform | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: Florida Contemplates Putting Fox In Charge of Hen House

CURMUDGUCATION: Florida Contemplates Putting Fox In Charge of Hen House

Florida Contemplates Putting Fox In Charge of Hen House

As a legislator in Florida (Motto: Why sell swampland when you can just rob schools), Richard Corcoran was determined to make sure that public tax dollars were directed to enriching private school operators at public school expense.

Sorry about your future, kid

Corcoran pushed the Schools of Hope program, a program that allows charters to prey directly on public schools. And after asking charter operators how exactly they'd like this gift wrapped, he gave them the power to tap into public school tax dollars for building expenses. And he put the whole crappy mess in a legislative package designed to hide the smell of his money-grab. Corcoran has been at the front of the pack opening up Florida to all manner of profiteering with not just charters but vouchers, tax credit scholarships-- you name it and Florida not only has it, but has more of it than any other state. Meanwhile, his wife is a charter school operator.

Corcoran tried running for governor and failed, so he could use a job, and it looks as if he might have one lined up-- state high commissioner of education.

This comes on the heels of the announcement that the House education committee will be headed by Jennifer Sullivan, a woman who is spectacularly unqualified even by Florida standards. The 27-year-old was homeschooled and may or may not have picked up a few credits at a Christian college. That's right-- the head of the House committee that oversees Florida's schools has never actually attended one. And she loves choice.

So why not give Corcoran the top spot? Florida's legislature seems determined to completely Continue reading: CURMUDGUCATION: Florida Contemplates Putting Fox In Charge of Hen House

2017 Financials of the Koch’s Dark Money Network

2017 Financials of the Koch’s Dark Money Network

2017 Financials of the Koch’s Dark Money Network
The Koch network: as powerful as ever

Charles and David Koch maintain an extensive, powerful network of nonprofit organizations to further their libertarian and conservative ideological values.

Four nonprofits at the crux of the network — the Charles Koch Institute, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Freedom Partners — bring in millions each year to further the Koch brothers’ agendas.

The brothers, who own Koch Industries, are known for supporting conservative policies, such as President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax policy overhaul and environmental regulation rollbacks.

Aside from the Charles Koch Institute, these groups made and spent less money last year compared to 2016, according to new tax returns obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Despite prohibitions from making politics their primary purpose, many politically active 501(c) nonprofit organizations’ spending follows a pattern of jumping during election years and dropping precipitously during off-years — giving the appearance of being political organizations without ever having to disclose who is funding their activities.

Charles Koch Institute

The Charles Koch Institute, the arm of the Koch network that funds educational and research programs, experienced a massive increase in revenue between 2016 and 2017. The Institute got a cash infusion of $55 million in 2017, more than triple the $16.9 million it made in 2016.

Even though the Institute is a public charity, it is behaving more like a private foundation relying on the whims of one donor or a small pool of donors and doesn’t solicit donations from the public, said Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor from Ohio State University.

It also means that as a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Institute’s spending is more restricted compared to the Koch’s other 501(c)s. The organization needs to focus on Continue reading: 2017 Financials of the Koch’s Dark Money Network

The Charter School Shell Game | Inweekly

The Charter School Shell Game | Inweekly

The Charter School Shell Game

By Duwayne Escobedo

Marcus May’s greed had no limits. Two 45-foot yachts. Jet ski. Maserati and Triumph cars. Multiple houses for himself and a house for his mother. Exotic trips. Rolex watch and other jewelry.

In the end, May, the founder of Newpoint Education Partners charter school, robbed the school districts of Escambia, Bay, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties for a grand total of $5,216,856.15, according to court documents.

For his scheme to defraud school systems and support his celebrity-like lifestyle, May was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay back all the money he stole as well as $93,357.73 in court costs.

May wore handcuffs and an orange Escambia County Jail jumpsuit and showed no emotion throughout the court proceeding and during his fingerprinting. His Orlando defense attorney, Joseph Flynn, raised no objections.

Escambia County Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar Jr. admonished the 56-year-old May for jilting funds from children and taxpayers.

“The education of our young shouldn’t be taken away for pure greed,” Edgar said in the courtroom.

Escambia County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Dannheisser took his comments a step further during the sentencing. The judge blamed Continue reading: The Charter School Shell Game | Inweekly

21st-Century Education Policy Enters Its Afternoon Rerun Stage - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week

21st-Century Education Policy Enters Its Afternoon Rerun Stage - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week

21st-Century Education Policy Enters Its Afternoon Rerun Stage

It's good to be back. While I was on blog break, talking about my new Bush-Obama School Reformvolume and reading the post-election education policy punditry, I was struck by something: 21st-century education policy has staggered into its afternoon rerun stage.

This reference would've made intuitive sense a few years ago but may feel a bit dated today, so I'll explain. Traditionally, hit television shows went through a few stages: The early excitement when they offered fresh plots, developed a fan base, and caught fire. The hit years, when the storylines were gripping, new episodes a big deal, and the stars omnipresent. The slow decline, as ratings sagged, the narrative got stale, and fans tuned out increasingly desperate plot twists.

And then, finally, there was the afternoon rerun stage—when a once-beloved show wound up in syndication on TBS, its intro and closing sequences compressed to allow for more commercials, the naughtier bits trimmed out, and episodes often aired out of sequence. Of course, by this point, the scarred episodes and scrambled plotting wouldn't much matter, because the whole thing was mostly wallpaper—something to have in the background while tapping away on a laptop or waiting in an auto repair shop.

Well, after years of prime-time play with Oprah, "Education Nation" glitz, State of the Union applause lines, and political relevance, 21st-century education policy has reached its rerun stage. How can we tell?

The magazine-cover names have left the show, and the stand-ins simply don't draw the attention or adulation that greeted the heyday cast. (Heck, Washington, D.C., can't find anyone who wants to be superintendent.) After more than 15 years of "meh" results, viewers have tuned out. Most tellingly, Continue reading: 21st-Century Education Policy Enters Its Afternoon Rerun Stage - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week

New York Times Exposes Louisiana School’s 100-Percent-College-Acceptance Lie, and More | deutsch29

New York Times Exposes Louisiana School’s 100-Percent-College-Acceptance Lie, and More | deutsch29

New York Times Exposes Louisiana School’s 100-Percent-College-Acceptance Lie, and More

If you read about a school with a 100-percent college acceptance rate for its grads, keep in mind that one of the surest ways to achieve such astounding results is to lie– to whip up fictitious student success stories that include a horrid home life and a string of glowing achievements that shows that these students Beat the Odds.

Such is apparently the tack of the husband and wife leadership at a Louisiana private school, T.M. Landry, an unaccredited (i.e., the state does not recognize the diplomas) private school held in a warehouse-styled building with an interior that is little more than an unfinished, open area with some white boards and a scattering of tables and chairs.

T.M. Landry is unaccredited, but what does that matter if its graduates are accepted into top-tier postsecondary institutions, right?

Well.

One of the problems with publicizing false success is that such Beat the Odds stories draw the attention of the media– media like the New York Times.

Either the story holds up– the school produces miraculous results (quite a story)– or the story falls apart and is shown to be fraud on fraud (also quite a story).

Unfortunately, the T.M. Landry fraud also includes evidence of physical and emotional abuse.

From the November 30, 2018, New York Times:

BREAUX BRIDGE, La. — Bryson Sassau’s application would inspire any college admissions officer.

A founder of T.M. Landry College Preparatory School described him as a “bright, energetic, compassionate and genuinely well-rounded” student whose alcoholic father had beaten him and his mother and had denied them money for food and shelter. His transcript “speaks for itself,” the Continue reading: New York Times Exposes Louisiana School’s 100-Percent-College-Acceptance Lie, and More | deutsch29

Badass Teachers Association: Solidarity with #UTLAStrong ! #TBATs #StrikeReady #kidsdeserveit #marchforpubliced #WeAreCTA @WeAreCTA

Badass Teachers Association: Solidarity with #UTLAStrong!
Solidarity with #UTLAStrong!

Things are heating up in Los Angeles...and we are paying close attention!

We have mentioning the contract campaign that UTLA has been running since we first spoke with UTLA leadership this summer. What first sparked our interest in this contract campaign was how UTLA went about developing the demands for their contract proposals. The development of their demands was done with the inclusion of what community members wanted to see in Los Angeles schools, not just salary and benefit demands. Utilizing what is known as bargaining for the common good, LA brought forth a list of contract demands that have not been seen in educational spaces in a long time.

Give Kids a Chance: https://www.utla.net/campaigns-issues/campaigns/give-kids-chance

UTLA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTLAnow/

UTLA Twitter: https://twitter.com/utlanow

To learn more about bargaining for the common good, check out this resource from Labor Notes! http://www.labornotes.org/2016/02/seven-steps-opening-bargaining

But the fight that Los Angeles is facing goes even deeper than just a contract battle. UTLA is standing up against strong forces that are working hard to take over the school district. Led by millionaire superintendent Austin Beutner, a portfolio model is being pushed into Los Angeles Unified School District under the misleading campaign of “Great Public Schools Now.” But, as we have seen in other cities like Newark, Indianapolis, and New Orleans this is just a neoliberal reform that brings in charter schools, undermines union power, and reduces local control.

Read more about portfolio schools at https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2017/12/06/a-portfolio-of-schools-how-a-nationwide-effort-to-disrupt-urban-school-districts-is-gaining-traction

As we watch things roll out in Los Angeles, another notable thing is happening, educators all over California are rising to the call for solidarity.

Battles are also being fought in Oakland (Interesting how these fights are in large communities of color…) From OPEN; “After suffering 2 years of budget cuts and with almost 30% of Oakland's students now attending charter school's Oakland’s school board is poised to pass Continue reading: Badass Teachers Association: Solidarity with #UTLAStrong!

Big Education Ape: Wow.This full page ad in today's @latimes by @UTLAnow. Fighting for public education. #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady #kidsdeserveit #marchforpubliced #WeAreCTA @WeAreCTA - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/12/wowthis-full-page-ad-in-todays-latimes.html

Big Education Ape: Time’s 2018 Person of the Year? How about the American teacher? - The Washington Post -http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/12/times-2018-person-of-year-how-about.html

The LAUSD Widget Factory

The LAUSD Widget Factory

The LAUSD Widget Factory

All in all, you’re just another brick in the wall”

– Roger Waters

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) School Experience Survey is an opportunity for parents and guardians to grade the District’s performance. Included in this questionnaire are important statements  such as “Reports of bullying are taken seriously at this school” and “This school encourages my child to explore different career choices.” These apply to all students and are benchmarks on which all schools deserve to be judged.

Under a section reserved for parents of students in sixth to twelfth grades, the focus turns to preparation for life after high school.  Unfortunately, these statements seem to assume that all students will head off to college. If District schools are judged on a benchmark of “School staff expect my child to attend college”, will they bother to pay attention to children who have other plans? Will educators who present different paths to interested students be punished by their supervisors who judge them only on their performance in fulfilling the approved mission? Is a high school diploma nothing more than an admission card to collegiate life?

In the past, public schools had a different problem when they pushed students away from college based on their race or station in life. However, the atonement for this sin should not result in students who CHOOSE other career paths to be made to feel inferior. All students who are capable should be given an education that allows them the opportunity to continue on to college. However, a complete education should also present every Continue reading: The LAUSD Widget Factory

Wow.This full page ad in today's @latimes by @UTLAnow. Fighting for public education. #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady #kidsdeserveit #marchforpubliced #WeAreCTA @WeAreCTA

Wow.This full page ad in today's @latimes by @UTLAnow

Big Education Ape: Time’s 2018 Person of the Year? How about the American teacher? - The Washington Post - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/12/times-2018-person-of-year-how-about.html

Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole | Capital & Main #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady #kidsdeserveit #marchforpubliced #WeAreCTA @WeAreCTA

Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole | Capital & Main

Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole
Doris Fisher and her family have quietly become among the largest political funders of charter school efforts in the country. Much of her money goes to promoting pro-charter school candidates and organizations.

As co-founder of the Gap, San Francisco-based business leader and philanthropist Doris Fisher boasts a net worth of $2.7 billion, making her the country’s eighth-richest self-made woman, according to Forbes. And she’s focused much of her wealth and resources on building charter schools. She and her late husband Donald donated more than $70 million to the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) and helped to personally build the operation into the largest network of charter schools in the country, with 224 schools serving nearly 100,000 students in 20 states. Doris’ son John serves as the chairman of KIPP’s board of directors.

Doris’ passion for charter schools also fuels her political donations. While not as well-known as other deep-pocketed charter school advocates like Eli Broad and the Walton family (heirs to the Walmart fortune), Fisher and her family have quietly become among the largest political funders of charter school efforts in the country. Fisher contributed $5.6 million to state political campaigns between 2013 and 2016, and much of her money goes to promoting pro-charter school candidates and organizations. While often labelled a Republican, she gives to Democrats and Republicans alike, just as long as they’re supportive of the charter school movement.

So far for this election cycle she’s spent more than $3.1 million on the political action committee of charter school advocacy group EdVoice, which is backing pro-charter candidate Marshall Tuck for superintendent of public instruction in California. Tuck is running against Assemblymember Tony Thurmond in what has become the most expensive race ever for state school superintendent. Supporters of Tuck have raised far more than those of Thurmond, with more than a two-to-one advantage. Thurmond’s largest source of support is teachers unions. (Disclosure: The teachers unions supporting Thurmond are financial supporters of this website.)

Fisher’s philanthropic and political efforts are not as straightforward as simply promoting education, however. Recent investigations have found that she’s used dark-money networks to funnel funds into California campaign initiatives that many say targeted teachers and Continue reading: Doris Fisher: Down the Dark Money Rabbit Hole | Capital & Main

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Here's December Edition (12/2)

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Here's December Edition (12/2)

ICYMI: Here's December Edition (12/2)

Oh, that month again. Here's some reading from the week. Remember to pass along what speaks to you.

Common Core Creator Slammed Reading Teachers for Having a Research Gap-- How Ironic

Nancy Bailey sounds the irony alert on a critique of teachers and research.

Why New Educators Resent "Reformers".

Let's hear from the newest generation teachers-- the ones who grew up with reformster policies shaping their education.

Algorithms Ate My Homework

A new-to-me blogger talks about machine scoring and standardized testing. And there's a cartoon.

DeVos Sides With For Profit Colleges.  

Jan Resseger takes a look at one of Betsy DeVos's more recent bad decisions.

Paul Pastorak

The indispensable Mercedes Schneider takes a look at reformster Paul Pastorak. It's a long read, but it not only serves as a warning to Puerto Rico, but yet another case study of how these guys network and just keep falling upward.

Cultivating Kindness In An Unkind World.

An interesting classroom experiment, and some thoughts on kindness and narcissism.

Can We Get School Accountability Policy Right

Deven Carlson says no, and he gives two reasons why not. 



CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Here's December Edition (12/2)

Education Rebranders | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Education Rebranders | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Education Rebranders

For the past ten years, there have been two ‘sides’ in the debate over how to best improve schools in this country.

On one side, you had people like Michelle Rhee, Jeb Bush, Bill Gates, Arne Duncan, Mike Bloomberg, and Rahm Emanuel.  On the other side, you had people like Randi Weingarten, Diane Ravitch, Deborah Meier, and Leonie Haimson.

Both groups had ideas of how to best reform education.  The first group favored things like charter schools, test based accountability for schools and teachers, and, for some of them, vouchers.  The second group favored things like increased funding and reducing class size.

Though both groups wanted to reform, only the first group claimed the name ‘reformers.’  That first group also branded the other group with various negative monikers such as ‘status quo defenders.’  The ‘reformers’ were rich and organized and they came out with the movie ‘Waiting For Superman’ and they got Michelle Rhee on Oprah and there was really no way to take the name ‘reformer’ away from them, even though the other group wanted reform too, just of a different variety.  Some rich hedge-funders started Democrats For Education Reform and suddenly people who knew absolutely nothing about education, like Whitney Tilson, were influencing politicians including former President Obama.

The ‘reformers’ had a pretty good run.  From about 2008 until just recently ‘reformers’ had their way.  With Race To The Top they got states to invent complicated, though supposedly objective, ways to measure teacher quality by analyzing standardized test scores.  Bill Gates funded many studies to show that this was working.  But after ten years, it became clear that the ‘reformers’ didn’t really know much about improving education and maybe they didn’t deserve to have the steering wheel anymore.

But people don’t give up power easily.  So they changed their strategy.  They ditched the Continue reading: Education Rebranders | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents

Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents

Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents

It’s the use of only technology in education without qualified teachers that is the concern. It’s “tech without teachers” and without public school buildings, a sense of community, student socializing, and the misuse of data collected on children that keep parents and teachers up at night!

The problem is that there is a concerted effort underway to transform public schools and put students on digital devices for all of their learning. This disruption will mean the end of public education and teaching. It will mean nonstop testing and data collection on children.

Tech companies must convince teachers and parents that technology is best. They do this with language. Below is a collection of words used to sell technology over teaching.

Students will learn on their own at home or in nonprofit or private facilities, or they will attend charters like Summit and Rocketship which are online schools.

There is no proof that students will learn best only with technology and no teachers. 

This idea of “nothing but tech” is being sold to teachers and parents as the best way to Continue reading: Vocabulary Used to Sell Technology to Teachers and Parents

Top Posts This Week 12/1/18 #REDFORED

Top Posts This Week 12/1/18

• 

  Top Posts This Week 11/24/18 #REDFORED
• 

  A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog
• 

  This Week In Trump's 'Alternative Facts' : NPR
• 

  What’s Behind the Chan Zuckerberg (CZI) Push for “Brain Science?”
• 

  CURMUDGUCATION: Trump, Apple, but No Teacher
• 

  CURMUDGUCATION: The Factory, The Computer, and the Marketing Problem
• 

  Badass Teachers Association: Just say #NoTFA!!
• 

  ACLU appeals use of public tax dollars for private schools
• 

  Bullying, Suicide, and Murder | The Merrow Report
• 

  This week in charter school scandals - YouTube

Posts This Week 12/1/18

TODAY

Hakeem Jeffries, a DFER Democrat, Joins the Party Leadership | Diane Ravitch's blog

by mike simpson / 54min

Hakeem Jeffries, a DFER Democrat, Joins the Party Leadership | Diane Ravitch's blog Hakeem Jeffries, a DFER Democrat, Joins the Party Leadership Rachel Cohen writes that the elevation of Hakeem Jeffries to chair of the Democratic House Caucus is a huge victory for the pro-charter school group Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), the hedge fund managers who control large campaign contributions.

The Persistence Of Segregated Schools - 1A

by mike simpson / 1h

The Persistence Of Segregated Schools - 1A The Persistence Of Segregated Schools Thousands of students, parents and educators rally in Brooklyn demanding an end to what they describe as separate and unequal education in New York City schools on October 7, 2015 in New York City. SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES Over the weekend, The Jackson Free Press reported that Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith attended and

Time’s 2018 Person of the Year? How about the American teacher? - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 2h

Time’s 2018 Person of the Year? How about the American teacher? - The Washington Post Time’s 2018 Person of the Year? How about the American teacher? President Trump has said he can’t imagine anyone but himself as Time magazine’s Person of the Year. I can. In the past, Time has made entire groups of people the winner. In 2003, it was “The American Soldier,” honoring U.S. troops around the world,

Paul Pastorek Is Positioned to Charterize Puerto Rico. Who Is This Guy, Anyway? | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 2h

Paul Pastorek Is Positioned to Charterize Puerto Rico. Who Is This Guy, Anyway? | deutsch29 Paul Pastorek Is Positioned to Charterize Puerto Rico. Who Is This Guy, Anyway? The Puerto Rican Department of Education has decided to contract with former Louisiana state ed superintendent, Paul Pastorek, at $250 an hour ($155,000 max) for assistance that includes soliciting the US Department of Educatio

Review and Preview Thurmond v Tuck | tultican

by mike simpson / 2h

Review and Preview Thurmond v Tuck | tultican Review and Preview Thurmond v Tuck This year’s biggest election win in California was for the down-ballot office, Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). Tony Thurmond defeated Marshall Tuck in a proxy battle between billionaires supporting public school privatization and teachers’ unions fighting for democratically run neighborhood schools. More

CURMUDGUCATION: Common Core Testing And The Fracturing Of Literature

by mike simpson / 3h

CURMUDGUCATION: Common Core Testing And The Fracturing Of Literature Common Core Testing And The Fracturing Of Literature The Common Core Standards do not require reading complete long works of literature. Even by the time we arrive at the 11th and 12th grade set of standards for reading literature , the standards only refer to "stories, dramas, and poems." There are, throughout the standards, re

Billionaire Heiress Lashes Out at Unions Because Her Fortune Didn’t Buy Election | gadflyonthewallblog

by mike simpson / 3h

Billionaire Heiress Lashes Out at Unions Because Her Fortune Didn’t Buy Election | gadflyonthewallblog Billionaire Heiress Lashes Out at Unions Because Her Fortune Didn’t Buy Election Betsy DeVos is furious! She and her family spent boatloads of money this election cycle and few of their candidates won. Instead, lawmakers were largely selected by these things called… ew… voters. She was so enrage

Educator Discussions That Avoid “The Problem” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by mike simpson / 3h

Educator Discussions That Avoid “The Problem” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice Educator Discussions That Avoid “The Problem” In 1942, Paul Diederich, senior research associate at Educational Testing Service, wrote “The Light Touch: 27 Ways to Run Away from an Educational Problem” for Progressive Education. He wrote this piece after being part of intense discussions with hundr

YESTERDAY

The Nation’s First Major Charter School Strike Is Brewing in Chicago – Mother Jones

by mike simpson / 23h

The Nation’s First Major Charter School Strike Is Brewing in Chicago – Mother Jones The Nation’s First Major Charter School Strike Is Brewing in Chicago “We’ve had less rights, less pay, and less benefits. At the end of the day, these are our schools.” For the last five years, Martha Baumgarten has taught fifth-graders at Carlos Fuentes Elementary School, a charter school on Chicago’s North Side.

Louisiana: The “Miracle School” That Was a Fraud | Diane Ravitch's blog

by mike simpson / 1d

Louisiana: The “Miracle School” That Was a Fraud | Diane Ravitch's blog Louisiana: The “Miracle School” That Was a Fraud About five weeks ago, I read a story online about a small private school in Louisiana whose students had a 100% college entry rate and were admitted to America’s most selective colleges and universities. It was truly a miraculous school, said the story, because its students wer

Big Picture Learning: Priming Workforce Development for Impact Profit-Taking – Wrench in the Gears

by mike simpson / 1d

Big Picture Learning: Priming Workforce Development for Impact Profit-Taking – Wrench in the Gears Big Picture Learning: Priming Workforce Development for Impact Profit-Taking This post is the second in a Q&A exchange on social impact bonds and pay for success finance with UK blogger Privatising Schools . The focus of this post is Big Picture Learning. For additional background on Big Picture in

A Call to Modernize American Philanthropy | Schott Foundation for Public Education

by mike simpson / 1d

A Call to Modernize American Philanthropy | Schott Foundation for Public Education A Call to Modernize American Philanthropy The giving practices of rich magnates and foundations still suggest a colonial mind-set, the author of a new book argues, as he offers ideas for change. When America’s philanthropic and social sector were developed early in the 20th century, the design resembled elements of

DeVos Again Protects For-Profit Colleges and Federal Loan Servicing Contractor at Expense of Vulnerable Students | janresseger

by mike simpson / 1d

DeVos Again Protects For-Profit Colleges and Federal Loan Servicing Contractor at Expense of Vulnerable Students | janresseger DeVos Again Protects For-Profit Colleges and Federal Loan Servicing Contractor at Expense of Vulnerable Students Betsy DeVos once announced: “Government really sucks.” She doesn’t like government regulation, and she prefers to free up the marketplace. One of the best plac

NYC Public School Parents: Yet another legal complaint vs Success for violating students' civil rights - & this time, it's clear that DOE is culpable as well

by mike simpson / 1d

NYC Public School Parents: Yet another legal complaint vs Success for violating students' civil rights - & this time, it's clear that DOE is culpable as well Yet another legal complaint vs Success for violating students' civil rights - & this time, it's clear that DOE is culpable as well Advocates for Children filed a new complaint with the State Education Department about Success Academy’s failu

NOV 29

Faith in High Stakes Testing Fades, Even Among the Corporate School Reformers | janresseger

by mike simpson / 2d

Faith in High Stakes Testing Fades, Even Among the Corporate School Reformers | janresseger Faith in High Stakes Testing Fades, Even Among the Corporate School Reformers After a recent twenty-fifth anniversary conference at the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, Bothell—a Gates funded education-reformer think tank, Chalkbeat ‘s Matt Barnum summarized presentat

Common Core Creator Slammed Reading Teachers for Having a Research Gap—How Ironic

by mike simpson / 2d

Common Core Creator Slammed Reading Teachers for Having a Research Gap—How Ironic Common Core Creator Slammed Reading Teachers for Having a Research Gap—How Ironic Teachers have enough difficulties. Sometimes you find an article so full of hubris and irony it cannot be ignored. Several weeks ago, I criticized a series of reports about reading by journalist Emily Hanford. Hanford claimed teachers

CURMUDGUCATION: Trump, Apple, but No Teacher

by mike simpson / 2d

CURMUDGUCATION: Trump, Apple, but No Teacher Trump, Apple, but No Teacher Ivanka Trump, Czarina of Shiny Things, traveled to an Idaho school and took Tm Cook, Big Boss Apple, along with her, to contemplate the glossy beauty of post-teacher education. The Idaho Statesman covered her visit in severe detail (including coverage of an omelet she ate before leaving). The visit was intended to be quick

Where Do Teachers Get the Most Respect? - NEA Today

by mike simpson / 2d

Where Do Teachers Get the Most Respect? - NEA Today Where Do Teachers Get the Most Respect? How educators are respected in relation to other professions can be a key marker in determining their overall status in an individual country. In China and Malaysia, the teaching profession is often placed on par with doctors. In Finland, the public aligns teaching with social work. Other countries rank te

Bullying, Suicide, and Murder | The Merrow Report

by mike simpson / 2d

Bullying, Suicide, and Murder | The Merrow Report Bullying, Suicide, and Murder Last week in this space I connected the dots between bullying and the suicides and attempted suicides by children and adolescents, pointing out the close correlation between them. This week, I want to surface an equally grim reality: school shootings are also closely correlated with bullying. Fortunately, there are a

NOV 28

ACLU appeals use of public tax dollars for private schools

by mike simpson / 3d

ACLU appeals use of public tax dollars for private schools ACLU appeals public tax dollars for private schools The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, public education leaders and parent groups filed an appeal Tuesday asking the Michigan Supreme Court to rule the use of public tax dollars to fund private schools unconstitutional. Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan's deputy legal director, sai

DeVos: Teachers union has a ‘stranglehold’ on many federal, state politicians | TheHill

by mike simpson / 3d

DeVos: Teachers union has a ‘stranglehold’ on many federal, state politicians | TheHill DeVos: Teachers union has a ‘stranglehold’ on many federal, state politicians Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Tuesday ripped teachers unions across the country, saying they have a “stranglehold” over many federal and state officials and are resistant to “changes that need to happen.” “The teachers union

How Betsy DeVos Does the Koch Brothers’ Bidding | OurFuture.org by People's Action

by mike simpson / 3d

How Betsy DeVos Does the Koch Brothers’ Bidding | OurFuture.org by People's Action How Betsy DeVos Does the Koch Brothers’ Bidding While the serial outrages of the Trump administration continue to make headlines, the more mundane activities of his cabinet officials and their underlings often fly under the radar. Take U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, for instance, whose nomination drew a h

CURMUDGUCATION: When Is Personalized Learning Not Personalized Learning

by mike simpson / 3d

CURMUDGUCATION: When Is Personalized Learning Not Personalized Learning When Is Personalized Learning Not Personalized Learning Personalized Learning is a hot new brand in education, the Great New Thing that is going to revitalize education and elevate students to new levels of awesome. And yet, what is being pitched in many school districts is not personalized learning at all. When we hear the w

NOV 27

Former Louisiana schools chief Paul Pastorek gets Puerto Rico contract: report | nola.com

by mike simpson / 4d

Former Louisiana schools chief Paul Pastorek gets Puerto Rico contract: report | nola.com Former Louisiana schools chief Paul Pastorek gets Puerto Rico contract: report Louisiana’s former education superintendent has accepted a six-figure contract to revitalize the school system in Puerto Rico, Education Week reports. The website’s story comes from The Metro newspaper in Puerto Rico . The report,

What’s Behind the Chan Zuckerberg (CZI) Push for “Brain Science?”

by mike simpson / 4d

What’s Behind the Chan Zuckerberg (CZI) Push for “Brain Science?” What’s Behind the Chan Zuckerberg (CZI) Push for “Brain Science?” It doesn’t matter how much trouble Mark Zuckerberg might appear to be in with Facebook, he and his wife still find time to mess with education and give elitist advice to teachers. Their latest initiative is to claim teachers need to learn brain science . They’re dona

Teacher-Led Schools: The Mouse and Hippo | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by mike simpson / 4d

Teacher-Led Schools: The Mouse and Hippo | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice Teacher-Led Schools: The Mouse and Hippo Groups of teachers founding charters, taking over failing schools, or simply creating different ones is a smart idea. It is worthwhile and needs much support to spread since teachers can design, implement, and administer such schools as well as if not better than

Teach for America Is Looking for a Lobbyist. Interested? | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 4d

Teach for America Is Looking for a Lobbyist. Interested? | deutsch29 Teach for America Is Looking for a Lobbyist. Interested? On November 15, 2018, Teach for America (TFA) posted this Linkedin job listing for a government affairs manager (in other words, a lobbyist). Though TFA is fine with putting inexperienced college grads in classrooms as temp teachers following a five-week sneeze of *trainin

Brooklyn students fight against the Summit online platform and the Zuckerberg-Gates corporate machine | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

by mike simpson / 4d

Brooklyn students fight against the Summit online platform and the Zuckerberg-Gates corporate machine | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy BROOKLYN STUDENTS FIGHT AGAINST THE SUMMIT ONLINE PLATFORM AND THE ZUCKERBERG-GATES CORPORATE MACHINE Update: this David vs. Goliath story with national implications was reported also on Fast Company , Business Insider, EdSurge , and NY Magazine . The Washin

Group tied to charter school backers spent thousands in Va. school board election - Network For Public Education

by mike simpson / 4d

Group tied to charter school backers spent thousands in Va. school board election - Network For Public Education Group tied to charter school backers spent thousands in Va. school board election By Debbie Truong November 25 at 3:00 PM “By stacking the board . . . they can get charter schools in,” said Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education, a nonprofit advocacy group

NOV 26

Education Week Grading System Gets a Failing Grade – School Finance 101

by mike simpson / 4d

Education Week Grading System Gets a Failing Grade – School Finance 101 Education Week Grading System Gets a Failing Grade It’s that time of year again. Time for Education Week Quality Counts to grade the states on a number of education policy issues – ranging from accountability systems to school finance systems. But, once again, Education Week’s Quality Counts ratings of state school finance po

This week in charter school scandals - YouTube

by mike simpson / 5d

This week in charter school scandals - YouTube This week in charter school scandals I could easily devote every episode to covering charter schools. A simple search will turn up half a dozen scandals on any given week. Like the story this week out of Arizona, where the multimillionaire CEO of an online charter school gave himself a $1.3 million raise, while giving teachers 1%. Keep in mind that o

Badass Teachers Association: Just say #NoTFA!!

by mike simpson / 5d

Badass Teachers Association: Just say #NoTFA!! Just say #NoTFA!! Dear Representative-Elect, Congratulations on your successful election to become a representative of your state in the House of Representatives or U.S.Senate! As educators, many of us became very involved in your election, whether it was to volunteer for your campaign, fight for your endorsement within our union, share your informat

CURMUDGUCATION: The Factory, The Computer, and the Marketing Problem

by mike simpson / 5d

CURMUDGUCATION: The Factory, The Computer, and the Marketing Problem The Factory, The Computer, and the Marketing Problem Nancy Flanagan notes her frustration this week with the continued complaints about public schools, about how they are an outmoded factory model producing students on an assembly line. And she correctly notes where that comes from, and where it's headed. Public school has been

NON-ELECTED WEALTH-DRIVEN FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS OWN OUR GOVERNMENT | Dr. Edward F. Berger

by mike simpson / 5d

NON-ELECTED WEALTH-DRIVEN FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS OWN OUR GOVERNMENT | Dr. Edward F. Berger NON-ELECTED WEALTH-DRIVEN FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS OWN OUR GOVERNMENT Hey, I’m blogging again. My last blog was in June. I am completing research and writing a new book exploring the challenges presented by AI and machine intelligence and the evolution of our education system so that we prepare humans to

NOV 25

Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector – Wrench in the Gears

by mike simpson / 6d

Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector – Wrench in the Gears Toxic Philanthropy Part 2: Hewlett Packard Re-Engineers the Social Sector Hewlett Packard: The Tech Titan Few Education Activists Talk About Increasingly people are casting a wary eye in the direction of Silicon Valley, concerned about the power its billionaires wield over public education and society

A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog

by mike simpson / 6d

A Washington Post Discussion about Education | Diane Ravitch's blog A Washington Post Discussion about Education I will be in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for a “discussion” about education. I put the scare quotes around discussion because the schedule is jam-packed, and there won’t be enough time for any in-depth discussion of anything. But hope springs eternal. A few things on the program of i

Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog

by mike simpson / 6d

Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” | Diane Ravitch's blog Peter Greene to Mike Petrilli: A Not So Fond Farewell to “Reform” Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham think tank in D.C., penned a piece suggesting that Ed Reform was over, that it had reached a stalemate with its enemies, but that whatever it had done was here to stay. He called it “The End of

The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 6d

The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break | deutsch29 The Teacher Life: Grading Papers Over Holiday Break Like many teachers across these United States, I am finishing a holiday week, which means I was off from school– technically. It is true that I did not need to report to school this week. However, a notable part of Teacher Life is that school clings to the teacher whether said teach

NOV 24

Top Posts This Week 11/24/18 #REDFORED

by mike simpson / 6d

Top Posts This Week 11/24/18 4-H: Trump agency push to dump LGBT policy led to Iowa leader's firing Toxic Philanthropy Part 1: Surveillance – Wrench in the Gears How Facebook Dealt with Crisis: A Tale of Denial | Diane Ravitch's blog My Review of Eve L. Ewing’s “Ghosts in the Schoolyard” | Diane Ravitch's blog John Thompson: Goliath, King of the Zombies | Diane Ravitch's blog CURMUDGUCATION: Fail