Jose Vilson: The Magical Populism of Michelle Rhee

Jose Vilson: The Magical Populism of Michelle Rhee

The Magical Populism of Michelle Rhee

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Read More: Adrian Fenty , Black Friday , Michelle Rhee , Newsweek , Rhee Newsweek , Studentsfirst , Teacher Tenure , Education News

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Black Friday set off the sale of trinkets, capes, and magic wands, and Michelle Rhee bought a few of the latter. Before Thanksgiving, I would have pegged her for a neoliberal overbearing contessa. After the edu-world lauded Washington, DC's unseating of Mayor Adrian Fenty, and in turn Ms. Rhee, even those who didn't follow education news the way DC residents and interested thought leaders did got a glance at the former chancellor for what she really was. After essentially negotiating away DC teachers' due process or equity in their latest ratified contract, we knew she'd still find a job to do. Little did I know it'd be as the 21st century Mr. Mistoffelees.

How she's been promoted as a students first education reform is definitely a work of prestidigitation and legerdemain. She'll defy examination and deceive you again.

Take, for example, this week's cover of Newsweek where her big blurb is "I'm not done fighting." Yet, her fight looks like a back yard brawl and more like an arms race. With big media arms like

The Answer Sheet - What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools

The Answer Sheet - What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools

What Norway (not Finland) tells us about schools

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Thomas Hatch, an associate professor of education and co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University.

By Thomas Hatch
People often try to use findings from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s PISA international assessments of educational performance to tout particular policies or practices in which “high performing” countries seem to be engaged. Rather than a list of “do now’s” for policymakers, however, I believe that the latest PISA findings, like other forms of international comparison, provide an opportunity to reflect on the values and assumptions that underlie our educational system.

It wasn’t until I lived in Norway (with my wife and daughters in kindergarten, fourth grade and sixth grade) that I took explicit notice of

This Week In Education: Turnarounds: Reactions To The McKinley Parent Trigger

This Week In Education: Turnarounds: Reactions To The McKinley Parent Trigger

Turnarounds: Reactions To The McKinley Parent Trigger

by Alexander Russo

If early signs are any indication, the effort to fix (destroy?) McKinley Elementary is shaping up to be this month's Central Falls: a hotly debated, media-saturated free for all over how to fix struggling schools:

The Wall Street Journal's Jason Riley and David Feith (appearing on Fox) says that lawsuits are expected. Playing catch-up on a story in its own back yard, the LA Times reports that parents are rescinding their signatures (but doesn't seem to have any independent verification of its numbers). The LA

Does the DREAM Act Have 59 Votes in the Senate? « Student Activism

Does the DREAM Act Have 59 Votes in the Senate? « Student Activism

Does the DREAM Act Have 59 Votes in the Senate?

by Angus Johnston

Over the weekend I’ve heard rumors from both sides of the DREAM Act debate that the bill — which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children — is currently just one vote shy of the sixty it needs for passage in the Senate.

I’m skeptical.

The DREAM Act has garnered lots of Republican support in the past, but most of those allies have reversed themselves in recent months, as the political winds in the country — and in the GOP specifically — have shifted. With the rise of the Tea Party, many Republicans now see a vote for the bill as a potential liability in future races.

It’s not impossible that the bill could get to sixty votes during the current lame duck session, but it seems highly unlikely. And there have been no public declarations of support for the DREAM Act in recent days that would

Hechinger Report | Amid “war” on teachers unions, some administrators and union leaders still partnering for change

Hechinger Report | Amid “war” on teachers unions, some administrators and union leaders still partnering for change

Amid “war” on teachers unions, some administrators and union leaders still partnering for change

by Dana Goldstein

Chris Christie (Photo by Walter Burns)

As unlikely as it sounds, Chris Christie—the Republican governor of New Jersey who assumed office in January 2010—is a YouTube sensation. He has gained national notoriety for taking on teachers unions, in part by posting videos of his attacks on union leaders to his YouTube channel. The videos boast a combined total of over two million views.

At a town hall meeting in Robbinsville, N.J. last June, Christie was at his bluntest: “The teachers union is about the accumulation and exercise of raw power … The fight is about who is going to run public education in New Jersey—the parents and the people they elect, or the mindless, faceless union leaders who … have the money

Cathie Black Transition Blues « EdVox

Cathie Black Transition Blues « EdVox

Cathie Black Transition Blues

by edvoxny

by David C. Bloomfield

There was no need for the high drama associated with Joel Klein’s resignation as New York City schools Chancellor. Every district in the country regularly faces these departures, yet it is rare for superintendents to quit or be fired mid-year, and usually when they do it is for critical health or ethical reasons. Six months notice is a minimum to allow for a methodical search and continuity through June. That neither the Mayor nor Chancellor foresaw this disruption demonstrates their misunderstanding of how schools really work.

Then there is the matter of the Mayor’s clandestine process for selecting Klein’s successor. Not only did he violate the spirit and perhaps the letter of Equal Employment Opportunity procedures, there was no public opportunity to meet the candidate, again standard fare in districts throughout the country. The usual first, softball question asked in any of these forums is about educational vision. Ms. Black has said she has none, an

We never change, do we? - Ed Thoughts

We never change, do we? - Ed Thoughts

We never change, do we?

By Sabrina on December 13, 2010 10:07 AM| 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

"The paradox of education is precisely this-- that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated. The purpose of education...is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself if there is a God in Heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no

Pictures of Lily | Intercepts

Pictures of Lily | Intercepts

Pictures of Lily

by Mike Antonucci

Over many years I’ve tried to make the point that what the teachers’ unions say to the public is not nearly as important as what they say to themselves. It is why I’ve endured 13 consecutive NEA conventions and it’s why I bring this particular speech to your attention. I would have preferred to see the election post-mortem presentation, but this will have to do. It was delivered by NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen to the National Council of State Education Associations meeting in Miami last month. The NCSEA is an umbrella group of all of NEA’s state affiliate leaders.

When I come across 39 minutes of video I rarely will take the time to sit through the whole thing. But if you’re reading this blog, you must have some interest in NEA and its view of things, and this will serve the purpose

What makes an effective teacher? | EdNews Parent

What makes an effective teacher? | EdNews Parent

Ask an Expert: What makes a teacher effective?

by R. Kim Herrell

Q. The new legislation (Senate Bill 10-191) is aimed at ensuring an effective teacher in every classroom in Colorado. What is an “effective teacher”?

A. The state will be setting up committees to define what effective instruction looks like, and who an effective teacher is. I happen to like the work of Dr. Jere Brophy, at Michigan State University. He and his colleagues have analyzed the best research out there on teacher effectiveness. Here is their list, and I quote:

• Supportive classroom climate: Students learn best within cohesive and caring learning communities.
• Opportunity to learn: Students learn more when most of the available time is allocated to curriculum-related activities and the classroom management system emphasizes maintaining students’ engagement

City unveils new steps designed to make path to tenure tougher | GothamSchools

City unveils new steps designed to make path to tenure tougher | GothamSchools

City unveils new steps designed to make path to tenure tougher

by Anna Phillips

For more than 6,000 teachers, the path to tenure this year will be different and, the city hopes, tougher.

City education officials announced a new rubric today that will guide principals as they make tenure decisions this year. The “effectiveness framework” places teachers in one of four categories: highly effective, effective, developing, and ineffective, based on students’ tests scores, classroom observations, parent feedback, and other factors.

In years past, principals completed a brief online form and did not have to explain their reasoning for giving a teacher tenure. Now, school leaders will now be required to fill out a form giving their rationale.

The city is also trying to make tenure harder to earn by giving principals hiring incentives if they deny it. Principals looking to fill a position vacated by a teacher who has been denied tenure will be freed from the city’s

Fact Check: The Costs of Racing to the Top voiceofsandiego.org: Education

voiceofsandiego.org: Education

13Dec

Fact Check: The Costs of Racing to the TopComments | 7:00 am

Statement: "What we've seen in other school districts that have actually qualified for Race to the Top funds is that it's costing them money. ... It would not have in any way helped with our budget problem," San Diego Unified school board President Richard Barrera said on the KPBS program These Days on Nov. 8.

Determination: True

Analysis: Race to the Top was a competition earlier this year between states for federal funds. States had to pledge to alter their academic standards, tie teacher evaluation to student performance and make other changes in school policyin exchange for the money.

Read the rest of this article

The Answer Sheet - Willingham: What causes performance decline across grades?

The Answer Sheet - Willingham: What causes performance decline across grades?

Willingham: What causes performance decline across grades?

My guest today is cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of “Why Don’t Students Like School?” By Daniel Willingham An “absolute wake up call.” That’s what Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the latest results of the the PISA test, which measures 10th grader’s achievement in reading, math, and science. If we’ve all been asleep up until now, we’ve really got trouble. U.S. kids did not shine, but the latest round of results of PISA, formally known as the Program for International Student Achievement, don’t look that different than what we’ve seen in the last decade.

NEA Announces Picks for Teacher-Effectiveness Panel - Teacher Beat - Education Week

NEA Announces Picks for Teacher-Effectiveness Panel - Teacher Beat - Education Week

NEA Announces Picks for Teacher-Effectiveness Panel

by Stephen Sawchuk

The National Education Association last week announced the names of 21 educators and academics who will sit on its Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching, a group that will make recommendations to the union for "maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness."

The commission was announced at this past summer's Representative Assembly, but these are the first details NEA has unveiled about what it will be doing.

According to the union, the panelists will:

• Analyze existing standards, definitions, policies and practices related to teacher effectiveness and effective teaching, and develop a teacher's definition of an effective teacher and effective teaching;
• Craft a new vision of the teaching profession;
• Write a comprehensive set of recommendations for the NEA about the union's role in advancing and promoting

Our union leaders must stand up to Boss Madigan. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Our union leaders must stand up to Boss Madigan. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Our union leaders must stand up to Boss Madigan.

by Fred Klonsky

Jim Broadway reports in his Illinois School Policy Update the next few weeks will be crucial to the future of teacher tenure and seniority rights in the state.

Illinois teachers will be under the gun in Aurora Thursday and Friday when the new House Education Reform Committee holds perhaps its only hearings before legislators are asked to consider its findings in early January.
Although the committee postings are conspicuously silent on the topics – no bills are assigned to the panel, and just a blank space follows the words “subject matter.”

The agenda:

Thursday’s 1 p.m. topics will be “Streamlining Teacher Dismissal, Reforming Teacher Tenure, Linking

New Student Strike Looms at University of Puerto Rico « Student Activism

New Student Strike Looms at University of Puerto Rico « Student Activism

New Student Strike Looms at University of Puerto Rico

by Angus Johnston

Students at the University of Puerto Rico are gearing up for a new strike in protest against an $800 tuition hike, as university officials announced that a police deployment on campus, begun last week, could continue indefinitely.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched [Original|Google Translation] in San Juan against the tuition increase and

Thoughts on Violence and Resistance from the UK Student Protests « Student Activism

Thoughts on Violence and Resistance from the UK Student Protests « Student Activism

Thoughts on Violence and Resistance from the UK Student Protests

by Angus Johnston

A sampling of responses to last weeks massive British student protests, focusing on questions of violence, resistance, tactics, and ethics…

Riots, Fire, Anger at Tuition Fees Protest — And a Defining Political Moment

For years, the young have been dismissed as apathetic. What has happened to make tens of thousands of them pour on to the streets in the bitter cold – not once, but again and again; not just in London, but in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds? What has sparked the re-emergence of student occupations in lecture theatres across the country? What is it about the coalition government and its policies that has ignited so much anger?

Inside the Parliament Square Kettle

What I saw a month ago at Millbank was a generation of very young, very angry, very disenfranchised people realising that not doing as you’re told, contrary to everything we’ve been informed, is actually a very effective way of making your voice heard when the parliamentary process has let you down.What I saw two weeks ago in the

Schools Matter: On the Growing Use of Corporate Test Scoring Sweatshops

Schools Matter: On the Growing Use of Corporate Test Scoring Sweatshops

On the Growing Use of Corporate Test Scoring Sweatshops

by Jim Horn

In April 2006 I posted on the use of Kelly Girls in Florida to score FCAT. Since then the scoring industry has worked to perfect the cheap, production-line model for scoring the hundreds of millions of tests that are making Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Kaplan, and other bottom feeders deliriously wealthy corporate bodies. Here is a recent piece that appeared in the Monthly Review, a must read called "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Test Scorer," with apologies to Alan Sillitoe:

by Dan Dimaggio

Standardized testing has become central to education policy in the United States. After dramatically expanding in the wake of the No Child Left Behind Act, testing has been further enshrined by the Obama administration’s $3.4 billion “Race to the Top” grants. Given the ongoing debate over these policies, it might be useful to hear about the experiences of a hidden sector of the education workforce: those of us who make our living scoring these tests. Our viewpoint is