Diane Ravitch, Champion of Public Education, Leads SOS Teach-in on July 21st

Diane Ravitch, Champion of Public Education, Leads SOS Teach-in on July 21st

Diane Ravitch, Champion of Public Education, Leads SOS Teach-in on July 21st

by AnthonyCody

July 13th, 2011

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Dr. Diane Ravitch has emerged as a true champion of public education over the past few years. She recently used her blog to explain why she has been such an active supporter of the Save Our Schools March:

I am marching to protest the status quo of high-stakes testing, attacks on the education profession, and creeping privatization.

I want to protest the federal government’s punitive ideas about school reform, specifically, No Child Left Behind and the Race to the Top. Neither of these programs has any validation in research or practice or evidence. The nation’s teachers and parents know that NCLB has been a policy disaster. Race to the Top incorporates the same failed ideas. Why doesn’t Congress know?

I want to protest the wave of school closings caused by these cruel federal policies. Public schools are a public trust, not shoe stores. If they are struggling, they should be improved, not killed.

On Thursday, July 21st, Diane Ravitch will join us on the eve of our march, for our last teach-in and fundraiser. This event will take place at 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific time. We hope to raise at least $5000 on this one day — watch the web site for updates throughout the day!

Join us for an exciting conversation with the nation’s leading expert on the history of education, and a true champion of our schools.

Registration is free, but space is limited. We will hold ten spaces for people willing to organize house parties of five people or more. Sign up now!.

Principal: When Arne Duncan called to talk - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Principal: When Arne Duncan called to talk - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Principal: When Arne Duncan called to talk

by Valerie Strauss

Earlier this month Carol Corbett Burris, principal of high-achieving South Side High School in New York, wrote an open letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about her concerns about his school reform agenda and I published it here. It ended with this sentence: “Right now the ball is in your court, Mr. Duncan.”

Duncan, who may or may not have seen the letter, just called her to talk about reform, and this is her account of the conversation.

Burris was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School I Administrators Association of New York State.

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James Pitterdaughter’s new teacher-serial killer blockbuster | theteachingwhore

James Pitterdaughter’s new teacher-serial killer blockbuster | theteachingwhore

James Pitterdaughter’s new teacher-serial killer blockbuster

by theteachingwhore

Omaha NE (TWP)

With his latest book, best-selling writer James Pitterdaughter is achieving unheard of success, even for this author who has conquered the bland fiction charts, branched into children’s books and young adult flying fantasy and even uses a ghost writer when he needs to take a break between books for lunch.

Pitterdaughter’s Along Came a Teacher . . . Who Kills People has shot up to number 3 on the bestseller charts in only four weeks of its release. The book, which Pitterdaughter said would be the first in a series, follows high school English teacher turned serial killer Amillia Floss on her journey to rid the world of evil, while expounding on the meter in Thomas Hardy’s poetry to her senior students who refuse to read George Eliot because she was ugly.

Floss, a career teacher at fictitious Jonesborough High, in the fictitious town of Borough,Nebraska, is already being compared to Dexter, the infamous serial killer in the popular HBO series who only kills other serial killers or evil people. Floss, however, kills those opposed to logic and reason. Not surprisingly, the majority of victims in

Jersey Jazzman: "They're Evil, But Your Shoelace Is Untied"

Jersey Jazzman: "They're Evil, But Your Shoelace Is Untied"

"They're Evil, But Your Shoelace Is Untied"

by Duke

Paul Krugman cuts to the heart of the matter today regarding the increasing insanity of the Republican party:

Which brings me to the culpability of those who are only now facing up to the G.O.P.’s craziness.

Here’s the point: those within the G.O.P. who had misgivings about the embrace of tax-cut fanaticism might have made a stronger stand if there had been any indication that such fanaticism came with a price, if outsiders had been willing to condemn those who took irresponsible positions.

But there has been no such price. Mr. Bush squandered the surplus of the late Clinton years, yet prominent pundits pretend that the two parties share equal blame for our debt

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More on the sham that was SB7

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: More on the sham that was SB7

More on the sham that was SB7

No money in the state budget for mandated principal training

If you needed any more evidence to show why the anti-union, Illinois SB7, rammed through the legislature by corporate reformers and Mike Madigan, was a sham, look no farther than the budget. The Chicago New Cooperative reports that the state budget that Gov. Pat Quinn signed on June 30 is missing a key component sought by education advocates: money.

In the final days of the session, lawmakers stripped more than

Volunteer: Why I stopped helping Stand for Children - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Volunteer: Why I stopped helping Stand for Children - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Volunteer: Why I stopped helping Stand for Children

by Valerie Strauss

Susan Barrett was a volunteer for an education reform organization called Stand for Children, which is based in Portland. In this post she explains why she stepped down. This appeared on the website of Parents Across America.

Stand for Children’s Jonah Edelman, co-founder and chief executive officer, just got some unpleasant publicity for remarks he made while he was on a panel at the Aspen Institute’s Ideas Festival. Caught on video, he was shown bragging about how he manipulated people to get reform legislation passed in Illinois. He apologized but the damage was done.

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Robert Reich (The Rise of the Wrecking-Ball Right)

Robert Reich (The Rise of the Wrecking-Ball Right)

The Rise of the Wrecking-Ball Right

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Recently I debated a conservative Republican who insisted the best way to revive the American economy was to shrink the size of government. When I asked him to explain his logic he said, simply, “government is the source of all our problems.” When I noted government spending had brought the economy out of the previous eight economic downturns, including the Great Depression, he disagreed. “The Depression ended because of World War Two,” he pronounced, as if government had played no part in it.

A few days later I was confronted by another conservative Republican who blamed the nation’s high unemployment rate on the availability of unemployment benefits. “If you pay someone not to work, they won’t,” he said. When I pointed out unemployment benefits couldn’t possibly be the cause of joblessness because there are now about five job seekers for every job opening, he scoffed. “Government always makes things worse.”

voiceofsandiego.org: Education

voiceofsandiego.org: Education

Quickly, Schools' Budget Optimism DimsComments (5) | 9:23 am

San Diego Unified last week restored hundreds of jobs for teachers after state lawmakers patched together a budget that gave schools more money than they were expecting.

But even as San Diego Unified restores jobs, it faces continued uncertainty over its budget. The California budget depends on optimistic projections for state revenue. If California gets much less money than it had hoped for, it could trigger school cuts in the middle of the school year.

It has already gotten some bad news. May and June revenues have already fallen shortof what California had budgeted for, the Sacramento Bee reported earlier this week. California took in $352 million less than lawmakers had hoped for — $849 million instead of $1.2 billion.

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Schools Coalition Ponders Where to Go NowComments (7) | 1:55 pm

San Diegans 4 Great Schools is unsure if it will try to re-launch its campaign to remake the school board or do something different after it fell short on signatures to get onto the ballot.

"All of us don't view this as a total end," said Scott Himelstein, president of the group. "The question is, where do we go from here? People are ready to continue the work. But we don't know what form that takes."

The campaign argued the school district was failing its students and aimed to expand the school board and change the way it was chosen, adding four appointed members to the five existing elected trustees. It grew out of a group of philanthropists, business leaders, parents and others frustrated with the exit of former Superintendent Terry Grier.

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Real shame of APS cheating: “We have let testing corporations make mockery of education.” | Get Schooled

Real shame of APS cheating: “We have let testing corporations make mockery of education.” | Get Schooled

Real shame of APS cheating: “We have let testing corporations make mockery of education.”

9:42 am July 14, 2011, by Maureen Downey

I have written a lot about APS in the last two weeks, so I am delighted to offer other perspectives on the cheating scandal, including this strong piece by Stephanie Jones, associate professor and graduate coordinator Department of Elementary and Social Studies Education at the University of Georgia and co-director of the CLASSroom Project at UGA.

Enjoy.

By Stephanie Jones

The Multi-Billion Dollar Testing Industry has done it again. The industry continues to usurp precious resources out of local schools when districts are forced to lay off teachers, discontinue programs for children, and eliminate field trips. But beyond the fiscal crimes inflicted on schools that restrict children’s opportunities, the industry makes a mockery out of the whole education enterprise.

And they’re laughing all the way to the bank.

The latest, but certainly not the last, scorned school district is right here in our back yard.

The Atlanta Public Schools “cheating scandal” is scandalous, but not necessarily for the

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Stand for Children is an Astro-Turf Machine

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Stand for Children is an Astro-Turf Machine

Stand for Children is an Astro-Turf Machine

by Melissa Westbrook

Recently, there's been some buzz around the semi-national organization, Stand for Children. ( I say "semi-national" because they are only involved in 9 states but have received a lot of national attention.) An Oregon parent activist, Susan Barrett, wrote in the Washington Post blog, Valerie Strauss' The Answer Sheet, about her experience with Stand. She explains her experience of believing in Stand only to find that their Board is full of private equity investors and their local staff tried to manipulate parents into lobbying teachers and parents for a reform agenda.

Who is SFC? From their website:

Stand for Children is an innovative, grassroots child advocacy organization. Our mission is to use the power of grassroots action to help all children get the excellent public education and strong support they need to thrive. Our members believe we need to stand up for our children now - particularly for their education from pre-school through high school - to create a better future for America.

We build effective local and statewide networks of grassroots advocates capable of convincing elected officials to invest in and reform children’s programs. Following specific priorities chosen by our members, we focus on securing adequate funding for public schools and reforming education policies and practices to help children

Open Thread Friday

by Melissa Westbrook

Something fun; two free kids' plays staged outside.

One is King Arthur and the Knights of the Playground and the other is Arrh! A Dinosaur Ate My Space Ship! Both play thru the first week of August.

'King Arthur and the Knights of the Playground'

By Jaime Cruz, Maggie Lee, Juliet Waller Pruzan, Joanna Horowitz, Paul Mullin and Matt Smith. Through Aug. 6 at area parks; free (www.balagantheatre.org).

'Arrh! A Dinosaur Ate My Space Ship!'

By Bret Fetzer and Juliet Waller Pruzan. 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 7 at Volunteer Park amphitheater; free (www.schmeater.org).

What's on your mind?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Poverty's impact on Texas SAT/ACT college readiness

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Poverty's impact on Texas SAT/ACT college readiness

Poverty's impact on Texas SAT/ACT college readiness

ACT/SAT college readiness vs. poverty concentration, 2008 for all Texas high

School Tech Connect: Reliable Narrators

School Tech Connect: Reliable Narrators

Reliable Narrators

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Lol..

Culture of Expertise

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

The big macher. It's like a caricature of ed tech evangelism.

NYC Educator: Moving Ever Onward

NYC Educator: Moving Ever Onward

Moving Ever Onward

by NYC Educator

Well, Gotham Schools was down for some time this morning. This is an inconvenience for the busy blogger looking to see what education articles are up, as well as whatever crap the NY Post wishes to masquerade as news.

Last night's wrap-up held some doozies. There was a link to an education booklist, headed up by anti-teacher propagandist Steve Brill. A piece on the further adventures of TFA. Also, there was a link to yet another piece by Ruben Brosbe. Clearly it isn't enough for Gotham to print whatever baseless nonsense Mr. Brosbe posts on their page, but it's also necessary to direct us to more of it elsewhere. On behalf of teachers everywhere, thank you Gotham Schools.

The most striking of the links yesterday was one about a teacher offering to work for free. This, no doubt, constitutes the virtual wet dream of "reformers." What more could they ask for? Were this to become a trend, they could give up all their political manipulation, save billions in "charitable" contributions, and let schools be.

Sorry kissfan. Senate Bill 7 is still bad news. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Sorry kissfan. Senate Bill 7 is still bad news. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Sorry kissfan. Senate Bill 7 is still bad news.

by Fred Klonsky

There is a good report on the Edelman affair by David Singiser at Daily Kos.

In the comment section, an anonymous poster with the handle “kissfan” writes:

I urge you all to read the statement issued jointly by the IEA, IFT and the CTU (pdf). Don’t rely solely on the “Fred Klonsky Blog.” Fred is a disgruntled IEA member intent on tearing down the organization’s leadership criticizing them at every turn. Yet Mr. Klonsky doesn’t run for any IEA leadership positions as he’s more than content to remain behind his keyboard where he can pretend to be important. He immediately jumps on anything critical of the IEA and runs with it

Can’t fix APS without fixing “dysfunctional education policy.” | Get Schooled

Can’t fix APS without fixing “dysfunctional education policy.” | Get Schooled

Can’t fix APS without fixing “dysfunctional education policy.”

4:20 am July 15, 2011, by Maureen Downey

Over the last few days, academics have begun to weigh in on the APS cheating scandal. In this essay, a UGA education professor says high-stakes testing accountability measures will not improve education, and, in fact, will actually undermine education.

(I haven’t received any pieces yet in defense of the testing focus in our schools, but will share any that I might receive.)

The essay is from William Wraga, a professor in the program in educational administration and policy at the College of Education, University of Georgia.

By William G. Wraga

The actions of administrators and teachers in the Atlanta Public Schools who altered student test answer sheets are indefensible. The reported “culture of fear, intimidation, and

Daily Kos: Profiting on Poverty?: Inexcusable

Daily Kos: Profiting on Poverty?: Inexcusable

Profiting on Poverty?: Inexcusable

byplthomasEdD

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“2010 wasn't a very good year for public education—or public anything, for that matter,” lamented Klonsky (2010, December 29), adding:

It was just about a year ago for example, that Education Secretary Arne Duncan began his "no excuses" campaign, announcing in the press that he had "no patience for teachers and schools" that tick off all the reasons why their poor or minority students can't score as high on standardized tests.

Duncan has chosen to ignore poverty's downward effect on test scores and focus entirely on what he calls "bad teachers" and "failing schools." Recently confronted by educators teaching in some of the nation's highest-poverty areas about the need to do something about the living conditions of their students, Duncan cynically responded, "poverty is not destiny."

His "no excuses" mantra, essentially blaming poor students and their teachers for low test results, is now being echoed by many governors, urban mayors