Being driven out of teaching. « Deborah Meier on Education

Being driven out of teaching. « Deborah Meier on Education:

Being driven out of teaching.

by debmeier

From Caitlin Casement,
“I worked in urban schools for 25 years. On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, I received my final send-off from the school district I worked for for all of those years…—among the retirees who left with me, more than 200 had served at least 25 years, and one woman had taught for 50 years…….
Some, like me, are being driven out through harassment campaigns conducted by vindictive and insecure administrators threatened by our vigilant advocacy for our students—and to save money on our salaries by hiring 

What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? « Diane Ravitch's blog

What is a Highly Qualified Teacher? « Diane Ravitch's blog:

What is a Highly Qualified Teacher?

by dianerav

Highly Qualified Teacher?

A reader gives her view of what it means to be a “highly qualified teacher,” if not by the elastic definition in NCLB, then by her own knowledge of teaching:

As many have pointed out, no new teachers are “highly qualified.” While some new teachers may be more prepared than others, many years of teaching experience is necessary to become a truly effective (and therefore highly qualified) teacher. So not only are TFA teachers certainly not highly qualified, they are not even very well prepared. While some of them may have strong academic backgrounds and lots of motivation, why is that enough? Shouldn’t we demand that the people who teach our own children not only have strong academic

Why do the Waltons care about education?

Education:

Education

Introduction

“Before considering the specific goals and activities of these foundations, it is worth reflecting on the wisdom of allowing education policy to be directed or, one might say, captured by private foundations. There is something fundamentally antidemocratic about relinquishing control of the public education policy agenda to private foundations run by society’s wealthiest people.”[1]

- Diane Ravitch, education historian and Assistant Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush

When the richest family in the country inserts itself into the education policy debate, ordinary Americans have reason to be concerned. Why should one family’s overwhelmingly deep pockets give them the right to play such an outsized role in determining how the next generation of American students is educated? What are they really trying to accomplish?

Why do the Waltons care about education?

While John Walton said in February 2000 that he believed the greatest responsibility facing the 

Mother Crusader: Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place.

Mother Crusader: Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place.:

Edith Shanker Puts Laura Waters, Chris Cerf, & Joel Klein In Their Place.

by darciecima

I am floored by the utter arrogance of this statement from Laura Waters.

Here's a fact.

If Albert Shanker was alive today he'd still be an education reformer and would support NJ's efforts to expand school choice for poor urban students.

Jersey Jazzman already did a great job of telling Laura Waters how preposterous it is for her to state as "fact" what Albert Shanker would or wouldn't think, feel, or do.

I guess maybe Laura has a ouija board now with which she 

Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts | Scathing Purple Musings

Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts | Scathing Purple Musings:

Bush Financier K12 Inc Under Fire for Ineffectiveness; Contracts With 39 Florida Districts

by Bob Sikes

With an FBI investigation underway of an affiliated virtual charter school network in Pennsylvania affiliated with K12 Inc a National Education Policy Center report urged states to “curb the growth of virtual charters until they demonstrate dramatically improved academic results.” From reporter Ian Quillen in Education Week:

The National Education Policy Center has renewed its call for states to curb the growth of full-time virtual schools until they can demonstrate dramatically improved academic results.
“Understanding and Improving Virtual Schools,” released Wednesday, stems from an analysis of federal and state data sets for revenue, expenditures, and student performance across the 59 full-time virtual schools run by Herndon, Va.-based K12 Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit online learning provider, according to a press release from NEPC, a nonprofit research organization based in Boulder, Colo.

The States’ Budget Crisis « Diane Ravitch's blog

The States’ Budget Crisis « Diane Ravitch's blog

The States’ Budget Crisis

by dianerav

My ex-husband Richard Ravitch is a brilliant man who has spent most of his life in public service. He was born during the Great Depression, and he grew up idolizing Franklin Delano Roosevelt and believing that the highest ideal was to improve the well-being of the public.
We have an informal agreement that he doesn’t do education and I don’t do housing, transportation or public finance. But now he has stepped into my territory and I must step into his.
Yesterday he and Paul Volcker released a task force report on the budget crisis facing states. The task force report should be read by everyone because it contains an urgent warning. As of 2009, states now spend more on Medicaid than on K-12 education. That is a historic reversal. States are facing unsustainable costs and will have to make cuts to essential services if they can’t make appropriate adjustments to their tax and spend policies. 

Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings

Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT | Scathing Purple Musings:

Former Principal and Current U.S. Representative: “No Other State Deceives” Like Florida Does With FCAT

by Bob Sikes

The vigorous debate over Florida’s test-based accountability systems added a figure of national status and significant credibility. U.S. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-Florida #17) was a school principal before entering politics. Also a former Dade County School Board member, Wilson penned a condemnation of FCAT and the suffocating utility in the Miami Herald:

As a former school principal I believe in accountability, but it must be transparent. As we digest the release of school grades from the Florida Department of Education, I want to say one thing — this is madness.
For 14 years I have fought against the FCAT. As, Bs, Cs, Ds, and Fs? How ridiculous. This is 

An Abundance of Genius | Lefty Parent

An Abundance of Genius | Lefty Parent:

An Abundance of Genius

by Cooper Zale

John Taylor Gatto was a teacher for nearly 30 years, including working with disadvantaged youth in urban New York City public schools. He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991. That was the same year he wrote a letter announcing his retirement, titled “I Quit, I Think”, published in the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal. In the letter he wrote that he no longer wished to “hurt kids to make a living”. He has since gone to a second career as a writer, speaker and advocate for unschooling, and I have read several of his books and heard him speak twice.
Maybe from years of being a talented teacher and trying to shock his students out of their classroom stupor, he 

Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon | Seattle Education

Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon | Seattle Education:

Parents and students working to save a school in Portland, Oregon

by seattleducation2011

This post is on behalf of the girls at Harriet Tubman Leadership Academy for Young Women, a pubic school in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Public School Board closed their school in the most egregious manner and the girls and parents are fighting to keep their school open.
As the author of this post explains:
When Tubman was closed, the superintendent offered to let it survive as a charter school — giving the parents only 3 weeks to write a charter. Charter schools in Portland receive just over half of the per pupil expenditure as a traditional or focus school. Charter parents spend all their time fundraising to meet basic expenses. Tubman parents and staff didn’t want a charter school, but were considering it as the only option offered to keep the school alive.
Whether you agree with the single gender philosophy or not, this school was fulfilling a need. The learning environment was safe and welcoming to girls who were good in math and science. They are the most precious group of girls. They are sharp and well-spoken. They know what they want. The school board was only looking at dollars in deciding to close their school. The girls always talk about the school like it is a living, breathing thing — not just a building — which I find deeply moving.
Save Our Schools — one school at a time
By Deb Mayer

This is the real life story about The Death and Life of One Great American School — to borrow a phrase from

Mother Crusader: United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student!

Mother Crusader: United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student!:

United States DOE Awards Over $2M to Four Charters That Will Never Serve A Single Student!

by darciecima

Just a quick post today to point out something rather striking.

Last October, my battle against Tikun Olam hit the national stage when the United States Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement awarded "Friends of Tikun Olam", a non-profit started by the lead founder, a $600,000 federal grant.

They were not the only New Jersey charter awarded funds.  The Shalom Academy, Spirit Preparatory Charter School, and Bright Horizon Charter School, each received similar or slightly smaller awards as well.

Non-SEA (84.282B) Successful Applicants	State	1st Year Amount Awarded
8 Points Charter School, Inc.	IL	$200,000
Academy for Global Citizenship Charter School	IL	$200,000
ASPIRA, Inc. of

Jersey Jazzman: The Reformy Fainting Couch

Jersey Jazzman: The Reformy Fainting Couch:

The Reformy Fainting Couch

by Duke

Mercy!

Laura Waters is so anxious to defend charter schools against the criticisms of Diane Ravitch that she actually attempts to claim expertise on teacher unions over America's best-known education historian:

Here's a fact.

If Albert Shanker was alive today he'd still be an education reformer and would support NJ's efforts to expand school choice for poor urban students.. Here's another fact: he wouldn't have given this answer to a parent's query, which appears in the comment section of Dr. Ravitch's blog.

Parent: "Diane, what would you say to the poor urban minority parent who, due to her life situation, is forced to send her child to the chronically under-performing neighborhood public school? Would you still be in favor of leaving this parent with no options? There are many such urban parents who desperately want something better for their children. Where would your recommendations leave them?"

Ravitch: "My recommendations would send them to a good, local school, not a corporate school 

Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize

Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize:

Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth

by Christina Collins

In general, charter advocates have become somewhat more responsible about acknowledging the impact of demographic differences in charter and district school enrollments on charters’ academic performance. The recent release of the New York City Charter School Center’s “State of the Sector” report is one example, and we had hoped that the existence of its database (which offers straightforward comparisons between enrollments at each New York City charter school compared to its Community School District) would help further efforts towards a more fully informed discussion of the role of charters in school reform.
Unfortunately, last week’s publication of a guest essay by American Enterprise Institute researcher Daniel Lautzenheiser in Rick Hess’ EdWeek column marks a return to the simplistic rhetoric and unsubstantiated assertions which Hess himself has warned are becoming too common among self-identified “reformers.” In “A Tale of Two Schools,” Lautzenheiser makes the claim that Democracy Prep’s high test scores come despite its 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?):

It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?)

by Melissa Westbrook

A heartfelt guest post from The Washington Post's Answer Sheet written by Brock Cohen about the REAL issue that holds back schools in closing the achievement gap.

This was written by Brock Cohen, a teacher and student advocate in the Los Angeles Unified School District who contends that we can no longer afford to trivialize the critical role that poverty plays in a child’s learning experiences – and that true school reform begins with social justice. Brock’s students were recently featured in an NPR piece that charts some of his students’ daily struggles as they pursue their education.

He starts off with hearts and flowers from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan and even the President.  That's all good and well but charters and TFA are just distractions. 

Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs

Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs:

Sandra Day O’Connor champions civics education

by Donna Krache, CNN

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor meets with students at an iCivics event in Washington, D.C.

(CNN) - The retired Supreme Court justice is all business as she walks into our meeting room.

But inside, she’s got the heart of an educator.

Of course, Sandra Day O’Connor will always be associated with her historic “first,” as the first woman justice to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Prior to that appointment by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, she also served as a judge and a state senator.

Since her retirement from the high court in 2006, she has found a new passion – civics education.

How did she decide to become a champion of that cause?  O’Connor says that in her last year on the bench, she was “very much aware of the major issues and debates” being brought before the high court.  There were lots of complaints 

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members”

RheeFirst! » StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members”:

StudentsFirst still referring to Change.org petition signers as their “members”

by admin

Written by Dave Lindorff. Read the entire article here.
“In an email blast sent out to progressives on Tuesday, Rhee’s organization StudentsFirst.org, says:

Thank you for joining StudentsFirst by signing a petition on Change.org. …

Recipients of this letter may not have ever signed a StudentsFirst.org-sponsored petition on the petition site Change.org. Nor will they likely know that Rhee’s organization was actually tossed off of Change.org following protests by teachers unions and education activists who pointed out to Change.org that Rhee and StudentsFirst had supported the anti-teachers union campaign of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, that Rhee had been on the transition team of equally anti-teachers union Gov. Rick Scott, and that she and her organization had contributed $70,000 to help another anti-teacher’s union politician, Rep. Paul Scott (R-MI), fight off a recall campaign.
…Given her documented history of self-promotion and deception, it would be more appropriate — and fairer to the public — if Rhee were to change the name of her organization to RheeFirst.org.”

ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD « Teachers Fight Back

ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD « Teachers Fight Back:

ARBITRATOR SHOWS NAIVETE, SO DO EMANUEL AND BRIZARD

by alkleen

The arbitrator who recently issued a ruling in the ongoing battle between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago School District must be extremely naive.  He sided with the teachers on most issues, especially the salary demands that the teachers want in exchange for  working a much longer day that the District is insisting on.
The arbitrator is naive because he questioned why the District would extend the school day when it didn’t have the money to pay teachers for the increased time. He has to ask ? Here’s the answer Mr. Naive Arbitrator.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the new miracle worker school chief, Jean-Claude Brizard, wanted to seize on the momentum of the nationwide anti teacher union sentiment. Months ago they saw an opportunity to limit the power of the CTU by using a massive advertising campaign and money from anti-union millionaires to sway 

Save Our Schools (SOS) March and Rally: DC trip to bring education reform - NorthJersey.com

Verona-Cedar Grove Letter: DC trip to bring education reform - NorthJersey.com:

Verona-Cedar Grove Letter: DC trip to bring education reform

THURSDAY JULY 19, 2012, 12:10 PM

VERONA-CEDAR GROVE TIMES

PRINT | E-MAIL

Editor, The Times
I am a retired public school teacher and retired or not, I am appalled by the demonizing attacks on public education in the name of school "reform." My fellow retirees and current school employees have suffered scapegoating by pundits and politicians, lost precious money from our paychecks and pensions only to be reallocated to balance a budget. That imbalance was due to greed and incompetence, as many public and private employees know too well, and shows no signs of stopping.
Shifting public school funds in the name of choice creates neither true choice nor change.
Certain vested concerns want to privatize our public schools. Under the guise of charity and philanthropy, corporations, lobbyists and vested politicians are buying our schools for profit, special 

Democurmudgeon: The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue.

Democurmudgeon: The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue.:

The Illusion of Highly Qualified Teachers to continue.

by Democurmudgeon

Parents won’t know it, but that “highly qualified teacher” in their kid’s classroom, may be a teacher in training. Don’t get me wrong, this isn't a criticism of those dedicated new graduates learning the profession, it’s the idea that they would be considered “highly qualified” already.


But for years, parents weren’t told how loose that qualification had become. It essentially helps private training colleges like the controversial teacher mill, Teach for America, grow and prosper.

Even worse, state exemptions from the horribly conceived law NCLB, will by itself, lower the bar even further when it comes to who is “highly qualified.”

Edweek: A provision in federal law about who is considered a highly qualified teacher would be perpetuated as lawmakers take up new spending bills for the coming fiscal year … the Senate merely left the door open to extending a provision that allows teachers still working on their 

Shanker Blog » What Florida's School Grades Measure, And What They Don't

Shanker Blog » What Florida's School Grades Measure, And What They Don't:

What Florida’s School Grades Measure, And What They Don’t

by Matthew Di Carlo

A while back, I argued that Florida’s school grading system, due mostly to its choice of measures, does a poor job of gauging school performance per se. The short version is that the ratings are, to a degree unsurpassed by most other states’ systems, driven by absolute performance measures (how highly students score), rather than growth (whether students make progress). Since more advantaged students tend to score more highly on tests when they enter the school system, schools are largely being judged not on the quality of instruction they provide, but rather on the characteristics of the students they serve.
New results were released a couple of weeks ago. This was highly anticipated, as the state had made controversial changes to the system, most notably the inclusion of non-native English speakers and special 

The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills. « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills. « Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Stephen Colbert on Texas GOP’s opposition to teaching critical thinking skills.

by Fred Klonsky

“I blame Galileo.”
Stephen Colbert:

..The minds of our young people are being poisoned by knowledge… I have long praised the Texas Board of Education for their valiant work rewriting our nation’shistory textbooks. But now I believe they’ve got some stiff competition from the Texas GOP, who recently put a plank in their 2012 party platformn regarding children’s education which says, and I quote, ‘We oppose the teaching of critical thinking skills.’ Amen brother. For too long we have blindly accepted the idea of not blindly accepting ideas.
“And you know who I blame? I blame Galileo…. For centuries we had a perfectly good explanation for the order of the universe. Bible says the sun goes around the Earth, making us the center of the universe. And you know what? Everyone was happy. And then numnuts over here gets a 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action:

SOS Press Release: A Call to Action

by Mike Klonsky

Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action

www.saveourschoolsmarch.org

  for immediate release

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PANEL LEADERS

FOR AUGUST 3 -5 WASHINGTON, DC PEOPLES EDUCATION CONVENTION 

Organizers of the upcoming Save Our Schools (SOS) “Peoples Education Convention” today unveiled the list of featured speakers for their August 3 – 5, 2012 event at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel in  Washington, D.C. event. Keynoters include author Jonathan Kozol,  MacArthur “genius” award winner Deborah Meier, civil rights attorneys Shanta Driver and Rose Sanders, and early childhood expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige.  

Jonathan Kozol is a oft-honored author and lecturer whose best-selling books such as Death at an Early Age and The Shame of the Nation vividly describe the country’s educational challenges. Kozol will speak on the topic “Fire In The Ashes: Victims and Survivors, Kids and Teachers in Public Schools Under Siege — How Do We Fight Back?” 

Deborah Meier is a senior scholar at New York University’s Steinhardt School. She spent 45 years working in K-12th grade public schools in East Harlem and Roxbury including leadership of several highly successful urban schools. She is also a well-known blogger writing in tandem with Diane Ravitch. 

A graduate of Harvard University, Shanta Driver is the National Director of United for Equality and Affirmative Action, which organized the student intervention for Grutter v. Bollinger, the landmark affirmative action case. Ms. Driver is also the National Coordinator of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary. 

Rose Sanders, also known as Ora Rose Touré, is a Harvard-educated litigator who has worked on some of the nation’s highest-profile civil rights cases. She was the first African-American female judge in Alabama and part of the winning legal team in Pigford v Veneman that led to the payment of a billion dollars in damages to black farmers by the U.S. Agriculture Department. 

Nancy Carlsson-Paige is a professor of early childhood education at Lesley University where she has taught teachers for more than 30 years. She has written five books and many articles on violence, conflict resolution, and peaceable classrooms and schools. Her most recent book is Taking Back Childhood. Her son, Matt Damon, spoke at the 2011 SOS March and Rally. 

Among the many well-known workshop leaders also scheduled to appear at the Save Our Schools Convention are Uniting4Kids Executive Director Angela Engel, FairTest Executive Director Monty Neill, student lobbyist Nikhil Goyal, Parents Across America leader Karran Harper Royal, and  Michael Klonsky, DePaul University faculty member and Director of the Small Schools Workshop. 

In addition to speakers and workshops, the event will develop strategies on key education issues including testing, privatization, and school funding. SOS participants will also refine platform planks for the “People’s Principles for Public Education,” which will be presented to both national political parties before their upcoming conventions. 

The program begins at 2:15pm on Friday, August 3 and runs through 12:30pm on Sunday, August 5. 

More details about the SOS Convention are online at: www.saveourschoolsmarch.org

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