Nikhil Goyal Interview: A High School Student Offers a Critique of Our Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Nikhil Goyal Interview: A High School Student Offers a Critique of Our Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Nikhil Goyal Interview: A High School Student Offers a Critique of Our Schools

by Anthony Cody

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
A seventeen year-old high school student from New York named Nikhil Goyal has been speaking out on education reform. In addition to several high profile television appearances, he has authored a book, One Size Does Not Fit All, A Student's Assessment of School. I asked him to explain his critique this week.
Question: What led you to write this book?
Nikhil: In the summer of 2010, I took a three-week trip to India to visit family in Delhi and Calcutta. After I came back to the United States, I started to review the notes I'd jotted down from conversations I had with Indian students and parents on their frustrations with school. That September I started as a sophomore at Syosset High School. I was bored to death every single day in class. This led me to start speaking with other students around the country and realizing that I wanted to drastically disrupt the system by means of writing a book. The 

UPDATE: There is something very, very wrong going on at Connecticut’s Board of Regents. - Wait, What?

There is something very, very wrong going on at Connecticut’s Board of Regents. - Wait, What?:

There is something very, very wrong going on at Connecticut’s Board of Regents.

by jonpelto

Last week came the media reports that the Board of Regents for Higher Education, the entity responsible for overseeing Connecticut’s newly merged public state university and community college system was engaged in an unprecedented effort to remove the individual community college presidents, because some had raised concerns about some controversial policies that the new central office was pushing.

On top of that came the disturbing news that one of the top administrators in that central office, Executive Vice President Michael P. Meotti, has received a $49,000 pay increase last week, an unprecedented pay increase at a time where salaries for all state 

Anyone remember Gilda Radner (as Emily Litella) “Oh,Never Mind”

from Wait, What? by jonpelto

Gilda Radner as Emily Litella:

“What is all this fuss I hear about the Supreme Court decision on a “deaf” penalty? It’s terrible! Deaf people have enough problems as it is!”The news anchor (Chevy Chase or Jane Curtin) interrupted Litella to point out her error, along the lines, “That’s death, Ms. Litella, not deaf … death.” Litella would wrinkle her nose, say something like, “Oh, that’s very different….” then meekly turn to the camera and say, “Never mind.”

THIS PRESS RELEASE JUST IN…

STATEMENT OF BOARD OF REGENTS CHAIRMAN LEWIS J. ROBINSON

AND PRESIDENT ROBERT A. KENNEDY

 (Hartford, CT) – Chairman of the Board of Regents, Lewis J. Robinson, and President Robert A. Kennedy today issued the statement below responding to recent media reports.

“First, Executive Vice President Michael P. Meotti has chosen to forgo his raise in salary. We appreciate this action, and have agreed to it. The Board of Regents will be reviewing all other personnel salary adjustments that were made on the basis of additional duties, responsibilities, and roles assigned resulting from the consolidation.

“Secondly, it’s important to us to apologize for any miscommunication that has occurred

Regent-gate: Up to 22 Board of Regent employees may have gotten raises.

by jonpelto

Categories: Budget Cuts, Higher Education, Malloy Tags: Budget cuts, Higher Education, Malloy The controversy surrounding pay raises at Malloy’s new Board of Regents goes well beyond the one Vice President who received a $49,000 pay raise last week. Unconfirmed reports are that up to 22 Board of Regent employees received pay raises, some well into the tens of thousands of dollars. As the CTMirror is reporting, “the [...]

Fisher v. Texas: On Race, Merit, and Affirmative Action in College Admissions « Student Activism

Fisher v. Texas: On Race, Merit, and Affirmative Action in College Admissions « Student Activism:

Fisher v. Texas: On Race, Merit, and Affirmative Action in College Admissions

by Angus Johnston

Tomorrow the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Fisher v. Texas, which will consider the constitutionality of affirmative action in college admissions. I wrote a piece on the history of the case and how it might go down back in July, and I’d encourage you to go take a look at it if you’re not familiar with the background, but this morning I want to talk about something a little less technical.
Here’s how the plaintiff in the case, rejected UT applicant Abigail Fisher, described what’s at stake in today’s NY Times:

“I’m hoping that they’ll completely take race out of the issue in terms of admissions and that everyone will be able to get into any school that they want no matter what race they are but solely based on their merit 

The in box. Reasons to vote no on the Illinois Constitutional Amendment. « Fred Klonsky

The in box. Reasons to vote no on the Illinois Constitutional Amendment. « Fred Klonsky:

The in box. Reasons to vote no on the Illinois Constitutional Amendment.

by Fred Klonsky

On the November Ballot, Illinois voters will be asked if they believe the Illinois Constitution should be amended to require a three-fifths majority vote in order to increase a benefit under any public pension or retirement system. Please vote NO on the proposed Constitutional Amendment (HJRCA 49). This Constitutional Amendment would also require that any local collectively-bargained agreement be approved by a three-fifths majority if those agreements had incentives or additional compensation increases beyond salary.

Reasons to VOTE NO:

ü  It is mostly the legislators’ fault that the pension systems were poorly funded throughout the decades. That diverted pension money was used for other state services and legislators’ “pet” projects instead;

Ten minute drawing. Vote no on the Illinois Constitutional Amendment.

by Fred Klonsky

Charter Schools' Role in Strengthening Public Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Charter Schools' Role in Strengthening Public Education - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Charter Schools' Role in Strengthening Public Education

by Pedro Noguera

Dear Deb,
I would like to take our conversation about reform in a slightly different direction and wade into an area of controversy that is dividing educators and communities throughout the country. What role do you think charter schools can and should play in advancing the reform and renewal of public education?
As you know, several progressive educators, including our good friend Ted Sizer who founded a charter school with his wife Nancy (Francis W. Parker School), saw charter schools as offering the potential for innovative practices that could not be as easily implemented in public schools. The impetus for creating charters was not anti-union, at least not for these educators. The goal was to create schools where teachers would have greater say in how schools were managed, that could be less rigid with respect to curriculum and teaching, and more responsive to the learning needs of students.
A quote from Sizer's Horace's Compromise may be helpful in reminding us of that goal:

Teachers are rarely consulted, much less given significant authority, over the rules and regulations 

Morning UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-9-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Write Your Letter to President Obama Today

by dianerav

Readers of this blog know that we are collecting letters to send to President Obama by October 17.
Please join us in opposing high-stakes testing and privatization.
We call this action the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Instructions on where to send your email are here.
Lets begin now to make our voices heard.

Hats Off to Tacoma!

by dianerav

I asked readers to tell me about good school districts that manage to offer a good education despite the testing mania. This reader in Tacoma explains what is happening there.
I am adding Tacoma, Washington, to the honor roll because it is an exemplar of good public education:
In Tacoma Public Schools, some schools do better than others, but overall I think we’ve done as best we can to follow the laws while also ensuring that the students are well-served. We are innovative. We have a high school extended day program modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone program. We have a School of the Arts, a Science and Math Academy, and two Montessori programs (1 that’s K-8 and 1 that’s K-5). We have an arts 

Can You Answer This Question?

by dianerav

I am often asked whether there are any districts that have managed to do the right thing despite all the federal mandates.
Are there any districts that have managed to minimize the harmful consequences of high-stakes testing?
Are there districts that have managed to protect the arts, physical education, recess, history, civics, foreign 

EduBusiness Soars, Your Pension Not So Much

by dianerav

Here is a site that takes a hard look at the profit-making end of education, and it is booming. Business is amazingly good, what with all the new opportunities for testing, test prepping, outsourcing, online stuff, new technologies.
Meanwhile, your public officials are trying to figure out how to cut teachers’ pensions.
Remember the old saying: “A promise made is a debt unpaid.”
The new version is: “Promises are meant to be broken.”

If This Newspaper Gets It, Why Can’t the NY Times?

by dianerav

The Reading (Pa.) Eagle has a smart editorial questioning the state’s rating system for schools. It seems that quite a few local schools did not make “adequate yearly progress.”
The editorialist wrote:
“…we do not believe this is a sign local districts suddenly are doing a poor job. It’s a sign of an incomprehensible system that sets up schools to fail and encourages an educational structure focused on getting high test scores rather than well-rounded learning.
“Only a bureaucrat could comprehend the regulations involved. Some schools on the warning list achieved higher scores than others that were judged to have met the standard…

Really. Truly. It’s Not about Profit.

by dianerav

Edushyster has done it again.
Here, Edushyster defends Joel Klein against the outrageous claim that Rupert Murdoch is trying to make a profit by selling lots of stuff to the schools. It’s all about collaboration. It’s all about replacing teachers with technology to help with budgetary issues. It’s all about reform.

A Blow to Reform/Privatization

by dianerav

If you ask leading privatizers where are the examples of success for their theories, they will surely point to New York City.
Surely you heard about the “New York City miracle.” Australia is redesigning its national system because of the success of the alleged miracle.
But what about New York City? More than 100 schools closed, and hundreds of new schools opened. More than 100 new charters. School report cards. Testing and accountability. Constant evaluation and data-based-decision-

The Next Targets of Corporate Reform

by dianerav

Mike Petrilli of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute summarizes “What’s Next” for reformers (some prefer to call them privatizers).
Race to the Top was a great coup for the privatizers/reformers.
Now they plan to follow up with a direct assault on schools of education, abetted by NCTQ’s forthcoming rankings, to be published by US News. NCTQ was created by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation a dozen years ago, and saved at the outset by a grant from Secretary of Education Rod Paige. In 2005, it got caught up 

PD: How do educators get to know what they don’t know? « My Island View

PD: How do educators get to know what they don’t know? « My Island View:

PD: How do educators get to know what they don’t know?

by tomwhitby

When it comes to education reform, there are in general two major camps, but there are also several variations of each. The first camp would like to blow up the system and start all over. The other camp wants to continue the status quo while working to change it in directions governed by whatever dominant force of change has the ear of the public at the time. I find my own inclinations falling somewhere between the two camps. I want to blow some stuff up while improving upon some existing stuff. Like most educators, or any people with a basic understanding of authentic assessment, I do want to blow up any notion or hint of compliance with high stakes, standardized testing. The area of improvement that I think will get us the biggest bang for the all-important, tax buck is professional development.
It has long been my position that to be better educators, we need to be better learners. Since I have worked in 

Eleven year old: ‘Ridiculous’ to use my test to grade my teacher

Eleven year old: ‘Ridiculous’ to use my test to grade my teacher:

Eleven year old: ‘Ridiculous’ to use my test to grade my teacher

by Valerie Strauss

  

In the out-of-the-mouths-of-babes category, here’s a post about the flaws of modern teacher evaluation that are evidence to an 11-year-old but,

(By LUCIAN PERKINS/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

apparently, not to school reformers. It was written by Sean C. Feeney, principal of The Wheatley School and president of the Nassau County High School Principals Association.

Feeney is a co-author of the New York State Principals’ APPR  letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student test scores that has been signed by more than 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors

School libraries without books

by Valerie Strauss

 

 

 

Imagine a newly modernized school with a built-in library/media center — but no books to put on the shelves. Actually, you don’t have to imagine.
Read about what’s going on with libraries in D.C. public schools (DCPS) in this open letter to Mayor Vincent Gray from D.C. resident and school library advocate Peter MacPherson. He’s been fighting a move by DCPS to cut funding for dozens of school librarian positions.

Read full article >>

SI&A Cabinet Report – SBE’s Kirst calls on Munger to ditch ads attacking governor’s tax plan

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

SBE’s Kirst calls on Munger to ditch ads attacking governor’s tax plan
By Tom Chorneau
Tuesday, October 09, 2012

The increasingly aggressive tenor of ads by fellow Democratic critics attacking Gov. Jerry Brown’s November tax measure prompted a new call from education leaders and union supporters for an end to the hostility they believe risks passage of both the governor’s Proposition 30 and rival Proposition 38.

In letters released Monday by the Brown campaign, supporters of the governor’s tax measure said they expect a new round of ads will go up statewide beginning today from backers of Proposition 38 focused only on criticizing the governor’s tax proposal.

Correspondence sent to members of the California PTA, Mike Kirst, the governor’s appointed president of the California State Board of Education warned that proponents of Proposition 38 “are leading us down a dangerous path and imperiling the education we all care about.”

Kirst, a professor emeritus at Stanford University and a national figure in the education community, said he understood and respected the PTA’s decision to support Proposition 38  but asked members to “do all in your power 

Rift widens between backers of ed initiatives 30 and 38

Rift widens between backers of ed initiatives 30 and 38

October 9th, 2012 | Add a Comment | 
By John Fensterwald and Kathryn Baron

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All pretense of goodwill is gone between backers of the two competing education tax measures on November’s ballot. 

State Board of Education President Mike Kirst and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg joined union leaders Monday in sending a strongly worded letter to Molly Munger, the primary backer of Proposition 38, asking her not to run TV ads criticizing Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s school funding measure. Kirst also emailed an undisclosed number of PTA leaders,implying they should pressure Munger “to do all in your power to stop this destructive course of action.” The state PTA, bucking education groups representing school boards, unions, and 

In Oakland, tumult in special education leads teachers to organize - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

In Oakland, tumult in special education leads teachers to organize - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

In Oakland, tumult in special education leads teachers to organize

Monday, October 8th, 2012 at 1:23 pm in No Comments

A series of decisions about the costs, staffing and structure of Oakland Unified’s special education department caused parents to mobilize in June against last-minute reductions to the program.
Months later, the 11th-hour reassignment of dozens of special education teachers appears to have had a similar effect on teachers. (District staff have since reported that many, but not all, of those changes have been rescinded.)
Within the teacher’s union, a new group has emerged: The OEA Special Education Caucus website features a blog, a statement of purpose, and possible solutions for improved communication and logistics, including 

NYC Educator: Why Tenure Is Necessary

NYC Educator: Why Tenure Is Necessary:

Why Tenure Is Necessary

by NYC Educator

Of course, the papers are full of horror stories about teachers. We have jobs for life. We sit and read the newspaper while our students murder one another. We can't see it because we choose the New York Times, that great big paper that completely blocks our range of view. Furthermore, we're elitist and out of touch for choosing that over the Daily News. Never mind that the editorial board of the Times hates us just as much as that of the News.

In reality, Mayor Bloomberg and his fellow "reformers" wish to fire us for any reason or no reason. Case in 

Sacramento Press / We Cannot Cut Our Way to Quality Education

Sacramento Press / We Cannot Cut Our Way to Quality Education:

We Cannot Cut Our Way to Quality Education

by Al Bauer

As a result of the Wall Street induced recession in 2008, I have personally seen the impact of the $18 billion in statewide cuts to public education in my classroom. Furlough days have been implemented, department budgets have been decimated and important services for students have been eliminated. Even before the recession hit, California already ranked near the bottom in per pupil spending and had the highest average class size. Proposition 30 is a reasonable and logical effort to address critical needs in our public education system and public safety.
To raise funds for public education and public safety, Proposition 30 would increase income tax by 1% on single 

Deasy warns that looming budget cuts threaten classroom gains - latimes.com

Deasy warns that looming budget cuts threaten classroom gains - latimes.com:

Deasy warns that looming budget cuts threaten classroom gains

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy warned Monday of “catastrophic” consequences for local schools if California voters fail to approve tax measures on the November ballot.
In a speech billed as a state-of-the-schools address, Deasy took two distinctly different paths.
In the first part, he listed recent district accomplishments and insisted that the nation’s second-largest school system had never performed better, even though considerable improvement remains necessary. In part two, he laid out the argument that all this progress faces immediate risk if voters reject both Proposition 30 and Proposition 38.
Deasy spoke before an audience of educators, dignitaries and media at the Robert F. Kennedy Community