LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

What a Professional Teacher Preparation Program Looks Like

by dianerav

One of the worst sins of Teach for America is that it has convinced politicians and corporate leaders that teachers need little or no professional preparation. Unlike doctors, lawyers, social workers, architects, engineers, or any other profession, teachers are allegedly well prepared to teach simply by holding a college degree and getting five weeks of training. In any other profession, this would be considered absurd. But TFA has sold our elites on this devaluation of the profession.
This reader has another view of what is really needed:
Dear Diane,
I am currently retired after teaching in Glenview, Illinois for 34 years. In the early 90’s our district was invited to 

News from New Hampshire: Erase Church-State Line

by dianerav

New Hampshire has become a new battleground over church-state issues. Conservatives want to divert public funding to support of religious schools.
Defenders of public education are taking action. A group called Advancing New Hampshire Public Education is a valuable resource of information and research about this stealth attack on public education. Some of those behind this project want nothing less than to dismantle public education.

A Teacher Questions the Common Core Standards

by dianerav

A teacher writes about the pluses and minuses of the Common Core:
There are a lot of good reasons to adopt the Common Core Standards. They really do provide an excellent framework for what would would love to see our students doing: thinking, writing, finding evidence in text, justifying arguments, and persevering in problem solving.
That being said, it is clear that there are some crazy problems that will require a lot more thoughtful implementation. There is no technology to prepare for the tests. There are no curricular materials to support 

Melissa Harris-Perry Rips Mayor Bloomberg

by dianerav

MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry tore into New York City Mayor Bloomberg for his latest tactic: blaming teen pregnancy for causing poverty.
Harris-Perry knows that poverty is caused by the economic structure of society, by a society that allows one man–like Michael Bloomberg or Bill Gates or Eli Broad–to accumulate many billions of dollars while millions are 

What Is the End-Game for “Reformers”?

by dianerav

Marc Epstein is an experienced history teacher in New York City whose school–Jamaica High School–was closed as part of the Bloomberg reform plans. Marc holds a Ph.D. In Japanese history, but he is now part of the Absent Teacher Reserve (ATR) pool, a large number of teachers whoever schools were closed. The teachers now roam the system, assigned for a week at one school, then another, their skills, knowledge, and experience 

Time for TFA to Stop the Spin

by dianerav

Gary Rubinstein noticed a burst of TFA tweets making dramatic claims. They said that a new study found that students of TFA teachers gained one year more than teachers with same experience, and that middle students gained a half year more from TFA teachers than from other new teachers.
Gary read the study and found that these dramatic claims were over hyped.
In eight comparisons, five showed no statistically significant difference.
In the middle school study, the students in TFA classrooms got two extra questions right on a 40 question test. 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-9-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] What Kind of Education Do “Reformers” Want for Their Kids? by dianerav Krazy TA asks a relevant question: Do reformers put their own children in no-excuses schools? He writes: *The charterites/privatizers have toned it down a bit, but remember the electrifying mantra “we want to give poor kids the same education that rich kids get”? [chant in alternating patterns with "poverty is not destiny."]* *All right then. Go to the websites of the Waldorf School of the Pen... more »

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: John Stossel hated school. Investigates unschooling.

Lisa Nielsen: The Innovative Educator: John Stossel hated school. Investigates unschooling.:

John Stossel hated school. Investigates unschooling.

by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)

In case you missed it, last week, John Stossel did a segment on unschooling as part of his “Education Blob” special.  In the segment he pointed out that the number of homeschoolers is on the rise nationally, a whopping 75% since 1999. This puts the number of homeschoolers in the nation about equal to those attending charter schools. He shares that the number of families that homeschool today for religious purposes is on the decline as the choice today is more likely to be the result of dissatisfaction with the government schooling system.  He informed viewers that compared to publicly schooled kids,

Louisiana Educator: NOLA.com, Blackboard Wars Reveal Charter Shortcomings

Louisiana Educator: NOLA.com, Blackboard Wars Reveal Charter Shortcomings:

NOLA.com, Blackboard Wars Reveal Charter Shortcomings

by Michael Deshotels

Recent reports in NOLA.com have described California charter school developer Steve Barr's problems with expanding his charter concept to New Orleans. Bar has a contract with Oprah's OWN network to produce a documentary series on his efforts to turnaround John McDonogh high school in New Orleans

Bar's comments in the NOLA story contradict each other. In one instance he talks about how "beautiful and brilliant" he finds the students of John DcDonogh High School. In another instance he criticizes the New Orleans community and students exclaiming "this is what seven generations of crap looks like!"

The OWN network documentary focuses on some of the new TFA teachers struggling to succeed in their teaching assignments at John McDonogh. Steve Barr is quoted explaining that such teachers are having problems because of inexperience. He points out that it takes at least 4 or 5 years for a teacher to 

Corporate Money Rolls Into School Board Elections Nationwide | Classroom Struggle

Corporate Money Rolls Into School Board Elections Nationwide | Classroom Struggle:

Corporate Money Rolls Into School Board Elections Nationwide

by ClassroomStruggle

The hijacking of local school board elections by corporate funders pushing their education “reform” policies continues unabated across the country.   This pattern has already been seen in our elections in Oakland last November which we analyzed here.  November was when the PAC for GO Public Schools collected $185,000  to be donated to their three candidates Jumoke Hodge, James Harris, and Rosie Torres.  This doesn’t mean GO doesn’t also support other corporate “reformers” on the board such as Jody London who also ran in November, but it seems they were more worried about the potential for losing in the districts of Hodge, Harris, and Torres.   So to defend their policies at all costs they collected $50,000 each from such luminaries as Arthur Rock, a San Francisco hedge fund capitalist, Gary Rogers, millionaire founder of Dreyer’s Ice Cream and seed funder of GO Public Schools, and the California Charter Schools Association.   Compared to the next largest source of money, the OEA, GO spent 9 times as much.

The money doesn’t stop in Oakland.  Last week’s Los Angeles school board elections saw millions of dollars in corporate money, again ridiculously 

Are the common core math standards developmentally appropriate for 1st graders? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Are the common core math standards developmentally appropriate for 1st graders? | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Are the common core math standards developmentally appropriate for 1st graders?

by Gary Rubinstein

My sister’s friend is a first grade teacher in a ‘challenging’ school in New York.  People who know about education know that poor students often enter kindergarten, already a few years behind their more affluent peers.  Good teachers, when given the freedom to teach their students at an appropriate level for their incoming skills, are able to help students progress.
But when teachers are forced, from a top down mandate, to teach an untested curriculum based on the concept that by adding more ‘rigor,’ students will rise to meet the new expectations, well, that can be a problem.
I have a vivid memory of being in first grade and having to answer some questions like :  5 + blank = 7.  I would do these by counting up from 5 until I got to 7 and see how many I needed to count.  My teacher, seeing that I was pretty good at this suggested that I could get the answer even more quickly by just doing 7 minus 5.  I 

Response: We Need "Fewer John Waynes & More John Deweys" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher

Response: We Need "Fewer John Waynes & More John Deweys" - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo - Education Week Teacher:

Response: We Need "Fewer John Waynes & More John Deweys"

By Larry Ferlazzo on March 10, 2013 9:54 PM

(This is Part One of a two-part series.)

Last week's question was:

How can teachers best relate to Superintendents -- and vice versa?

This is a question that I regularly wrestle with in our school district, and I assume many others around the country do as well.

Today's guest responses will be coming from the perpective of teachers -- shared by Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers; Dean Vogel, President of the California Teachers Association (Disclosure: I am a proud member of the CTA); and Barnett Berry of the Center For Teaching Quality (Disclosure: I am a member of the Center's Teacher Leaders Network). Part Two in this series will be sharing thoughts from three Superintendents, as well as from readers.

Response From Randi Weingarten

Randi Weingarten is President of the American Federation of Teachers:

Fewer John Waynes, More John Deweys

How can teachers and superintendents best relate to one another? We have to walk in each other's shoes. Simple to say--but unfortunately not so simple to do.

I've worked with a lot of superintendents--as a teacher, as a local union leader, and now as the national president of the American Federation of Teachers. The best relationships I've had were those built on mutual respect--sharing a common goal but understanding each other's roles and responsibilities in achieving it. Essentially, it's about doing everything in our power to make our 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Remember when Crown and Edelman told us how they did it?

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Remember when Crown and Edelman told us how they did it?:

Remember when Crown and Edelman told us how they did it?

by Mike Klonsky

Popout

It was back in 2011 when Jonah Edelman and Stand For Children, backed by billionaires like Crown, Pritzker, Griffin, and Rauner, took IL politicians and union leaders for a ride.

Blackboard Wars Episode 4 | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Blackboard Wars Episode 4 | Gary Rubinstein's Blog:

Blackboard Wars Episode 4

by Gary Rubinstein

With two more episodes in this first season of Oprah’s Blackboard wars, they do not have a lot of time left to complete a successful ‘turnaround.’  I can’t say how good this school was before the charter takeover, as I wasn’t there.  I also can’t say how good the school system was in New Orleans before the TFA led chartering of most of the schools in the city.  My sense is that the schools were pretty bad before, and now they’re also bad, but in a more corrupt way with ‘reformers’ getting rich from it.
In this episode we see a pretty stunning display of community resistance to what is going on at the school.  Though the head of the charter company claims that most of the community embraces them, and there are just a few loud critics, I don’t know if I believe him.
In one scene a community activist is kicked out of the school while expressing her frustration.  This story line is edited in a way that I think is supposed to make the frustrated community members seem like kooks.  Instead, I 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core. A Rigorous or a Worksheet Education?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core. A Rigorous or a Worksheet Education?:

Common Core. A Rigorous or a Worksheet Education?

by stlgretchen

In the legislative hearings for MO SB 210 and HB 616, Common Core proponents insisted the new standards and assessments were rigorous.  Over the next several days, we will be providing examples of Pearson designed CCSS assessments for your review and you can get a hint of what is ahead for your child in Missouri.

The state of New York has implemented CCSS in many schools and you will be seeing actual examples of what we assume the Missouri CCSS proponents would classify as rigor in the classroom.   Are these CCSS aligned examples indicative of the type of rigor that will result in authentic learning for students in Missouri?

From nystoptesting and Is Your Child Getting a "Worksheet" Education?:

******************************************

 

Does your child bring home exclusively worksheets? No creative or fun work in the take home folder?  No challenging assignments? If so, your child could be receiving a "worksheet" education.

What is a "worksheet education"? 
When a student only completes "fill in the blanks", multiple choice, and short answer 

Introducing the Master Race of South Bronx Classical Charter School.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Introducing the Master Race of South Bronx Classical Charter School

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

Every charter school has a board of trustees, a bunch of do gooders if you will. South Bronx Classical Charter is no different. Therefore, we here at SBSB wish to introduce the trustees of SBCC to the District 7 and PS 154 community. See if you can notice a pattern.

First up is C. Stephen Baldwin; Chairman of the SBCCS Board of Trustees.

Steve is...currently a writer, has served as counsel with the United Nations, executive director of the Learning Disabilities Association of NYC, third grade teacher in the South Bronx, and arbitrator/mediator with the United Nations, Population Council, and Ford Foundation.

Steve seems really old and we are curious on how long he taught 3rd grade in the Bronx

Next is James Maher; Trustee. Steve's education background consists of;

Mr. Maher is a Vice President of Real Estate Acquisitions at BlackRock 

From the NYCDOE: Talking to your child about the #commoncore and tests – @ the chalk face

From the NYCDOE: Talking to your child about the #commoncore and tests – @ the chalk face:

From the NYCDOE: Talking to your child about the #commoncore and tests

by Chalk Face, PhD

A conversation guide courtesy of the NYCDOE. How very helpful.
Are you kidding me?

Explain to your child that most of the jobs she will want when she grows up will require her to be a good reader and writer. She will need to be able to do math problems that come up in the real world and use evidence to make strong arguments that convince others.

I’m sure these sentiments will be very important to your eight year old:

That’s because they are designed to measure whether students are on track for college and a good job when they finishhigh school.

And don’t worry poor little ELL, we’ll get you there:

If your child is still learning English, let her know that her teachers understand the new tests may 

@ the chalk face

@ the chalk face:

Give me your tired test prep assignments, your poor #CCSS homework examples…

BY CHRIS CERRONE 1 COMMENT

… your huddled students yearning to learn free from corporate education reform. Here At the Chalkface we have had several articles that have been widely read and shared recently:http://atthechalkface.com/2012/12/12/is-your-child-getting-a-worksheet-education/http://atthechalkface.com/2013/03/05/kindergarteners-get-ready-to-confront-the-new-economy/http://atthechalkface.com/2013/03/06/guess-the-grade-level-of-this-common-core-homework/ The theme of these pieces is test preparation and Common Core worksheets/homework assignments.  These articles are examples of the harm corporate education reform [...]

School Closings: The dislocation of America’s unwanted.

Timothy D. Slekar at @ the chalk face - 6 minutes ago

Last night I attended the “People’s Board Meeting” in Chicago and heard powerful testimony from parents concerning school closings. Why do we move poor and minority kids out of neighborhood schools and then turn the buildings into Charter schools? This school closing thing just smells of racism/classism. Someone has to say it! “STOP hurting our [...]

Behold, it appears legit, the court docket for the AFT president

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 21 minutes ago

She actually was arrested at a protest event in Philadelphia on March 7th, for disorderly conduct. Although, I mean, the threshold is likely rather low for that charge. Nevertheless, Ms. Weingarten will need to be back in Philly later this month. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: arrest, philadelphia, philly, protest, weingarten

Put on your spy goggles, it’s #commoncore time!!

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 47 minutes ago

This is very exciting ladies and gentlemen. We’d like to introduce to you to a new installment of Common Core homework. This comes to us from the parent of a wee-little kindergartener. Behold, folks, this is what we’ve all been waiting for. If you thought little boys and girls were getting educated before, well, then [...]

Is #TFA a cult?

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 1 day ago

Anecdotal, but interesting, nonetheless: Just received confirmation from a former student that during training, TFA tells is Corps members not to interact with veteran teachers at the schools they are placed in and not to eat in the Faculty Cafeteria because those teachers are “jaded.” Wow. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: [...]

@thinkprogress makes the progressive case against higher tuition costs. Careful. #highered

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 1 day ago

Progressives frequently lament the increasing costs of higher education, as Think Progress does here. Young persons are saddled with debt and this is a very troubling situation. As a faculty member, I have a somewhat different perspective. I suppose it’s easy, from a student’s perspective, to criticize all aspects of a university for rising tuition [...]

Give me your tired test prep assignments, your poor #CCSS homework examples…

Chris Cerrone at @ the chalk face - 1 day ago

… your huddled students yearning to learn free from corporate education reform. Here At the Chalkface we have had several articles that have been widely read and shared recently: http://atthechalkface.com/2012/12/12/is-your-child-getting-a-worksheet-education/ http://atthechalkface.com/2013/03/05/kindergarteners-get-ready-to-confront-the-new-economy/ http://atthechalkface.com/2013/03/06/guess-the-grade-level-of-this-common-core-homework/ The theme of these pieces is test preparation and Common Core worksheets/homework assignments. These articles are examples of the harm corporate e...more »

The crowd at #SXSWedu and #edtech could ultimately learn from this.

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 2 days ago

A great article from the NYT on Sunday comes at a pretty good time, given the passing of SXSW in Austin, TX these last few days. I was, of course, not in Texas, but I followed conversations and happenings online related to education, or the hashtag #SXSWedu. You get the impression that a lot of [...]

Rank, RANK amateurism from #PARCC tools and #commoncore

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 2 days ago

I’ve commented on this previously. And one more here. I had forwarded to me an email message about PARCC releasing some kind of planning tools to get ready for the big assessments. I decided to examine the prototypes again to see if there was anything different. They’re the SAME things they released in November when I [...]

The Algebra of the Market: “Equality” Does Not Equal “Equity”

plthomasedd at @ the chalk face - 2 days ago

Let’s start with a graphic and Question 1: Do Student X and Student Y below have EQUAL opportunities to move the boulder? The answer is obvious, “Yes.” Now, let’s go one step further and consider this: In the free market (both the U.S. economy and the “free market” of ideas within schools), capital (economic, social, [...]

Guess the grade level of this Common Core homework.

Chris Cerrone at @ the chalk face - 2 days ago

Scroll down beyond my brief rant to find the answer. Let me start off by saying that I believe in challenging my 7th grade students and want the same for my own children. There is a significant difference between getting kids to strive beyond the basics and crossing the line to complete a task that [...]

Large Monopoly board planned for #occupy2.0 in DC, #optout

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 3 days ago

This is just a blank diagram of the giant education reform Monopoly board I’m going to paint on canvas. I plan on rolling it out for people to play during the event. Working out all of the spaces, suggestions in the comments would be helpful. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: education [...]

Students walking out of #TCAP in Colorado, #stuvoice

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 3 days ago

Student power, need we say more. Students are doing what students can do, stepping aside during a state-mandated test that means nothing. If you’re in Colorado, consider supporting them. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: colorado, students, tcap, testing, walkout

Pittsburgh deputy superintendent said …. And #edweek followed up by…?

Timothy D. Slekar at @ the chalk face - 3 days ago

I know at some point I’m going to drive readers away with my constant picking at EdWeek. So let me just say this. When someone makes a claim about research that is either contextless or just outright wrong I believe that the journalist, should at a minimum, point out the complexities associated with such statements. [...]

Details on #sequestration and #edreform… blah, blah, blah

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 3 days ago

Both poles of the political spectrum have been trying to game the impacts of the sequester. I wanted to take a closer look at its effects in education, particularly in the state where I reside, Maryland. Fortunately for us plebes, documents are available detailing the impact of the sequester in each state. Here’s Maryland’s, for [...]

Kindergarteners: Get Ready to “Confront the New Economy”

Kris Nielsen at @ the chalk face - 3 days ago

Earlier today, I had a short Twitter conversation with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. It went something like this: Randi: not the implementation or roll out, but the [Common] core is key to helping kids confront new economy Me: It will help them face the new economy. Not in a good [...]

Special episode of At the Chalk Face coming up at 5PM EST with Carol Burris

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 4 days ago

You can listen via this link. Live tweet or join us in the chat room. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: appr, at the chalk face, carol burris, new york, principals

Does #edweek add any value?

Timothy D. Slekar at @ the chalk face - 4 days ago

Someone has to say it! Stop calling experiments that use value added data “research” unless you are willing to state up front that “the findings you are about to see have absolutely NO VALUE in understanding the complicated work of teaching and learning.” Just today, EdWeek let us know that, New teachers become much more [...]

This blog is pretty smartly written, quid faciunt #highered

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 4 days ago

Came across this. Largely faculty issues in higher education. Smart stuff. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: Denver, faculty, higher education

May the odds be ever in your favor, #commoncore

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 4 days ago

So, now we are at least clear on one item. The President of a large educators’ union concurs that the Common Core Curriculum, imposed upon public schools in nearly all states, means to prepare young persons to simply “confront the new economy.” This occurs while the affluent amongst us, who will not experience anything like [...]

#Sequestration #edreform, the “cartoon”

Chalk Face, PhD at @ the chalk face - 4 days ago

Maybe it speaks for itself. Filed under: CHALK FACE: General News & Commentary Tagged: budget, Duncan, education reform, Obama, sequestration