A Parent’s Modest Proposal
Here is an idea: Monetize your son or daughter. A reader suggests: I am thinking maybe I should auction off the placement of my daughter, an excellent test taker with consistently high scores, to the highest bidding teacher. The teacher gets to keep their job and I get to add to the college fund. Win Win.
Leave a Comment on Huffington Post
This piece about “disruption” was cross-posted on Huffington Post, meaning that I wrote it this morning, got an invitation from HuffPost to write something, and offered to put this post in both places. I may do this with future blogs, to help spread the message of hope and good cheer about the growing movement to free our schools from the heavy hands of the corporate reformers. Feel free to go to
Why “Disruption” Is Not Good for Children, Families, Schools, and Communities
Earlier today, I published Judith Shulevitz’s brilliant essay on “disruption” as a business strategy. As we know, mega-corporations believe they must continually reinvent themselves in order to have the latest, best thing and beat their competitors, who are about to overtake them in the market. They believe in disruption as a fundamental rule of the marketplace. By some sloppy logic or sleight-of-
Duncan Hails Tennessee for Tying Teacher Licenses to Test scores
A reader sent this comment: “U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement today in support of Tennessee’s decision to make changes to its teacher licensure policy: “I want to praise Tennessee’s continuing effort to improve support and evaluation for teachers. For too long, in too many places, schools systems have hurt students by treating every teacher the same – failing
Which Costs More: Education or Incarceration?
Robert Shepherd posted an interesting comment about where our society is willing to”throw money”: “How well I remember George Bush senior setting the direction for decades of policy by saying “You can’t solve the education problem by throwing money at it.” “Well, we seem to have no problem throwing money at prisons in this country. As of year-end 2011, 6.9777 million U.S. adults were “under correc
Breaking News: Boston Mayor Candidate Rejects Stand on Children’s $500,000
Earlier today, the news broke that the notorious Wall Street-funded corporate Stand on Children had selected John R. Connolly as their favorite for mayor and planned to give him $500,000-700,000. But it must have played badly in Boston, because Connolly announced that he would reject their campaign contribution. Surely there are enough successful hedge fund managers in Boston to pay for their guy’
How Did NYC Charters Fare on Common Core Tests?
We have often heard that charter schools will “save poor kids trapped in failing public schools.” We have also often heard that NYC has the best charter schools in the nation because the city chooses the authorizers so carefully and monitors them frequently. It is interesting, therefore, to look at the performance of the charter sector on the absurdly hard Common Core tests, where most kids across
Gary Rubinstein on Tennessee’s “Underachievement District”
When Kevin Huffman (ex-TFA) brought in his friend Chris Barbic (ex-TFA) to run a district made up of the state’s lowest performing schools, the district was euphemistically called the Achievement School District. Barbic promised that within five years, these schools would rank in the top 25% in the state. In its first year report, the state ranked it 5 out of 5 in growth; math scores were up by 3
Connecticut Commissioner Puts Uncertified Charter Leader in Charge of Turnarounds
Stefan Pryor was named state commissioner of education in Connecticut two years ago. He was a co-founder of the Achievement First charter chain, which has achieved a certain notoriety for its sky-high suspension rates (even in kindergarten), inflated graduation rates, and its very low numbers of English language learners (or none at all). Pryor has favored the charter sector at every turn, and Ac
Boston Candidate for Mayor: Keep Outside $$$ Out of Our Race
One of our loyal readers in Boston informs us that one candidate in the Boston mayoral race–Rob Consalvo– has appealed to his fellow candidates to refuse funding from out-of-state groups. Fat chance. Not only is Stand on Children (allegedly based in Oregon) throwing in between $500,000-750,000, but other groups including New York-based Democrats for Education Reform (the Wall Street hedge fund man
New Mayor in Los Angeles Hires Broadie as Education Advisor
Although billionaire Eli Broad’s candidates lost the last two school board elections, he will still maintain his grip over the Los Angeles school system. The newly elected Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the selection of a Broad-trained educator as his education advisor. Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana was a classmate of Superintendent John Deasy in the class of 2006 in the unaccredited Broad Superinte
Advice from Your Secretary of Education
A reader follows Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Twitter feed (I do not; I do not monitor him). She noticed that he often promotes commercial, for-profit vendors. Others have noticed how often he lauds privately-managed charter schools and how seldom he praises public schools, except when their staff has been fired. She writes: Speaking of monitoring, Duncan’s Twitter feed is absolutely ama
Anthony Cody: The DOE Monitored Us But Ignored What We Said
If there is a watch list at the U.S. Department of Education, surely Anthony Cody must be on it, along with me. Anthony has been one of the most articulate critics of Arne Duncan and Bill Gates and the whole corporate reform agenda. Just when I think he can’t outdo his last column, he proves me wrong. This time, he explains his efforts to engage with Arne Duncan and how Duncan brushed him off. He
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-21-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Upside Down World of Common CoreThis is a terrific article from an unusual source: George Ball, past president of the American Horticultural Society and chairman of the Burpee Seed Company. Ball writes: “Frequently, these days, I’m reminded of Edward Lear’s whimsical illustration, “Manypeeplia Upsidedownia.” The drawing depicts
