LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-6-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Election Updates

The election yesterday produced mixed results for supporters of public education. We won some, we lost some. This is big progress. A few years ago, it appeared that the corporate reform crowd would have a free hand and would be able to buy school board seats wherever they chose. As usual, a number of contests were showered with big money from corporate reformers. The Network for Public Education e

7 by dianerav / 26min 

The de Blasio Mandate for Education

The de Blasio Mandate for Education   The election of Bill de Blasio represents a major national setback for the agenda shared not only by Mayor Bloomberg, but by George W. Bush, Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange), the Koch brothers and many others. What they had in common was that they had the gall to call themselves “reforme

12 by dianerav / 43min 

Indiana: GOP Plan to Privatizatize Public Schools Revealed

There is a pattern on the rug. First, you silence the teachers’ unions. Then, you strip teachers of tenure, ie, any job protection, to keep them fearful. Along the way, you keep saying that the public schools are broken, failing, obsolete. Keep demonizing teachers. Destroy public confidence in public schools. That clears the way to hand public money to private corporations. That opens the doo

16 by dianerav / 31min 

Bill Gates’ Utopian Vision for Your Child

Bill Gates has plans for your child. He wants to know everything he can about your child so he can customize and personalize the deliverables. A teacher in California told me that his principal enthusiastically signed up for the Gates plan. Here is the survey that every teacher was asked to complete. Where do you think this is going? Is this utopia or dystopia? **********************HERE IS THE

1 by dianerav / 20min

Seth Sandronsky Reviews “Reign of Error”

Seth Sandronsky is a Sacramento-based writer whose work has appeared in many journals. Here he reviews “Reign of Error.” He writes: “With verve, she demystifies the corporate reform language, with its heavy reliance upon shibboleths about test scores (domestic and global), achievement gaps, high school and college graduation rates. Ravitch deconstructs the reformers’ education solutions such as

1 by dianerav / 5min 

St.Tammany Parish in Louisiana Drops Out of CCSS

St. Tammany Parish is one of the state of Louisiana’s high-performing districts. Its board passed a far-reaching resolution declaring that it was dropping out of the Common Core standards and would not administer the PARCC assessments. Its resolution explained why it was not willing to participate in this disruption to its schools: It objects to federal control of its curriculum; The CCSS were wri

11 by dianerav / 1h 

A True Story Told as a Fairy Tale

A principal in New York City wrote this story, borrowing from the story of the wolf and the Three Little Pigs. The wolf wants to eat the pigs. Who will save them? The moral of the story: The only way to defeat evil is to speak truth to power. Read on:     On Wednesday afternoon a principal stricken with worry about her increasing complicity in miseducative school deform policy stops by the New Yor

5 by dianerav / 2h 

Why Are Swedish Schools Falling Behind?

Among the nations of Europe, Sweden has taken the lead in imposing choice, competition, and high-stakes testing. Sweden has vouchers, so students can take their public money to any public or private school they want. Sweden also adopted a national curriculum. The result: a falling quality of education, lower results on international tests, and increased social stratification. This is an example of

35 by dianerav / 3h  

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 11-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Douglas County: Is This the Future of Public Education?Today, voters in Douglas County, Colorado, will decide the future of public education for the children of their county. In response to an earlier post about the election battle for control of the schools in Douglas County, where the school board is eager to privatize the school

by mike simpson / 8h 

11-6-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Turn on, Tune in, Opt Out: Change the Stakes Featured in Article in The Nation

Diana Zavala says parents are taking the reins of school governance, but with one key difference from administrators: “You can’t fire us.”... The Nation  Wooo hooo. Our awesome parent activists make the big time. Now I'm definitely going to the CTS steering committee meeting this afternoon at the very least to congratulate the CTS/MORE crew: Jia Lee (teacher/parent activist, MORE steering committe

1 by ed notes online / 3h 

 

11-5-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Next MORE Meeting: What do you think about the Common Core?Some of you might think why does MORE need to decide on a position on the common core? It should be a no-brainer. Well it is not. There are many progressives out there who are not clear about the issue, especially with the propaganda mill from the UFT/AFT, major corporations, the entire educational top level leadership etc

by mike simpson / 5h 

Shanker Blog » Can Solidarity Rebound?

Shanker Blog » Can Solidarity Rebound?:

Can Solidarity Rebound?

Posted by Eric Chenoweth on November 6, 2013

Our guest author today is Eric Chenoweth, co-director of the Institute for Democracy in Eastern Europe. In 2011, the Republic of Poland awarded him with the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit, one of its highest civilian honors, for his contributions to Poland’s democratic transformation and role in providing support to Solidarity Underground during Martial Law.

In the West, Poland’s Solidarity trade union remains a symbol of the triumph of workers, united in defense of their fundamental rights, against the might of communist dictatorship.

Its remarkable rise in 1980 after nationwide strikes, its nearly ten-year struggle for freedom after the government tried to crush it using  martial law, and its 1989 electoral victory that led to the collapse of communism throughout the region — all of this has become the stuff of historical legend. The story of Solidarity after 1989, however, is less well known. It is the story of how free trade unionism was nearly destroyed by extreme “free market” policies carried out in the name of democratic reform.

Twenty-five years ago, on June 4, 1989, more than 90 percent of Polish society participated in semi-free elections, part of a negotiated Roundtable Agreement between the communist government and Solidarity leaders. The election delivered a crushing blow to the communist regime. Solidarity candidates gained overwhelming victories in all contested seats while the communist party failed even to obtain the necessary quorum for their uncontested seats. The resulting political crisis brought into office the first non-communist government since the Soviet reoccupation of Poland in 1944. It was a stunning breakthrough that propelled the downfall of communist governments across the 

11-6-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Peters Expands Her Lead

Latest results from KC Elections:Peters -          51.78%  46,949Dale Estey    47.90%   43,430Peters is now up by over 3500 votes.  About 27.50% of the ballots have been counted.

by Melissa Westbrook / 37min 

Live Blogging from Board Meeting

Always tough on my iPad but here goes.  Room is filling up.  I see people from Wedgwood, likely Mann building supporters, and Kimball Elementary (about walk zones and feeder boundaries to middle school).People are smiling but I wonder how long that will last.Sorry, too hard to keep up and think about what is being said.  I will try to get something up tonight after I leave the meeting.

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 37min 

Do Feeder Patterns Make Gerrymandered Boundaries (the Crazy-Quilt Effect)?

Discuss among yourselves if this basic change might make the entire Enrollment plan better (Libros says her life would be easier) or should just be used for high school.

by Melissa Westbrook / 0min 

KUOW Vets the Charter Applicants - Not Quite the Quality 1240 Promised

I guess hope springs eternal for some charter school operators.  Or they don't think anyone will check their backgrounds (and to those I say, welcome to Washington State). Over at KUOW, they DID check.But a KUOW analysis found that the six established out-of-state charter organizations that hope to open schools here are failing to consistently meet state standards where they operate.   Pioneer You

by Melissa Westbrook / 30min mark as read  //  save

The Showdown Tonight

Between the Growth Boundaries Intro and the Mann building, it stands to be quite a night for a School Board meeting. There are 63 people signed up to speak (they will also 25). The majority are about the Mann building and I expect some pretty fiery rhetoric. (I plan to try to split my time - 1 minute whole minute on boundaries and one whole minute on Mann. I note that Charlie is also speaking and

by Melissa Westbrook / 56min 

Peters and Blanford Ahead; Patu Retains Seat

From King County Elections:District IV:Sue Peters: 51.46% - 39,177 votesSuzanne Dale Estey - 48.18% - 36,676 Write-in - 0.36% - 273 votesDistrict V:Stephan Blanford - 87.60% - 64,540 votesLaCrese Green - 11.93% - 8788 votesWrite-in - 0.47% - 344 votes District VII:Betty Patu: 98.49% -  586,889Write-in - 1.51% - 871 votesI just left a very happy Sue Peters election party.  Directors Smith-Blum, McL

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 9h 

11-5-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Tuesday Open ThreadFrom Publicola:Ballot returns for tomorrow's off-year mayoral election are coming in lower than expected, according to King County Elections spokeswoman Kim van Eckstrom, who estimates that "about 250,000 ballots have been returned" as of this morning (that's about 40,000 more than you'll currently see on King County's official election

by mike simpson / 8h 

11-6-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Learning standards and real life.

Sent to the Baltimore Sun, Nov 6Arnold Packer is right: "The Common Core won't help the common man," (Nov. 5). As Packer points out, the math standards are skewed to the college path. So are the English Language Arts standards: Susan Ohanian has remarked that they seem to be made for English majors.  John Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, spoke to this problem i

by skrashen / 16min 

Opt Out of Testing Is Now a National Movement

A clip from The Nation: ". . . .As standardized testing has grown, so too has its shadow. In 2011, the United Opt Outmovement was established to counter the pro-testing mania sweeping the country. Its website provides opt-out guides for forty-nine states and the District of Columbia, and connects a burgeoning community of grumbling and disaffected parents.“I didn’t ask for high-stakes tes

5 by Jim Horn / 16min 

An Overarching Accountability System Requires an Overarching Accountability System-Maker

Like his The Allure of Order, Jal Mehta’s“From Bureaucracy to Profession: Remaking the Educational Sector for the Twenty-First Century” provides an awesome and eclectic explanation of how to break out of the blame game and create a 21st century educational sector. “The political science concept of “path dependence” explains why the well-meaning efforts of accountability-driven reformers have faile

5 by John Thompson / 42min mark as read  //  save

Exploiting Fear to Steer Education Policy: It's Not Just for K-12 Anymore

Posted at Alternet October 31, 2013 as "Public Threat, Private Gain: How Scare Tactics Steer Education Policy to Benefit Corporate Interests." For more than 100 years, K-12 education policy has been driven by fears of foreign domination. Now that ideology is taking over higher ed, and lining corporate coffers in the process.In the fall of 2006, a special commission appointed by the U

2 by Jim Horn / 42min 

Vallas and CorpEd Lose in Bridgeport Election

The school board election in Bridgeport represents a clear referendum on the antiquarian loser reforms that have increasingly crippled public education over the past 30 years.  Will state governments and the Feds take note? How sweet it is! From CTPost.com: BRIDGEPORT -- The city Board of Education slipped out of the hands of Mayor Bill Finch and Schools Superintendent Paul Vallason Tuesday, d

2 by Jim Horn / 42min 

Now Posted Online: Doug Martin on Douglas Storm's WFHB Radio Show: Muckraking Education Politics

In case you missed it last night, here is the link to listen to Doug Martin and Douglas Storm discussing the corporate takeover of public schools last night on WFHB radio in Bloomington, Indiana: http://wfhb.org/news/interchange/interchange-doug-martin-muckraking-education-politcs/  This is from Storm's write-up on last night's show:Martin is a native Hoosier who has been investigating Indiana’s “

20 by Doug Martin / 12min mark as read  //  save

Duncan's Expensive Haiti Trip to Prop Up Paul Vallas's National Corporate Welfare Scheme

Some are wondering why Arne Duncan is taking eight members of his staff, along with translators and a security detachment to Haiti.  Simple: Since 2010, long-time mentor and education reform loser, Paul Vallas, has been providing "expertise" in creating a national system of publicly funded schools in Haiti that will be privately run.  And yes, to stay certified, schools must lock in to t

6 by Jim Horn / 3h 

11-5-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: New York's 7 Million Dollar Teacher Observation CoachesWhen Tennessee became the first state to implement a teacher evaluation system based on a Rube Goldberg designed observation rubric and invalid, unreliable, and unfair testing methodology, the State became a laughingstock.  Now that same crackpot scheme has come to New York and most likely to a school near you, if your state or

by mike simpson / 7h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Victory in Bridgeport. Pro-Vallas forces spanked.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Victory in Bridgeport. Pro-Vallas forces spanked.:

Victory in Bridgeport. Pro-Vallas forces spanked.

Democrats an Connecticut Working Family Party members tally election returns last night at the Red Rooster Deli, in Bridgeport, Conn.   Photo: Ned Gerard

“As I’ve gone around the country, I always point to Bridgeport as one of the signs that the people can beat the power.” -- Diane Ravitch

In yesterday's school board elections, the majority of the nine-member school board tipped in favor of the Connecticut Working Families Party as WFP candidates and Democrats won a decisive victory over Republicans and corporate reformers. But at center of the election campaign was the issue of Supt. Paul Vallas, currently waiting a court decision on his eligibility to hold the post.

Yesterday's victory was a blow not only to Vallas, but to Democratic Mayor Bill Finch who 

11-6-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

Image: Useful For Teaching Perception

Here’s a good image useful for teaching Perception in IB Theory of Knowledge classes: Perspective! pic.twitter.com/PwsMDW82m6 — Fascinating Pictures (@Fascinatingpics) November 6, 2013

8 by Larry Ferlazzo / 58min 

Student-Created Prompts As A Differentiation Strategy

I’m very good at differentiating instruction to make lessons more accessible to students facing learning challenges. Differentiating the other way, however, is another story. And one of my goals this year is to get better at providing a more intellectually stimulating environment for some of my students who want it and/or who I think need it. As our principal, Ted Appel, succinctly put it, these

9 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

English Language Learners Using Screentastic For Folktale Presentations

This year, our School District loosened our Internet filter, so there are now many more options for tools we can use (though, of course, our antiquated tech does create some barriers). Because of this new freedom of access without having to battle for individual sites to be unblocked, I’ve been pretty aggressive in experimenting with Web 2.0 tools to determine which ones provide the most benefit

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 40min 

Infographic: “National Teacher’s day around the world”

I’m adding this infographic to The Best Resources To Learn About World Teachers Day: Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

11 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

Literably Is An Excellent Reading Site — If Used With Caution

Reader Erika Chapman tipped me off to an excellent site called Literably. It allows students to read a text and have it automatically assessed for accuracy and words-per-minute speed. Plus, and this is what was most surprising to me, it also provides a fairly accurate indentification of student errors — in other words, what word they said instead of the word in the text. You’re able to provide th

11 by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h 

Getting A Special Wristband Is Not The Best Road To Greater Student Motivation

An article about a Florida high school providing special wristbands to academically eligible students which lead to special privileges is getting a lot of attention this week: Tyler Minnick showed off his school-issued yellow rubber bracelet with pride. It bore just two words — “on track.” To Minnick, it represented more than a wrist accessory. It meant he had earned enough credits to be on the w

12 by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h 

11-5-13 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Good Posts & Articles On Education PolicyHere are some recent posts and articles on education policy issues that are worth reading: The WOW! factor of CCSS is by Alice Mercer. I’m adding it to The Best Articles Sharing Concerns About Common Core Standards. State Board executive director optimis

by mike simpson / 8h