Holiday Hump Day Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Holiday Hump Day Diane Ravitch's blog 

A site to discuss better education for all

The NEA Demands Accountability and Transparency from Charter Schools

4by dianeravitch / 34min

The National Education Association passed a resolution on charter schools on July 4, 2017, which is appropriate because public schools are the foundation of democracy. Add this to the resolution passed last year by the NAACP. And the 

The Heroes of This Blog! Add Your Name!

by dianeravitch / 9min

We have quite an amazing collection of readers on this blog. I often post your comments, because they are well-written, succinct, informative, and besides which, most of you know know more about teaching and the everyday life of the 

Is Texas the Future of America? Let’s Hope Not!

by dianeravitch / 19min

This is a fascinating and funny and scary article about politics in Texas, written by Lawrence Wright, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and staff writer for The New Yorker. The title of the article is “America’s Future is Texas,” and we better hope it is wrong. When I was growing up in Houston, the state was reliably Democratic, although the Democrats were conservative. Now the state is a red stat

Maine: Governor LePage Reluctantly Increases School Funding, Vows to Get Even Next Year

3by dianeravitch / 1h

Governor Paul LePage of Maine is one of the worst governors in the nation. Twice he was elected by a plurality in a three-way race. He hates public schools. A citizens’ initiative forced him to raise state spending on them. He vowed to get even next yea r. LePage started his time in office by doing whatever Jeb Bush wanted, such as agreeing to sign on to Jeb’s Digital Learning business to benefit

Wendy Lecker: How Chicago Targeted Black and Latino Schools and Communities for Destruction

8by dianeravitch / 2h

This article is an excellent analysis by civil rights lawyer Wendy Lecker of the deliberate destruction of public education in black and Latino neighborhoods in Chicago. Chicago has purposely sacrificed the needs of black and Latino students while protecting and enhancing the needs of white students. We have to bear in mind what Rahm Emanuel told CTU leader Karen Lewis when he was first elected:

Peg Tyre: Can a High-Tech Start-Up in Africa Educate Hundreds of Millions of Children and Make a Profit?

5by dianeravitch / 3h

Peg Tyre, veteran journalist, published a balanced and well-written article about Bridge International Academies in the New York Times Magazine. BIA operates numerous low-fee, for-profit schools in Africa and its investors hope to spread its brand across the world. Investors in Bridge include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Pearson, and other familiar names. The founders had no education experience

YESTERDAY

Paul Horton: The Real Meaning of July 4

36by dianeravitch / 19h

Paul Horton teaches history at the University of Chicago Lab School. He writes: Creating a Commonwealth: July 4th as a Concept For most Americans July 4th is a celebration of American Independence. It is a day of music, fireworks, and grilling. We are bombarded with empty rhetoric about freedom from civic boosters who never learned much history. Many embrace a narrow version of American exception

Three of the Founding Fathers Died on July 4

12by dianeravitch / 20h

This is a wonderful bit of trivia about American history. Three of the nation’s Founding Fathers died on July 4. All three were former presidents. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day in 1826. James Monroe died on this day a few years later. John Adams wrote: “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. Th

Nancy Bailey: Celebrate This Day By Celebrating Our Public Schools, a Mainstay of Democracy

21by dianeravitch / 23h

Nancy Bailey dedicates her post to the late, beloved Joan Kramer. “On this 4th of July, when we celebrate America’s freedoms, it’s a perfect time to discuss our free public schools, and where we are with them when it comes to school reform. It’s important to understand that our public schools have a new threat, as I will explain below. “Public schools, with all their faults, are the only truly de

Bill Phillis: We Need The Separation of Church and State

17by dianeravitch / 1d

Bill Phillis retired years ago as a Deputy Commission of Education in Ohio. He is passionate about equitable funding for the public schools. He has been relentless in exposing the raids on the state treasury by private profiteers like ECOT and for-profit charters. He founded an organization called Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy. If you live in Ohio, you should join his work. Bill Phillis

Melissa Heckler Learned About Education for Democracy in Namibia

20by dianeravitch / 1d

What a curiously interconnected world this is! Melissa Heckler read Paul Thomas’s post about his terrible Father’s Day and his reflections on our “gladiator culture.” She is in Namibia. She was moved by it and sent me the speech she gave at Bank Street College in New York City when she received an alumni award. She said: Good Evening. Thank you to the Alumni Board for this award. I am honored. To

A Poem to Honor a Warrior for Children, for Intellectual Freedom, for Public Schools

29by dianeravitch / 1d

An admirer of the late Joan Kramer wrote this poem in her honor: In memory of our friend and dearest warrior Joan Kramer – may we all fight the good fight till the very end. Tribute to the Warriors Dark, deceitful, dreadful The war continues. Hidden from the public Children succumb to oblivion. Masses are found naked In the valley of corporate reform. Masses of children Stripped of their humanity

July 4: A Day to Celebrate Our Heroes: UPDATED!

200+by dianeravitch / 1d

This post is updated since 9 a.m. With your excellent suggestions. I always enjoyed July 4 as a day to celebrate our nation and to honor its heroes. With an ignorant bully in the White House, it is hard to feel good about what is 

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

Take Two® | Meet LAUSD's new school board member Kelly Gonez | 89.3 KPCC

Take Two® | Meet LAUSD's new school board member Kelly Gonez | 89.3 KPCC:

Meet LAUSD's new school board member Kelly Gonez

Kelly Gonez is a former teacher and the incoming LAUSD school board member for District 6, which covers the east of the San Fernando Valley.

Gonez's term begins July 6, and her win was cast as a victory by those who back charter schools.

In a sit-down interview with KPCC education reporter Kyle Stokes, Gonez addresses her commitment to charter schools and what's on her agenda for Day 1.

Interview highlights

DURING THE CAMPAIGN YOU HAD WRITTEN TO KPCC THAT, "I AM CONCERNED THAT MANY CHARTER OPERATORS ARE FINDING THE RENEWAL OR APPROVAL PROCESS TO BE MUCH MORE NEGATIVE THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST." COULD PEOPLE READ THAT AS YOUR DESIRE TO RELAX STANDARDS FOR CHARTER APPLICATIONS?

For me, I don't think that was the best choice of words. ...

I draw a distinction between oversight and meaningful accountability. The renewal process, but oversight generally, has not always been focused on students, so I've been concerned about that. 

So I don't think it's about relaxing standards at all, but compliance does not equal accountability. Real accountability means that we are looking holistically at how schools are doing and then we provide supports so they can improve.

SOME HAVE READ A LOT INTO THE FOUR-VOTE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ON THE BOARD, INCLUDING YOURSELF, WHO HAVE BEEN SUPPORTED BY CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. WHAT IF THIS IS A SIGNAL TO CHARTER OPERATORS THAT THEY COULD FIND A MORE WELCOME ENVIRONMENT FOR APPLICATIONS?

I'm not interested in a dramatic expansion or really any expansion, at all, in the number of independent charter schools in the district.

I understand why this narrative has picked up some steam, but I would urge people to dig a little bit deeper.

If you look at the many things that I have written, charter school expansion is not one of my stated priorities in my campaign.

WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES WHEN YOU TAKE OFFICE?

The first is ensuring that every child who graduates from an LAUSD high 

Take Two® | Meet LAUSD's new school board member Kelly Gonez | 89.3 KPCC:

Affluenza — The 20th Anniversary | The Merrow Report

Affluenza — The 20th Anniversary | The Merrow Report:

Affluenza — The 20th Anniversary

(Originally written for the blog of my Secular Franciscan Order fraternity in Mishawaka, Indiana)

This is the 20th anniversary of the broadcast of a documentary that has lodged itself in my heart and my mind. May I recommend it to you as a powerful reminder of the wisdom that comes to us from St. Francis, as well as Holy Scripture even more directly, and from Pope Francis more recently?

The inspirational one-hour report, called “Affluenza,” was shown on PBS and narrated by an NPR host, so you know this was not a “faith-based initiative” or a TV tract propounding Franciscanism. This was a classic, secular piece of insight from the intersection of faith and reason that passes the test of time. Although there are portions of content to which I might append a modest disagreement or cautionary note, it captures well the insights emerging in some circles in 1997 and which can help inform and reform our sense of mission and charism today.

You can watch the entire program here, thanks to You Tube and this legacy from Bullfrog Films and NPR’s Scott Simon. Please remember the definition of Affluenza it provides: “An unhappy condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the pursuit of more.” Also note the wise words of Richard Harwood, a sagacious social observer, who points out the growing realization that Americans have become too greedy, too materialistic and too self-absorbed.

Was this program a piece of prophecy explaining a lot of what has developed since its debut, especially in our everyday experiences?

There is indeed an unhappy news story that affirmed the relevance of this phenomenon—and its dangers—not too long ago. I will not go into that subject matter, but you can watch a story about it here.

The most important lessons to draw from this program for our Secular Franciscan Order fraternity, I would suggest, are the echoes we hear from those with timeless cures for Affluenza. One film responded quickly, in 1998, with some thoughts worth considering. You can watch “Escape from Affluenza” here.

But we have better resources.

We’ve got St. Francis, in Chapter Two of his Rule for Secular Franciscans, saying this:

“Trusting the Father, Christ chose for Himself and His mother a poor and humble life, Affluenza — The 20th Anniversary | The Merrow Report:

With A Brooklyn Accent: Confidential Conversations With People Who Work in NYC Charter Schools

With A Brooklyn Accent: Confidential Conversations With People Who Work in NYC Charter Schools:

Confidential Conversations With People Who Work in NYC Charter Schools

During the past few months, I have had several confidential conversations with people who work in some of the major charter school chains in New York City. Here is what I have come away with from those conversations.

1. There is a systematic effort to drive away families of children who pose discipline problems in the schools. One method is suspensions, but a more common method is constant harassment of the parents of children identified as troublesome through phone calls whenever those children "act out."

2. The burnout rate of teachers is enormous. It is very rare for a teacher to remain in their job for more than five years and most of the best teachers would leave if they could get a position in a good New York City public school.

3. There is tremendous waste of materials, with basements filled with extra lap tops and books that could be donated to resource starved organizations, including public schools which often occupy the same school buildings

4. The only subjects which get taught, especially in elementary schools and middle schools, are those which are tested-- ELA and Math. Science, social studies, and the arts, are not given any With A Brooklyn Accent: Confidential Conversations With People Who Work in NYC Charter Schools:

Reform Lessons from Skeptical But Not Cynical Veterans | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Reform Lessons from Skeptical But Not Cynical Veterans | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Reform Lessons from Skeptical But Not Cynical Veterans

Eleven years ago, Jane David and I  wrote “Cutting Through the Hype: A Taxpayer’s Guide to School Reforms.” A short book inventorying 20 popular reforms (many are still around now), sliced away the “truthful hyperbole” and parsed them in ways that teachers, administrators, policymakers, and academics could easily understand. Still in print with Harvard Education Press, I looked at the final chapter summing up what we learned from our brief journey through the school reform world and found the advice we offered then relevant to the current generation of over-caffeinated entrepreneurial policymakers, donors, and ardent practitioners pushing their visions of better schooling.  Here are the lessons we had learned about school reforms circa 2006.

Don’t swallow the hype. If a reform sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Programs peddled as miracle cures nearly always fail to deliver desired results, and therefore disappoint. Disappointment, in turn, breeds cynicism and helplessness. Policymakers and advocates need to shrink their their overpromising on what reforms can deliver and lower the volume of attacks on what is wrong with our public schools. At the same time,educators and citizens need to be skeptical of the hype and press for more truth in advertising to support reform claims and the conditions essential for success.

Kick the tires. Do the logic and assumptions of the reform hold up? Reforms aim to increase student achievement, yet most are targeted at a point many steps removed from the classroom. Reconfiguring grade levels, ending social promotion, and merit pay, for example, are all promoted as ways to improve teaching and learning, but the path from each to better teaching and higher test scores is far from clear. Policymakers and reform advocates should provide solid arguments and evidence linking their proposals to promised outcomes.

It’s the implementation, stupid. Policymakers neither administer schools nor teach students; they make policy for both from afar. Whether the policy is a new program or a new way of operating, the ideas are only as good as those who put them into practice. In fact, how well a program is implemented can matter Reform Lessons from Skeptical But Not Cynical Veterans | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

The Risk of Overselling Workforce Readiness | Truth in American Education

The Risk of Overselling Workforce Readiness | Truth in American Education:

The Risk of Overselling Workforce Readiness

Dr. Gary Houchens, a member of the Kentucky State Board of Education and associate professor of educational administration, leadership, and research at Western Kentucky University, in a recent article, talks about the swing from overselling college readiness in K-12 education to what we see today – the overselling of workforce readiness.

I wanted to share first three concerns about this trend, but I encourage you to read his whole article.

1) Students’ K-12 experiences should give them flexibility to learn about a variety of career pathways based on their own self-perceived aptitudes and interests, but we should avoid pushing students toward specific careers goals that would deny them the opportunity for a broad, rich, multi-disciplinary education. Unlike many other countries that track students into vocational or pre-college programs based on test scores or the judgment of educators, in the United States we have prioritized giving students choices in their education and career pathways. Most people now pass through several careers 

The Risk of Overselling Workforce Readiness | Truth in American Education:

Breaking News: NEA makes STRONG, patriotic statement on charters – Cloaking Inequity

Breaking News: NEA makes STRONG, patriotic statement on charters – Cloaking Inequity:

Breaking News: NEA makes STRONG, patriotic statement on charters

I am not able to blog as much as I have in the past because of my faculty responsibilities at California State, public speaking engagements and contributing behind the scenes to game-changing projects. One of the game-changing projects that I have worked on over the past several months was the NEA Charter Taskforce. As the token academic on the taskforce, I travelled to taskforce meetings several times over the past six months or so. Here is a shot of the taskforce members sent to me by a NEA RA delegate from the floor (I didn’t circle me).

 Why is the statement from the NEA important now? Mike Petrelli recently argued that education reform has been “mainstream” movement over the past 15 years. During the Senate confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, Lamar Alexander essentially made the same argument on behalf of vouchers and charters. Education reformer’s goals are far from mainstream, they are in fact sea-changing neoliberal ideals for private control of education. I believe what is happening is that supporters of democratic control of public schools are realizing this insidious goal and are now taking a critical look at school choice. The public is becoming more and more aware that the arguments that underly the various private-control and privatzatition school choice approaches are red herrings. Even Last Week Tonight has taken notice.

The key issue in our schools has been and continues to be severe inequality in schools that is perpetrated on purpose. Furthermore, the outcry against the privatization and private control of our schools via charters and vouchers has gathered steam as communities have asked to choose from democratically-controlled alternatives— and privatizers have refused.

Back to the NEA vote.

The statement that was originally designed and submitted by the taskforce was amended today at the RA. I was getting texts live from the floor of the RA and was concerned about some of the proposed amendments. However, most that made it through in my view made the statement on charters from America’s educators stronger. For example, I think the call for a moratorium from the BATs is important because many choice supporters continue to deflect and ignore important critiques. Additionally, the moratorium amendment echoes and supports the resolution passed by the NAACP at our national convention last year.

Here is an excerpt from the official statement:

The new policy statement lays out three criteria that charter schools must meet to provide students with the support and learning environments they deserve:

• Charter schools must be authorized and held accountable by the local school board as only a local, democratically accountable authorizing entity can ensure that a charter is actually needed to meet student needs in a way that other alternatives available to the district could not, and only a local authorizer can monitor charter performance on an ongoing basis to ensure accountability and spread charter innovations to other public schools.
• The charter school must demonstrate that it is necessary to meet the needs of the students in the district, and they must meet those needs in a manner that improves the local public school system.
• The charter school must comply with the same basic safeguards as other public schools. This includes open meetings and public records laws, prohibitions against for-profit operations or profiteering, and the same civil rights, employment, labor, health and safety laws and staff qualification and certification requirements as other public schools.

Charter schools that do not meet these criteria do more harm than good to students, neighborhood public schools, and the cause of public education.

I believe that the NEA RA statement on charters is a big step in the right direction for our national discourse about the privatization and private-control of our education system. Fomenting democracy and education on the 4th of July! What could be more patriotic!!!

 Follow

Lily Eskelsen García 

✔@Lily_NEA

Privately managed, unaccountable charters harm students. We draw a line between charters that improve public ed & those that don't. #NEARA17 https://twitter.com/22789766/statuses/882380362952970242 …

4:29 PM - 4 Jul 2017

 
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Breaking News: NEA makes STRONG, patriotic statement on charters – Cloaking Inequity:

Badass Teachers Association: The Pipeline by Matt Prestbury

Badass Teachers Association: The Pipeline by Matt Prestbury:

The Pipeline 

by Matt Prestbury

Privately run schools and privately owned prisons

We live in the fruition of Orwellian visions

Our children are chattel 
gettin lost in the shadows

And being held hostage in political battles
The rhetoric's high while teachers' morale is low

Everyday public schools get dealt another death blow
Then another vet goes

Fed up with the forecast
Replaced by a carpetbagger who won't endure past

The two or three years of their obligation
Cause they ain't obligated to this occupation

They only want to rise up to higher positions
To be better able to do their master's biddin 

While teachers who stay for years are anachronisms

We're now like dinosaurs 

Reformers pine for more
Power, politicians pockets lined for sure

They hide behind closed doors
As they work to close more

School buildings but these fools building prisons galore
Hunger strikes get ignored

Protests against the madness and the starvation
Being forced upon school children in our nation

They can't eat and digest the knowledge that is needed
Their minds shrink and then they suffer from internal bleedin
Can't believe what I'm seein

Will this end within my lifetime
Or will we have a never ending birth to prison pipeline

#gatheringmythoughts

 Badass Teachers Association: The Pipeline by Matt Prestbury: