PRETEND YOU’RE A DEMOCRAT
-
No, scratch that. Imagine instead that you’re Chuck Schumer, the Minority
Leader of the United States Senate, a distinguished statesman who has
served in ...
Sumner County Teacher Faces Dismissal
-
WKRN reports on a tenured Sumner County teacher facing potential dismissal
over a range of issues, mostly related to classroom management. Sumner
County Sc...
What the Washington Post Gets Wrong About MediKids
-
A response to the Washington Post's editorial against covering every child
and the question the Post’s editorial board seems shockingly unconcerned
about: ...
Why Fascists Fear Teachers
-
*Why Fascists Fear Teachers *
by Randi Weingarten
President, AFT
*Teachers are under siege not for anything they do wrong, but for what they
do right.*...
UFT/Unity Abandons Disabled Paras Over TRS Mistake
-
The NYC Teachers Retirement System (TRS) contacted over 180 retired paras
and advised them they “made a mistake” when their pension was calculated
some m...
READY OR NOT, HERE THEY COME
-
“She informed me, matter-of-factly, that she was old enough to know the
difference between intriguing and fucked up. ‘You should go for younger
women,’ she...
The Best Review of “The Odyssey” Published Anywhere
-
Greg Olear, author and blogger, saw Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey at
a matinee on the first day it was released. His review is informed,
thoughtful,...
Curmudgucation: Google's AI Push For Schools
-
Curmudgucation: Google's AI Push For Schools
Google has scored another chance to get its products into schools in the
form of a "sizable investment" in AI...
GLP-1 Meds for Kids? Some Info.
-
Like many consumers of television and social media, I have been bombarded
with ads for GLP-1s (short for glucagon-like peptide-1). The ads are
everywhere. ...
The Bad Administrator Matrix
-
Teach long enough and you learn that it’s a mistake after the announcement
of a change in administration, “Well, at least it can’t get any worse.” It
can a...
The Bad Administrator Matrix
-
Teach long enough and you learn that it's a mistake after the announcement
of a change in administration, "Well, at least it can't get any worse." It
can...
America’s Faith in Schooling
-
Just see wherever we peer into the first tiny springs of the national life,
how this true panacea for all of the ills of the body politic bubbles
forth—edu...
Is the Package the Package?
-
UFT contract negotiations with the City of New York. Odd wording. Real
question. Does the City begin negotiations by (generally) explaining the
total monet...
Ridiculous Headlines about Public Education
-
I’ve been writing about education policy and practice for more than 25
years, in my local newspaper (gratis), for an education nonprofit (paid),
for Educat...
Updates on Seattle Schools, July 27, 2025
-
*Update:*
From The Seattle Times, a story that SPS is appealing to an appeals court
over an $8M judgment against them *"**in which a former math teacher ...
Gifted and Talented Education Issues
-
By Thomas Ultican 7/22/2026 In California, we call them GATE (Gifted and
Talented Education) students, other states have their own designations.
Whatever l...
By One Dishonest Measure
-
A loaded question that education reformers like to ponder is: Exactly how
many students in the boroughs of New York City are trapped in failing
schools? In...
Farm to Summer Celebration Week 2026: Post-Survey
-
The California Department of Education (CDE) recognizes SMP operators who
complete the three key elements during the F2Summer Celebration Week: 1)
Taste, 2...
1776
-
__________
“The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and
conduct of this army…. We have, therefore, resolved to conquer...
Nosotros, El Pueblo, Venceremos
-
Siento gratitud hacia todas las personas que, a lo largo de los siglos,
alzaron sus voces y se organizaron para hacer de este país un lugar mejor.
Ahora es...
May’s Parent Engagement Resources
-
San Diego Unified Created a System to ‘Empower’ Parents. It Unraveled is
from The Voice of San Diego. Why Those Disengaged Parents in Your School
Deserve a...
The Math Was Within Us All Along
-
Now that I finished my second book, let me tell you a story that won’t make
it into the manuscript: A few weeks ago, I ...
Read More
The post The Math W...
Read and Learn from the Past
-
I just finished reading “The Boys in the Light” by Nina Willner. This is a
wonderful World War II story of survival, faith, and brotherhood. I highly
recom...
Reflections on America, the world, and life
-
I acknowledge that I rarely post here anymore. Folks should remember that I
am approaching my 80th birthday in less than 9 weeks, I am still teaching
ful...
Shutting Down The Site
-
Ten years ago, I ran for a seat on the LAUSD School Board of Education with
the goal to *Change the LAUSD*.
I am proud of the campaign we ran. We achieve...
The Company You Keep
-
Even though the filing period for the 2026 elections isn't until April,
let's all pay close attention. The candidates lining up to run will tell
you more a...
Blogoversary #19 — Time to Move on
-
Times have changed. I had a nice long run here, but let’s face it, it ended
a while ago. So I’ve moved. I’m not writing much any more, but when I do it
wil...
Il Papa è Morto
-
Francis brought a distinct pastoral outlook to his papacy. A simple man, he
lived in a small apartment in the guesthouse. He sought to make the church
acce...
Mike Shulman the ARISE UFT Judenrat
-
I was surprised to learn that Mike Shulman has aligned himself with ARISE.
I previously supported him, advocating that the Castle Doctrine could have
bee...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
-
As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
-
The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
-
I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
-
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
-
I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
I’ve moved.
-
I’m on Substack now. You can continue to receive periodic posts for free.
Or you can read every post and comment for $5 a month, $60 a year.
fredklonsky.su...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
-
[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
-
Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
-
I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
-
The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
-
I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
-
*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
-
Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Reminiscences
-
I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
-
Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
-
It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
Reduced time for testing? Not so fast.
-
NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of
reasonable length, I completely disagree.
Here is what NYSED states are average expe...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
-
The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
-
It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
-
I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
-
Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
-
Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
-
In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
-
An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
-
States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
-
In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
-
By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
-
My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
-
Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
-
*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Diane Ravitch in Savannah: Don’t let reformers and politicians destroy public schools | Get SchooledDiane Ravitch in Savannah: Don’t let reformers and politicians destroy public schools10:56 am Jun...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Billions v. Millions: New 501(c)(4) goes on the air against the NJEA | Strictly PoliticsBillions v. Millions: New 501(c)(4) goes on the air against the NJEAPosted on June 16, 2011 by Jane RohAPUpda...
blogs.courierpostonline.com - AP The school choice movement in New Jersey is going pro. Better Education for Kids (B4K), a new 501(c)(4), went on the air today with a $1 million Philly and NYC market TV ad campaign to counter t...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Lance Hill on the way the privatizers have hijacked the word “reform” « Parents Across AmericaLance Hill on the way the privatizers have hijacked the word “reform”by leoniehaimsonSee Lance Hill’s i...
examiner.com - Last week, Governor Chris Christie unveiled legislation that would allow private, for-profit companies to take over failing public schools. Christie has also pushed for more charter schools and a ...
nydailynews.com - Brannan, Gibb/Getty Five Gifted and Talented programs were canceled this year after too few students qualified. Five city school districts will not have gifted and talented programs for kindergartn...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - The Executive Viewpoint: Department of Education says welcome back waivers - TheHill.comThe Executive Viewpoint: Department of Education says welcome back waiversBy Margaret Spellings - 06/16/11 06...
blogs.wsj.com - By Danny YadronMINNEAPOLIS –White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer’s appearance here at the Netroots Nation gathering was expected to be rough. But a chorus of boos from President Barack...
news.firedoglake.com - MINNEAPOLIS – Sen. Al Franken will give a speech tomorrow at Netroots Nation about the need for progressive infrastructure as a firewall to protect the middle class. In this excerpt from tomorrow’s...
baycitizen.org - Insisting "there is simply no justification" for current troop levels in Afghanistan, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) called on President Obama to change the military mission there. During a speech Fr...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Daily Kos: NN11 - 2nd day sessions over, now we partyNN11 - 2nd day sessions over, now we partybyteacherkenShare3 2 PERMALINK1 COMMENTBut first a brief diary on the events of the day.In the 1st se...
news.cnet.com - I have a skeptical view of education. It doesn't seem to be that those who have more of it necessarily become more interesting, or even more useful. As my evidence, might I present this cell phone ...
blog.angryasianman.com - Hey internets. Join me in welcoming the next Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks...
whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 17, 2011 Today, for the first time in history, the United Nations adopted a resolution dedicated to advancing the basic huma...
hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 2:19 pm, June 17, 2011 Photo Credits: Arizona School Official Says Ethnic Studies Programs Promote Resentment Against Whites As the debate over ethnic studies programs in Tucson, Arizo...
action.firedoglake.com - The AARP Board of Directors is set to allow cuts to Social Security benefits, according to news reports. Social Security is under assault, and we need to quickly organize to protect its future. Sig...
preaprez.wordpress.com - We are off for a long weekend in New Orleans. It is mid-June so it is no surprise that it is warm and steamy. But that hasn’t kept us from enjoying the city that they almost let be destroyed follow...
gothamschools.org - by Philissa Cramer Assembly members are accusing the city of cutting school funds after getting state aid. (City Room) Escaping poverty through education is less American than one might think. (Ins...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - On the new Rhee-lite DC ChancellorOn the new Rhee-lite DC Chancellorby adminThis was originally posted by ‘DrDemocracy’, in response to Bill Turque’s coverage of the confirmation hearings of Kaya H...
smartmoney.com - Anthony Weiner just resigned from the House of Representatives, his 12-year political career ended by Twitter indiscretion. In doing so, Weiner walks away with retirement benefits that are far more...
teamsternation.blogspot.com - You bet your sweet ass they did. The Citizens United decision gave the green light for people like the Kochs to give unlimited amounts of money secretly to political campaigns. But we can track som...
democraticunderground.com - Source: BloombergBy Alex KowalskiJune 17 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. consumers dropped more than forecast in June as households contended with higher prices that are eating into incomes am...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Daily Kos: NN11 - 2nd day sessions over, now we partyNN11 - 2nd day sessions over, now we partybyteacherkenShare3 2 PERMALINK1 COMMENTBut first a brief diary on the events of the day.In the 1st se...
theuptake.org - A tense confrontation between progressive bloggers and notorious right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart at Netroots Nation 2011 in Minneapolis. 100ProofPolitics.com confronts Andrew Breitbart at Netro...
mediaite.com - Video Andrew Breitbart has been rather busy lately. Last week, he effectively stole the spotlight from Andrew Weiner at the congressman’s own press conference and, now, he faced a confrontation aft...
I’m at the Netroots Nation convention. I spoke at an open discussion on doing the right thing for our students. The audience included passionate activists in health care, justice, the environment, education, retirement protection, unions, you name it.
There was palpable frustration with President Obama. There were lots of questions for me regarding Education Secretary Arnie Duncan and his policies to continue the inappropriate use of testing and pushing competitive grants with winners and losers instead the rights for all students to needed services regardless of whether or not your district had a good grant writer. We have a lot of fights with Secretary Duncan.
I was asked about the coming election next fall. I was asked why educators should support President Obama’s re-election
In the 1st session, Kaili Joy Gray questioned Dan Pfeiffer, WH communications director. Can we say that she was better prepared than he was? She was also fairly aggressive at times.
Today for me was Education day. We had a terrific panel, about which I tweeted live a lot - if you combine #nn11 and #education perhaps you can follow the threads. Jeff Bryant, Kevin Welner, Rep. Judy Chu, Sabrina Stevens Shupe, and Lily Eskelsen. It was very well done.
About an hour after that ended there was a session with the Mommy Bloggers and Lily, hosted by Elisa Batista. That had some good discussion. And that was followed immediately by an education strategy session with Randi Weingarten, head of AFT, and Lily Eskelsen, VP of NEA. Again, a positive session.
A chance to catch up with more people I had not seen, and to meet some new people. Some discussions of interest about the events so far.
Then before returning to the Hilton to freshen up, an event about sensible gun policies,
See Lance Hill’s insightful comments below. I have long believed that we need to reclaim that word “reform” for ourselves; we at PAA say we support “progressive education reform.” and oppose “corporate reform” based on privatization, competition, and high-stakes testing. The people at the GEM, the Grassroots Education Movement, who made the new film The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, call themselves the “real reformers.” . I am starting to use the hashtag #realreform when I tweet, and hope others will as well.
The other day a local paper referred those opposed to school privatization and de-professionalization of teachers as “critics of the school reform movement.” I don’t regard privatizing schools, abolishing local democratic control of schools, or replacing qualified teachers with untrained temporary workers as a “reform movement,” especially give the positive connotations that the word “reform” carries. The dictionary definition of reform is 1. to make better 2. to improve by removing faults and or abuses. School privatization is no more a reform movement than the policy to privatize prisons is a “prison reform movement.” Both share the goal of shifting public assets into the private sector and removing
SB 161 (Huff), a bill that allows non-medical personnel to administer Diastat rectally to students having epileptic seizures, has passed the California Senate and is now in the Assembly. It also has the support of the Obama administration.
On first glance, the legislation is so absurd it sounds like a sick joke. Teachers will pull down a student’s pants in front of classmates and jab a syringe into his or her ass? In any other circumstance, we’d call such behavior molestation or abuse or practicing medicine without a
The past decade has seen remarkably little attention to citizenship education in American schooling. That, I'd argue, is one factor contributing to the latest, dismal NAEP results in civics and history. What such results don't tell us though is what Americans themselves think about citizenship education. Do they think it's important? Do they think particular topics deserve more attention? Do they have strong feelings about how it's taught? Indeed, the last study to address this question was Public Agenda's 1998 report "A Lot To Be Thankful For;" the annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup poll has not asked about this topic since 2000.
That's why I've been championing more serious and sustained attention to these questions. Last fall, you may recall, my AEI shop published Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett's study "High Schools, Civics, and Citizenship: What Social Studies Teachers Think and Do," which examined the behaviors and beliefs of high school civics teachers. Farkas and Duffett found that social studies teachers felt marginalized in the NCLB era, with few confident that their students were mastering key elements of citizenship like, you know, being able to identify protections in the Bill of Rights.
Now, in a companion study, my colleagues Daniel Lautzenheiser, Andrew Kelly, and Cheryl Miller, have crunched brand-new data they've collected on public attitudes to examine how similar or different are the
Diane Ravitch in Savannah: Don’t let reformers and politicians destroy public schools
10:56 amJune 17, 2011, by Maureen Downey
SAVANNAH: At the summer conference of the Georgia School Boards Association this morning in this port city, noted education researcher Diane Ravitch lambasted most of the reforms du jour in education today, merit pay, value-added teacher evaluations, charter schools, vouchers and testing.
She cautioned the 600 attendees to look critically at reforms being led by the high tech sector and hedge fund managers “who don’t much about public schools. They don’t much about education and, sometimes, I think they don’t know much about children.”
The competitive model that they are pushing will not work because the goal of education is not to produce winners and losers, Ravitch said, but to give “every child our best effort.”
She urged the school board members to “Stand up for public education. Don’t let private entrepreneurs divide your community and turn your schools into profit centers. Don’t stand by and let politicians tear down a public institution that has been the foundation of our democracy for 150 years.”
Reminding the audience that 93 percent of Georgia’s students attend public schools, Ravitch
Yesterday was a great event, organized by AQE and CEJ, with over 20,000 signatures from parents, scrolling down the steps of City Hall, 5,000 feet long.
How can Bloomberg ignore our pleas to restore these devastating cuts to our schools? Does he really want to go down in history as the mayor who put kids last? He claims to care about parent choice when it comes to charters, but then ignores the DOE's own surveys that show that the top priority of parents is for smaller classes, and instead threatens to impose the largest increases in class size in over thirty years.
Is he acting in the interest of 1.1 million school children; or does he care more about protecting the wallets of NYC's estimated 700,000 millionaires? Watch the NY1 report!
leoniehaimson
coopmike48
DianeRavitch
mikeklonsky
Print
Send
RSS
Share