Latest News and Comment from Education

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sacrificing Our Children | educarenow

Sacrificing Our Children | educarenow:



Sacrificing Our Children

Can we finally move beyond the illusion that the privatization of public schools is for the benefit of kids?
All of the empirical evidence says we should.
Can we finally be honest about that fact that for profit charters simply move money from that which is set aside for the common good to corporate profits at the expense of children, particularly those in poverty and of color?
Ruth Conniff, in her article, Scathing Report Finds Rocketship, School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids, shows how this study excavates the way in which the Milwaukee school system, “ground zero for school privatization,” uses children as fodder for corporate profits.
“Lafer’s research…is a sweeping indictment of the growing private charter school industry–and other schemes backed by rightwing groups and big business–that siphon public funds out of public schools and enrich corporate investors at the expense of quality education for poor children.”
Let’s be clear- despite what you hear from the right, from Michelle Rhee Jeb Bush, and Bill Gates, etc., despite their lofty rhetoric of offering choices for poor families, despite their stated intentions of helping lift families out of poverty,the fact of the matter is that the corporate education reform movement functions in way that the educational quality Sacrificing Our Children | educarenow:

Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al. | Cloaking Inequity

Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al. | Cloaking Inequity:



Storified Charters and Traditional Schools Debate: Michelle Rhee vs. Julian Vasquez Heilig et al.

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A debate/conversation started Friday evening with my response to a @MichelleRhee tweet about her tiredness with the traditional school versus charter school debate. I tweeted that I was “totally tired too” of people “ignoring data” that traditional schools outperform charters. Debates on Twitter usually get lost in the annals of twitter history— so I turned to Storify to log the debate/conversation. What is Storify? It “helps making sense of what people post on social media.” Users curate voices and turn them into stories.
Click the link below to follow the Storified conversation about charters versus traditional public schools with Michelle Rhee et al. It’s worth the click. Enjoy.
For all post mentioning Michelle Rhee click here.
Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discussion with others.
Want to know about Cloaking Inequity’s freshly pressed conversations about educational policy? Click the “Follow blog by email” button in the upper left hand corner of this page.
Twitter: @ProfessorJVH
Click here for Vitae.
Please blame Siri for any typos.

Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere

Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere:



Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere

Tuesday, 22 April 2014 09:44By Victoria HarperTruthout | Interview
Public Intellectual Henry Giroux speaks with Truthout about his new book and its exploration of how neoliberalism makes it harder for poor children to attend college and forces debt-ridden students into an intellectual and moral dead zone devoid of imagination.
Truthout contributor, director of Truthout's Public Intellectual Project and Truthout Board member Henry A. Giroux responds to questions about how the excesses of neoliberal politics have reshaped and subverted the democratic mission of higher education, as expressed in his new book.
Henry A. Giroux | Neoliberalism's War on Higher Education                                        Haymarket Books (March 18, 2014) Chicago, Illinois, 240 pages
Victoria Harper: Welcome, Henry. In your latest book, Neoliberalism's War on Higher Education, neoliberalism is a central organizing idea in shaping your view of education. Can you provide a general working definition of what it is and how it threatens higher education? 
Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism has many forms, but these forms share a number of characteristics.  Not only is it the latest stage of predatory capitalism, but it is also part of a broader project of restoring class power and consolidating the rapid concentration of capital, particularly financial capital. More specifically, it is a political, economic and political project that constitutes an ideology, mode of governance, policy and form of public pedagogy. As an ideology, it construes profit making as the essence of democracy, consuming as the only operable form of citizenship, and upholds the irrational belief that the market cannot only solve all problems but serve as a model for structuring all social relations. It is steeped in the language of self-help, individual responsibility and is purposely blind to inequalities in power, wealth and income and how they bear down on the fate of individuals and groups. As such, it supports a theater of cruelty that is scornful of any notion of compassion and concern for others.  As a mode of governance, it produces identities, subjects, and ways of life driven by a survival of the fittest ethic, grounded in the idea of the free, possessive individual, and committed to the right of ruling groups and institutions to accrue wealth removed from matters of ethics and social costs. 
Under neoliberalism, desire is wedded to commodities and the private addictions of the market. As a policy and political project, neoliberalism is wedded to the privatization of public services, the dismantling of the connection of private issues and public problems, the selling off of state functions, the elimination of government regulation of financial institutions and corporations, the elimination of the welfare state and unions, liberalization of trade in goods and capital investment, and the marketization and commodification of society.  
As a form of public pedagogy, neoliberalism casts all dimensions of life in terms of market rationality. One consequence is that as a form of casino capitalism it Henry A. Giroux: Neoliberalism, Democracy and the University as a Public Sphere:

4-27-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:







A Reader Says Farina, Mulgrew Did Not Say Teachers Should "Embrace" Teacher Evaluation System
As I posted earlier today, the NY Post reported this surprising news today:Meanwhile de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew spoke of “unity” at the United Federation of Teachers spring conference Saturday at the New York Hilton....Mulgrew and Fariña agreed that teachers should “embrace” the new evaluation system — one critics say was badly weakened when


Is NYSED Admitting EngageNY Modules Are Crap?
Chris Cerrone tweeted the following this afternoon:​Is NYSED admitting modules are flawed? Do taxpayers get a $12.9 million refund? http://t.co/Y1SUna6f9b via @AlbanyBizReview— Chris Cerrone (@Stoptesting15) April 27, 2014Megan Rogers of the Albany Business Review reports this:The New York state education department wants teachers to revamp the state's online curriculum resources for the Common Co

NY Post: Mulgrew, Farina Say Teachers "Should Embrace" New Evaluation System
This is buried at the bottom of a pierce about the city paying three leases for Eva Moskowitz and Success Academies:Meanwhile de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and teachers union boss Michael Mulgrew spoke of “unity” at the United Federation of Teachers spring conference Saturday at the New York Hilton.“For me this has been a natural partnership,” de Blasio said at the lovefest.Mulgrew a
4-26-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Perdido Street School WeekAll The Good Walmart DoesFormer Bloomberg DOE minion of school closings in NYC, Marc Sternberg, is featured prominently in this morning's NY Times piece on the Walton philanthropy-industrial complex and charter schools:In 2013, the Walton foundation spent more than $164 million across the country. According to Marc Sternberg, who was appointed direc




4-27-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

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





Discovery Network Launches Absolutely Awful Show On “Bad Teachers”
The Discovery Network has launched an absolutely awful show called “Bad Teachers.” Here how it’s described: There are some teachers who don’t play by the rules, who ruin lives instead of changing them for the better. They’ll go dangerously beyond the lesson plan to fulfill their youthful fantasies and selfish desires, often dragging students down with them into a WORLD of deceit and danger. The

Just Sent-Out Free Monthly Email Newsletter
I’ve just mailed out the March issue of my simple free monthly email newsletter. It has about 2,000 subscribers, and you can subscribe here.
April’s “The Best” Lists — There Are Now 1,294 Of Them!
Here’s my monthly round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 1,294 of them categorized here): Apparently, Today Is Both “World Book Night” & “UN English Language Day” – Here Are The Best Resources For Both The Best Resources For Learning About The Blood Moon “The Best Posts On Involving Fathers In Schools” The Best Movies For IB Theory Of Knowledge Classes – What A


May Is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the United States. You might be interested in The Best Sites For Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
April’s Infographics & Interactives Galore – Part Six
There are just so many good infographics and interactives out there that I’ve begun a new semi-regular feature called “Infographics & Interactives Galore.” You can see others at A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Infographics and by searching “infographics” on this blog. I’ll still be publishing separate posts to individually highlight especially useful infographics and interactives, but you
An Interesting Exchange With Sugata Mitra
I’ve published a fair number of posts about the work of Sugatra Mitra (see The Best Posts & Videos About Sugata Mitra & His Education Ideas), and he’s participated in the comment discussions. He recently left a comment on a post I originally wrote three years ago, titled Is This The Most Important Research Study Of The Year? Maybe. I think the post itself is worth reading, but here’s how


Sacramento Makes Correct Decision In Withdrawing From CORE NCLB Waiver
I’ve previously posted about the excellent decision made by the Sacramento City Unified School District to withdraw from an NCLB Waiver granted to a consortium of nine California school districts (see Big News! Sacramento Withdraws From NCLB Waiver Granted CORE Districts). Former Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, whom I liked personally but with whom I had a number of policy and strategy difference


Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
I’ve started a somewhat regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention: Lizzie Pinard recounts a question/answer session with Sugatra Mitra at a recent language conference in this post. I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Videos About Sugata Mitra & His Education Ideas. Teaching mixed ab
Updated Resources On Everest
The Everest climbing season has now ended because of the avalanche resulting in the tragic deaths of so many Sherpas. Here are new additions to the extensive The Best Sites For Learning About Mount Everest: Fear For Sherpas’ Future Grows With Each Climbing Tragedy is from NPR. Who Are Nepal’s Sherpas? is also from NPR. Sherpas Move to Shut Everest in Labor Fight is from The New York Times. Himala


Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Week… 4-26-14 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EF
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFLLARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAYExcellent New TED-Ed Video & Lesson: “How Tsunamis Work”I’m adding this new excellent TED-Ed video and lesson to The Best Sites To Learn About Tsunamis:by Larry Ferlazzo / 48min Video: “Canada & The United States: Bizarre Borders”I’m adding this video to The Best Geography Sites For

4-27-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:









May Day.




Sunday reads.
  The Clipper’s Donald Sterling joins with Supreme Court majority. He’s caught on TMZ audio tape saying, “Don’t let Black students into state universities. No more of that f—– affirmative action.” Gordon Lafer on Miwaukee’s Rocketship Charter scam. Koch brothers and others influence judges to approve wage theft from teachers. Obama rightly condemns the racism in basketball, but silent about it on
4-26-14 Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacherKeeping retirement weird.Yesterday was a beautiful midwestern Spring day. I’m writing this – drinking my coffee and eating my bowl of Bob’s Ten Grain – while looking at the serviceberry in the corner of our backward which is on th

Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids | Common Dreams

Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids | Common Dreams:



Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids

(Credit: UCLA / public domain)Gordon Lafer, a political economist and University of Oregon professor who has advised Congress, state legislatures, and the New York City mayor's office, landed at the airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this week bringing with him a briefing paper on school privatization and how it hurts poor kids.
Lafer's report, "Do Poor Kids Deserve Lower-Quality Education Than Rich Kids? Evaluating School Privatization Proposals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin," released today by the Economic Policy Institute, documents the effects of both for-profit and non-profit charter schools that are taking over struggling public schools in Milwaukee.
"I hope people connect the dots," Lafer said by phone from the Milwaukee airport.
Lafer's research, commissioned by the Economic Policy Institute to evaluate the school-privatization push in Milwaukee, is a sweeping indictment of the growing private charter school industry -- and other schemes backed by rightwing groups and big business -- that siphon public funds out of public schools and enrich corporate investors at the expense of quality education for poor children.
Milwaukee is ground zero for school privatization, having pioneered the use of publicly funded private school vouchers in 1990.
In its last session, Wisconsin legislators pushed forward bills to close low-performing public schools and replace them with less accountable, privately run enterprises. The Economic Policy Institute asked Lafer to analyze the effects of privatization on the children these Scathing Report Finds School Privatization Hurt Poor Kids | Common Dreams: