Jere Hochman runs an exemplary school district in Bedford, New York.
Before the election, he wrote an eloquent letter (which I posted though I may not have used his name) on why everyone should support President Obama.
He convinced me.
He also promised me that after the election, he would speak out about the need to change the punitive testing and accountability policies of this administration.
The biggest problem in education today is the politicians, who are interfering in matters they do not understand, he says.
He offers excellent advice to the President, and this is only part 1.
Thank you, Jere.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Obama may not need to worry about getting elected again, but he does need to worry about where he’s going to be employed in 2017 (or who’s going to be paying his speaker’s fees, anyway). I’d bet that Obama is counting on his billionaire hedge fund friends for that, perhaps even as part of one of their “educational philanthropy” groups or something similar. ‘Though I will continue writing, emailing and calling, I frankly think the White House is a lost cause now. Better to focus on those who do need to worry about getting re-elected. And to not pledge our support just because of the D after the candidate’s name.
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Superintendent Hochman would benefit from reading The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. His interpretation of Nation at Risk exemplifies the maladaptive responses that precipitate increasingly draconian accountability regimes. (Oh, I forgot–court’s demands for accountability and state constitution mandates for efficiency are just part of a greedy capitalist conspiracy that began a century after the constitutions were written,)
How many Nobel laureates (such as Nation at Risk co-author Glenn Seaborg) should President Obama ignore if our President is to embrace the superintendent’s recommendations?
Should the public education doomsday clock be set forward or set back in response to Nation at Risk? Dr. Ravitch and Superintendent Hochman appear to disagree. Wouldn’t sorting through the conflict to create a foundation for sound policy recommendations be the sort of higher level thinking skills (analysis, synthesis) that educators claim to promote?
If the nation hopes to meet its educational goals (supposing we actually agreed on them), a historian’s perspective would be vital to avoiding the mistakes from the past–and learning from past successes.
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Totally in agreement with your last sentence Eric. Yes, it makes more than perfect sense for the White House and the D.o.Ed. to look at this blog’s author’s perspective! In fact, shouldn’t SHE be the next Secretary of Education?
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I don’t know what to expect of Dr. Ravitch–would she stick to principles stated in Death and Life? She has not maintained a bright line between her principles and Bill Ayers’–a problem unless she can convincingly reconcile Bill Ayers’ positions with mainstream goals for public schools articulated by Sandra Day O’Connor, David Souter, Lee Hamilton, etc. (And Ayers’ role with Chicago’s Annenberg Challenge, his preference for Bertolt Brecht over Horace Mann, etc.) Nor have I seen anything on this blog that suggests an effective role for OCR (Office of Civil Rights in US Ed).
Then there’s the audit issues within US Ed…
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Reblogged this on Transparent Christina and commented:
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
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An interest post, Diane. Thank you. He certainly knows what NOT to do, but whether Part 2 will be equally cogent and persuasive remains to be seen. I DO think he seriously misreads the character of the President.
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When will people in Washington finally listen to the educators of this country who know what is best? When will the insanity end. Obama and Duncan clearly have no idea what is going on out here. Don’t they see the results in places like Indiana and Idaho that shoe the people want something different than what they offer?
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thanks for reading the blog and the comments.
A couple of points:
When NCLB was slipped by the American public (in the shadow of 9/11) and exacerbated by RTTT and politicians looking for quick results that we lost the battle.
Now the country is obsessed with testing, vilifying teachers, and neglecting the value of school leadership. Time to take it back.
Click on A Nation at Risk http://datacenter.spps.org/uploads/SOTW_A_Nation_at_Risk_1983.pdf
and do a WORD SEARCH FOR “TEST” – the only place it shows up is reporting where the nation was (and in the words “greatest” and “testimony.”) NOT ONCE THE WORD ‘TEST” SHOW UP as a recommendation. And, if you have not read it, you should – could have been written today.
And, Goals 2000
“By the Year 2000 –
* All children in America will start school ready to learn.
* The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.
* All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics an government, economics, the arts, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our nation’s modern economy.
*United States students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement.
*Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
*Every school in the United States will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
*The nation’s teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century.
*Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children.”
Again – except for #3 – demonstrated competency in grades 4, 8, and 12 – TESTING DOES NOT APPEAR
If the Dept of Ed had only done one thing, supported Goals 2000 #1 – “All children start school ready to learn” – we wouldn’t be in this mess.
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Dear Superintendent Hochman,
Thank you for your clarification–which is much closer to Dr. Ravitch’s observations in Death and Life. Nonetheless, Nation at Risk and Goals 2000 were both caricatured as attacks on educators and public education. In addition, School to Work was attacked from the right as dumbed down schooling and part of the Goals 2000 education takeover. Dr. Ravitch’s account is helpful in understanding this history, yet incomplete (and makes no claims to completeness).
The military would insist on an after-action review. Technologists would demand failure modes and effects analysis. Quality management professionals would conduct a root cause analysis.
Participants on this blog seem largely content with pointing fingers.
– Problems in New York? Blame politicians
– Cleveland? Blame disruptive students
– Nashville? Community leaders abandoning public schools
– New Orleans? Privatizers.
But if David Mathews is right (Is There a Public for Public Schools and Reclaiming Public Education By Reclaiming Our Democracy) educators have failed to convince their communities that their schools fulfill the mission of public education. How, for example, have high schools addressed the Koh memos on CERD? Instead, we see educators unwilling to challenge union claims that “President Obama continues to make education a national priority by calling for important investments in quality public education to keep America moving forward”
While educators seek benefit from a gullible electorate, the public education doomsday clock ticks toward midnight.
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Note: No intent to diminish the impact of disruptive students, disengaged community leaders, privatizers, or politicians.
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Dr Ravitch: I am a new reader of your blog, and a parent in the BCSD. Can you please elaborate on what aspects of our school district make it exemplary in your opinion. I am trying to determine what those are myself as I struggle with keeping my children here or moving them to private school.
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