I went to Philadelphia to attend the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting and to participate in two events.
First, a conversation with Philadelphia parent leader Helen Gym about the current efforts underway to destroy and eliminate public education in that city.
Then, a lecture to the John Dewey Society.
And an evening capped off by dinner with Linda Darling-Hammond and Julian Vasquez Heilig, two of my favorite people.
Now for my report:
The best thing that happened to me was getting to hear Helen Gym talk about the systematic destruction of public education in Philadelphia. Helen is small and beautiful and a fiery speaker. She has three children in the Philadelphia public schools. She painted a bleak picture of politicians in Harrisburg and in Philadelphia who are stripping the public schools of funding while giving tax breaks to corporations and refusing to tax the corporations that are Fracking and destroying the state’s water supply. She described the mass layoffs, the closing of libraries, schools without nurses or counselors or even basic supplies. She had the audience on the edge of their chairs. Frankly, it is hard to believe that the knowing and purposeful elimination of public schools is happening in one of our major cities. Parents are offered a “choice”: they can keep their children in a public school that has been stripped bare, or they can go to a well-resourced charter school. Some choice.
Helen Gym is an inspiration. She should be on Rachel Maddow, on Anderson Cooper, on Stephen Colbert, on Education Nation, on every major network show about what is happening in our big cities. She is a Paul Revere. Every American should know what is happening in Philadelphia. Part of her message, by the way, was to chastise the university-based researchers. She asked them, “Where are you when we need you? We need you now!”
The worst thing that happened to me was that when Helen and I entered the room, it was so crowded that we had to snake our way past people sitting on the floor. I tripped over someone’s foot and fell, managing to get my hands out in front of me to break the fall. Everyone nearby gasped, but thank goodness, the floor was carpeted. What a dramatic entrance! I was up in a flash, no harm done. But it is not what people my age should be doing.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’m glad you’re okay, Diane! The seating was the same at AERA in Denver, if you recall. You draw quite a crowd!
I think everyone came to hear Helen Gym. She is amazing.
Diane, please, please limit your travel and public appearances.
Who would like to help create a studio for Diane Ravitch to broadcast from so that she doesn’t have to risk her health running around the country?
The general needs to be at headquarters. With her huge staff.
Bob,
But some generals feel guilty if they aren’t out with the troops on the front lines risking life and limb. I think Diane is one of them.
According to Wikipedia, Diane Ravitch has written 21 books.
I hope to be live to read her thirtieth.
http://www.eweek.com/mobile/irobot-ava-500-telepresence-robot-could-save-time-cut-travel-costs.html
Hey, Diane, I fell for you … and turnabout is fair play! ;o)
Michelle Rhee delivers a lecture to parents:
“But in places like Colorado , Connecticut and New York , parents are getting in the way. We’re seeing a new and problematic movement within public education to persuade parents to pull their children from participating in any standardized testing. They’re opting out of the exams designed to measure how well our schools are teaching our children.
This makes no sense. All parents want to know how their children are progressing and how good the teachers are in the classroom. ”
Parents, who were formerly the last word on all things education when she was pushing privatization and “choice”, are now “getting in the way” of her accountability regime.
I love all the assumptions in the piece. Parents “make no sense” because they disagree with her. Standardized tests measure “how their children are progressing” and what a “good teacher” is. Michelle Rhee believes these things. Why does she assume “all parents” do?
As usual, the problem is not ed reformers, it is the reliable punching bag, public schools! Here she dumps on her usual targets, the public schools that are struggling to comply with her agenda:
“Those test-crazed districts need to be reeled in.”
No recognition, at all, that her and the pack of joyless, grim accountability obsessives in ed reform created these “test crazed districts”.
I’m not an opt-outer, but boy, ed reformers do nothing to help their own cause by attacking public school parents and public schools.
Enough. No one elected any of you. Go lecture your charter schools. We’re sick of it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michelle-rhee-opting-out-of-standardized-tests-wrong-answer/2014/04/04/37a6e6a8-b8f9-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html
Parents who opt out are usually very involved in their child’s education and are part of the process as they should be so Rhee is criticizing the same people we can bet on to vote during elections. And to protest.
Most parents who say nothing or don’t care one way or the author fit the average profile of the parent who speaks meaningfully to their child less than 3.5 minutes a week and lets the kid watch as much TV as they want (the default baby sitter for poor parenting practices) while making sure the child’s bedroom has a video game installed to fill the night hours after the lights go off.
Books. What are those?
I agree. I’m conflicted on the whole opt out thing myself, but I absolutely agree that the opt-outers seem to know their stuff on standardized tests.
The opt-outers support public schools, unlike Michelle Rhee, so I consider them allies.
StudentsFirst lobbying did actual, measurable damage to public schools in my state in the last budget. My kid attends a public school. Why would I ever listen to Michelle Rhee on my kid and his school?
I can assure Rhee, Duncan, Bush and the rest of the “public schools suck!” choir that if my 5th grader takes the CC tests, it won’t be because people who are anti-public schools ordered me to send him.
It will be DESPITE their backing the tests.
The hard sell is such a bad idea, because now the celebrity Common Core proponents will be ego-invested, and the thing will be impossible to modify even if it sucks.
Why don’t they just act like normal human beings and admit “this is an experiment and we don’t how worthwhile it is, but if it’s horrible or we made errors we’ll let you collaborate and modify”?
Wouldn’t that be a much smarter approach? I swear, they need to work on their “soft skills” much more than public school students do.
I wouldn’t hire any of these people. They’re incapable of persuasion. Everything looks like a nail. 🙂
Hello Lloyd,
I’d have to say that it is important that we don’t paint parents with too broad of a stroke in terms of their parenting technique. I detest common core and the privatization of public schools. Having said that, my best friend speaks meaningfully to her child more often than any parent I know. What is holding her back is a desire to not do any harm to her child’s future by opting out of the tests thereby limiting her child’s chances of getting into a decent middle school. I want her to challenge the system but I cannot judge her parenting skills based on the fact that she is not willing to challenge the system by opting out. I PERSONALLY think that she should challenge the structure more but I cannot bring myself to judge her parenting skills because she is a damn good parent.
Hello Lloyd,
I’d have to say that it is important that we don’t paint parents with too broad of a stroke in terms of their parenting technique. I detest common core and the privatization of public schools. Having said that, my best friend speaks meaningfully to her child more often than any parent I know. What is holding her back is a desire to not do any harm to her child’s future by opting out of the tests thereby limiting her child’s chances of getting into a decent middle school. I want her to challenge the system but I cannot judge her parenting skills based on the fact that she is not willing to challenge the system by opting out. I PERSONALLY think that she should challenge the structure more but I cannot bring myself to judge her parenting skills because she is a damn good parent.
Read the comments, and yes, I am absolutely in there. Rhee is getting slammed and her few supporters are dragging out the same tired old excuses for arguments and getting politely corrected. Rhee’s agenda has no momentum, only inertia.
“I built an organization, StudentsFirst , that believes that every education policy decision — from the federal level through states and districts — should be made based on what is best for students and to increase student achievement. No policy decision should be made based on what is best for politicians or teachers unions. We ought to view the discussion about standardized tests through that lens, considering first and foremost what is best for students.”
Completely irrelevant to the piece, and inserted for the sole purpose of self-promotion, plugging her lobby shop, and satisfying her anti-labor donors.
Why on earth does she assume she’s credible to public school parents? She’s done nothing to benefit public schools. In my state, her lobby shop sent me an celebratory email when the Ohio legislature cut 1.4 million from the public school my kid attends. They were thrilled because they got more charter funding in a state that has a “saturation” of charter schools and some ridiculous gimmick on public school “grades”. God knows what that cost.
They obviously have absolutely no idea what’s going on in this state, or in “public schools”.
from the Rheformish Lexicon:
bee eater. Unqualified but dependably Reformish sociopath in position of authority
Failing public schools? Check.
Assertions about international test scores? Check.
Stern lecture on low standards? Check.
Study cited? Check.
Warm personal anecdote? Check.
Slam on “districts” carefully calibrated to exclude charter schools? Check
Self-aggrandizing career plug? Check
Weirdly irrelevant attack on labor unions? Check.
Boilerplate ed reformer editorial gets a 100% and trophy!
Great rubric, Chiara!
Gosh, I bet you could get a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to take that nationwide!
Call your organization DOLT. The Deform over Learning Taskforce!
Diane! Please please be careful and just anticipate and avoid these “accidents waiting to happen” in the future. You are too important to too many people, me included, for an accident of this sort–which can happen all too easily-to befall you (no pun intended, although it seems to have slipped in there regardless!) Fondly, Jonathan Lovell
Sent from my iPhone
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Helen Gym has been working tirelessly for many years in multiple community projects. Here’s hoping your words get to other ears that can assist her in widening the audiences for her message
Helen Gym has worked for a long time on multiple community projects – I hope your words reach people that can assist her in widening her audience.
Glad you are ok, Diane. I want so much to be like you and try and turn these school systems back into caring communities where Developmentally Appropriate are good words, and Piaget is respected for his levels of development.
I am sorry to hear you fell, Diane. Perhaps you should recruit at least one strong person to clear a path for you. At my age I don’t like the dependence, but without having my grandson with me to fend off the crush in crowds and steady me on stairs, I don’t much like going out to big lecturers and concerts any more. A bad fall can put one out of action for too considerable a time. I’m glad it wasn’t worse for you.
Thanks, Harlan, I have a habit of never worrying about my personal safety. I know it is foolish. But we all have our faults.
Not sure it’s a fault, Diane. Sounds more like courage to me. And your sense of mission. Still, you know the old adage, “An ounce of prevention . . . .”
Harlan Underhill: what you said.
dianeravitch: what Harlan said.
😎
P.S. Perhaps a little advice in the form of a reminder:
“The first wealth is health.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson]
I love how ed reformers have rediscovered public school students for this brief testing period.
All of a sudden, public schools are Job One when it’s time to test their new tests and collect data.
The moment these tests are over, they’ll go back to the abandonment policy regarding these kids. Until the results come out, when we’ll go back to bashing public schools to push the agenda.
What an absolute betrayal and abuse of trust by adult lawmakers.
I’m glad you are o.k., Ms. Ravitch.
Long story, short, Ms. Gym. University professors get grants, for “research”, from foundations. There is more funding to feed the narrative, that there is a crisis in education.
I wrote to two “researchers/professors” at a public university to complain because I thought the paper they wrote about teachers, reflected bias.
The paper was released by a financial institution and it mentioned a bureau of economic research. The financial institution had other “research” posted at a site that was a partnership with ALEC and I couldn’t find a source of funding for the bureau, The Center for Media and Democracy claims the usual wealthy funders are paying the bills.
One of the “liberty/free market” guys also provided funding for the paper.
I think a paycheck from a public university, should at least entitle, the public to an article, for the greater good, for each paper, that serves the 1%.
Helen Gym is one of several brilliant activist Asian-American women in Philadelphia. She is a fire-brand for teachers, parents, students and the community. She also scares the pants off the Corporate Reform folks.
We who know her are so glad she is getting the attention she deserves and hope the national spotlight will shine on her soon.
Finally, be careful out there!
Hi Diane, Thanks for all you do to shed light on the corporate “reform” agenda. I think people are actually starting to pay attention!
I’m so glad you’re alright! Doing the right thing isn’t always the easiest or least dangerous!
Sent from my iPad
Diane, glad to hear you are ok. These things happen. My father has fallen from time to time not because he has a crowd in front of him but because he cannot feel his toes and sometimes goes off-balance. Fortunately he has learned to fall gracefully so nothing breaks. I wish I could be with him to help prevent these happenings, but we live in two different states. Still, if we are visiting with him, either my husband or I escort my father when we are out in public. (He is a huge fan and reads your blog often.)
It is never a bad thing to have someone to walk with at these events. Take care of yourself!
I have tried to tell “We True Believers” that we are NOT doing what Diane and Helen Gym need. Or WE need. We are dialoging with ourselves. Diane writes in this blog & I quote:
“Helen Gym is an inspiration. She should be on Rachel Maddow, on Anderson Cooper, on Stephen Colbert, on Education Nation, on every major network show about what is happening in our big cities.”
I propose that we need a Media Advisory Task Force, with luminaries like Jerry Brown’s press aid and Bill Moyers and X, Y, and Z. To get Diane and Anthony telling our story. Then we need to listen & ACT on their advice. If it takes money. Find it. Time is a-waisting. The test results show Charters are not working. Shout effectively.
We can do this. And we must!