Archives for the month of: July, 2012
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Camika Royal Speaks Out

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
21

 

The other day I blogged about a TFA leader who spoke at the opening ceremonies of the TFA summer institute in Philadelphia. Before my blog was posted, the Youtube video was taken down.

 

Just a few hours ago, I received a tweet saying that Dr. Camika Royal had posted an article at Huffington Post. The article contained an explanation of what happened as well as the text of the video.

 

In the Youtube video,  Dr. Camika Royal was speaking to the recruits. She said some amazing things that were distinctly out of step with the customary “charters are better than public schools” and “TFA is better than veteran teachers” lines. She spoke of humility and respect. She spoke of the resiliency of Philadelphians (she is a native of the city). She spoke disparagingly of a “governor-appointed School Reform Commission whose latest reform plan is to educate by abdicating its responsibility for the schools that have been most difficult to manage.” Sounded like me, for a minute. Be careful.

 

She said, “Our schools are more than the lie of successful charters and failing district. Our educators are more than the false dichotomy of good versus bad, of us and them. By and large, educators here are not bad. Educators here are tired. Educators here are reform weary. Our students are more than test scores, graduation rates, and disciplinary issues. They are the babies that parents prayed for and over and read to and work for and dream about.” Sounds like me, again. I told you to be careful.

 

She said, “You have come to Teach FOR America, but in Philadelphia, that will only happen to the extent that you commit yourself to serving and learning. A teacher is a servant. And you are not here to save. You are here to serve.” That’s right.

 

In the written introduction to the speech, Dr. Royal says the following about Philadelphia today:

 

“By no means do I suggest that the public education system in Philadelphia, as it exists right now, works for the majority of the students who attend them or the educators who work in them. However, I do not think the solution to this multi-faceted, multi-layered behemoth conundrum is the plan to dismantle the School District of Philadelphia (SDP), to release the education of its students to charter management organizations as is being currently touted by the mayor, the School reform commission, and the former Philadelphia gas works leader turn chief recovery officer of SDP. I realize this view is contrary to those espoused by many neo-liberal education reformers, some of whom are also TFA alumni. And perhaps earlier in my career, I would have agreed with them. But I’ve done too much research on charter schools in Philadelphia and the history and sociopolitical context of schools in Philly to think that this plan will be effective in the long-run for students, families, educators, or communities. This current plan to dismantle the District is not reform. It is refuse. It places financial concerns and constraints over the educational needs of people who need education the most, and it is, therefore, political and unacceptable.”

 

Oh, my heavens! This woman is great! She tells the truth. She is not afraid. She doesn’t sell the party line.

 

Dr. Camika Royal, you are a hero! Thank you for speaking plainly and courageously.

 

PS: I wonder why Philadelphia is hiring TFA in the middle of a budget crisis as they lay off career teachers?

Categories Education Reform, Philadelphia, Teach for America TFA

What Kind of Teaching Do Students in Poverty Need?

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
27

In response to today’s ongoing discussion about teaching and specifically what kind of teaching is right for urban students, this comment came from Ira Shor. Shor teaches at the City University of New York. He has written extensively about critical pedagogy. Our discussion began with the proposition that poor kids need a tightly disciplined environment, some would say a “boot camp” or “no-excuses” pedagogy. Others disagreed. Shor gives his view here:

Many thanks to Diane for for so decently inviting discussion on conundrums of teaching. Conditions for teaching/learning are outcomes of educ and social policy, though not reducible to these enormous factors. In terms of high expectations for kids of all colors and classes regardless of home address, I’d propose that all lessons in all classrooms should be designed for and with the students who are there. The local conditions, language use, cultural themes should be the starting point for a curric of critical inquiry offered to all students based in the familiar materials, issues, and words of their everyday lives. This is a common critical approach which rejects a “high-order” curric for high-rent districts and a low-order one for low-end areas. Common sense now is that schls in poor areas are out of control b/c kids are out of control. But, as Diane and others have said before, what is out of control is poverty and the imposition of degenerate/destructive conditions on kids and families and teachers who come to schools with hopes. Teachers are undermined by the same enemy hurting the vast majority of kids and families in public schools; Inequality, Class Prejudice, Racism, Privatization, Testing. We need small classes, lots of mentoring/tutoring time and staff to work individually with kids; project methods in and out of the classroom; after-school and weekend programs; good food; school nurses and librarians in all units; counseling, dental care, trips to historic sites, theaters and museums for all classes–basically all the stuff Geoffrey Canada buys for his privileged kids in the Harlem Children Zone with the $56mil/yr he gets from Wall St on top of the $28mil in public taxes….ira shor
Categories Education Reform

Who Knows Naomi Klein?

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
23

A reader thinks that Naomi Klein should revisit the Louisiana story and see how the “shock doctrine” has progressed:

Diane, I too have a passion for Louisiana, and a couple of friends there who also keep me in the loop.Your tireless efforts to tell the truth about what has happened in Louisiana since Milton Friedman decided to use “Shock Doctrine” to his advantage is very important to stopping Jindal from his merciless destruction of public education and democracy itself!

For those who are not familiar with Naomi’s introduction to “The Shock Doctrine – The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”- here is a brief excerpt from her intro:

“Over at the shelter, Jamar could think of nothing else. “I really don’t see it as cleaning up the city. What I see is that a lot of people got killed uptown. People who shouldn’t have died.”

He was speaking quietly, but an older man in line in front of us overheard and whipped around. “What is wrong with these people in Baton Rouge? This isn’t an opportunity. It’s a goddamned tragedy. Are they blind?” A mother with two kids chimed in. “No, they’re not blind, they’re evil. They see just fine.”

One of those who saw opportunity in the floodwaters of New Orleans was the late Milton Friedman, grand guru of unfettered capitalism and credited with writing the rulebook for the contemporary, hyper-mobile global economy. Ninety-three years old and in failing health, “Uncle Miltie”, as he was known to his followers, found the strength to write an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal three months after the levees broke. “Most New Orleans schools are in ruins,” Friedman observed, “as are the homes of the children who have attended them. The children are now scattered all over the country. This is a tragedy. It is also an opportunity.”

Friedman’s radical idea was that instead of spending a portion of the billions of dollars in reconstruction money on rebuilding and improving New Orleans’ existing public school system, the government should provide families with vouchers, which they could spend at private institutions.

In sharp contrast to the glacial pace with which the levees were repaired and the electricity grid brought back online, the auctioning-off of New Orleans’ school system took place with military speed and precision. Within 19 months, with most of the city’s poor residents still in exile, New Orleans’ public school system had been almost completely replaced by privately run charter schools.

The Friedmanite American Enterprise Institute enthused that “Katrina accomplished in a day … what Louisiana school reformers couldn’t do after years of trying”. Public school teachers, meanwhile, were calling Friedman’s plan “an educational land grab”. I call these orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities, “disaster capitalism”. ~Naomi Klein, “The Shock Doctrine – The Rise of Disaster Capitalism” [2007] ~ read the excerpt as taken from here: http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine/excerpt

I would like to see three media sources come to do a follow-up on Naomi Klein’s introduction to her world renowned book: “The Shock Doctrine – The Rise of Disaster Capitalism”.

Can we get Naomi Klein to do a follow up?

How about teaming up with Joanne Barkan who wrote, “Got Dough” [see link to this article here: http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/dissent/v058/58.1.barkan.pdf ] in Dissent Magazine?

And of course, how about teaming up with Ed Shultz? Cant he three of them get together with you to increase the public’s awareness of the unconscionable crimes being committed against Louisiana’s children, against their own state constitution? Gotta love, Ed! I’m so glad he had you on his show. I want him to invite you as a REGULAR guest! Still wish Maddow would wake up and bring you on too, but I digress.

I think the 4 of you could do some real good together as partners to help Louisiana get out of “disaster capitalism” and spread that healing to the nation, ridding us of the marriage between Neoliberalism and Neoconservativism through corporate education reform that is destroying public education and democracy!

Thank you again for helping the children, families, teachers, and communities of Louisiana by shining a light on the horrors of corporate education reform in this state.


 
Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Louisiana, New Orleans

More About the Boston Consulting Group: Read It and Weep

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
17

In an earlier post today, I wondered about the Boston Consulting Group. I knew this was a major management consulting organization, one of those companies that helps corporations do strategic planning. I knew that they advised the Philadelphia School Reform Commission to privatize a large number of its schools and gave the same advice to the planning committee for Memphis.

This bothers me because public schools are supposed to be instruments of the local community; they are supposed to be run along democratic principles, attuned to the needs and aspirations of their local community, employing professionals to carry out professional responsibilities on behalf of the community. But along come the hired guns to rearrange the schools of the community and give them to private corporations. I wondered, who are these guys? What is the source of their expert knowledge of public education?

A faithful reader did the research and she found an article that answers most of my questions. The post went up only hours ago! This reader, who posts anonymously, wasted no time.

I read the article. It is jaw-dropping. It deserves a post all to itself. It is not just about BCG. It is about Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, North Carolina, Delaware, and many other places where the corporate reformers are taking over public education for fun and profit. It’s about the close ties between BCG and KIPP.

Please read it. If only half of it is true, we are in deep trouble. If all of it is true…well, what can I say. Read it.

And this article details the influence of consultants in general and BCG in particular. You begin to understand why so much of the federal funding gets siphoned off by consultants, the biggest growth industry. One analysis concluded that 25-35 percent of federal funding for  School Improvement Grants went not to the schools but to consultants.

One thing that becomes clear is BCG’s interest in cutting costs. Another is in opening the path to for-profit corporations. Not much about any interest in education or learning or curriculum or teacher morale or such.

These guys should not be flying under the radar. Let them be known by what they advocate and what they do to our community schools.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has been around the block or two when it comes to corporate schooling, even though it profits from other consulting and includes as alumni Mitt Romney, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and hedge fund manager John Paulson. Along with Broad Foundation support, the consulting firm worked on Delaware’s Vision 2015 for a longer school day in 2007, designed a business plan for the North Carolina New Schools Project, and have left footprints  in Cleveland, Arizona, Seattle, Chicago, Memphis, and New Orleans. BCG, as Daniel Denvir has noticed, recommended “that New Orleans, which has decimated its teachers’ union and put most schools under charter control, create the exact same species of achievement networks in 2006” as the ones proposed for Philly.

“Since at least 2007, BCG has been working on linking teacher pay to student test scores and so-called academic achievement for the Dallas Independent School District. Under J. Puckett’s Texas office leadership, BCG has also struck a deal with Uplift Education, where Jeb Bush’s son, George P., sits on the board of directors.  Puckett and Phil Montgomery, Uplift’s founding member, both sit on the board of Commit, an IBM, Bank of America, Bank of One-funded school group. Puckett was also a player in the Exxon Mobile/Gates Foundation-hyped National Math and Science Initiative (page 27, PDF box).

“BCG heavily promotes online learning in K-12 and college. In “Unleashing the Potential of Technology in Education,” the consulting firm calls for an “aligned set of educational objectives, standards, curricula, assessments, interventions, and professional development,” all centered around online technology. Deeming charter schools the leaders of internet schooling, the “study’s” authors quote online profiteer and Democrat for Education Reform’s Tom Vander Ark, praises Rocketship for hiring low wage non-teachers, and thanks their senior advisor, Margaret Spelling, Bush’s U.S. Secretary of Education. The” report” also praises the conflict-of-interest-laden School of One in NYC and KIPP’s BetterLesson program.

Categories Black Alliance for Educational Options, Boston Consulting Group

My Friends in Louisiana

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
15

Readers may notice that I often post about what is happening in Louisiana.

There are several reasons for this.

One is that Louisiana is truly an important site for what is now called school reform. It became important after Hurricane Katrina wiped out most of the public school system, and New Orleans became a closely-watched experiment in privatizing public education. Corporate reformers frequently refer to New Orleans as their shining example of the good that will come as a result of getting rid of public education, teachers’ unions, and veteran teachers.

Another reason is that I have amazing contacts in Louisiana. The most important contact is Dr. Lance Hill of the Southern Institute for Education and Research. He sends me the latest studies, reports, and news articles. Hill is a careful researcher, and I frequently rely on him to get the facts right. And experience has proven to me that he is invariably correct in his data and use of data. I want to mention here that Lance Hill was first to spot that 98 percent of the eligible students in Louisiana passed up the chance to apply for a voucher. Lance also has supplied me the data demonstrating that New Orleans is one of the lowest performing districts in the entire state. And one other thing, at a time when the elites of New Orleans are gaga for privatization, Lance knows the other side of the story, the one the national media never reports; he hears those who have been dispossessed and left out. Lance invited me to New Orleans two years ago, and I spoke at Dillard University, where I heard some of those voices. I thank him for his integrity, his moral center, and his commitment to the children of the state. And his friendship.

And last, I have gotten myself on some really terrific email lists in Louisiana. I read Mike Deshotel’s blog Louisiana Educator. I get regular updates from two other lists. And I have friends that I made when I spoke to the Louisiana School Boards Association this past March. I can’t name all my contacts, as some have relatives working in state government and I don’t want to get them fired.

And now I have a number of Louisiana teachers who are regular readers of this blog. I learn from them. They keep me informed. I’ll keep doing what I can to tell the public what is happening in your state. You keep hanging in there, ignoring the insults from the governor and the legislature, and stand by the children.

Categories Louisiana, New Orleans

Chicago Parents Are Sick and Tired of Their School Board

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
3

We in New York City know about a school board appointed by the mayor with orders not to listen to anyone but him.

We know about a school board that treats parents and teachers as nuisances.

Chicago parents know it too, and they aren’t going to take it without speaking out, as they are not allowed to do at “public hearings.”

They know what they want: smaller class size, respect for their teachers, resources for their schools. But their school board doesn’t agree, doesn’t want to hear them and doesn’t respect them.

Categories Education Reform

What It Takes to Teach in an Urban School

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
8

As I said in an earlier post, I am not sure if the teaching techniques and curriculum should be tailored to urban students, whether this is a form of racism or sensitivity. I’m listening and learning from teachers who know far more than I do. I worry about the danger of segregated schools and segregated learning styles. But I have heard the horror stories for years about teachers who couldn’t control their classrooms and about disruptive students and students who insult the teacher and think they are heroes for doing so. Back in the 1950s, the disorderly kids were white (think “Blackboard Jungle”). Now they are more likely to be kids of color. Affluence tends to bring decorum in its wings, regardless of race or gender or other factors. One seldom hears of unruly students at Choate or Exeter.

This teacher wants to set the record straight about the differences teaching in different communities:

Diane said: “I understand the importance of classroom management. So does every teacher. The question though is whether a militaristic approach is appropriate or necessary, and whether children who are poor and minority “need” an approach that is militaristic. I don’t know the answer. I worry about having one kind of school for poor black kids and another kind of school for white suburban kids. Should schools for the former be boot camps and schools for the latter be rich with the arts and inspiration? That’s why I am interested in the responses of experienced teachers.”It is more complicated than that.

I teach in Bridgeport CT– one of the epicenters of the failing schools/ ethnic and economic minorities/ privatization efforts. One issue in largely minority schools taught by mostly white teachers who come from out of town (as in many Connecticut urban schools) is that teachers unconsciously permit and expect worse behavior, lesser efforts and lower achievement because that is their expectation of inner city youth.

What I saw as a teacher in New York was different– most teachers went to those schools, even if they now commute in from Long Island. No matter the divide of race, the teacher tended to believe that the students could achieve, just as they did when they were in the NYC schools.

This is not so in smaller cities whose minority residents are so culturally divided from the educated teaching corps who come in to the city to teach.

My solution to this as a teacher has been to be a little bit like the teacher described in your excerpt. But strictness MUST be applied with deep respect and understanding of the students. Content mastery, enthusiasm, respect for dignity, and positivity are essential, but I do not think that teachers’ decades-long slide from a position of respect and authority in the classroom has been a good thing for our nation’s schools.

As an historian of education, you must be aware of this change– I see it as the pendulum swinging too far away from authority (which has definitely been abused by teachers in the past, and still is by some) towards — I can’t find a word for it– lassitude and helplessness.

The ideas of community in the classroom and mutual respect developed in the second half of the 20th century can also be taken too far. The answer is in the middle. Authority tempered with real respect for students. Decisiveness with a willingness to hear other opinions and change one’s mind or admit mistakes.

I must teach differently in Bridgeport than I would in Greenwich or in the Upper East Side private school where I began my career. The social complexities involved in ensuring that this is done with fairness and sensitivity are staggering.

The fact remains, though, that there are these differences. When privatization takes greater hold and experienced teachers are eliminated or chased away from inner cities, many things will be lost.

One of these things is the ability to strike a balance between A.) tailoring the educational experience to the demographics of your classroom and B.) ensuring that this educational experience is on par with schools that serve the most advantaged youths of our nation.

Some classrooms have students that need to be brought from Point M to Point Z. Some classrooms and school systems have more students that need to be brought from Point A to point Z.

Is it institutionalized racism to do this? Sometimes it can be. Sometimes it is racist to NOT do so.

I can see nothing that could prepare a teacher to find this balance but some years of trial and error, successes and mistakes. And hopefully a few “been there for 35 years” teachers to get advice from– ha, even sometimes .f it is to see how it used to be done and what can use improvement.

Homogenizing classroom management, instruction, and curriculum is akin to “trickle down education.” My concern is that cookie cutter Common Core standards and Online Instruction are nothing more than “cake” from Marie Antoinette. There are social strata in our country, and I believe it takes a human touch and some autonomy to best address these issues.
Categories Education Reform, Teachers and Teaching

What Is the Boston Consulting Group?

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
10

There is a new scandal in New York City. It seems the New York City Housing Authority paid $10 million to the Boston Consulting Group to write a report that is not available to the public that paid for it. According to the article in the New York Daily News, the report was commissioned by someone at the Housing Authority who used to work for the Boston Consulting Group.

Now, readers of this blog may recall that the Boston Consulting Group was paid over $1 million in private funds to draft a short little paper recommending the privatization of a large number of public schools in Philadelphia. It was also hired (not sure the price tag) to draft the plan for the Transition Planning Commission that merges the schools of Memphis and Shelby County, moving a large number of children and $212 million into private hands.

Who are these guys? Who elected them to redraft the meaning of public education in urban America?

Their role in reshaping education is becoming more noticeable but I still have no idea where they are coming from.

They usually advise major corporations. Why are they now redesigning urban school districts?

What does Boston Consulting Group know about education? For that matter, what does McKinsey, Alvarez & Marsal, and Bain Capital know about education? Are these corporate strategists imposing corporate practices on a public service that belongs to the local community? Are they turning our schools into mirror images of corporate America?

Will we be stack ranking teachers and children like GE and Microsoft? Will we close low-performing schools and replace them with start-ups? Uh, yes, we are doing it now thanks to NCLB and Race to the Top.

What is their expertise? What is their experience? Do they know everything? Who advises them on education?

I read on the BCG website that Margaret Spellings is a senior advisor. Who else is giving them direction about how to transform public education by giving it to private entrepreneurs?

Categories Boston Consulting Group, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Privatization

Tips for New Teachers

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
40

A reader responds with his ideas about how to succeed in the classroom:

Tips for a new teacher:Above all else RESPECT your students, if you respect them for who they are they will respect you.

1. Be knowledgeable about your subject matter. If you don’t know something a student asks say “I don’t know, let’s figure it out”.

2. Listen and learn from your students, they are your best teachers.

3. Expect the unexpected.

4. Go with the flow of the moment in the class.

5. Resist administrative mandates that you know will harm your students.

6. Fly under the administrative radar if possible while speaking your mind for what is best for your class and students

6. Engage parents as needed.

7. Jump in with both feet and enjoy what you do in the class.

8. Seek out experienced teachers, listen to them,and ask them about anything, they will gladly help as they were in your shoes before.

9. Do not expect to “like” all your students but treat all equally and fairly.

10. Thank students for pointing out when you make an error/misstatement.
Categories Education Reform

How to Create Throwaway Teachers

By dianeravitch
July 12, 2012 //
7

A teacher writes in response to the Match guide for teaching:

As a teacher of 23 years, I find this is absolutely an appalling disregard for the professionalism of the profession of education.  It is also a very scary notion for teacher preparation.  These authoritative, autocratic beliefs are not what makes for good teaching and classroom management.  Teaching in the manner described above will elicit fear in students, not learning.  When individuals (including kids) experience fear, the “flight or fight” mechanisms kick in.  With either case (flight or flight), the students have shut down and motivation is nowhere to be found.

Subscribing to the beliefs described above seems to be creating something that maybe the politicians are searching for–throwaway teachers–teach for a year or two and then toss them out with yesterday’s garbage.  And, then they can sit back and say, “Yep, we were right when we said the teachers are ineffective and we need to control their every move, etc, etc.

Categories Education Reform
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