Archives for the month of: September, 2012
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New State Tests=”Total Garbage”=Opt Out

By dianeravitch
September 20, 2012 //
4

This Ed school Professor, Tom Slekar, is not silent. He blogs, makes satirical videos, has a radio program (The Chalkface). He even ran for school board in his town in Pennsylvania. And he is leading the fight against high-stakes testing.

Slekar has called on his colleagues to join him on the barricades.

Read this post for more information about Tim.

Slekar writes:

Parents get ready for new tests this school year.

Pennsylvania is rolling out the new Keystone exams (the Keystones will take the place of the PSSAs).

All of Pennsylvania’s 11th graders will be required to take Keystones (high-stakes standardized tests) in algebra, literature and biology.

Great. New tests to replace the old tests.

And why has Pennsylvania decided to get new high-stakes tests?
According to the spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Education Tim Eller, “We have heard from the higher education community and business community that students are not graduating with the skills needed to enter the workforce. These exams are raised to the level of what’s needed to ensure that students are meeting certain requirements before they leave school.”

First, what qualifications does a spokesman for the DOE have that permits him to make such a broad statement about testing?

Second, the above quote is total garbage. Being in the higher education community, I can tell you for a fact that most college professors do not want more high-stakes testing. In fact, we want it to stop.

Students aren’t coming to college unprepared because they didn’t have the right test. They come to college unprepared because of tests. They don’t have workforce skills because of tests.

High-stakes tests and the perverted notion that we can test students into proficiency are the real problem.

We also know (but for some reason “qualified” people at the Pennsylvania DOE don’t know) that the last 10 years has been a disaster for students.
Testing has essentially denied a generation of children a quality and equitable education rich in all academic areas. Testing and test preparation are the problems.

The new Keystone exams will do nothing to better prepare students for college and the workforce.

You don’t need test-taking skills to thrive in college and the workplace. You need to be able to think and you need to be able to learn – two things standardized tests don’t and will never measure.

Parents, please save your children from this new disaster by opting out.

Categories Education Reform, Pennsylvania, Testing

The Inside Story of Great Hearts Charter in Nashville

By dianeravitch
September 20, 2012 //
10

We have been following the unfolding saga of the Metro Nashville school board’s refusal to approve a charter for the Great Hearts charter school in Arizona. The school board voted four times to deny the charter. The state board and the education commissioner Kevin Huffman ordered the Metro Nashville school board to approve the charter but it refused. The state is punishing Nashville by withholding $3.4 million from the district. So far, what we know about this affair is what we have read in the local Nashville newspapers. But here is an insider’s report about why Great Hearts has been turned down four times. Please read the Google document that is linked. It contains links and documentation. It is an eye-opener.

The reader writes:

“Wow, this is SO very needed for me as I sit here after a REALLY long day of just shaking my head at the insanity that is going on in the city that I call home (Nashville). I can not tell you how much I appreciate the breath of fresh air from all of your comments.

“Our newly elected board took a stand for ALL of our students with their 4th and final denial of Great Hearts. There was enormous pressure from the Mayor and our state officials and our Governor. The most ironic part of the 3.4 million dollar fine is the fact that it is from the BEP funds that are designated for “non-classroom”. Several things fall under that heading and of them is transportation. So the state has decided to withhold money that would go toward transporting our children to school who are Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL), in zone but not within walking distance or who are disabled.

“Do you know one of the major sticking points for why Great Hearts did not get approval? Transportation! They did not want to provide adequate transportation for students that were outside of the affluent west Nashville location. Their plan was to provide MTA bus passes for (FRL) kids that are old enough to ride mass transit and then they were going to provide limited busing to a specific neighborhood if the demand was great enough. Sounds pretty good until you get to the part that they were only going to do it for 2 years. Apparently after 2 years those kids’ families were magically going to come into some money to be able to buy a car or quit their second job or whatever so they could drive their child to and from school that is across town.

“So it seems that the state has shown us exactly how they feel about our students that need transportation. When they tried to bully the elected board into approving a charter that did not meet diversity requirements via transportation to the school or location of the school it didn’t work. Now they are punishing the very kids that would have been punished by approving a charter that did not give them adequate access. Oh the irony.

“I wrote an open letter to Nashville prior to the last board meeting which lays out the whole mess and the reasons Great Hearts’ business model was not a good fit for ALL of our children and therefore not a good fit for Nashville. You can read it here if you want all the details.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bx0LSuayKtIWTlI0Zy1pM2U3WkE/edit?pli=1

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization, Tennessee

How Chicago’s Children Were Educated by the Strike

By dianeravitch
September 20, 2012 //
1

This reader commented about how the strike enhanced her grandchild’s education:

The strike taught my grandchild and so many more children like her that people should stand up for what they believe in; to thoroughly read any document you sign; to join with people who have the same causes because many things can’t be done alone and that democracy is messy and hard to achieve, but worth it in the end. Not one week, or even one semester of civics, social studies or so called critical thinking instruction could teach that.. We saw and marched with the teachers, we heard them asking for fairness and we felt and agreed with their pain. If anything, our children were helped to have a greater appreciation for their teachers because they believe that the teachers stood up for them. What a great way for a new start!

Categories Chicago

Salman Rushdie Said: Don’t Be Afraid

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
4

The novelist Salman Rushdie lived under a death threat for many years after the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordered his death in 1989. He was interviewed by the New York Times.

Something he said struck a chord:

Q. What advice do you have for someone who might find himself under a similar threat?

A. Two bits of advice, really. One has to do with the head and the other is practical. The thing in the head is: Don’t compromise. It’s a question of self-knowledge, knowing who you are And why you did what you did. Stand up for it. The other thing is that if I were to do it again, I would refuse the hiding. I’d say: “I’ve got a house, I’m going home. Protect me.”

None of us is under a death threat. Thank you-know-who. But there is an idea here that we must listen to: “Don’t compromise. It’s a question of self-knowledge, knowing who you are, and why you did what you did. Stand up for it.”

Stand up for it. Do not be afraid. Do not live in fear. Do not cower.

In unity there is strength.

Categories Education Reform

A Philadelphia Student Speaks Out

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
5

This student opposes the planned closure and privatization of 40 Philadelphia public schools. He realizes that the closures are concentrated in minority communities and have a harmful effect on the students and the communities. He notes that Governor Corbett wants to spend more on prisons and less on schools. This is ominous.

As I have said in the past, when students awaken, the reform game is over. There are all these billionaire-funded groups with names like “Children First,” “StudentsFirst,” “Stand for Children.” Put a “not” in front of them. Listen to students, not to millionaires and billionaires who claim to speak in their name.

Join this student tomorrow in the Journey to Justice in D.C. if you are in the area.

Categories Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Privatization, Students

Karen Lewis Explains How CTU Won

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
11

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interviews Karen Lewis and other CTU teachers about the strike. Lewis explains how the union patiently built alliances with parents and communities, fighting school closings and agreeing on the needs of children.

Karen Lewis reminds us that the great victory of the union was that teachers stood together in solidarity instead of compliantly accepting whatever was dealt out to them. The very fact that the union went out on strike reminded teachers that they are in the same boat and that together they are powerful.

The message that CTU sent the nation was that so-called “education reform” is a fraud. It does not have the support of teachers. It is all about testing, carrots and sticks. And it is not in the best interests of students.

Ultimately what the CTU wanted was a rich curriculum for all children, with the social services and small classes that children nee.

The news from Chicago: The union is alive and well, is unified and strong, and is ready to stand up for the needs of students and for teachers, not only in Chicago but across the nation.

Want a laugh? Watch her take down equity investor Bruce Rauner, who was “a few classes behind her” at Dartmouth. Yes, Bruce, the union is the teachers, and the teachers are the union. They are not separable. Don’t forget: 98% of the teachers voted to authorize the strike, even though Jonah Edelman’s Stand for Children [aka, Stand on Children] said it would never happen.

Categories Arts Education, Chicago, Corporate Reformers, Curriculum, Education Reform, Unions

Did the Strike Hurt the Kids?

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
8

Corey Robin evaluates whether the strike hurt the kids, as the critics of CTU allege.

Categories Chicago

Does Rahm Emanuel Really Believe in Accountability?

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
16

When you watch Amy Goodman’s interview with Karen Lewis, you will hear Mayor Rahm Emanuel speak eloquently about the importance of accountability. He wants principals to be accountable. He wants teachers to be accountable.

But does he really believe in accountability? As Lewis points out, the school board appointed by Emanuel is accountable to no one. Their decisions may be rejected by parents and communities, but the board is not accountable.

Does Rahm Emanuel believe in accountability for the principal and teacher of his own children’s school? They don’t take standardized tests. They are not held accountable for test scores. By Mayor Emanuel’s terms, he has chosen a school for his children where no one is accountable.

Is accountability only for the teachers and principals of the Chicago public schools?

Categories Accountability, Chicago, Emanuel, Rahm, Unions

What the CTU-CPS Contract Includes

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
1

Fred Klonsky summarized what the union won in the contract negotiations.

This is the contract approved by 98% of the delegates. It will be submitted to the membership for final approval.

Frankly, the biggest threat that lies ahead for the teachers is that Rahm Emanuel will continue closing schools and opening non-union charters. Given that he controls the school board, and given that he has a low opinion of public education, watch for continued privatization in Chicago.

Categories Charter Schools, Chicago, Emanuel, Rahm, Privatization, Unions

Why the CTU Waited Two Days

By dianeravitch
September 19, 2012 //
7

Arthur Goldstein, teacher extraordinaire in Queens, New York City, read Rick Hess’s take on the Chicago strike and offered this comment:

It is good to see the “reformers” up in arms about this [strike] and spouting preposterous nonsense all over the place. They are not used to being confronted with truth. In line with that, Hess states the CTU gained nothing by waiting two days. In fact, he fails to see the most extraordinary thing–the CTU wanted its members to know what they were voting on before simply pushing it through. That is democracy, something precious and rare, and something very much needed by unions.

Categories Education Reform
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