Archives for the month of: October, 2012
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Corporatization of Public Education?

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
26

An interesting article at open.salon.com speculates about the current drive to privatize American public education.

Inevitably, the author makes the US/Finland comparison. What is missing? He or she never mentions that Finland does not have any standardized testing. Not until students apply to college (which is tuition-free, by the way).

Teachers are respected not only because it is tough to become a teacher–the selection process is rigorous–but because they have wide discretion to exercise their professional judgment once they become a teacher. No one gives them a script. They write their own tests.

There is no value-added assessment, no merit pay, no charters, no vouchers.

And very few children or families are poor.

What can we learn from Finland?

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, International, Poverty, Teachers and Teaching, Vouchers

Washington State Should Vote NO on 1240

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
8

Brendan Williams, a parent in Washington State and former legislator, wrote an article to explain why initiative 1240 should be defeated.

Initiative 1240 would authorize charter schools in a state where voters have turned them down three times previously.

This initiative is generously funded by billionaires such as the Walton family, which donated $600,000. By contrast, his own county has contributed only $40 to the charter campaign.

He proudly included photographs of his own first grade class in public school, where there were six white children and fourteen black children.

On November 6, we will see whether the 1% can buy the election, which will not affect their own children.

Categories Charter Schools, Washington State

Guess Who Is in Charge of Hiring in Dallas?

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
33

A teacher sent the following comment in a discussion about why teachers are demoralized. In Dallas, a 29-year-old TFA alum, with two years of teaching experience, has been put in charge of teacher recruitment:

A much better thing to publicize is the recent appointment of a TFA alumni to be the new Chief Talent Officer (HR manager I believe in OldSpeak) for DISD. This individual, responsible for reforming how Dallas ISD hires teachers and retains them, has spent a grand total of 2 years teach middle school social studies. He’s a poster child for the TFA philosophy of Teach For Two Years and then move up into administration and policy. And yet this man is supposed to know what a great teacher looks like on paper and in person and in the classroom and hire them for DISD?

I wonder how many of the new hires will look like him.

Relevant news stories:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120522-teach-for-america-exec-to-be-disds-chief-talent-officer.ece

http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/dallas-isd-chief-charles-glover-on-restructuring-the-human-resources-department.html/

Note how he dodges the questions in the second news stories.

Categories Education Reform, Teach for America TFA, Texas

Should Students Rate Teachers?

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
36

Larry Ferlazzo reports on an interesting exchange about student ratings of teachers. Amanda Ripley, who is a cheerleader for corporate reform, loves the idea of trusting students to tell us which teachers are great and which stink.

Felix Salmon points out where she is wrong.

The Gates Foundation loves the idea of student surveys, of course, and several districts are already using them.

I personally have a lot of trouble with the idea of asking students to rate their teachers. It’s bad enough that teachers’ careers now hinge on their students’ test scores, but now they will be asked to win popularity contests. I don’t see this as a way to improve teaching but as a way to compel teachers to pander to students, to assign less homework, to inflate grades, and to seek student approval.

Why are so many people messing up teachers’ ability to teach?

Categories Accountability, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Students, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching, Testing

Best Post of the Day!

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
30

Edushyster has done it again.

He or she has identified the schools in Massachusetts with the highest suspension rates. Almost all are charters.

This is not what you would normally think was a funny topic, but read it to the end and see what you think.

Frankly, no one is better at puncturing charter school myths and pomposity than Edushyster.

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Humor

Write Your Letter Today to President Obama

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
5

Consider spending a few minutes this weekend writing a letter for the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Tell the President how Race to the Top has affected your life as a parent, a teacher, a principal, a student, a school board ember or a concerned citizen.

Tell him how important the public schools are to your community and our democracy. Tell him what you know.

Share your ideas about how to improve the schools and the lives of children and families.

Here are the instructions to join the Campaign for Our Public Schools.

Categories Education Reform

A Conversation about the Goal of Reformers

By dianeravitch
October 7, 2012 //
9

I wrote a post about the attacks on teachers, which got some interesting responses.

Reader A wrote:

This has absolutely nothing to do with teacher quality. This has everything to do with:

1. Destroying unions;

2. Destroying public education;

3. Hijacking tax funding for education to for-profit corporations;

4. Control of the public to perpetuate the 1%.

But Bill and Arne won’t say that in public.

Reader B replied:

@mooseinsquirrels: In attacking the problem, it’s important to outline the ultimate motives of those who’d destroy unions, etc. Otherwise, it sounds as if teachers see themselves as the primary victims. My hope is that we can refine our rhetoric in a way that makes plain the stakes for society generally.

Some in the 1% do see a big money pie of which they’d gladly enjoy a slice. But destroying unions and demeaning the profession are primarily steps in the industrialization of education. Students are raw materials, teachers are workers on the assembly line and computers are robots. Efficient manufacture demands standardized tools, techniques and outputs. Unions create friction and therefore must be eliminated.

Degradation, not destruction, is the likely outcome for public education. The system will be partially privatized, but others will profit as contractors with what remains of the public system. Just as KIPP will never accept Diane’s challenge to take over an entire system, the smarter education entrepreneurs will avoid taking over the entire system when they peel off some kids, generate feel-good numbers, and collect a profit.

Ultimately, we must convince parents in all classes that 1) education is best when it draws out the talents and passions of children, and 2) the industrialization of schooling has the effect (and perhaps the design) of squelching them.

@lets_be_reasonable: Your analysis tacitly accepts the industrialization of education metaphor. Teacher quality is measured by product quality which is measured by how much someone will pay for it. I propose we rehumanize the product and reject any value-added metric. It’s sickening.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Education Reform, For-Profit, Privatization

A Union Member Refutes the Propaganda

By dianeravitch
October 6, 2012 //
8

A teacher writes:

I am a union member (AFT affiliate) and nothing in our union contract requires that I teach a certain way or limits the extent to which I stay late, come in early, or take work home. We do have limits on class size (28). Doesn’t this seem like a good idea for children as well as teachers? The only people who seem interested in constricting my work are the occasional administrators/suits who appear now and then with a stack of tests which I have to foist on my students.

Categories Corporate Reformers, Unions

Eliminating Libraries Is Reform?

By dianeravitch
October 6, 2012 //
27

I posted earlier about Romney’s pledge to eliminate federal support for the arts and humanities (PBS and “Big Bird”). A reader from Louisiana–which is the absolute acme of education reform–says that the defunding has already started in that state.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers eliminated support for libraries. It was less than $1 million, hardly a crumb on the public table, but it sent a significant message: If you want to read books, buy them yourself. Or raise your local taxes. No more free-loading with free libraries! No more free access to information!

Bear in mind that Louisiana is doing now exactly what Romney has pledged to do: Vouchers, charters, online for-profit charters, public money for religious schools, public money for entrepreneurs. All of these new expenditures subtracted from the minimum foundation budget for public schools.

But not a dime for free public libraries.

This is where the current wave of privatization leads.

Categories Charter Schools, Jindal, Bobby, Louisiana, Romney, Mitt, Vouchers

Why Teachers Are Demoralized

By dianeravitch
October 6, 2012 //
40

There is this superintendent in a small district in Texas who is brilliant. His name is John Kuhn. He speaks like a giant. He writes like a dream. He says what teachers everywhere are saying, and he says it better than anyone I know.

Read this and thank John Kuhn for being a hero of public education, a hero of teachers, and a hero of students.

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, Honor Roll, Parents, Students, Teachers and Teaching
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