The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 1,000,000 people visit the Seattle Space Needle every year. This blog was viewed about 6,500,000 times in 2013. If it were the Space Needle, it would take about 7 years for that many people to see it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
That was a fun post!
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Loved the graphics. A trip down memory lane. Impressive – the number of readers from around the world. Hi, y’all.
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That’s fascinating!!!
Duane will love his ranking! In his honor, here’s another plug for Wilson: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/577
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Thanks CT for the Wilson plug!
If most haven’t figured out yet, I’m not a fan of rankings and I was rather much startled at mine. But I like to add a lot of little thoughts like TAGO which artificially inflate the number of postings. Notice that the number of postings says nothing about the quality of those posts. Hint, one can’t quantify quality. And that much ignored truism is the basis for many of the problems we see in education, in the supposed “reforms” of the teaching and learning process these days.
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Yes, Duane, I do realize that rankings don’t matter to you. I was actually being facetious; maybe I should have included a semicolon with the Wilson plug so my sarcasm was clear –or an emoticon 😉
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Duane – what does TAGO mean?
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It’s also a self parody as I have a tendency to keep asking folks to clarify acronyms; from which Joanna Best determined that I am probably acronymic illiterate and need an IEP.
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Did you start TAGO?
I have only seen it here. Points for creativity, if so.
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I believe so for the self parody reasons (and I don’t text as I don’t have any portable phone device) but I don’t always trust my memory.
If someone else started it please advise us!
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That’s a good one!
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Duane: I am replying a month late but I wanted you to know I posted the Wilson study on another blog site today. Thanks for sharing that with us. I keep a copy on my desk top…. It is exremely important in this time when we are faced with an onslaught of “reform” types who launch salvos at the schools. Thanks again; I hope you see this even if it was some time ago ….
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Jean,
Yes, I got this as there is a function in this site that informs one of replies. Unfortunately, though, when there are replies to replies to replies sometimes it doesn’t always work.
I’m so glad you have read Wilson and are getting the word out. It makes my “Quixotic Quest” a little more easy when I learn of others who understand and realize the importance of his work. Feel free to use my summary (Noel reviewed it and gave it a thumbs up, not without a little help-ha ha!) anytime you can and the more often the merrier as we say on the bandwagon!
Do you know of any rebuttals/refutations of what Wilson has proven? If so, please let me know as I’ve not seen anything (neither has Noel) other than someone here responding that “it’s just a post modern diatribe” which really isn’t much of a critique.
Jean, again thanks for letting me know. I enjoy your comments here. Take care!!
Duane
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Wow, Duane Swacker was the most active commenter on this blog in 2013.
Duane made 3768 comments! That’s amazing!
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It’s only ten a day. TAGO has to have been a couple of hundred of them. It’s just that I ain’t got a life, living pretty much alone in the woods, although now my youngest son is back home for a while (I don’t let him slow me down and he thinks I’m at least 3/4 crazy for all the postings).
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Well, I did do a little calculation. Surveying 4 typical days, I subtracted a few of Duane’s posts which, in my estimate, were the result of futile cycling in the endless back-and-forth with teachingeconomist.
That would still leave Duane with an effective contribution of 2,565 posts, very close to his son’s estimate of three quarters crazy, but not surpassing Robert Shepherd’s total. Shepherd didn’t even waste a semicolon, as far as I can see.
Well done, to both of them, and to Diane Ravitch, and to all the reporters, bloggers and commentators who have continuously refreshed this torrent. We have indeed overturned their false narrative.
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“futile cycling in the endless back-and-forth with teachingeconomist.”
Great description, Chemtchr!
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TAGO! chemtchr, TAGO.
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Happy New Year Diane…continued success and of course good health! Let’s hope we see changes in NYC under deBlasio.
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Hold your mouse over the different countries to see the numbers. Impressive all over the world. Unfortunately only one person in Greenland and another sole person in Gabon. I teach and online class to Belize and there are 66 viewers from there. Congrats Diane~
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I’ve been to the Space Needle and I’ve been to your blog. Your blog is far more interesting and fun. 🙂
Congrats!
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Come to St. Louis and go up in the Arch! (if you’re not claustrophobic).
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I was in St Louis a few years ago and went up the Arch. What a marvel. The last time I visited was the summer of 1973 when I was eighteen. It was pretty new at that time and there wasn’t a museum (which I thoroughly enjoyed). I have fond memories of St Louis. You must enjoy living in a Gateway City. In some ways it reminds me of Buffalo.
Hope the storm passes you buy. It was super cold here on Friday, has warmed up into the 30s for the weekend, then back to frigid weather for the start of next week.
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“. . . the summer of 1973 when I was eighteen. . . ”
Well, we couldn’t have crossed paths as I was in Peru at the time-fresh out of high school.
I grew up in south St. Louis County when it was still rural, truck farms, peach orchards, pig farms woods, fields and creeks. Currently I’m about 60 miles west of St. Louis.
I love the snow so I’ve always been jealous of you folks up in Buffalo and the lake effect snow! Been by Buffalo once on the way to Niagara. Quite a magnificent piece of nature! Upstate New York is quite beautiful!
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We are about the same age. That summer I was with my family in a motor home driving across the country from ball park to ball park. Almost all of the stadiums have been replaced now. We stayed a few days in St Loius and I have pleasant memories of that time. I think the Cards had a new stadium and we attended on cap day. I pretended to be fourteen. My brother, who was fourteen, was mad because they wouldn’t give him a cap – he looked too old. When we were in Vegas I pretended to be twenty one so I could play the slots. He was mad about that too. I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me.
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I guess you could probably pass for about 29 now, eh!!
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Unfortunately, I can’t pass for 29, but I love it when people say I’m too young to be retired.
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There is beauty throughout this country, even in the badlands.
Western New York has some magnificent sights, especially Niagara Falls, but Niagara Gorge is glorious, too. Buffalo is trying to take advantage of their waterfront. If successful it will be a great tourist attraction. As in St Louis, there is a lot of history. Here we were the center of the War of 1812. This past Monday was the 100th anniversary of the burning of Buffalo, NY.
If you want snow, we have it.
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Just wonderful.
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Very fun post!
Best wishes in 2014.
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Where’s Duane?! I wonder what he will make of his first place ranking. 🙂
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2old2tch: good question.
Let’s start with what one of those old dead Romans [hey, they can’t all be Greeks] said: “It is quality rather than quantity that matters.” [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]
So perhaps he would remind us that his numerical ranking and the quantity of his comments shouldn’t take precedence over their quality…
😃
BTW, does that make “Noel Wilson” and “Wilson” the most used word on this blog after the articles “a” and “an” and “the”?
😎
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KTA and 2O2T,
As usual KTA hit the nail on the head driving it flush with one swing of the hammer!
As I didn’t quite say above but I’ll say it here, I abhor rankings, even those based on sheer numbers exactly for the reasons KTA noted.
And if my postings serve to help enlighten the education world to the works of Noel Wilson then I’ll gladly keep posting. His work really is the most important concerning the teaching and learning process of the last 50 years, bar none. And it really is based on one very simple concept: It is logically impossible to quantify a quality.
So with that last thought, the ranking means nothing more than;* hopefully more people will have gotten a chance to encounter what Wilson has proven of the nefariousness of educational standards, standardized testing, the sorting, separating and RANKING of students via “grades”.
Hell, I’m only up because I wanted to see what the status of the impending doom and gloom I’ve been seeing, hearing of the blizzard that is supposed to dump a foot of snow with -25 degree wind chills. Tain’t started happening yet! We’ll see what tomorrow brings, eh!!
*You know I have no clue when to use a semi-colon, help me out someone!
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“*You know I have no clue when to use a semi-colon, help me out someone!”
When you have two main clauses (sentences/complete thoughts) that you want to join together, but you are tired of using “and, but, or, yet, so, for,” use a semi-colon instead. The above comment could read, “You know I have no clue when to use a semi-colon, so help me out someone!” Or…”You know I have no clue when to use a semi-colon; help me out someone!” 🙂
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Thanks 2O2T. I don’t remember ever having it explained to me before.
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I don’t remember having it taught to me either. I think I picked it up sitting in several different language arts classes in the middle school where I was a TA. I eventually ended up teaching it first hand. With the time I spent in 7-8 grade, I could ace it. 🙂
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Don’t worry, Duane – we in the legal field use more than enough semi-colons to make up for you.
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Interesting fact! I’ll be looking for them the next time I read something from the legal profession. (always good to see examples to help illustrate the concept)
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Next time I’m at work, I’ll try to remember to post a semi-colon laden legalese paragraph for you, although I hesitate to do so, as I’m afraid it will find its way onto a Common Core test or test prep reading comprehension piece and the youth suicide rate will suddenly skyrocket.
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TAGO, Dienne!
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Thanks for providing something so exciting to wake up to! Love you, your blog and all your bloggers. I hope you have a wonderful 2014.
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Diane,
A fun report to read and you have great DATA; interesting to see the hits from each country. Congrats to Mr. Swacker, who is also in the lead for 2014.
Happy New Year to all.
I used a semicolon for you Duane.
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Linda: you didn’t do bad yourself!
😃
I will continue to read your comments and use “edufraud” as much as possible.
But channeling Noel Wilson for a moment, it’s not just how MANY times you ponder his idea that “[i]t is logically impossible to quantify a quality” [Duane Swacker, 2:08 AM]; it’s how WELL you use semi-colons rather than how often they appear in your writings.
Really!
Not Rheeally!
And on a brighter [?] note: there is a 98% “Satisfactory” [thank, Mr. Bill Gates!] chance of certainty that within ten years [thanks again, Bill!] that we will know whether or not the edufrauds [see Linda, I kept my promise!] know the difference between a “semi”-colon and a “half”-baked idea.
Although I’m not holding my breath when it comes to the leading charterites/privatizers and their accountabully underlings: “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” [Albert Einstein]
😎
P.S. Señor Swacker has his Quixotic Quest. Me too, but not so grand: everyone should use more brackets in their writings.
Or not…
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Got a useful rule for brackets?
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I will always love KTA 😍
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KTA gets the award for highe$t and be$te$t humorou% post$ on the blog. Really, not Rheally as the oracles of the church of Te$tology have divined and declared to be reality not rheality.
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A big salute to Linda! –the only female to be ranked; she is also an accomplished contender in the “futile cycling in the endless back-and-forth with teachingeconomist.”
Good going, girl!
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It’s always a party here on the Ravitch blog.
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She’s got that category hands down!! Or is that hands up!?
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Thanks CT. I always look forward to your comments. 😍
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Congratulations on a wonderful year for American publicschools. Thanks. Phil Kaldahl Retired Teacher Bellevue, Nebraska
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Reblogged this on Roy F. McCampbell's Blog.
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Linda and Duane,
Congratulations to two colleagues from whom I always learn so much. Duane has the patience of a saint and uses it in his true discourse and objective arguments, and Linda packs an appropriately walloping punch to those who need some dire reality checks. Congratulations to Robert Shepherd, whose razor sharp academic discourse, analytical abilities, and persuasive writing has everyone thinking. Congratuations to George Buzetti, a staple of pro-teacher commenters. A way more than honorable mention goes to Mercedes Schneider, who, along with Carol Burris, are presently and will continue to be the upcoming, increasingly powerhouse leaders in educational advocacy.
Congratulations to TE also, for challenging us and reminding the vast majority of us of the critical reasons we are pushing back against this reform movement in education. To me, TE may not be inspiring, but he is very motivating, and for that, I sincerely think he is owed some gratitude . . . .
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Robert Rendo: tis the season of peace on earth, good will to all.
Thank you for demonstrating generosity of spirit and praise.
“Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our deeds.” [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra]
😎
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I’m going to be very honest here. I can’t say that I’ve found the rides on the Möbius strip to be motivating. And I’m not nearly as generous about a teacher who, by virtue of having a doctorate and working in higher ed, is beyond reach of feeling the stings from the corporate “reforms” he promotes, such as eliminating union protections like collective bargaining and step and lane pay scales for experience and advanced degrees. (I am beyond reach as well, but my empathy drives me to fight injustice as if I’m personally impacted.)
5 people were ranked according to their quantitative scores, but one is gone due to qualitative issues. Personally, I think it’s a shame the remaining bottom 25% can’t be yanked.
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I don’t need that kind of “motivation” either, Cosmic Tinker. A lot of effort gets invested in muddying the comment stream on this blog. One tool is repetitious, generic interruptions to flummox and drown out honest new posters, who often have specific knowledge to a breaking local story. Another is pretending to support the blog, but dragging the discourse into the gutter.
My suggestion is only to engage a troll if it raises a new or different argument, that can actually be explored productively. We definitely don’t have to indulge specious arguments for politeness sake, or find common ground with pretend-allies when they are really attacking our students and communities (who are already under corporate assault).
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Cosmic Tinker & chemtchr: it does not go without saying that I always read the comments that bear your handles. Thank you for your contributions.
😎
I have a simple rule of thumb: give respect to get respect. If commenters want me to spend time, effort and thought going over their comments, then they must make an effort—however minimal and half-hearted—at winning me over. Simply assuming I’m a punching bag, available here so they can work out deep-rooted anxieties and fears, all in the effort to make me and others feel small so they can feel big—
Doesn’t cut it with me. There are other blogs for that.
The above has nothing to do with whether I agree or disagree with the POV of the commenter. But proof by contempt and proof by assertion are the stock-in-trade of the edubullies and edufrauds and harm the cause of a “better education for all.”
One of those old dead Greek guys understood this very well:
“Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.” [Sophocles]
😎
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Thanks, chemtcher, KrazyTA and “old dead Greek guys”! I always appreciate your words of wisdom, which serve as regular reminders that quality trumps quantity and is the critical currency in the most significant arenas of life!
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Hovered over the map—thanks for that tip, Janna. So democracy is spreading via Diane Ravitch! 🙂 Let’s do the Arlo Guthrie math: if each one of us almost 7 million bring in another two or three, well then folks, we’ve got a revolution on our hands! Yikes.
Let’s do it.
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Now, Melissa, you made me go and link up with one of my all time favorite songs. Here it is:
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Ah, thank you! You can get anything you want at Diaaaaane’s . . . .?
My son and I listen to this every year on Thanksgiving, when WFUV, 90.7 on your local New York City and environs dial, broadcasts it. A tradition that keeps on giving! And reminds us to keep on rebelling against authoritarian regimes, ridiculous mandates and thoughtless rulings.
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Melissa,
Love the “folks can get anything they want at Diane’s……..!!!
That’s a very interesting tradition as KSHE in St. Louis has been playing Alice’s Restaurant every Thanksgiving at high noon since ?? and the group of folks with whom I grew up have been having a get together at the Catholic grade school in which many of us grew up. Started in 1971 or so. Started out as a bone crush football game between the classes of 68-69 (grade school that is) and is now a soccer game between those over 30 against those under. The game features three generations, us old farts, generally vs our kids, although some are now old enough to play on our side, and some of our grandkids (none of mine). We had about 70 people there last Thanksgiving and there are some folk that I see once a year, at the game at our grade school. It’s a lot of fun!
The official start is the playing of Alice’s Restaurant at high noon. Folks have their cars wide open blasting the song everywhere!
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We definitely are the same age – it’s one of my favorites, too.
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Maybe we can “needle” some of the politicians. Hope so.
They seem to be “spaced out”.
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Well, of course. A cool post from a cool dude. That’s you, Diane. Live forever!
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