I spoke at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York, on January 16.
Here is a video of my talk.
I explain how federal policy has taken control of every public school in the nation, promoting policies that have no research or evidence behind them, closing schools, and causing demoralization among teachers and administrators.
I recommend a moratorium for testing of the Common Core.
I recommend regular reviews of the standards by the state’s teachers and scholars. No standards are perfect. These are not. They should be reviewed and revised where appropriate.
Be not afraid of authority.
We live in a democracy. Take responsibility for your schools and your children.
I suggest that there is one way to fight back and restore sanity in education: Contact your legislators. Now.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Governor Cuomo is forming a committe to assess the implementation of CCSS to date and , I believe, to consider the option of a three year moratorium on testing and APPR. If Andy believes the moratorium will help him politically, it will happen. If you live in NYS contact your State Senate and Assembly members and the governor as well and please use the leverage of your votes to make this happen. I’ve sent emails to all three branches; the websites are easy to navigate. Thanks Diane. I’ve got to think that your presenttaion was helpful in moving NYS public education out of the rabbit hole.
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I can’t wait to watch the video after the kids go to bed tonight.
In the meantime (sorry, off-topic), did you see this: http://nyceducator.com/2014/01/schools-open.html ? Money quote:
“But Chancellor Fariña has declared that city kids can go to school today. Channel 2 reports that Mayor de Blasio has told New Yorkers to avoid the roads if possible, but is OK with teachers coming to work.”
The same thing nearly happened in Chicago until Karen Lewis knocked some sense into Barbara Byrd-Bennett (and saved Emanuel a fiasco that would have made Mayor Bilandic look diligent). So Farina goes further than even BBB did? And people are still happy with De Blasio/Farina?
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“I can’t wait to watch the video after the kids go to bed tonight.”
HHHHuuummmm! I wonder what the rating is?????
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Rated G . . . . Diane was eloquent, elegant, and articulate.
Let’s leave all the cussin and blue words for off line. . . .
Let’s start from A to Z . .. starting with Arne Duncan and ending in “Zoo”, as in put all these reform lower species animals in one.
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Diane, you are a gifted teacher, a wise and intelligent woman of carefully chosen words, and a person of outstanding character. Thank you for your endless gifts to children, public education and America. I am proud to learn from you.
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I just got a dishonest and disturbing Common Core promotion email from the “Education Opportunity Network”, which bills itself as
“News and views for progressive change in education
A project of the Institute for America’s Future, in partnership with the Opportunity to Learn Campaign
JEFF BRYANT, Editor”
The title is, “Why Common Core Advocates Should Let Teachers Lead It”
After a lot of hand waving, including quoting Diane Ravitch’s speech to the MLA, it gets to “Hope for the Common Core”, the hot air core of its argument:
“Nevertheless, the anecdotal data showing support for the Common Core among educators continue to mount. It’s commonplace, for instance, to come across educators who …”
Instead of mentioning the money NEA took to promote the CCSS, it gushes,
“Such teacher-led support for the Common Core is so pervasive it enabled the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher union, to recently unveil a $7 million free platform with more than 3,000 lessons aligned to the standards.”
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/why-common-core-advocates-should-let-teachers-lead-it/
I don’t understand where this came from, and in truth feel somewhat sickened. Bryant has written perfectly useful pieces in the past, though I don’t recall him ever breaking any new ground. The “Institute for America’s Future” does come up on search of Gates Foundation PDF documents. I haven’t waded through them yet.
Anyway, sadly, heads up everybody. This stealth commercial contaminates every organization it touches.
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There’s a lot heads on this hydra. For every one we cut off . . .
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Just cut the hydra at its root, not at one of its heads . . . . .
Voila . . . . .
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How would you describe the ROOT of this many headed HYDRA?
And which tool should we use to cut it?
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Did you see the EdWeek piece on the very interesting Florida project to modify CCSS: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/01/weve_been_reporting_to_you.html?cmp=ENL-CCO-NEWS1 ?
Follow all the links. Very interesting public and teacher feedback and FL response.
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I’d like to think that all of the district administrators in attendance at Fox Lane will start to speak out. I saw many nodding heads in the audience but I don’t hear much coming from the superintendent’s offices, with the exception of the Bedford and Pleasantville superintendents. The parent voices also seem to be silent.
Thank you, Diane, for your endless work on behalf of students and teachers.
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Take the time to listen to Diane’s talk in Bedford. She explains the problems and provides solutions clearly and compassionately but is so level-headed and civil. I am making a list of people that I am going to send this link to because most people don’t understand the problems facing our nation’s public schools. And as a Montessori teacher, I am going to encourage the Montessori community to speak up against these “reforms,” to speak up against the inequity it produces, and to be an advocate for all children. Diane talks about how Common Core and the high-stakes testing destroy a love of learning, creativity, and innovation. American Montessori Society and Association Montessori International, how can you be so silent?
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A moratorium on testing will only be helpful if , in the mean time, we can field test our own assessment design. Just putting off the inevitable by itself has no value. we must understand that their is more than one way to stop the testing chaos. Of utmost importance is to, again, design our assessment plan, field test it and compare it to the current fiasco, piece by piece. Here´s some thoughts to stretch your mind http://savingstudents-caplee.blogspot.com/2013/12/accountability-with-honor-and-yes-we.html
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Cap, this drive is all a move for power, not for “assessment” or evaluation. No universal ranking system is needed, period.
No, it isn’t inevitable that political manipulators will capture regulatory control over teachers and children through any bogus tools, metric, assessments, matrix or algorithm. It’s all bogus junk science.
Neither Gates’ instruments, nor the one you are endlessly pushing for your own self-promotion, need to be adopted by anybody. They don’t care that their system is a random number generator, they’re after the power to impose it.
Stand up and resist the whole attack, instead of joining it, if you want anybody to pay attention to you.
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chemtchr is right Cap. We don’t need our own alternative assessment plan. We just want to go back to teaching, to helping youngsters grow, to offering the widest range of educational experiences possible, to open up eyes to the myriad possibilities that life has to offer, to help every student find their niche, and to prepare them for the next level, whatever they might be.
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HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Our borders will be invaded by Astonia if we don’t adopt Common Core! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Diane, you’re a riot!!!!
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… and modeling civility… complete with the facial expression… LOVELY (I’m up way past my bedtime, but I can’t stop watching/ listening to Diane Ravitch!!!!)
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Thank you!
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Watching the video—time well spent.
There is no doubt left in my mind why Michelle Rhee and David Coleman did a “Rhee Flee” rather than get on the same stage with Diane Ravitch.
With $tudent $ucce$$ at risk, it would make no ₵ent¢ to let the whole world see behind their celebrity façade and manufactured credentials. They would only be poster children for Gertrude Stein’s observation that—
“There is no there there.”
😎
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Thank you, Diane, for such a wonderful speech and question-and-answer! You have an amazing ability to communicate the main issues thoughtfully and clearly. I hope to see you the next time you come to Los Angeles.
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As usual- follow the money. It is amazing how much rttt and nclb waivers have distorted the flow of those precious pennies from dc. Can’t we, as a country, support education at a level that befits our expectations of what the system will turn out?? No, instead we have allowed local control to be completely subverted because of the money.
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