I am very pleased to discover that the National Assiciation of School Superintendents is featuring this blog on the front page of its website!
If we all stood together to protect our children and our public schools, we could stop the corporate attacks on public education.
I welcome NASS to join us in the battle to strengthen public education and provide a better education for all,not a “race to the top” based in testing and teacher-bashing. Let our children learn and let our teachers teach!
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is VERY good news. So often the ‘administration’ is seen as an antagonist, but it is only through joining together (with parents, as well) will we save our public school system, the one that taught the people who created the greatest economic and intellectual engine in the world.
Reblogged this on Who's Minding the Children? and commented:
So happy to read this!
Lots of good news in NY State today and you have played such a big part in organizing the resistance. Thank you!
That is great news!!!! They can make such a difference!
Beginning to feel the earth rumble & the sun shining light on what we have been writing & talking about for a long time.
Can it be?
Parents protecting their children. Parents wanting to hold on to their teachers and schools. Opting Out in large numbers.
Administrators need support in this vulture capital dictates too. No one is safe unless they are writing the 12th grade level test items for 6th graders, forcing 5yrolds wet their pants, cry and develop school phobia…while peddeling RIGOR for Millions.
Great News.
Excellent news . . . .
And it took them THIS long because?
Better late then never.
To answer your question (and as a comment to John Wund above):
Because supes are GAGAers* through and through. One doesn’t get to that position by challenging the status quo (no, not that Status Quo**), one has to be the status quo. Free thinking, jargon free speakers they are not. I’ve had one supe in twenty one years whom I would consider not worthy of being called a GAGAer-Lee Brittenham.
*Going Along to Get Along (GAGA): Nefarious practice of most educators who implement the edudeformers agenda even though the educators know that those educational malpractices will cause harm to the students and defile the teaching and learning process. The members of the GAGA gang are destined to be greeted by the Karmic Gods of Retribution upon their passing from this realm.
Karmic Gods of Retribution: Those ethereal beings specifically evolved to construct the 21st level in Dante’s Hell. The 21st level signifies the combination of the 4th (greed), 8th (fraud) and 9th (treachery) levels into one mega level reserved especially for the edudeformers and those, who, knowing the negative consequences of the edudeformers agenda, willing implemented it so as to go along to get along (see GAGA). The Karmic Gods of Retribution also personally escort these poor souls, upon their physical death, to the 21st level unless they enlighten themselves, a la one D. Ravitch, to the evil and harm they have caused so many innocent children, and repent and fight against their former fellow deformers. There the edudeformers and GAGAers will lie down on a floor of smashed and broken ipads and ebooks curled in a fetal position alternately sucking their thumbs to the bones while listening to two words-Educational Excellence-repeated without pause for eternity.
**https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4YYI8G5EM
TAGO, Duane-O!
Dianne,
Great seeing you on the front page of NASS’ blog. Great seeing Lee Jenkins there, too.
What good news! Perhaps it will encourage more supes to speak out .
“Light is the task where many share the toil.” [Homer]
Genuine learning and teaching is going to take all hands on deck.
And it’s another indication that the movement for a “better education all” is gaining momentum.
I thank the owner of this blog for the good news and congratulate her on making it happen, the old-fashioned way—
She earned it.
😎
Congratulations Dr. Ravitch on your dedication to cultivate and to protect American Public Education FROM the corrupted corporations in in USA or foreign countries.
Your mission impossible gradually come true.
I would like to share with readers what I recently learn from Wikipedia about American Education in the 1950 – 1960 versus a period 1980- 1990.
Gini coefficient of education [edit]
Education Gini index estimates the inequality in education for a given population.[40] It is used to discern trends in social development through educational attainment over time. From a study of 85 countries, Thomas, et al. estimate Mali had the highest education Gini index of 0.92 in 1990 (implying VERY HIGH INEQUALITY in education attainment across the population),
“”while the UNITED STATES had the LOWEST education inequality GINI INDEX of 0.14.”” [VERY CLOSE TO THE perfection of equality]
Between 1960 and 1990, South Korea, China and India had the fastest drop in education inequality Gini Index.
“”They also claim education GINI INDEX FOR THE UNITED STATES slightly INCREASES over the 1980–1990 period.”” [= INEQUALITY APPEARS]
What does Gini coefficient index really mean?
Gini coefficient is widely used in fields as diverse as sociology, economics, health science, ecology, engineering and agriculture.
The Gini coefficient (also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio) (/dʒini/ jee-nee) is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation’s residents, and is the most COMMONLY USED MEASURE OF INEQUALITY. It was developed by the Italian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper “Variability and Mutability” (Italian: Variabilità e mutabilità).[1]
The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of a FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION(for example, levels of income).
A Gini coefficient of ZERO expresses PERFECT EQUALITY, where all values are the same (for example, where everyone has the same income).
A Gini coefficient of ONE (or 100%) expresses MAXIMAL INEQUALITY among values (for example, where only one person has all the income or consumption, and all others have none).[3][4]
However, a value greater than one may occur if some persons represent negative contribution to the total (for example, having negative income or wealth)[it means DEBT as negative income to me]. For larger groups, values close to or above 1 are very unlikely in practice.
I hope that we now have a legal CHOICE to OPT OUT all vicious intention and design in strenuous and invalid testing scheme in order to protect our children’s confidence, civility, and opportunity to be the BEST in their own unique talent and potential. Big cheers. Back2basic
May, Thank you. It’s always terrific to learn something new.
We’ll be thinking of your kindness as Network for Public Ed conference approaches.
It only takes one person to change the direction of education. We are grateful that one person is Diane.
“When you wage war on the public schools, you’re attacking the mortar that holds the community together. You’re not a conservative, you’re a vandal.”
~Garrison Keillor~
Wow, that is a beauty from Garrison. And a wonderful addition to this post. The consciensious administrators are no less frazzled and angry than most teachers, their students, and many parents. Keep up the great works Diane…plural intended.
I am so happy to hear this! Congratulations to you, Diane, and to us all!
To TC:
Thank you for the quote. All voters should memorize the sentence:
“You’re not a conservative or Democratic, you’re a vandal.” to any Representatives,
who support CCSS, RttT, SBAC…which are INVALID and HARMFUL to children’s MIND and CONFIDENCE = SELF-ESTEEM. Back2basic
Reblogged this on donotmalignme and commented:
I hope the New Hampshire superintendents are on board with this.
“Let our students learn and our teachers teach”… sure sounds rational to me! I hope superintendents around the country join in this “radical concept” so we do not lay waste the educational lives of more and more of our nation’s youth.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
I agree with most of the Superintendent’s legislative agenda. I can see why they are fans of yours Diane. I wish legislators would listen . . . http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Sample/2015%20AASA%20Leg%20Agenda(1).pdf
Hell, the NASS should be happy about being mentioned here. The supes and their organization are part of the problem. They are the ones that need to be reading and learning from this blog, not us “being in awe” of being mentioned by them. Topsy turvy inside out world indeed it is.
But it’s not in most supe’s blood, nor most teachers to not worship at the altar of hierarchy and not be in awe of those who claw their way to the most remunerated position.
Oops, sorry I’m not being “civil”*
*Which for most educators means having a very brown nose from kissing their adminimals asses.
Congratulations. Thank you for standing up for our students and their needs. We all appreciate your time and efforts. You have made a difference!!!
In college, a favorite title of mine came from a history text: “The Age of Reason Reader”. Perhaps we are entering, once again, the Age of Reason. Thank you, Dr. Diane!
Thanks to you running this. As it should be. Every teacher union and association around the country should be doing the same, every day. Teachers have scant time to become informed, and DR is distilling information in a format that every teacher should be able to touch base with. Thanks, Diane!
FYI —
http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/04/charter_school_company_decides.html