I am having a bad week. I watched the Democratic debate last night and the Republican debate tonight. My brain hurts. Who thought it was a good idea to put the candidates and the public through a marathon of endurance?
Tonight the Republicans all praised charter schools. Donald Trump loves charters. So do all the other Republicans. They all dismiss public schools. They agree that this is a great nation, the greatest nation in the world, but they don’t give the teachers and educators of our public schools any credit.
Most surprising, however, was John Kasich’s boast that he worked in a bipartisan way to reform the schools of Cleveland. Does anyone fact check? The federal government reports that 100% of the students in Cleveland are poor. On NAEP, Cleveland is one of the lowest performing urban districts in the nation. It has made meager gains during Kasich’s time in office.
I wish some journalist would ask the Kasich campaign for evidence of the reform in Cleveland’s schools for which he claims credit.
I have no particular animus towards Kasich. All of the candidates tonight showed no insight into any aspect of American education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What about Trump’s insistence that Carson would be given high level responsibilities in the area of education? It just gets more insane by the day.
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Like that would be any worse than Arne Duncan. Thankfully the Republicans have diminished the power of the Secretary of Education. We have a chance of convincing a Republican to kill the DOE, but the Democrats always think the federal government can solve the ills of society.
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No Fl Teacher, we don’t ALWAYS think the federal government can solve the ills of society, but I daresay we do have a more positive view or our nation’s government than Republicans do.
Government can be a source of great good or great harm to our society. Since we are the government, I work to ensure that government works for the good, and most of it is.
While I personally support the idea of a federal Department of Education, the way it has been run over the last 15 years has not been good. It’s important to elect candidates who will support sensible education policies that promote our public schools. If they do, it is likely that they will choose better people to run that agency.
That hardly means that it will solve all the ills of, in this case, education in the US, but it will help.
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It’s really an example of how little respect people really feel for educators. Add on top of their dismissal of any professionalism on the part of public school teachers an inherent disrespect for minority teachers and women of any color and I wonder that there is anyone willing to subject themselves to such abuse. One more stuffed shirt masquerading as a voice of reason is claiming to be the savior of public schools. My head hurts, too.
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It’s like the captain of the Titanic taking credit for not hitting a second iceberg. While Kasich claims victory, as anyone who follows this blog knows, he’s eviscerating public schools systems throughout the state to pay off his cronies with unaccountable charter schools contracts.
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Heaven help us if these Republicans get in. As for the Dems, Hillary gave a very good answer in the Flint debate-understood the need to get rid of emergency manager, refused to scapegoat teachers, and said lack of resources to blame. Bernie on the other hand gave a generic answer and did not display a great knowledge base on education.
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If you like what Obama has done to education, vote for Hillary and you’ll get more of it.
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I’d like to be optimistic that we CAN push Hillary to the left — she has to be smart enough to at least see what has been happening to Obama’s educational policies lately. If anti-reform leaders push hard enough, surely she’ll be forced to promote a FEW different things about education?
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Gail,
Check out the record of Hillary’s campaign manager, John Podesta. He’s the one responsible for Obama’s Ed Dept, and other lovely reformy things. Obama doubled down on Reagan/Bush’s policies, just watch what Clinton does.
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Would Mitt Romney have been better? AND what about the o
ther things that are NOT just tangential to education but are an inherent part of it. What is the totality of that? Personally I am appalled that some teachers have become one issue voters. INDEED what is happening to public schools is a HUGE concern but if we are to be considered real educators our concern for the totality of what is happening to, for children should be a HUGE concern. There are way too many people who have become one issue voters voting against their own interests by a myopic view of candidates.
THAT is my view.
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Kasich is definitely a legend in his own mind. While he says “look” a lot, he has trouble seeing reality. But I’m reviewing the post debate press on the education responses of the candidates and finding the fact checkers are often getting the facts wrong. America has no idea what goes on in schools.
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Not necessarily. I think she knows a lot more about education than Obama and she does have respect for teachers. Sanders has shown no great knowledge of education and has not distinguished himself at all on the education panel. She is a smart enough to know the tide has turned and has quite a bit of common sense. Don’t go down the same path with Sanders you went with Obama. Look what we got.
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“Legend in his own mind” describes most governors — most politicians, in fact.
And it’s hard to get “fact checks” right when your job depends on doing the opposite. Fox News, owned by Murdoch and NPR (“owned” by Bill Gates and Ronald McDonald) are perfect examples.
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” I think she knows a lot more about education than Obama and she does have respect for teachers.”
Based on what? Again, let me point out that John Podesta is a very active rephormster and Hillary is good friends with (and a large donation recipient) of Eli Broad.
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It is clear that neither side of the aisle has a clue about teachers in public education and the variables that stand in the way of student achievement. The GOP came up with No Child Left Behind and the Democrats came back with Race to the Top and Arnie Duncan. Duncan exits stage left only to add insult with injury with the nomination of King. There is no wonder that we are facing a teacher shortage. The best and the brightest are not flocking to education as a career. Why should they come out of school in debt only to be underpaid, ridiculed and scripted. The joy is being sucked out of both the kids and the staff.
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From what I’ve read, e people of Ohio know all too well that Kasich’s calm demeanor is not in any way matched by reasonable, fact based policy, he’s just as extreme and malinformed as the rest of the replutocrat sideshow. The charter scandal in Ohio alone makes him unelectable, and the inevitable outrage over the bait and switch of his persona vs. his actual policy positions as seen in the legislation he supports also makes him unelectable should he somehow pull a brace of rabbits out of the hat by arriving at being the nominee. Up close and personal, Kasich’s “good cop” routine is threadbare and tattered.
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Kasich boasting about Ohio’s education successes is on the same level of hubris and fantasy as Trump’s aggrandizing Trump University.
I can only imagine how fleeced the kids of both education systems feel when listening to these hucksters. .
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Trump is hiring Carson as an education consultant. Ed reformers must be thrilled. Now they can expand the “movement” from an exclusive focus on charters and vouchers to include homeschooling.
Expect 15 Walton-funded op eds on how to publicly fund homeschooling, based on “science” and “data”. I actually see an opening for a whole new group of consultants. We’ll have the charter people and the voucher people and the homeschooling people – a new and exciting “sector”.
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Diane, could you please send me Hillary Clinton’s responses to the NPE questionnaire about education? I have Bernie Sanders responses to that questionnaire, which you wrote about and linked on July 12, 2015. I am writing a blog post about the candidates positions on K-12 education and cannot find the information about Hillary Clinton’s responses to the NPE questionnaire although you wrote that she did respond to it. My email is annpcronin@gmail.com. Thank you in advance.
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https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/
Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Manager is a Longtime Corporate Education Reformer
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“They agree that this is a great nation, the greatest nation in the world, but they don’t give the teachers and educators of our public schools any credit.”
Ahhh, the good ol smell of American Exceptionalism so early in the morning.
Perhaps by the fact that they all agree to that stupidity really does show that the public schools are, shall we say, less than desired. Hell, the populace (90% studied in public schools) has and is voting for these, how can I be nice, supposed “Leaders”.
Why they refuse to give public schools credit? Well they’re politicians, they obviously are the reason for that American Exceptionalism
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The single minded obsession with charter schools among both Democratic and Republican politicians is amazing, isn’t it? Especially considering the vast majority of their constituents attend the public schools they either denigrate or ignore.
It’s a closed system. They all surround themselves with ed reformers so they never hear anything else and they never hear from anyone else.
As an example of how closed it is, this is an “education and politics” forum in Austin:
“There were some of the questions raised at a fascinating panel I was privileged to moderate, “Politics + Education in the 2016 Election,” sponsored by the Walton Family Foundation at the SXSWedu Conference & Festival in Austin. I was joined by TV and radio commentator Roland Martin; columnist, author and longtime-edwatcher Jonathan Alter; and Reihan Salam, the executive editor of National Review.”
They don’t even invite public school advocates to these things anymore.
Think about how crazy this is- they held a forum on “education and politics” where there was no discussion of the schools 95% of children attend. This is the norm in ed reform. Outside of testing, public schools are never mentioned. I don’t even know how public school advocates would “fight” this deliberate omission- our schools have simply disappeared.
https://www.the74million.org/article/campbell-brown-hiding-in-plain-sight-education-and-the-2016-campaign
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It is a sad day when the people would rather pay for more for a plumber than to educate their children.
JFK said something to that effect.
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The other thing no one should be fooled about going into an election- I live in Ohio. John Kasich’s education agenda is identical to that of President Obama’s team. There is no difference.
Anyone who is voting for Democrats because they’re “better” on education does not live in this state, or is not paying attention. Recall that Ohio just got a huge Obama Administration grant to expand charter schools in this state. The President’s team endorsed Ohio’s charter sector and is expanding the number of charters. They did this while public schools STILL outperform charter schools. The idea that this is based on “data” is pure nonsense. If they actually wanted to “improve” education they would invest in the public schools, and they’re not.
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Is there some way to get a debate moderator to force the candidates to address public schools? We all know they’ll recite the official Republican-Democratic line on charters. That’s a given. Is there any way to get any of these “public servants” to mention public schools? Maybe after they all vow to expand charter schools as quickly as they can they could be asked a follow-up on the existing schools so many children attend?
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Maybe an email blast to the station a few days before the debate would get their attention?
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Yes; action speaks when votes are at stake.
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The Plain Dealer is endorsing a real Democrat, Jill Miller Zimon, for a state congressional district in northeast Ohio. Her incumbent, DINO opponent, received funding from Michelle Rhee’s coffers (Plunderbund)
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The candidates don’t talk about the money that the Charters Schools take from our public schools. How about the population concern? Public Schools take all students .Do Charters? Make me so angry .No fairness in this game. Maybe the Candidates ought to talks about this.. And Charters are not very successful. They are all listening to the talking heads ..Ugh…
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The horror continues. As Ben Carson endorses Donald Trump. The Donald praises Ben on his educational expertise and his ideas on expanding charter schools (which the unions oppose).
When will the idiocy ever end? Why is every former student an expert on education? When will our political leaders listen to the real experts?
As far as the Governor of Ohio is concerned – he’s an expert at facades, but so far no one has challenged his integrity (although I did hear one pundant who knew him back in the day exclaim that he was a looney and tell an interesting story about how he banned a video he didn’t like from all the Blockbusters).
We all will have to wait and see how this all turns out but in the meantime we need to shout bigger and louder because the assessments are about to start (at least here in NYS) during the month of April.
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To my Republican teacher friends,
Tonight we heard every Republican candidate say that they would promote charters, vouchers, private schools, and home schooling. We heard them call teachers and schools failures.
If any one of them win, know this, (as Ted Cruz would say) your public school will be at risk, children will lose necessary resources, and your careers will be at risk. You may not have a job, and their will be mo social services available to help your family survive.
The Supreme Court will become a weapon that would destroy our way of life, your children will fight endless wars, you won’t afford health insurance, your pension will be a memory and you will have to work until you are dead or 70 years old.
And if you vote for Trump, please please never try teaching social studies.
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But he doesn’t have to , we have David Koch writing curricula for North Carolina
and this http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Weapons-of-Mass-Deception-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Deception_Education_Future_Ideas-160306-756.html
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Not only writing curricula, but carefully changing history (for example, leaving unappealing things like Jim Crow completely out of the conversation).
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and climate change and literature like Farenheit 450, and Huck Finn.
Get em YOUNG, keep them ignorant.
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One slight addition: “and you will have to work until you are dead or 70 years old” at a minimum job. There are so many wonderful opportunities out there for old retired teachers.
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And now Trump will be relying on Carson to be his education adviser during the campaign. It’s hard to believe this is truly our world, and not a fictional reality show!
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Susan,
To predict Trump’s education policy under Ben Carson, read the Bible.
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Which Part? 🙂
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Well, we know that women aren’t supposed to speak in church. Does that apply to schools too? Going to have to work pretty hard to fill all those teaching slots with male teachers.
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LOL, Diane… my brain hurts, too, when I realize the level of ignorance of our citizens, even as our schools tank and Koch writes curricula for the already ignorant North Dakota.
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Fact Check… Lies are the new truth
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I for one have difficulty with all the candidates. I expect Republicants to kill public education, but I know that Hillary and Eli Broad have a close relationship. And Broad is working tirelessly to upend public education in LA. Hillary’s campaign manager is also a privatizer. I don’t trust Hillary when it comes to education. Both she and Bernie were silent on the King nomination.
Bernie’s ideas are never going to come to pass with Congress.
The bottom line is not to elect someone who likes Putin and admires the Chinese murdering peaceful student protestors who risked their lives for Democracy
.
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Interesting statement. I was reflecting the other day that most of my presidential votes have been cast not for someone, but against a party or an idea. What has brought us to this?
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