The next time you hear boastful claims about “reform,” think Chicago.
Poor Chicago! Arne Duncan launched his version of reform there in 2001, with Gates funding. School closings, test scores above all, new schools, charter schools. And what is left now: a public school system struggling to survive. The results of Arne’s reforms: zilch.
Then Obama named his basketball buddy as Secretary of Education and the reforms that failed in Chicago were imposed on the nation by the ill-fated Race to the Too, where everyone is a loser.
So, Mike Klonsky tells us, reform is business as usual. The Chicago way. Those that have, get more. Those that have not, get ignored.
Fifteen years of reform. Think Chicago. Where Democratic leaders pander to billionaires and strangle the public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Reblogged this on Mister Journalism: "Reading, Sharing, Discussing, Learning" and commented:
The next time you hear boastful claims about “reform,” think Chicago.
Poor Chicago! Arne Duncan launched his version of reform there in 2001, with Gates funding. School closings, test scores above all, new schools, charter schools. And what is left now: a public school system struggling to survive. The results of Arne’s reforms: zilch.
Then Obama named his basketball buddy as Secretary of Education and the reforms that failed in Chicago were imposed on the nation by the ill-fated Race to the Too, where everyone is a loser.
So, Mike Klonsky tells us, reform is business as usual. The Chicago way. Those that have, get more. Those that have not, get ignored.
Fifteen years of reform. Think Chicago. Where Democratic leaders pander to billionaires and strangle the public schools.
Ah, but sometimes I look to Chicago as a place where at least teachers have been led to band together and FIGHT BACK. Sadly, our district’s union and so many others simply sit back passively and accept every horrible dictate. We lose angry older teachers every day to labeling, humiliating and dismissal, while younger, short-term educators flit quickly through the system and the union weakens…and weakens…and weakens.
Chicago is a sad, sad story. My grandmother used to be able to walk through Chicago at night in the 1920s as a young woman. But that was a different era. Even Al Capone and the old gangsters wouldn’t hurt civilians. The criminals were different- had some class. Now there are few of the original inhabitants of the city left. New groups mostly from the South flooded in and drove out the Swedes, Germans, Irish, Italians, Jews, and other earlier groups. These newcomers from the South were violent and uneducated. When they moved onto your street, then everyone else moved out quickly. Jews moved quickly North to Highland Park. Germans, Swedes, Poles, and Irish moved into the West and Northern suburbs. Even Polish/Russian/Chinese immigrants don’t stop in Chicago anymore. They go live in apartments in the suburbs. They know not to live in Chicago, even for a few years. The people who built the city are in the graveyards of the city. Their descendants fled to the suburbs years ago. The buildings are there, but the families are all gone. It’s sad. People train in and train out. It’s just an empty shell with some nice buildings. Chicago will never be a city like it was in the 1920s or even 1950s. There used to be communities with corner groceries. Woody Allen was interviewed driving around New York, and he said the same thing. Same thing for London…Not very charming anymore.
John, This is the first time I’ve seen the verb phrase “drove out” used to describe white flight.
“New groups mostly from the South flooded in and drove out. . . ”
I think most here know codespeak when they read it. Are you afraid to truly state your prejudiced thought??
“New groups of niggers mostly from the South flooded in and drove out. . . “
You need to settle down. My wife and I just bought a house in Chicago. Great neighborhood full of hard working people.
“… by the ill-fated Race to the Too, where everyone is a loser.”
When I first read that, I read it as “Race to the Loo”, which is pretty close to reality.
Rahm Emanuel has a long relationship with Governor Rauner. What happened? Now Emanuel won’t even go to Springfield and ask for money for Chicago schools?
Is he afraid of Rauner? 50% of a mayor’s job is successfully lobbying the state for funding. If he can’t do that he’s useless.
Not having funding is part of the plan.
Or..he might just be useless in general.
Oh, don’t worry, Rahm is quite useful for his Overclass patrons.
Useless? Mayor 1% makes a great model for sweaters. He’s in a photo at DFER List, a fundraising site for politicians. The picture is good enough for a Walmart ad…. if Walmart sold $500 sweaters.