NYC Alert: I Will Be on WNYC @10:30 am

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1. (W)Nyc parent says:

   September 8, 2016 at 7:38 am

   Brian Lehrer has been so obtuse on school “reform” issues… and WNYC reporter Beth Fertig and NPR reporting nationally seems to swallow whole every bit of school reform propaganda. They could learn a lot by reading your blog and those of the army of citizen bloggers who are often linked here, who seem to be doing the only real hard-hitting real reporting these days. Do any of them currently have a kid in elementary school, so they know what it’s like these days? Given age range of my kids, I see it is mich worse for kids in elementary today than it was just sox years ago. Tthe test prep /curriculum as test prep, horrible common core, learning reduced to what is on the tests….horrible.

   NPR gets Gates Foundation funding to cover education specifically, and it getsWalton Foundation sponsorship, so as an NPR listener I regularly grit my teeth when their sponsorship blurb/propaganda blurb comes on, and, of course, wonder about their their c. objectivity, given the reporting that comes out of it. I pay membership, too, but less and less of what I see on the ground ever makes it into the high altitude world of national journalism.

   It’s shocking to me that with you, a national figure in education lives so close by the studio, in the state with one of the biggest parent rebellions against the test and punish agenda, yet they don’t have you on for monthly installments for a different take on school reform.

   Good luck and please urge parents to OPT OUT.

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   • NYC public school parent says:

     September 8, 2016 at 10:59 am

     Beth Fertig has been particularly bad. She reminds me of Judith Miller reporting for the NY Times about Saddam’s WMD. Her “studies” of attrition rates at charter schools always coincidentally limit themselves to exactly the timeframe that Success Academy prefers. One hopes Ms. Fertig’s “reporting/stenography” efforts eventually will be revealed to be as corrupted by her desire to please powerful people as Judith Miller’s reporting/stenography during the run up to the Iraq War was.

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2. Linda says:

   September 8, 2016 at 10:16 am

   Americans are very fortunate to have Diane Ravitch as a spokesperson for them.
   At this blog, commenters express disappointment that men like Whitney Tilson form unshakeable opinions, dismissing studies that prove them wrong. Recent research explains the phenomenon. People with M.B.A.’s (Tilson’s degree is a M.B.A.) and, people with GED’s or, only high school diplomas, were most likely to have an inflated sense of self. They most frequently agreed with the statement, “I am the top performer at my company for jobs similar to mine.” That contrasted with people who had studied in fields that required greater depth of understanding and proficiency, like an internist. The internists appreciated that humility is warranted when subject matter is complex. They were much less likely to agree with the statement (only 26%). We need look no further than Donald Trump for a second MBA example.
   The fact that the financial sector drags down GDP, should make MBA’s in the field, pause for superficial self reflection, particularly if they are making claims, like Tilson does about recipes for ed. productivity. But it doesn’t happen. Being a thin-skinned MBA is predictable. Deep down, they know they are posers.

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3. Helen Schulan says:

   September 8, 2016 at 11:33 am

   Brian Lehrer’s segment on the history of government intervention in education was excellent. Thanks for your honest and informative clarification on the truth about common core. My daughter, who teaches in NYC, is a strong proponent both for her students and her own children. As a retired teacher, I speak from experience, that most of the next big ideas are never implemented as the developers envisioned! Our main problem is that teachers are rarely part of the design and planning of these ideas. Education plans and business plans are not compatible.

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4. Maureen Meltzer says:

   September 8, 2016 at 11:46 am

   Great job, Diane! Thank you for expressing our views so eloquently.

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