On Monday, I was in Commerce, Texas, to speak at Texas A&M’s campus there. I met some wonderful Texans and was treated royally by President Ray Keck and Vice President Noah Nelson.
I had a Q&A with the education faculty, then had an interview with the local NPR station, then lectured to the campus community.
The big issue in Texas right now is that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing for vouchers. I explained that vouchers have consistently failed and that they will draw resources from the public schools that most children attend, which are already underfunded.
This link has the short interview and a summary of my talk.
http://ketr.org/post/diane-ravitch-texas-senate-bill-means-less-money-public-schools
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Major points in a short period of time.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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Texas A&M-Commerce is where I got my Master’s Degree in Educational Administration.
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Devos tried to enter a public school in DC and protestors kicked her ass out…see link below!!!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/betsy-devos-chased-briefly-public-school-article-1.2969264
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Good info for them, in the belly of the beast.
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Check out the mini skirt Betsy Devos is wearing. This is a 60 year old woman entering a public school wearing a short mini skirt….SHe is making all the mistakes that Kathy Black made (chancellor of NYC schools) and Ms. Black lasted 3 months
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How much did DeVos’ outfit cost, compared to the American median family income of less than $50,000 ?
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I certainly wouldn’t consider that mid thigh skirt a mini skirt, but then what does this man know about fashion (not much, for sure). Still a tad short for an adult to wear in visiting a middle school. I’d bet it doesn’t comply with the school’s dress code.
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Mid-thigh, skirt slit? Trump’s kind of gal, but, too old?
A person gets W-2’s, with that kind of apparel, in a limited number of businesses.
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She pretends to be 25. If you are a billionaire, you can do whatever you want. Except get into a middle school in DC.
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Texas should think long and hard before they capitulate to the rabid Republicans running the state. Decisions have consequences, and vouchers would further drain an already under funded system.
DeVos resents the role that public schools play in serving as the hub of the community; yet this hub is sorely needed. The hub of any community in our country should be secular, not religious. Religion is divisive, and we are not a theocracy. There is a community and civic cohesion in public education bound together by the responsibility to produce an informed electorate. This important aspect of national identity would be eroded and if we no longer support our common schools. Vouchers the potential to fracture and diminish our shared purpose. With vouchers there is reduced community cohesion. Schools could offer a programs dedicated to basket weaving, witchcraft or even domestic terrorism. While this is an exaggeration, it is possible that local tax dollars could be misused or even used for some nefarious purpose without any knowledge of the local community. Texas should understand this. Public schools build strong communities.
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Dear Diane,
Here in NJ charters are attempting to expand into communities that would not be considered “poor”, promoting things like curriculum taught in a particular language. The “immersion language program” concept is also used to get state funding for what appears to be a religious school teaching through hebrew immersion. This usage feels like vouchers.
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Got any links for a fellow-New-Jerseyan? I want to stay alert to any attempts to expand charters into communities not considered poor. Thanks.
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It is happening in Texas. Harmony Charter Schools recently requested a zoning change from our North Texas city with plans to build a “new” K-6 charter school (they will always refer to themselves as public schools). This land was located in the center of our very middle class neighborhood. The pushback was intense from our neighborhoods during Planning & Zoning Commission meetings. Our public elementary schools are considered exemplary. Harmony pulled out after a 6 month ordeal, but we aren’t completely sure why. But bad publicity certainly hurts any business. And they are definitely a business. The 600 petitions presented to our city from homeowners must have had some influence on their decision to go elsewhere. Charters cause public schools to compete with them with the tax dollars.
They want the best students. All the talk about helping the poorest students continues to be what most people believe. Don’t believe it. We witnessed the reality ourselves.
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Harmony is a Gulen School, part of a Turkish network.
Community solidarity works!
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Christine–K-12 Virtual “Schools” (yeah, right, “schools”) tried to push its way into 18 school districts in Illinois, many of which had been named “Schools of Excellence.” The school boards & administrators did their homework–aided by the outstanding John Laesch (who had run against Dennis Hastert in his district–yes, THAT Dennis Hasters {&, of course, John should have–deserved to–win}), who’s now a member of the East Aurora School Board (good job, voters!!). They pummeled the K-12 presenter w/so many good ?? (such as, “Why do you want to take money from our schools–which are rated excellent–& why do you need so much money to run your program when you don’t have costs such as transportation, building maintenance, school lunches, etc.?” & answered their own questions, “We read, sir, that last year your organization spent (the amount, I think, was $8 MILLION) on ADVERTISING!” Every single school district rejected K-12’s application, & the company did not even bother (!) to appeal their rulings to the IL State Charter School Commission (in fact, their Regional Director resigned–or may have been fired-?).
Sometimes the good guys DO win! I hope your parents & communities keep fighting the fight, Christine. They must.
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Great talk… love to hear you speak OFTEN & EVERYWHERE until folks get to hear what an authentic voice of education who once was the asst secretary of ed, sounds like.
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Thanks, Susan, I hope to get a link to my talk to the leaders of Cal State, which I gave today, about the challenges facing higher education.
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