My website is dianeravitch.com. I write about two interconnected topics: education and democracy. I am a historian of education.
Diane Ravitch’s Blog by Diane Ravitch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at dianeravitch.net.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Why don’t I see any discussion of states like New Jersey where Common Core seems to be working well? See http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/11/14/student-test-scores-remain-steady-despite-changes-to-core-curriculum
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the article is very clear that NJ hasn’t yet gone completely onto PARCC.
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Yes, that’s true, but the same is also true in NY which is getting much attention in this blog, see http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/.
If you want to do a fair assessment of Common Core you need to look at states with different experiences, perhaps there is something to be learned from the states with better experiences, as well as learning what to avoid in the states with worse experiences.
One of Diane Ravitch’s key criticisms of Common Core is lack of phased roll out and field testing. As the article points out, the PARCC tests are being fielded tested in NJ in a sample of districts. Perhaps the end result of field testing will be the rejection or modification of PARCC tests, they’re not an essential part of Common Core.
Now NJ already has relatively well performing schools, as you would expect from a high income state with a relatively well educated adult population, so some of it’s experiences may not be that applicable to some other states. However it does have troubled urban schools and could be used to assess whether students in a particular grade are cognitively ready for the prescribed standards.
Are there any lower income states having better experiences with Common Core? I don’t know know, the answer certainly would be useful information.
If the Common Core continues to move forward in many states you need to look how to improve it rather than just flatly reject it, which may end up getting you nowhere.
More on politics of Common Core in NJ: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/11/25/common-core-standards-online-testing-continue-to-gain-ground-in-nj/
BTW, I am not a fan of Chris Christie teacher bashing, I voted against him twice. My father was a teacher and school administrator.
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I think it is naive to state that the PARCC tests are not an essential part of the Commn Core. I would ask you to pose that question to Bill Gates or David Coleman. I think that they would tell you that without the tests they will not know about the success of the Common Core. Why else would Gates follow up funding the CC with funding the test development. In fact it may be that the CC was designed in such a way to allow for standardized tests to measure growth. That is why backround knowledge and student “feelings” are under attack in the CC. Can’t measure that stuff cleanly.
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Russ,
Gates funded the writing, the development, the evaluation of the Common Core. US DOE funded the tests (PARCC and Smarter Balanced) with $350 million. But you are quite right otherwise. Gates, Duncan, et al are dependent on the tests to give them the data they crave. Without the data, how would we know anything at all?
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11/25/13
Diane,
In response to the Frank Brun article in the NYT I wanted to share with you what I shared with my colleagues at the Schlechty Center. I am a Senior Associate with the Center, a former school superintendent in Texas and was heavily involved in the effort of the Texas Association of School Administrators in developing the document, “Creating A New Vision for Public Education in Texas”, with which you are familiar. Here is what I shared:
We have always had some parents who were over protective, but to use current parental reactions to Common Core and abusive uses of standardized tests as evidence that todays children are being “coddled” is a gross misinterpretation of what parents are saying. The “suburban white moms” comment from Secretary Duncan, which was the trigger for this article, is a misinterpretation and a misrepresentation as well as a mischaracterization. The suburban schools I am familiar with are highly competitive environments and in many cases a lot of children are pushed too hard, are expected to be involved in numerous organized activities in and out of school, leaving little time to “be children”.
More disturbing is how dismissive the author is of the critics of Common Core and the associated testing. He categorized the critics from extreme conservative to extreme liberal and those engaging in imaginary conspiracies about privatization. The latter is a veiled slap at the work of Diane Ravitch. The criticism of CC and the test-based accountability are real, growing, and based on legitimate concerns. The privatization movement is well substantiated. To reframe the discussion as “too much coddling” may be an attempt to shift the focus of the debate. The fact that 17 states are now backing away from Common Core is probably alarming to the so-called “reformers”, Secretary Duncan, Jeb Bush, etc. –and perhaps to this author.
If one looks closely at the criticisms, they are more about the standardized tests, arbitrary cut scores, and failing labels, etc., as the single means of assessing and reporting on the Common Core, than they are about the standards themselves. As Phil has asserted for years, when high stakes are attached to the assessments the assessments become the standards.
John Horn
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We thought Diane and her readers might be interested in our documentary. We are two NC teachers making a documentary about the nuance of teacher performance. Please visit our website and take a look at our trailer. http://www.teacheroftheyearfilm.com.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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England’s Conservative Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has been bemoaning the achievement gap there and he is following the US playbook word for word, including talking about “the soft bigotry of low expectations” and ” the civil rights battle of our time” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10468677/Poorer-pupils-held-back-by-soft-bigotry-of-low-expectations.html OMG
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I am very proud of my husband who is a kindergarten teacher, union president, and decent human. His speech to New Mexico teachers is worth watching if you care…
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Reign of Error by Diane Ravitch; the 3rd Installment of my Journaled Review
In her second chapter of this monumental work, Ravitch begins by providing an historical overview of Federal initiatives in response to what many believe to be an urgent need for massive reforms in our systems of public education,leading up to the Geor…
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Here is another example of how testing is affecting not only teachers, but administrators as well and the closed process which is disenfranchising the people who have a stake – the parents!
http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2013/11/despite_vociferous_objections_edison_transfers_popular_principal_from_lindeneau.html#incart_river
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Perhaps a little humor for a holiday weekend?
http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-seven-blind-mice-of-education.html
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More Common Sense from Syracuse NY… 5 more district schools to be added to “turnaround I Zone”
http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/11/at_syracuses_innovation_zone_schools_its_still_the_same_old_education_commentary.html
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Thank you for the clarification, Diane
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Even EdReform efforts in Massachusetts are starting to be questioned by local school leaders… http://hollistonsuperblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/im-mad-as-hell-and-im-not-going-to-take.html
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Diane,
When I watched this I couldn’t help but wonder what you would think of it, as an historian. I see the parellels to what is happening with public schools now and that some things seem to never change….
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/10/30/shackles_and_ivy_the_secret_history
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simply brilliant!
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Diane, thought you might like to know that projo.com’s “politifact” issued a — well, not quite a retraction, but a statement regarding their ruling on your claims about student test scores. Here it is: http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20131129-politifact-rhode-island-readers-respond-to-rulings-on-school-test-scores-obamacare.ece
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In case you missed it, Ruben Navarrette defends Arne Duncan’s comments:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/28/navarrette-arne-duncan-race-education/
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I submitted this piece to the Denver Post last spring. I would like you to post it here. Thanks, Don Batt
The Monster of the Spring
How standardized tests are killing our students’ creativity, desire to learn
by Don Batt
Denver Post
March 10, 2013
There is a monster waiting for your children in the spring. Its creators have fashioned it so that however children may prepare for it, they will be undone by its clever industry.
The children know it’s coming. They have encountered it every year since third grade, and every year it has taken parts of their souls. Not just in the spring. Everyday in class, the children are asked which answer is right although the smarter children realize that sometimes there are parts of several answers that could be right.
And they sit. And they write.
Not to express their understanding of the world. Or to even form their own opinions about ideas they have read. Instead, they must dance the steps that they have been told are important: first, build your writing with a certain number of words, sentences, paragraphs; second, make sure your writing contains the words in the question; third, begin each part with “first, second,” and “third.”
My wife sat with our ten-year-old grandson to write in their journals one summer afternoon, and he asked her, “What’s the prompt?”
I proctored a standardized test for “below average” freshmen one year. They read a writing prompt which asked them to “take a position. . .” One student asked me if he should sit or stand.
There are those who are so immersed in the sea of testing that they do not see the figurative nature of language and naively think that the monster they have created is helping children. Or maybe they just think they are helping the test publishers, who also happen to write the text books, “aligned to the standards,” that are sold to schools. Those test creators live in an ocean of adult assumptions about how children use language–about how children reason. They breathe in the water of their assumptions through the gills of their biases. But the children have no gills. They drown in the seas of preconceptions.
They are bound to a board, hooded, and then immersed in lessons that make them practice battling the monster. “How much do you know!” the interrogators scream. The children, gasping for air, try to tell them in the allotted time. “Not enough!” the interrogators cry. Back under the sea of assumptions to see if they can grow gills. “This is how you get to college!” the interrogators call. And on and on, year after year, the children are college-boarded into submission.
What do they learn? That school is torture. That learning is drudgery.
There are those who rebut these charges with platitudes of “accountability,” but, just as the fast food industry co-opted nutrition and convenience in the last century, the assessment industry is co-opting our children’s education now. As Albert Einstein [William Bruce Cameron*] said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Would that the measurement advocates would measure the unintended consequences of their decisions.
Our political leaders–surprise–have bent under the pressure of businessmen wearing the masks of “rigor” and “accountability.” They have sacrificed our children’s joy of learning on the altar of expediency.
Here’s what should happen: teachers in their own classrooms, using multiple performance assessments where children apply their knowledge in the context of a given task, determine what their students know and what they need to learn, based on standards developed by that school, district, or possibly, state. Teachers should take students where they are and help them progress at their own developmental rates. And good teachers are doing that every day. Not because of standardized tests, but in spite of them.
Students’ abilities can be evaluated in many, creative ways. The idea that every student take the same test at the same time is nothing more than the warmed-over factory model of education used in the 1950’s, now, laughingly called “education reform.” As Oscar Wilde has observed, “Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”
Don Batt
2390 Eudora Street
Denver, CO 80207
303-837-1369
English teacher
Cherry Creek Schools
Aurora, Colorado
*http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/26/everything-counts-einstein/
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Diane, Did you know that the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) is no longer in operation? They have a popup on their website that says the reason is because, “Our funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) ended on September 30, 2013.”
Do you know if that was due to the sequester or something else and if there are plans for funding to be restored?
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Read Noam Chomsky, “America hates its poor” at Salon: http://www.salon.com/2013/12/01/noam_chomsky_america_hates_its_poor_partner/
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A letter I sent to NYS Regent Tallon:
Regent Tallon,
I grew up in Broome County. I have been a teacher, a Principal, and a small school Superintendent. I have worked for a charter school (New Roots) as well as several small, public schools throughout the region.
Since I was a boy, I have known of you as a devoted and conscientious public servant, and it is with this knowledge and background that I ask you to PLEASE stop the corporate railroading of our children and schools that is the Common Core. This is not what you would want for your children, and (if people who CAN AFFORD TO vote with their feet), it would appear that it is not what Commissioner King nor your fellow Regents want for their children either.
I have spoken with Commissioner King on several occasions. He has all the answers. Lucky for him, but not for our kids who must suffer daily the soul-crushing consequences of his grand idea. Time and again, Commissioner King has proven himself incapable of doubt, incapable of listening, and so, incapable of wisdom. For this, I pray, we may still turn to you.
Commissioner King and the reformers in camp with Commissioner King seem to have suffered a terrible gap in their own education. These folks seem to think that education is all about information (data) and know nothing of the human soul (unless, perhaps, we mean the souls of THEIR children). We need leaders with creative capacity to doubt, to question, to listen, and to critically deconstruct their own creations. Are you still such a one?
There is an old Chinese proverb that says “beware that, in fighting monsters, you do not become one.” In their quest to combat right-wing madnss, have these democratic “leaders,” themselves, lost all sense and soul?
There is a reason why folks flock to “The Hunger Games” in such numbers. They see what is happening around them, see it reflected in this work of fiction, but feel powerless against a ruthless and self-serving machine. what to do. Is there not some public servant(s) out there with more power than they who will genuinely and courageously stand on the side of PEOPLE- human beings- children- and against the corporations? Who are able to question whether their own motivations are rooted in political ambition and greed?
Who pays for their success? Who pays the price of their solution?
Respectfully Submitted,
Tim Turecek
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Been getting a very strong response to this, so I’m passing it on to you. It’s a response to Allan Golston at Gates Foundation and his line “Businesses are the primary consumers of the output of our schools, so it’s a natural alliance.”
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-wrongest-sentence-ever-in-ccss.html
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Really terrific post!
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Papering Over Public k-12 school reform:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/12/03/papering-over-public-k-12-school-reform/
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The New York Times Gets An F On Education policy:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/12/04/the-new-york-times-gets-an-f-on-education-policy/
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Feeling nauseous? I know I am. If you’re in the mood this Saturday on BookTV at 7:45pm, see how M. Night Shyamalan solves the “educational crisis”. While he’s doing that, I think I solve his directorial and movie making crisis and problems of late.
http://www.booktv.org/Program/15169/I+Got+Schooled+The+Unlikely+Story+of+How+a+Moonlighting+Movie+Maker+Learned+the+Five+Keys+to+Closing+Americas+Education+Gap.aspx
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“The Googlization of the Far Right: Why is Google Funding Grover Norquist, Heritage Action and ALEC?”
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12319/google-funding-grover-norquist-heritage-action-alec-and-more
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“Detroit on the Auction Block”
http://blackagendareport.com/content/detroit-auction-block
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Briscoe-Brown unseats McDaniel in Atlanta Public School board runoff
http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/interspire/news/2013/12/04/briscoe-brown-unseats-mcdaniel-as-pro-charter-board-cements-in-aps-runoff.html?utm_source=Briscoe+Brown+Unseats+McDaniel%2C+as+Pro-Charter+Board+Cements+in+APS+Runoff&utm_campaign=Briscoe+Brown+Unseats+McDaniel%2C+as+Pro-Charter+Board+Cements+in+APS+Runoff&utm_medium=email
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Could you please tell me if all students in the other countries are tested for the PISA test as they are in the United States? Are the students in the trade schools in all of those other countries also given the PISA test? Isn’t the PISA test comparing the entire US population of students to just the high performing college and career track students in all of those other countries? Why isn’t anyone pointing that out? That fact alone makes comparing the test results completely invalid. We should not be part of the PISA test or any other international test unless the test is given to all students in all of the schools in the countries being compared. We can’t keep comparing our entire population to just their college track students. How ridiculous! Are the special education students in all of those other countries given the PISA test as they are here? Do they even have special education students in their schools? How many students do they have who don’t even speak the native language of the country? The number of limited English proficient students in grades K-12 in US schools increased over 60% between the 93/34 and 04/05 school years. That number is probably even much larger by now. Another fact that is never pointed out is that our math curriculum is in a different sequence than most other countries in the world. The math they’re testing on PISA most of our students haven’t had yet. If the test was given to 17 year old students instead of 15 year old students the results would probably be different because more students would have had that type of math by then.
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LAUSD school board member Marguerite LaMotte died.
http://www.dailynews.com/obituaries/20131205/lausd-board-member-marguerite-lamotte-dies-at-age-80
Does this mean the city is up for grabs again to out of state “reformers” aiming to buy her seat?
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From Bridgemi.com: (DeVos Funded Magazine)
Michigan needs a smart, statewide system to measure student growth
by Amber Arellano, Teresa Weatherall Neal, Audrey Spalding, Michael Rice, Ray Telman, Jon Felske and Harrison Blackmond
If teachers’ evaluations are based in part on how much students achieve, we must ensure we don’t penalize educators for teaching in high-poverty schools, where students are more likely to begin kindergarten far behind their middle-class peers. Michigan must support a consistent, reliable student-growth tool that accounts for poverty, past performance and other factors that impact student learning.
As Michigan education leaders who work in very different sectors, we often see education reform from different points of view. It’s rare for all of our organizations to agree on complex policy changes, but there are times when a public problem and solution make so much common sense, it brings us together.
Michigan’s lack of reliable and accurate student growth data is one of these issues. Our state’s education data infrastructure is among the bottom third in the country, according to Education Week and many national observers.
One of the central problems: Michigan education data do not take into account the vast differences in students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. Widespread national research tells us that low-income children come to school with far greater deficits compared to their more affluent middle-class peers. Students living in poverty, on average, start their K-12 academic careers far behind their wealthier peers, even by the time they start first grade. For example, according to Grand Rapids Public Schools, 83 percent of students who begin kindergarten in the district are already one to two years behind in reading.
Yet our K-12 education data system doesn’t take into account these differences nor does it provide reliable student growth data for any district in the state. That needs to change.
In the coming months, there’s an opportunity to do just that. Presently policymakers are debating Michigan’s proposed statewide educator evaluation and support system. One very important tool in this system is a statewide student growth tool that will generate comparable – and far more reliable – student growth data, to be used as one of multiple measures in educator evaluations in Michigan.
If it’s done right, a new growth tool will use data from a new state assessment aligned to college- and career-ready standards, and provide more accurate data on student learning. Done right, this data system will be aligned with Pre-K data systems now being built, as well as a longitudinal K-16 data system that has been in development for a few years.
We support the state’s development and support of this tool. Today, Michigan parents and educators have no idea whether their schools’ teaching quality and classroom learning levels are better than other schools’, or if a district simply set a low bar for quality. That’s because there is now a patchwork of ways in which our state’s school districts and charter operators measure student learning — and each one is left to define what a year of student growth should be.
Ed Trust-Midwest’s research has found many local student growth models in our state actually underestimate teachers’ impact on student learning. That’s neither sound nor fair to educators and students. That’s why it’s important that the state provides high-caliber, reliable, comparable growth data for all districts to adopt — and use as at least one measure in their local evaluation systems.
As a state, we also need to make sure this new student growth model is reliable, thoughtful, technically sound and fair to educators and students, including those in high-poverty and working-class communities. In other words, it should be smart.
To reach that goal, the state’s growth model should account for previous student achievement and other variables, such as poverty — and provide a measure of individual teacher effectiveness, averaged over multiple years, for use in educator evaluations.
Why is this so important? Student growth measures that are not such so-called value-added models risk penalizing educators for teaching in high-poverty schools — and may vastly underestimate student growth in urban, rural and even many suburban communities. This makes it even more difficult for such schools to attract and retain effective teachers and school leaders.
We know how fundamentally important teachers are. Research shows the most important in-school predictor of a student’s achievement is teaching quality.
Indeed, we need to support our teachers not only with fair data and evaluations, but with smart data that actually helps them inform their instruction. Such smart growth tools — especially when generated based on a high-caliber assessment— can provide valuable diagnostic information about students.
This tool could be truly transformative for our schools. Educators in leading states not only receive such data on their students’ learning gains, but they also use individual student “projection reports” that signal whether a student is on track to graduate from high school and even how ready he or she is for college and career entrance exams — as early as elementary school.
Such data would allow Michigan educators to intervene earlier in students’ academic careers, tailor instruction and improve teaching strategies. Most states make student projection reports available to parents upon request, too.
Imagine what parents, teachers and school leaders could do, together, if they knew a fourth-grader is already off track to be college- and career-ready. The potential for helping our students is enormous.
Educators also can use such data to help low achievers who are progressing slowly by providing earlier, targeted intensive support. Educators also can provide more challenging instruction to high-achieving students who are insufficiently challenged in school.
Some might say, “Sounds nice, but wouldn’t such data set lower expectations for low-income or lower-achieving students?”
The answer: Michigan already has a rigorous, high-stakes school accountability system that expects Michigan students to be proficient at the same high levels. And this measure also would be just one measure among multiple measures of performance in any comprehensive educator evaluation and support system.
If properly designed, Michigan’s new student growth data would provide a vastly more accurate way to measure student performance — and ensure that school professional development, staffing decisions and student placements and interventions are made much more thoughtfully, strategically and smartly.
We need a Michigan smart student growth model. In the coming months, we need to take that opportunity.
Amber Arellano is executive director of the Education Trust – Midwest
Teresa Weatherall Neal is superintendent of the Grand Rapids Public Schools
Audrey Spalding is director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Michael Rice is superintendent of the Kalamazoo Public Schools
Ray Telman is executive director of the Middle Cities Education Association
Jon Felske is superintendent of the Muskegon Public Schools
Harrison Blackmond is State Director, Democrats for Education Reform Michigan
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Feeling nauseous? I know I am. If you’re in the mood this Saturday on Book TV at 7:45pm, see how M. Night Shyamalan solves the “educational crisis”. While he’s doing that, I think I’ll solve his directorial and movie making crisis and problems of late.
http://www.booktv.org/Program/15169/I+Got+Schooled+The+Unlikely+Story+of+How+a+Moonlighting+Movie+Maker+Learned+the+Five+Keys+to+Closing+Americas+Education+Gap.aspx
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Diane – Found some evidence that there’s a big difference between success on tests and building a successful society (so to speak)… A moment of beautiful irony as this entire Shanghai building tipped over. http://gizmodo.com/5304233/entire-new-13+story-building-tips-over-in-shanghai/
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Berks filmmaker takes standardized testing to task.
In the Reading Eagle Newspapermthere was an article about an PA English teacher, Dan Hornberger, who made a documentary film titled:
Standardized: Lies, Money and Civil Rights:
How Testing Is Ruining Public Education
http://readingeagle.com/article/20131205/WEEKEND/312059987/1052#.UqJm1pG9KSN
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Here is a 3 minute TRAILER for
Standardized: Lies, Money and Civil Rights
How Testing is Ruining Public Education:
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Thanks for the BAT Tweet oh great Mother-ship BAT! LOL! 🙂
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More on standardized testing: “Sorry, Michelle Rhee, but our obsession with testing kids is all about money”
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/06/what_a_pisa_garbage_sorry_michelle_rhee_but_our_obsession_with_testing_kids_is_all_about_money/
This is a long article but well worth reading. It does a great job of explaining how/why education reformers are pushing high stakes tests.
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Diane,
I thought you might enjoy a few “reformy” carols for the holiday season.
Russ
http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2013/12/caroling-with-education-reformers.html
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Dear Dr. Ravitch,
I wrote something the other day. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I thought I would send it to your blog. Perhaps it might be of some interest. If, by slim chance, there’s anything publishable in it, could I ask the favor of not using my name? I’m an active fighter for teachers in my union, and this might not be in the union’s best strategic interest. Thank you.
An open letter to school administrators from a New York public school teacher:
Dear administrators,
Please do not tell me “there is nothing that we can do about it.”
Please do not tell me that you know that the new top-down school reforms are sewing chaos and making the lives of teachers miserable but “that there is nothing we can do about it.”
Tell me, instead, one of three other things.
Tell me that you disagree with corporate-sponsored reformers with little-to-no experience classrooms micromanaging what teachers can teach, how teachers can teach, and what defines a good teacher. And, because your disagree, you will do your best to get the technocrats to back off and, as our leaders, to shield teachers from worst effects of top-down malpractice.
Or, if you must, tell me that you agree with the reforms, and will work in concert with them to convert teaching from an art to technique that can be programmed the way Starbucks baristas are taught to pour coffee.
Or, tell me that you disagree with the reforms but won’t do anything about them because you are afraid for your job, and need to support spouse and family.
But, don’t me tell me that “there is nothing we can do about it,” when, in our classrooms, we tell our students the exact opposite: that, in spite of often terrible odds, they can make something of themselves and the world around them.
Everyday, almost all of you in this country pass by posters and quotations of people like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. the suffragettes, the founding fathers.
Don’t tell me “there is nothing that we can do about it” because it makes liars of those men and women, and of us in front of students.
Instead, be honest with us.
Yours,
N.S.
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Please sign the petition, “Illinois: Reclaim the Promise of Public Education–Our Schools, Our Solutions” http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/reclaim-the-promise-of-12
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I am reading NC Gov Jim Martin’s speeches from 1991 and 1992 (you are referenced and quoted some) but notice the continuous theme of “results” and “outcomes.” I think performance is important but that clearly we got away from the concept of meaningful experience and time well spent in our schooling at that point.
I am hoping to see “experience” and “time well spent” (or something along those lines) entering the conversation. In fact, I think the parents of high achieving students could argue that their time is less well spent and the experience less rich now that assesment is so rampant.
I don’t know if those terms of “results” and “outcomes” were an early push towards relieving the state of its duty to public education (I do know folks were intrigued with the idea of choice, albeit Martin did not want it to enable resegregation), but I do think we got stuck on them.
The market approach to public education represents the state backing out of its duties. To me the idea that it is appealing to leadership shows that they have a deficit in either understanding what education entails or in how to make public education work.
But again, even amid the hints at choice, the words “reform” and “outcomes” are more telling of how we got where we are.
If you can suggest further reading for me of a time when those words were not what steered the ship, I would welcome it. I do think it is all part of a whole.
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Has anyone heard about this “Hour of Code” thing? Their website is here: http://code.org/
It is ostensibly a non-profit trying to encourage kids to learn how to write software, which is innocent enough, but some of the faces plastered all over the site (such as Gates and Zuckerberg) make me wonder.
Plus it seems SO well marketed. You’ve got Plants vs. Zombies, Minecraft, and a few other properties that are really hot with the target students on board, for example. You’ve got a petition on the homepage that urges viewers to “sign your name if you think every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science” — who wouldn’t sign that? What those collected signatures ultimately be used to “prove”?
At first I figured they were selling a course, and it looks like they are, but they are giving it away. There are more courses planned, so maybe the plan is to sell those?
Does anyone know anything more? It feels like there’s more to the story.
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It’s on Google’s search page today too. As in, the header graphic is about Hour of Code. Whoever is behind it certainly is selling it hard.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2013/09/08/All-Pittsburgh-students-should-learn-computer-programming.html
Your question reminded me of this …..they are setting a stage
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OK — is it a bad idea? I learned how to program in BASIC when I was a kid, and when I was 13 I actually got paid by an educational consulting company to write a program that would implement a “new way” of using color to teach math to students (no, seriously, “educational consulting companies” were around even back then in the 80s).
I cringe to see the names Gates and Zuckerberg associated with this, and know it’s GOT to be profit-driven somehow (although I can’t see how it is at this time), but is it a bad idea?
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Hi Diane,
Thought you might be interested in this school profile and performance report by one of the Pennsylvania cyber charters (https://sites.google.com/a/palcs.org/school-performance-profile/). From these numbers, they appear to be making some effort to improve learning outcomes in their students.
Enjoy!
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Congrats Diane on your 2014 Grawemeyer Award! http://wfpl.org/post/education-grawemeyer-winner-diane-ravitch-there-s-tsunami-change-not-all-it-s-good
As a UofL alum, I am especially pleased. I’m also very delighted by your comments in the article, especially about the Common Core.
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Check out Stanley Fish on Noam Chomsky in today’s New York Times: the subject of “Educational Reform” (the destruction of public education) comes up at the very end.
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Great article following up the Sinquefield Nicastro shenanigans…..the same sort of thing happened in St. Louis in 206-2007….I remain convinced that the murder of Tim Bacon, a former special ed student played a part in that, regarding press non coverage. Hallelujah! i am so glad I was wrong! The pd is covering the stench of this…top of this morning’s front page! bless you, elisa crouch!http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/missouri-s-chief-educator-is-a-lightning-rod-in-reform/article_9c72dc4f-9041-50df-a020-f43ec462b050.html
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The St. Louis Post Dispatch published an editorial Wednesday, that was simply irrational, in light of the material from the Kansas City star, and their own reporter…Elisa Crouch. The state commissioner, Chris Nicastro, had already been under fire for her assistance to billionaire Rex Sinquefield, who promotes a not very unusual privatization agenda. Still more Sunshine demands were needed to get the proof……She met with people, to make sure the improvements in Kansas City will not be allowed to derail plans for a statewide district for unaccredited schools, overwhelmingly black, to be headed by a right wing director who has been meeting with Sinquefield since 2008. The democrat Governor, the state commissioner, the st. Louis Mayor who helped engineer a similar disenfranchisement of voters to enable charter happy people to take over st. Louis are all aboard this privatization train….the media will quote only a 24 year of service republican from the state board…silver dollar city Peter Herschend….there are five other members of the state board, not likely to be in agreement…..the most significant one is a black person named Michael Jones……..who was nominated by his ex wife before the post dispatch destroyed her career in the Missouri senate. The post dispatch is literally….sorry to use that word…..frightened of vice president of the board Michael jones. It will probably take someone from outside of Missouri to find out what Michael Jones thinks about all this lying, cheating, manipulation of the situation…..If you can find a media member able to talk to vice president Michael Jones of the Missouri state board of education, you could probably just rock Missouri with what they would learn. The NAACP reacted to the pd’s ludicrous editorial….from the all white editorial board.
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http://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/article_89e3713a-628b-11e3-9b10-0019bb2963f4.html
The St. Louis County Branch of the NAACP is outraged by the recent attempts made by Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro to force Missouri’s unaccredited school districts into a super school district.
The NAACP feels that Dr. Nicastro’s actions undermine St. Louis’ unaccredited school districts and do not move Missouri’s struggling school districts forward. The NAACP is strongly against charter schools, vouchers and any other program that could potentially deplete public school district funding.
“The St. Louis County NAACP is calling on Dr. Nicastro to step down immediately,”said Branch President & Former Missouri State Representative Esther Haywood. “Her recent blunder to move toward charter school development is an action that doesn’t have our area struggling school districts best interest at the forefront of her mission.”
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comments about the editorial http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/article_cd5eed6f-9b1f-52cb-93ff-0709df0baa5d.html?mode=comments
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OK — is it a bad idea? I learned how to program in BASIC when I was a kid, and when I was 13 I actually got paid by an educational consulting company to write a program that would implement a “new way” of using color to teach math to students (no, seriously, “educational consulting companies” were around even back then in the 80s).
I cringe to see the names Gates and Zuckerberg associated with this, and know it’s GOT to be profit-driven somehow (although I can’t see how it is at this time), but is it a bad idea?
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This in from Raleigh
http://www.citizen-times.com/viewart/20131211/NEWS/312110065/NC-teachers-group-sues-over-school-vouchers
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Hi, Diane – not sure if you have seen these yet, but the state of Pennsylvania has released their full report cards for schools across the state. As you know, our governor, Tom Corbett, is no fan of public education and his single biggest donor was a charter school CEO. I’m sure they’ll use this information to further their diatribe toward privatization without looking into this information with any great depth or asking themselves if this is truly how to measure a quality education.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/12/complete_school_report_cards_a.html
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Thank goodness for this former Hershey, PA student…
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/12/hershey_high_alumnus_threatens.html
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Diane,
Please read some of my thoughts on education, on my blog “A Better Education” at
http://bettereducateyourself.blogspot.com
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http://www.upworthy.com/5-myths-about-our-schools-that-fall-apart-when-you-look-closer-6
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Ms. Ravitch, You might check out this item I posted a few hours ago. A Missouri state senator has prefiled an “ethics reform” bill, which among other provisions, would prevent teachers from being involved in the political process. Teachers are already prohibited from being involved in school board elections in Missouri, this would eliminate everything else down to e-mails. http://rturner229.blogspot.com/2013/12/lees-summit-republican-bill-would.html
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It would appear that the bill has been withdrawn now…thankfully
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The following was shared on the thread regarding what color to wear….i asked for a translation on a green shirt……it is worth sharing with everyone……photos are worth a thousand words
“It’s catalan, not portuguese, and it translate “We love public school”. Our situation is quite serious: the Spanish government has just approved an education reform that fits the GERM guidelines: privatization, cuts, segregation, evaluation of schools, competition between schools …
In addition, it has increased the workload and bureaucracy of teachers, their salary is cutted down by 10 to 20%. Government has increased the ratio of students per classroom. It is estimated that in Spain have lost their jobs 20,000 teachers in the last two years.
In València, my land, the local government threatens with sanctions to protesting teachers. As you can see, almost our only hope is a change of government.
You can see more pictures of people wearing our green shirt here:
http://stepv.intersindical.org/campanyes/mobilitzacions2013-14
Thanks for your interest.”
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This is really too bad. I spent a year living in Spain from 2009-2010, and I knew then that the Spanish public schools were in need of improvement. Unfortunately, the proposed changes are only going to make thing worse.
On the bright side, I visited Valencia and loved it XD One of the highlights of the country.
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Saw an interesting study on brain development for children of poverty. Confirms what Diane has been saying.
http://www.news.wisc.edu/22393
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I would like to see more in the mainstream media on how school choice has worked out in Sweden and in Chile.
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I found this great article about how public money is being redirected to (legally) fund private schools that have highly discriminatory policies toward LGBT individuals. Maybe too controversial for you to get into on the blog, but interesting nonetheless.
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There were a couple of articles on the Times Union website today that I thought you’d find interesting. I particularly like the first one and find the second more of the same rhetoric coming from SED.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Common-Core-divides-state-s-Regents-board-5067470.php#page-1
and
http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Common-Core-and-doing-better-5067427.php
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A PLEA FOR HELP:
I am a 16 year veteran of teaching in NYS. Recently, our district has mandated that for our APPR, we have to PREDICT SPOT ON, what our students will get on their final assessment AND we cannot predict that any of or students will fail their final assessment. Historically, our district has IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPOVERISHED in New York Statewith a 60% graduation rate. Yet, we cannot expect that any of our student will fail their final or Regents exams. This is so detached form reality, that I cannot believe our district is serious. I strongly feel that this expectation is a violation (or should be) of fair labor practices. Our union, the Newburgh Teacher’s Association, has remained silent with respect to this insane expectation. Where do we go now? NYSUT? ha ha. I am considering having a class action suit against out district (and union) for unfair labor practices. Can you imagine an employer expecting an employee to predict (spot on) what their sales will be for the coming year? This IS A GOTCHA as Ms. Tisch assured us this teacher evaluations wouldn’t be. All my colleagues agree. They (our district) are setting us up to fail. Is there any direction or advice you can give us in this just action? I am willing to pursue any legal action (class action suit? ) that will preside over our case. Can you direct us to the right agency? PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS PLEA.
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OUTRAGEOUS!!!! From the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education FB post:
It looks as though the State Board is going to do the unthinkable this Friday.
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE ALL WRITE LETTERS TO THEM NOW!
The Indiana State Board of Education is scheduled to meet this Friday, December 20 at 9:00 a.m. Months of conflict caused by Governor Pence and his appointed board members is expected to come to a head at the meeting. It is widely expected that when the board votes on new board procedures they will remove roles that State Superintendents have possessed as Chair of the board for years — that is until 1.3 million voters elected Glenda Ritz.
We are asking ISTA members and friends who care about public schools to contact the State Board of Education members immediately. Tell them that you support Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz. Let them know that you voted for Glenda Ritz because you expected her to be the Chair and lead education policy maker in Indiana.
If you are a public school educator or support professional, please email the board members from home and on your own personal time.
The board members and their email addresses as provided by the SBOE website are:
Tony Walker – tony@walkerlawgroup.biz
Dr. David Freitas – drdavidfreitas@comcast.net
Cari Whicker – cwhicker@hccsc.k12.in.us
Sarah O’Brien – sobrien4cd@yahoo.com
Andrea Neal – aneal@inpolicy.org
Dr. Brad Oliver – brad4education@gmail.com
Daniel Elsener – delsener@marian.edu
B.J. Watts – bj.watts@evsc.k12.in.us
Troy Albert – talbert@wclark.k12.in.us
Gordon Hendry – education@gordonhendry.com
https://ista-in.org/action-alert-board-expected-to-strip-ritzs-authority-as-board-chair-on-friday
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Please read this report about NC teachers written by two colleagues of mine.
Key Findings
• Over 96% of the educators who participated think public education in North Carolina is headed in the wrong direction.
• Two-thirds of teachers and administrators indicated that recent legislative
changes have negatively impacted the quality of teaching and learning in their own school.
• Over 74% of respondents indicated that, as a result of the legislative changes, they were less likely to continue working as a teacher/administrator in NC.
• 97% of respondents think the legislative changes have had a negative effect on teacher morale.
• 98% of teachers and administrators surveyed believe that the removal of financial incentives for pursuing advanced degrees will have a negative effect on the quality of teaching and learning in North Carolina’s schools.
• Nearly all respondents indicated that the failure to give teachers a raise in pay will have a negative impact on the quality of public education.
• Ninety percent of teachers and administrators indicated that the removal of tenure, with all teachers placed on 1-, 2-, or 4-year contracts by 2018, will have a negative effect on the quality of public education in NC.
• In regard to the legislature’s plan to eliminate tenure and identify the top 25% of teachers for annual pay raises, approximately 7% of teachers indicated they would give up tenure in exchange for the supplement (64% would not give up tenure and 28% are uncertain).
• 38% of respondents believe the Read to Achieve Program will have a positive impact on the quality of education in the state. Among elementary teachers, this figure is just 20%.
• A significant portion of teacher and administrator comments described working harder to protect students from the perceived effects of the recent legislative changes.
• Nearly 87% of respondents think the voucher plan, providing eligible families with a $4,200 annual voucher to allow a child to go to a private school, will have a negative impact on the state’s public schools.
Click to access SmithImigReport.pdf
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Letter from Assemblywoman Nolan to NYS SED expressing deep concerns on student data information sharing with inBloom. Maybe NY is finally on the right path? I won’t hold my breath though, until they get rid of King.
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/201716/assembly-leadership-wants-sed-to-hold-off-on-inbloom-deal-to-share-student-data/
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Diane…I thought you, as well as, your readers might be interested this:
Today, I just received a PDF file of some sample NYS Algebra 1 Regents Exam questions…I will reserve my comments about them for now. If you have any opinions about what you are seeing, please feel free to express yourself. Please keep in mind ALL NYS students must pass the Algebra 1 Regents to be eligible to graduate from HS.
Just so that you can compare…here is a link to last June’s Regents exam:
Click to access ialg62013-exam.pdf
Here is the sample we were sent:
Click to access sample_items_fall_2013.pdf
Here is NYS Education Commissioner John King’s email address:
commissioner@mail.nysed.gov
Lauren Schimko
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How can I forward you an email that I sent to NJ Legislators regarding how old school facilities are unsuitable for NJ’s Special Needs student population?
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Right here, Kathleen K.
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I am not sure how to contact you via email but I wanted to pass this idea along. I have been a high school social studies teacher in New York for the past eight years. Following and understanding how politics work has led me to this conclusion:
Governor Cuomo has higher aspirations than simply being the governor of New York. All indications is that he will enter into the presidential race coming in 2016. To do this, he has to show how he left a positive mark on New York. Here is where education will come in to play.
The state, Cuomo and King all have to save face in light of last years horror with the common core. However, there is a simple solution to all of this which may begin to silence many angry parents. The Board of Regents decides the cut scores on all the exams students are taking. Last year, as well documented, King knew ahead of time that most students were going to fail even before they took their exams. He was right, where it was deemed by the state that only 30% of students “passed” the new exams aligned to the common core. (Although 93% of teachers scored an effective or highly effective evaluation statewide)
The solution for Cuomo and King, drop the “passing score” on exams this year. This year, students will perform much better on these exams because the state needs them to. If suddenly 50% of students pass these exams, it will show that the common core, teacher evaluation systems and assessment driven instruction is working. Cuomo and King declare victory.
Should this happen Cuomo’s future campaign will say:
1. New York was one of the first state to adopt the new common core curriculum.
2. New York was one of the first states to adopt a teacher evaluation system.
3. New York improved test scores.
The big question: will educators and parents fall for this trap?
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Leaving a gift of poetry to you and your readers, Diane. Thank you for all your hard work on behalf of public education.
http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-holiday-gift-of-poetry.html
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Dear Diane, You could probably get someone to explain just how they can trade a piece of property. This is from the KIPP site, from a story by a good reporter for the Post Dispatch…Elisa Crouch. I wondered about the legality of trading property and other considerations to a Charter school in exchange for test scores which would beef up the sagging numbers of slps. They are sandwiched between the two schools which lost accreditation, and their scores do not compare well with Kansas City….where reports are that they are going to get clobbered with some sort of new district tailored to the wishes of the billionaire Rex Sinquefield and his people.
KIPP is certainly familiar with the techniques of cherry picking…..but can an entire public district cherry pick a charter school to make their scores look better….and ignore the numerous others which are performing poorly.
I ask reporters and others…no response…I would feel better if you could tell me my question is not worth asking.
From July 18,2013
http://kippinspire.org/news/st-louis-forges-unique-partnership-with-kipp
[quote]ST. LOUIS • Six years after refusing to sell vacant buildings to charter schools, leaders of St. Louis Public Schools on Thursday approved a partnership that would give the charter school organization KIPP St. Louis keys to an empty elementary building. For free.
The Special Administrative Board gave unanimous approval to an agreement that would link the school district with the nonprofit KIPP organization in a way that’s unprecedented in the city. It would allow collaboration in areas such as professional development for teachers. And it would allow KIPP to use the old Mitchell School, 955 Arcade Avenue, for an elementary school slated to open in fall 2014.
The partnership paves the way for KIPP to have access to other empty school buildings in the city for future charter schools, potentially removing one of the largest stumbling blocks to opening a charter in St. Louis. KIPP officials already operate KIPP Inspire Academy, a high-performing middle school in the Fox Park neighborhood, and plan to eventually run five charter schools in St. Louis.
In return, all attendance, enrollment and test score data collected at KIPP’s St. Louis schools would be reflected in the data of St. Louis Public Schools, potentially strengthening the performance of the city school system. State funds flowing to KIPP schools also would pass through the school district. To continue using the buildings, the KIPP schools would need to meet certain performance standards.
KIPP would continue to operate autonomously of the school system, as all tuition-free public charter schools do. Washington University would continue as the sponsor.[/quote]
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I know you’ve done some posts about the Gulen Charter Schools. My husband is Turkish and I lived there for 6 years, so I keep up with Turkish news. This was in the NYT on Friday (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/world/europe/growing-corruption-inquiry-hits-close-to-turkish-leader.html?smid=fb-share) and shows a connection between the Turkish PM and Gulen suggesting issues of corruption and radical/fundamentalist Islam. I want to be clear that I’m not anti-Islam (my husband is Muslim although I am not), but there are terrible things happening in Turkey that are impacting freedom of speech, education, and democracy in general. Without trying to sound like a nutty conspiracy theorist, it does worry me that Gulen is running schools here in the US. Erdogan only became PM when, after his party was elected, he had the then head of the party change Turkish laws to allow him to take over. Now we’re learning about ties to this man who runs schools here.
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As a Title I teacher in a Texas public school with a near 100% at-risk population of great students, I appreciate you and your book Reign of Error. I must admit I had not heard of you until very recently. When I heard you speak for the first time on a segment on CNN money I was floored. You said what I have said for the last few years. You made me feel vindicated and proud. I am a teacher, I am an advocate for children and the public school system. I pray that your message, our message, will finally be heard by those “powers that be” who can create real change and do what’s right for our students.
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Thank you, Amy. I am very glad I went on that show because of you.
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Diane,
Here is the content of an email I sent the White House on the potential appointment of Ted Mitchell to the department of education:
Mr. President,
Please do not appoint Ted Mitchell to any post in the department of education. He clearly represents the privatization of public schools. Your education policies have not reflected your campaign commitments to public schools. In contrast to the platforms of your opponents, privatization was not a part of your platform. Appointing Ted Mitchell takes you further from your commitments and accelerates the demise of pubic schools. You have time left to change direction on public education. The first step is to appoint a new team of “real” educators who understand and support public education. Continuing with Arne Duncan and adding Ted Mitchell is a signal that, unlike your campaign education platform, privatization is a goal you support. Please reconsider, align your policies with your promises, and appoint leaders who reflect commitments to strengthening public schools, not privatizing them.
Respectfully,
John Horn
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Good morning, Ms. Ravitch
I have been a fan and followed your for years. I know the general public is totally confused about underlying agenda of the reform movement. One part of the confusion is that very passionate people take the cry on both sides of the discussion. When EVERYONE is for the children, for the teachers, for opportunity, how does the truth come out? (Well, one way is for unrelenting drive by people like you – thank you!)
Yesterday I experienced two events that simply added to the confusion. The first was the alumni awards luncheon at the college where I work. A young man, a very passionate young man in his 30’s, received an outstanding young alumni award. Currently a prinicipal at a Christian high school in Milwaukee. 100% of his students are low income, 100% are children of color, 100% are funded by vouchers, and 100% of last year’s class were accepted into college. The school was a turnaround miracle. Boy, that impressed the audience. And there was little doubt that this young man cared deeply about his students and staff. He is also a TFA alum (Camden NJ), a former TFA recruiter, Harvard grad in Education Policy, principles certificate from Rice.
Click to access HOPE-High-2012.pdf
Then last night I watched TEACh on pivot.tv. More great success stories featuring turnaround students, passionate teachers,and celebrity endorsers of public education.
My wife, a retired pubic school educator, and I knew nothing about the show but found it interesting and engaging. The production values were exremely high. While we watched, my wife and I disagreed about whether or not this was a reform message. My wife liked the humanness of the production, the talk about learning beyond testing. I wasn’t so sure. I liked the stories, but there was a little too much about test scores, a little too much about online learning, a little too much about technology tools. But these teachers were also deep believers, and the students stories were great ones, and the parents were so appreciative. Then the final credits rolled and the funding behind the production was Bill and Melinda Gates.
http://www.pivot.tv/shows/teach
Thanks for all you do.
best holiday wishes,
Rick
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Rick,
Don’t believe any stories about schools where 100% of the students graduate. These are called “miracle schools,” and none of their stories has every panned out. Google Gary Rubinstein and “miracle schools.” He has checked out such claims and never found one that was true. Behind every miracle is a billionaire trying to persuade you that public schools have failed and only nonpublic schools succeed, especially if their teachers are young, inexperienced, and don’t belong to a union.
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Dear Ms. Ravitch,
I am writing to enquire about the possibility of your assistance. I am Polish university student and I am currently doing my M.A. degree in American Studies. My thesis describes the changes in the literary canon and reading lists in Language Arts after introducing the Common Core State Standards. Your “The death and life of the great American school system. How testing and choice are undermining education” was one of the works that helped me choose my area of study. My research require teachers of American high schools to fill the following survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Qqed9l1IxNwsdsr2qTcjKt-_ARiDQcQPlHvle2fwSzw
I would grateful if you could kindly share this questionnaire on your site.
I would be honoured to receive a replay at your earliest continence.
Yours sincerely,
Dagmara Bobrowska
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Dagmara,
I encourage readers of this blog to answer your survey.
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Thank you so much I hope you did enjoy your Christmas,
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Diane- How about writing a blog to organize a boycott of J Crew, Subaru and FedEx in protest of Teach for America and include corporate email addresses and phone numbers? Five weeks does not a teacher make, anymore than 5 weeks of medical school creates a licensed physician.
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I think a boycott would definite be effective. In TFA money talks.
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Rutgers students have organized anti-TFA chapters of students resist TFA!
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Diane you have great insight. I find your blog compelling and useful. i am a 3rd grade teacher in Nevada trying to make a difference. Could you please spread the word.
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Have people seen this? http://atthechalkface.com/2013/12/23/this-is-the-common-core-you-support/ David Coleman admited that he was unqualified to write the Common Core standards: “This Is the Common Core You Support?” by Paul Thomas
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I’m leading a group of concerned citizens in Texas with a mission beginning in Jan 2014 to review the social studies textbooks that will be used for the ’15-’16 school year. We are attempting to duplicate your efforts of 2004…I’ve read your report and would love to chat about processes/protocols and much more.
We have over 80 volunteers and are growing and we are independent of any political groups and our only mission is insure we give the children of Texas the most factual textbooks possible. We have also attracted professionals like yourself to help mentor us through the process and help us insure our findings are 100% accurate.
We have volunteers mostly from TX but also from VA, WA, TN, FL, IL and other states who want to duplicate what we are attempting to do. A single depository of these reviews for us and other reviewers to post so school boards, teachers, parents and others can have an independent source on social studies textbooks. Please call or email if interested in helping.
This is a link to an article on Dr. Rich Swier’s website.
http://drrichswier.com/2013/12/22/social-studies-textbook-review-in-tennessee-and-texas/
Thanks for your consideration and your service to our children.
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Hi Diane, we exchanged a few tweets in 2013. I’m hoping my latest post about how you should help students in 2014 will deepen the conversation.
In it, I argue that if you truly want your policy work to make a difference in the lives of American students, you need to consider the implications of your arguments, which perpetuate practices that have long kept low-income students from succeeding. I hope you get a chance to read it and respond. http://tinyurl.com/n75yw3d
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Ray,
I will write a response when I get the time–which may take a few days. I am very disappointed that you are reviewing my ideas based on my appearance on the Jon Stewart show and on an article. You give no indication that you took the time to read “Reign of Error.” Why don’t you read the book and respond to it rather than summarize decades of thinking based on a five minute TV interview?
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Dear Mrs. Ravitch,
I am currently a substitute teacher and working on my masters at the University of Texas in library science. Next year I will be a full time teacher. After reading your book Reign of Error it reminded so much of the final assignment required by my Professor at Brooklyn
College. The assignment required you to write about your greatest challenge during
your time as a student teacher. I completed my student teaching in a middle school in Brooklyn. Three years later that same middle school is fighting to keep a charter school out. I’d like to show you my essay from 2007 when I was 20 years old and had just completed my first year of student teaching:
Perhaps my greatest challenge has been “keeping hope alive.” During these times
of educational reform the elite billionaires of our society are providing the general public with a false sense of keeping hope alive. The daily onslaught of newspaper articles criticizing the teachers, the debates over charter schools, the tenure of teachers, the publishing of teacher’s names in the paper, and finally the repeal of last in first out will have a great affect on not just myself but all fledgling teachers across the country. At times during the semester I found myself growing despondent and perhaps even bitter towards a hostile pedagogical environment that was controlled by people whose children do not attend public schools. It is my belief that the New York City Schools Chancellor must be a person who has obtained a masters degree in education and has a working knowledge of what occurs in the classroom. This person needs to have prior
knowledge of how children learn and the how the educational system that teaches the children works. Children are not widgets that are manufactured on a factory line and rubber stamped. Classrooms are not factory floors where an identical product is reproduced and the line moves along no matter the circumstance. Children are living, breathing individuals with different learning styles, needs and abilities and teachers differentiate instruction to meet those needs. Following a scripted business approach does not help all children learn and scapegoating teachers creates an unhealthy work environment. I will not deny that I am a product of the middle class and a working man whose family is pro union. I support the UFT in every way and have a developed a distrust of the Department of Education. Finally it is my hope that an amicable solution for all can be reached in which teachers, parents, and education officials work
together for a better educational future for all our children. I keep hope alive that the people involved in the pedagogical field will realize that in the words of the esteemed Abraham Lincoln “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.”
I hope to one day complete a PhD in Policy in Procedure upon completing my Masters at UT. I believe in your policies and I believe in our public schools. Thank you for being my hero.
Happy Holidays,
Harry K. Ostlund
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Hi Ms. Ravitch,
As a young person (about to finish undergrad) interested in potentially becoming a teacher but with a lack of formal educational training, I’m wondering if you might have some recommendations for me, for strong fellowship/teacher-training programs.
TFA doesn’t seem to provide enough support to its teachers (and in so doing, to the students they teach). Working for a huge corporately-run charter school (even if it does provide more support than TFA would for newbies) doesn’t seem fair either, particularly when it takes up building space, doesn’t train a culturally-sensitive or critical-thinking approach to teaching, and siphons money away from public schools. Trying NYC Teaching Fellows looks like it might also be a bust, for lots of the same reasons that TFA is. Is there ANYWHERE I can go with little prior formal teaching education to get a fair, supportive, and well-structured start to a future teaching career, or should I just go back to school?
Thanks for your advice,
Pendle
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One detail regarding Chris Whitney’s letter posted today: the quote, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society,” is by Jiddu Krishnamurti, not Carl Jung.
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I was dismayed and disappointed to hear Walton Foundation ads airing on our local NPR station – WVPE/88.1/Elkhart IN. It seems there is nowhere to go for news without having this “education reform” facade of the plutocrats inflicted on us. Is this common across the country?
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Hi Diane,
Not sure if you’ve seen this:
I’ve met the head of that school before, and I don’t believe she has any sort of prior teaching or education experience. Not surprising. Of particular interest: the parent in the video who was sad that, when he comes home, her child first talks about behavior points he received that day vs. what he actually learned in his classes. “Preparation for college,” indeed!
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http://empathyeducates.org/recovery-school-district-will-be-countrys-first-all-charter-district/
UGH! So much for “school choice!”
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Disaster capitalism
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I am just one teacher from New York trying to make a difference in education. I want to move past all the negativity in the teaching conversation and offer teachers inspiring stories and sensible ideas on what works.
As a result, I have created the No. 1 “New and Noteworthy” K-12 podcast on iTunes and in its first month my blog has had over 3,000 page view.
My blog allows passionate and accomplished English teachers to write guest posts about what worked in the classroom so that others can hear their story, share their success, and be inspired.
My podcast, Talks with Teachers, is a free resource that others can download from iTunes and listen to on their commutes to work, while walking the dog or running on a treadmill.
I think it all could go a long way in encouraging teachers to believe in themselves, believe in the power of literature to capture students’ attention, and believe that they can be great too.
I would be honored if you would be a guest on my show. It would only require 20-30 minutes of your time
Brian Sztabnik
http://www.talkswithteachers.com
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I just read an article by Deborah Fallows about a Montessori charter school,The Grove School, in Redlands, Ca. Other than the lottery component (if there’s that much demand, maybe the district needs to create another similar school?), I thought it seemed close to the original idea of what a charter school should be. Thoughts?
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Note: Article is at James Fallows’ Atlantic blog.
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The tone here is of the “good charter”. In the current world of charter schools used to union bust I question whether there can be “good charters” fulfilling a later day ideal. Like the reality that Lincoln faced stating that the Nation cannot remain half free and half slave, there cannot in the long run remain one Nation of half public and half privately managed public schools.
A charter school is a publicly funded and privately managed. It has been decided in court cases that the legal rights of the public school parent and employee under the Constitution are reduced because both charter parents and employees are not in relationship to a governmental organization but are relationship to a private governing organization.
Now a given charter school may provide first class education in every way but its parents and employees are second class citizens in comparison to comparable public school parents and employees.
Another reason a first class charter school cannot be considered good charter is that its interest is not to furthering the interest of public schooling but to further the interest of charter schooling and to organize to promote charter school interest. So given what I just stated, how can there be a “good” charter school?
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This was a comment directed at Diane, not a comment that she made. If the school was founded by teachers (which the article states) and the teachders are part of the local teachers’ union (article does not state), then trying to improve pedagogy as a joint teacher effort seems like a good idea to me. Sorry if the way I posted this made it appear it was from Ms. Ravitch.
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Dear Ms. Ravitch,
I want to thank you for your articles and your stance against CCSS©copyright 2010. Recently I read this article by Tom Torlakson who is pushing full speed ahead on Common Core; and yet, I have read you are in support of his candidacy for CA State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Is there a reason for supporting the person who has ushered in Common Core?
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/technology-593369-globalization-changing.html
There are three candidates running for this positon: Tom Torlakson who is for Common Core, Marshall Tuck who is for Common Core, and myself, Lydia Gutierrez, who opposes Common Core.
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I have known Tom Torlakson since he first ran for office. We don’t agree about Common Core, and I hope he will change his mind, especially since Governor Jerry Brown said recently he opposes national and state mandates about what to teach. I will keep an eye on your candidacy, Lydia.
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Dear Ms. Ravitch,
Thank you for your response. I know you are not familiar with California legislation but recently, Assembly Bill 97 was signed by Governor Brown. It requires a new obligation that student performances be aligned to funding. It is called the ‘Local Control Funding Formula’. Here is the bill if you would like to read it over:
Click to access ab_97_bill_20130701_chaptered.pdf
Even though it claims to give local control to parents and teachers, spending allocations must be reviewed and accepted by the State Superintendent’s approval. One of the fortes is Common Core implementation. No where does it state that vocational training skills are to be an active part in secondary schools but must maintain same level funding as the previous year. At present, many of our vocational skill programs are being housed in Adult Education Schools.
I sincerely appreciate your interest in this race.
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I think this is an interesting article with good links.
http://ncrenegade.com/editorial/common-core-the-nc-general-assembly-holds-its-first-public-meeting-on-common-core/
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Diane,
Your blog is awesome. The group I work with writes on very similar issues. I’ve been using your blog as a resource for some writing. If you get some time, go over to publiceducationdefense.weebly.com We’re dedicated to uncovering bad policy, and making sure that education takes its rightful place in the political spectrum cycle.
Thanks for all of your hard work!
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Hi Diane,
What do you think about the choice of Carmen Farina to lead NYC’s public schools? I googled her and found lots of vague support for (good) ideas and criticisms like yours, but little to show that she “walks the walk”. de Blasio’s appointments thus far are in the vein of “Third Way”/DLC corporate Democrats. Why would his pick to lead this post be any different?
I noticed that she recently introduced you at a Library Opening. She said the following:
Carmen closed by saying we need to stop focusing on what “they” – the corporate reformers – are doing and focus on what we are doing, echoing Diane. We need great public schools in every neighborhood.
That reminds me a heckuva lot of the following line said by candidate Obama in 2008:
Obama’s response to Edwards’ call for an “epic fight” with corporate rule at a debate in Iowa was what Mike Davis calls “typical eloquent evasion.” “We don’t need more heat,” Obama said. “We need more light.” That was Goldman Sachs talking, not a “progressive.” (Paul Street).
Just wondering what you think. Thanks for all you do. You are a rock star in the battle against so-called education reform, and on behalf of my family, we thank you.
Thanks,
Aaron
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Aaron, I have high hopes for Carmen Farina. She has a big opportunity to make a difference. When she joined me a few weeks ago at PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where she is president of the school’s Friends Association, she said we should worry less about what “they” are doing and more about what we should do to get things right. I later told her that when vandals are trying to burn your house down, you should definitely worry about what they are doing.
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I hope she takes a hard look at Teach for America and how they are contributing to a broken system in NYC. Children deserve teachers with more training than these well intentioned young people receive in a few weeks.
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Some individuals (like myself) are elected to city councils, where bottom-line appropriations to boards of education are approved or disapproved, but further influence over board policies appears constrained – e.g., for limiting continuing privatization, outsourcing, anti-union policies, test-dependence, monetary incentives. We need help from others to learn details and act collaboratively in the city’s and state’s public/charter/magnet school contests, beyond refusal to increase schools’ annual budget (can’t by law decrease, at least here in Connecticut) or approve conditionally… — Larry Deutsch, Minority Leader, Hartford City Council (Working Families)..
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Hi Larry,
I just read your bio on Hartford’s .gov site. I wish we had more folks like you in city government. Diane’s last two books are incredible resources if you want to become more educated in “so-called” public school reform. I just got done re-reading her latest (Reign of Error). She brings these discussions to interested people like myself in the same way people like Neil deGrasse Tyson bring science discussions to the public. Very easy to understand and with humor. 🙂
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Click to access TFT_Resources.pdf
AFT supports CC? WHAAAAAAAT????
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Diane – I received this response from Sarah O’Brien regarding the battle?? between Gov. Pence and Superintendent Ritz. If one of you is mistaken or not relating the whole story, it should be aired and cleared up. Board Member O’Brien states this issue was a misunderstanding due to a need for more efficient use of their time. I value your statements and revelations and cannot understand the disconnect between the two sides.
Respectfully
“Thank you for your email. I apologize for the delayed response due to the holidays.
I appreciate your passion for education. I hope that you were able to recognize from our recent meeting that there was never any attempt by our board to remove Superintendent Ritz as chair of the State Board of Education. Our procedures needed updating in order to ensure more efficient use of our time during our meetings. There was never any purpose beyond that. Unfortunately, some inaccurate information published on social media created an understandable, but unnecessary, panic in the education community.
I am an educator, still working within a classroom as well as within the State Board of Education. Additionally, I am a mother of two children attending public schools, with a third who will attend once she is school age. Please know that it is with all of these children in mind– my students as well as my own– that I make any decision within my position on the board. I care deeply about the current and future state of education in Indiana and will work endlessly to support growth, support, and innovation for our students, teachers, and schools.
Again, I thank you for taking the time to write.
Sarah O’Brien”
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Personally, NOTHING surprises me anymore in Indiana. If nothing else, this has served as evidence that more people are paying attention.
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NYC Teacher Safety in the classroom is a big concern for me, and I’m sure that many teachers in our public school system have had to fight a never ending battle in securing a safe work environment.
I am a veteran teacher for almost 21 years. I got into teaching after finding it difficult to get a job as a history professor in college, a city planning entry level position or something along the lines of history. So, when the City was offering up positions in the public schools, I left my $3.00/hour job as a home health aid, and ran over to the NYC Board of Education.
After numerous tests, I received a TPD or temporary teacher’s license. I worked at a 2nd grade, 3rd grade and JHS Spanish teacher form 85-88. In 1988, I opted to go to law school. After finishing law school in January of 1992, I worked for the Human Resources Administration (HRA) closing loopholes in City law, as it applied to people who received government benefits. To my credit, I was the sole person in charge of fraud investigation. When a buy out plan came down the pike, I chose to leave. The corruption and politics in City government was very distressing and I had to get out.
From there, I was a stay at home mom, and then I returned back to the classroom in 1996. From then on, I have been in the classroom.
In June of 2011, I was excessed from my home school. What many do not know is that the Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, sets up schools to fail. It happened to me and I will share this story with you.
In September of 2003, I transferred to a “traditional” high school setting, after being in the Alternative HS Superintendency. I thought that I would get a fresh start. That same year, the Mayor, dumped over 2000 of the City’s worst students from the MLK, Jr. HS into our school. As one can imagine, the overcrowding of our school brought us down. There were gangs, gang fights, shootings, stabbings, drugs being sold in our upstairs boy’s bathroom, there were kids engaged in illegal sexual behavior, students who thought they were in a safe school, and teachers likewise, were sadly mistaken. This did not happen until 2005.
I had left the school in 2005 on maternity leave returned three months later in the Fall of 2005. I was not aware that there were discussions about phasing us out. I had come back into the classroom, and did my best with who came into my classroom. For years, my Regents passage rate was on the rise. 85 % of my student were passing the regents exams and I was so very happy. In 2011, not being aware of the phase out, I was excessed.
In September 2011 – Mid November of 2013, I was a traveling teacher. I thought that it would be great to meet students in other schools, that the traveling would be a good thing. No one really understands anything about ATRs, Traveling Teachers, until you become one.
For the first month of the school year, I remained in one school. There, the students, administrators and I got to know one another, but that soon past when I was transferred, from that moment on, from one school to the other,every single week. I was sent mostly to the worst schools in the City, where the environment was so toxic no one felt safe, in particular me, because I had not spoke to an ATR before.
In December, I was assaulted for the very first time, as a teacher. I traveled to a very bad school, that should have been closed down years earlier. In a basement classroom, where there were no windows, I had to flee under the small teacher’s desk, to protect myself from a raining of desk-chairs sailing to where I was, under the desk. I felt like I was on a battlefield, and there were incoming bombs. I was terrified. My fear of being told that I had no classroom management skills overrode concerns for my safety.
I was finally rescued after the 6th time in two periods of this assaultive behavior. After I was rescued, I was afraid to leave out of the front door, as a student told me that if I did, he would stab me to death. I ran out of the back door, to where the FDR Drive is, and I began sobbing from the trauma and from not having my bearings. I called my husband and he lovingly kept me on the phone and guided me to the subway station.
I wrote up the incident. Assumed that I had filled out all of the requisite documents. The documents I assumed were received, were not. Documents were sent to me, I sent them back. I was told that they were received, they were not. This went back and forth for two years. I felt like I was being assaulted all over again. The days were taken out of my sick bank, I grieved it two years later, the days were never returned, as my grievance was rejected.
In 2012, I had suffered numerous threats to my safety and was assaulted over and over again. In February, a student put a tack on my chair. I had to go for a tetanus shot.
In May of that year, I was deliberately injured, when a student kicked a fast moving soccer ball into my face. He laughed about it. He only apologized after I told him that I was hurt. Once the ball slammed into my face, my head snapped back and forth and I suffered severe concussion. I was on bed rest for 6 days.
In October that year, I was given an assignment to cover the in-house suspension room. I wrote up three incident reports about what the students were doing, and how I was being threatened. The first day, I had to stand outside the room, looking in because the students were running around, ransacking the room. They threw over desks-chairs, opened and shut the closet doors, and everything that was stored inside was thrown outside into the room, against the windows, the chalkboard, the floor, at each other. It was mayhem. I asked the students to stop they used for letter words to try and silence me. They also threatened me by saying they would F**K me up. So, I asked for help from the security agents, the deans, the APs and I got little to no assistance.
The next day, the student came in with the same nasty behavior towards me. They cursed at me all morning, they ran around the room, they threw over the desks-chairs again, used more threats and profanity and I was so tired by then, I could deal with it anymore. I asked for assistance again, no one came to my room. In fact, the school safety agent that was stationed outside my door, had moved to another area. I had no support at all. I called the AP and deans on the phone, they either never showed up, or they came briefly, spoke to the students who cursed at me for calling the, and they did this right in front of the dean. That afternoon, the dean brought up lunch for the students. One girl thought it would be fun to smear the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all over every desk, threw the full pints of milk against the chalkboard, splattering everywhere, and the applesauce against the floor, splattering again.
On Wednesday, I was terrified. One of the APs, covered the windows in the classroom doors with construction paper, so no one could see in or out. I was sitting at a table trying to get the students on track with the work that was delivered to me for them. I sat with four students. They, knowing that the windows were covered and that I was not safe, said to me “What if we were to stab you to death, nobody would ever know.” I ran to the doors of the classroom, opened them both up and stood there.
After lunch that day, I was seated at the teacher’s desk, near the front doors. The kids were running around and throwing things, and cursing at me, threatening me, and then, everything seemed to stop. Some plan had been made, of which I was not aware. In less then a few minutes the students barricaded me in the classroom. A file cabinet was pushed against the door, desk-chairs were piled on. I didn’t know what to do, because I didn’t want them to think that I was afraid. All of a sudden, the students surrounded the desk. They were all around me. I didn’t know what to say. So, I said, “I need my personal space, everyone move away from me!” A girl moved from behind me, and I pushed my chair away from the desk, so that my back was against the wall. Then, this boy and three others, said in a semi-circle around me. One boy told me how I would love having sex with him, while the others just stared me. I was so afraid that I somehow got past the boy who made sexual advances to me, and with hulk-like strength, dismantled the barricade. I stood outside the door, and asks the SSA if she could help in getting the AP and deans for me. They arrived and coddled the students and made me out to be this very sensitive teacher.
For those three days, I wrote incident reports. I don’t think that they were ever entered into the computer, but I did send them to the UFT.
The next two days, 3 rotating teachers (ATRs) like myself were stationed in the room, I’m assuming, to support one another in this toxic room.
From that day, until the May of 2013, I was threatened over and over and over. I dreaded going to work and didn’t want to work anymore. I felt too afraid, but I also had a mortgage and childcare to pay and so I trudged on.
At this point, I finally took a deep breath and found myself traumatized. A condition that I ignored. Every school that I went to, I was scared to death that I would end up beaten, maimed or killed.
In June, the Regents exams were upon us, and I knew that I would be safe. After all, summer vacation was right around the corner.
The entire summer, I was safe. I have a wonderful home in Brooklyn, New York. I have a wonderful husband and two lovely boys, and a sweet cat.
In September of 2013, I was sent to an okay school. At least the kids respected their teachers. Maybe not me and the other two ATRs who were with me, but I didn’t feel such dread.
The 3rd Week in October, a student was not allowed to be in the computer lab. Kids who had a pass to be in the computer lab were let in by me, and I took the passes and kept them. A student tried to enter without a pass. The first time he tried to come in, I was at the door, in the doorway, and he tried to push past me by pushing his body against mine. I told him that he was inappropriate and that if he wanted to enter, he could, when he got a pass. He lied about the administrator saying he could be there without a pass, and after pushing and shoving me, he left. He then tried to enter at a side entrance, and being that the lab was enclosed by windows, he signaled a friend inside. As I watched this take place, I ran to the side entrance. The door was open, but I was in the doorway again. I told him the same thing again. This time he shoved me out of the way and tried to punch me in the head, but missed. After numerous tries by three administrators to get him out, they left him inside with me. After making threats of gang violence against me, I called the police and filed a harassment complaint against the student. He was suspended and was allowed to return to the school.
I was sent to a safety school for a week, and began traveling again. A little less than a month later, I was force hired to work at a school in upper Manhattan.
When I arrived at the school, I was the warm body that was “hired” to teach five classes. I never got any assistance with anything. The students had not had a teacher since the first day of school. They only had ATRs from week to week. So, when I arrived they were over two months behind, they were angry because they never had a consistent teacher (thanks to the HR person and the principal), and there were so many things that I needed to know about my students, what they needed to know when I arrived, how to write specific lesson plans, unit plans and a curriculum map. I had over 2 1/2 dozen IEPs to read. I went to a Danielson Training.
My first and last class has LTAs. So, out of 30 students, maybe 4 came regularly. I could not teach the class. However, I was able to do 1:1 as was allowable. Many of my students came in just to sit around and curse at me, or to sleep. The other three periods were a challenge because of all the special needs, ELLs, former ELLS, and ESLs in each of my classes. Out of those two classes, I had some assistance from a para who was really in there for one or two kids.
I never got the assistance that I needed. On December 17th, a 17 year old student, clutching a plastic soda bottle in his hand, first slapped a pad out of my hand, the one I use to write down info for a referral, then he punched me in the back of the head. I was stunned. I summoned a woman across the hall from my classroom, and she told me that I needed to finger the boy. I did, and within 15 seconds, the student began to ransack my room. The police arrived, I filed an assault complaint against the student. He was arrested that day and held in jail until he 23rd, where formal charges were leveled against him. I went to the ER, where I stayed for 7 hours. I was released to my husband.
Within 24 hours, I had to have in all documents related to my Line of Injury. I took care f this, all while my head pounded and I was on edge. I also sent in Medical Leave documents, I had to redo them because the student ransacked my room and the papers were thrown out but he custodians. My medical leave documents are for rotator cuff tear surgery that I had put off so that the students would have consistent teacher. That backfired, and my should tear got worse.
I am suffering from PTSD, and severely depressed. I don’t feel safe enough to enter another school where I have to teach students like the ones I’ve been teaching. I’m terrified and dread that I have to show up to work on Thursday, January 2, 2014.
I don’t even know where I am to go, as the HR person never did her work in removing me from that school’s payroll. So, while I am supposed to be into a safety transfer school, none of the information has been put into the computer, I am in limbo, and I fear having to return to that horrible school because they failed in their due diligence to get me into a safe work environment.
That said. All Teachers, Traveling Teachers, as well as teachers with a home school must be in a safe work environment, as should all students. Without this in place, teachers like myself will be traumatized for a very long time, making it untenable to do our jobs.
I ask you, who among you can lend their voices and boots on the ground to keep us safe? Who among you can stand with myself and other wounded veterans to say Enough is Enough? Public schools need to have a safe work environment for both teachers and students!
Thanks for reading.
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I’m stunned. Prayers for you and your family. No one should have to endure this nonsense and trauma.
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Sounds as if your administrators are engaged in Culturally Responsive discipline.
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Don’t know if you saw this:
Maryland takes on new Common Core role as ‘favor’ to Obama, Gov. O’Malley says
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/19/maryland-takes-on-new-common-core-role-as-favor-to-obama-gov-omalley-says/
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This article is very revealing – bravo to the young woman who wrote it. :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/12/30/five-things-i-did-not-expect-from-my-teach-for-america-experience/
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Diane Ravitch, there are no words great enough to express my APPRECIATION for everything you do on your blog.
From Milford, CT., Please continue to help us make the education system better and help us build an education foundation for the future of our country.
Sincerely Thank You,
Gary,
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How come no one is talking about administrative fraud that hampers student success.
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Hmmm. Maybe because it’s nothing new?
😕
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Diane, a BAT posted this link:
https://ista-in.org/fact-finder-educators-should-be-made-to-work-as-many-hours-as-required-without-pay#.UsdXPe5BPAU.facebook
I’m posting it here; however, NOT sure how to find out if it’s factual or not… this is the same source that had the faulty info about the CECI trying to oust Ritz from last week (or a couple weeks ago). Thoughts? And like I’ve posted, NOTHING surprises me in Indiana anymore.
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Diane: This story just broke on The Washington Post. PLEASE jump all over this. D.C. has the national spot and their defense that “Lots of others are doing it” SCREAMS for a wider investigation. Fingers crossed this is FINALLY the crack in the iron curtain that these grifters have been operating behind.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/new-claims-surface-in-options-charter-school-case/2014/01/03/c02d1f5e-74a4-11e3-8b3f-b1666705ca3b_story.html
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http://www.news.wisc.edu/22393
In the chicken/egg debate of poverty vs. achievement, this article supports the side of decreasing poverty to increase achievement. Kids in poverty are already behind the 8-ball with brain development… learning is more difficult for them because their brains haven’t had the optimal development that kids from higher ses communities have had… especially in the frontal lobe where executive function takes place.
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Please read, comment on, and share my opinion piece that cites Ms. Ravitch in Oregon’s biggest newspaper, The Oregonian:
–
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/01/what_matters_to_teachers_and_s.html
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Dangerous weather, and Chicago Public Schools are to be open????
Karen Lewis is stepping in: http://www.ctunet.com/blog/ctu-demands-cps-close-schools-due-to-weather-emergency
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FINALLY! Common sense has prevailed… and it took a boat load of public outcry before they finally closed schools for Monday.
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Hi, Diane. I enjoyed Mr. Flavin’s fine article. I call your attention to the Battle Creek Enquirer, Sunday, January 5, 2014 editorial entitled “Transparency and Teachers.” You were mentioned in the editorial in a positive light several times. An independent analyst had been commissioned by the newspaper to conduct a survey with the general public on how they viewed our local four school districts in Battle Creek, Mi. The survey was funded by a grant obtained from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
So pleased with your excellent thoughts on public education in America. Thank you.
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Diane,
As a long time investor in several successful education companies, you might find it surprising that I found your new book inspiring and close to the mark. Four years ago, I founded and serve as the not for profit operator of Green Street Academy in Baltimore a transformation soon to be charter school. Your point about the folly of ignoring poverty as well as racial and familial isolation when we look to improve academic outcomes is something we live with every day. Inspiring a hungry kid or one – like over 15% of our kids – who doesn’t have a permanent address is very very hard. I never expected we’d use our greenhouse and talapia fish farm as tools for parental engagement but realities are what they are.
We have magnificent union teachers and a dedicated board who are deeply committed to the proposition that every kid deserves a great public education. Come visit us and meet our kids, almost a third of which have IEP’s as well as Baltimore’s 2013 teacher of the year, Ketia Stokes.
The intellectual force of your arguements are strong enough that demonizing everyone who may have the slightest disagreement with you as you do in chapter 3, lumping some very well intentioned folks with ALEC creates so much more heat than light. It adds you to the mess of shrill talking heads and demeans the factual basis of so much of what you say. No doubt the stakes are high but at the end of the day, this is all about inspiring kids and families. One at a time. We need all the help we can for that.
Thank you for a courageous timely book.
David Warnock
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David, thank you for your generous comments. Believe me, it was not my intent to demonize those who are trying their best to help society’s neediest kids, as you are. Unfortunately, ALEC has written charter legislation and states like North Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee are following the ALEC template, not yours. Their leaders want to privatize education and monetize education and are expanding the charter sector to do so. If you have been following the stories about ECOT and White Hat in Ohio, again you see clever business people making millions from taxpayers to run charters for their profit. If you read Anthony Cody’s latest column on K12, you know about the ways the virtual charter industry has turned public dollars into profit. I have met other charter leaders like you who are trying to make a difference. My chapter on charters near the end suggests that the way forward is through collaboration, not competition. And I would be happy to see for-profit management of charter schools prohibited.
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Please don’t forget that the profits of Pearson in one quarter dwarf the combined profits of most every education service provider – these publishers print money and no one seems to mind. Add in McGraw Hill and HMH – why do you think the buyout firms love these companies? not because of academic outcomes. and oh by the way Pearson now owns the second largest virtual charter operator, Connections Academy.
When there is so much open source curriculum out there why on earth do we spend hundreds of millions of $ on text books? craziness, expensive craziness.
As far as for profit charters are concerned, its my perception that there is simply not enough per student money to make these business’ good ones in the long run. As long as – and this is a big one – there is transparency in terms of academic outcomes. Look at K-12, they had a good highly profitable run until people began taking an intelligent look at the academic outcomes. Even K12 if you look at the profits they make and compare them to the capital invested, it hasnt been very good. it will warm your hear to know that there is no new venture capital today going into new virtual charters that i’m aware of.
i am however very excited about the opportunity for public schools to strike back with their own virtual academies – why shouldn’t every kid have access to world languages, AP courses, even post secondary credits while they are in a public high school. By creating a district wide virtual academy, we can do that with union teachers and on line technology. lets do that together.
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As the president of a teacher’s association, I feel it my duty to offer the points of view your blog offers in regard to the big business realities of the education killing machine called Common Core. The fact that so many states simply said “Yes” to this non-vetted so called silver bullet demonstrates the terrifying reality that lockstep teaching is merely a mirror of the lockstep thinking of legislators and school district leaders.
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After considering the matter for some time, I have found that I agree with David Coleman. I really don’t give a shit about what he feels or what he thinks.
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Diane,
My husband sent me the following editoria, recently published in The New York Times. I was wondering if you’d care to comment on it.
Best wishes, and good health in 2014!
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Diane,
Check this out from Morgan Hill California
http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/schools/county-staff-recommends-denial-of-navigator-s-charter-petition/article_bee1fce2-7a57-11e3-b90b-001a4bcf6878.html?_dc=716831622878.0896
County staff recommends denial of Navigator’s charter petition
Posted on January 10, 2014
Scott Forstner Staff writer by Scott Forstner
Two days after one charter school management company withdrew its petition, Santa Clara County Office of Education staff has recommended denial of a second charter petition, still currently on appeal before its local Board of Education.
Both petitions sought to open elementary schools within the Morgan Hill Unified School District boundaries for the 2014-15 school year.
The County Board has the final say, however, and is still scheduled to vote on Gilroy-based Navigator Schools’ petition at its Jan. 15 meeting in San Jose.
“We’ve got one last chance to basically refute (the county staff’s recommendation) and let the public officials weigh the truth,” said Navigator co-founder James Dent, whose organization has successfully launched charter schools in Gilroy and Hollister.
However, county staff expressed concern with Navigators’ “rate of expansion” by hoping to open a third charter school in Morgan Hill – one year after launching Hollister Prep on the R.O. Harden Elementary School campus and three years after its flagship charter in Gilroy.
County staff was concerned with “the capacity of the leadership team to successfully oversee three new schools in four years, each in a distinctive community with unique needs and student populations.” Additionally, county staff was unsure if Navigator could establish the same “unique rapport” with MHUSD staff that it shares in Gilroy and Hollister.
“Although there is no one major deficiency in the Petition, the fact that there are weaknesses in multiple areas of the Petition, as stated above, is disconcerting,” reads the county staff recommendation. “Most notable is the lack of specificity in the areas of the education program and in finance.”
Dent was puzzled by the county’s conclusion in both areas since Gilroy Prep, in its first two years, scored a 978 and 942 respectively on the Academic Performance Index. The first year was the highest API for in the history of California. The API is the state’s yardstick for measuring academic achievement and the benchmark is 800. Dent also noted that Navigator Schools is in excellent financial footing with a reserve well above the state’s requirement of having a 3 to 5 percent operational reserve.
However, county staff concluded that Navigator was “demonstrably unlikely to successfully implement the program…(and) does not provide a reasonably comprehensive description of several essential charter elements.”
The MHUSD Board of Education denied Navigator Schools petition by a 6-1 vote back in October. Dent then appealed to the County Board, which will vote Wednesday. Dent previously stated that Navigator is prepared to take the next step by appealing to the State’s Board of Education if necessary.
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An earlier report by the MHT stated that the Santa Clara County School Board was impressed with the detailed careful rebuttal/refusal of the Charter application by the Morgan Hill School District. An in-depth analysis showing that the school was not only NOT Needed, but unlikely to provide any significant benefit.
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Hear is a positive bit of news coming from a NYC public school. Community Learning School P.S. 65Q’s fourth grade students have spearheaded a fundraising campaign for a community animal shelter, Heavenly Angels Animal Rescue. Although, each grade selects a monthly charitable endeavor to support, this is our first attempt at using Social Media and the internet to assist. You can learn more about this venture by searching “PS 65 service project” on facebook or visiting http://www.booster.com/ps65Q.
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Please read this, it is spot on! http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/give-childhood-back-to-children-if-we-want-our-offspring-to-have-happy-productive-and-moral-lives-we-must-allow-more-time-for-play-not-less-are-you-listening-gove-9054433.html
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Hi Diane, I thought you’d like to share this with your audience. Time for the 2013 Bunkum Awards from the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) out of Boulder. I especially like the “We’re Pretty Sure We Could Have Done More with $45 Million” Award, which went to the Gates Foundation and its Measures of Effective Teaching Project. A close second for me was the “It’s Just Not Fair to Expect PowerPoints to Be Based on Evidence” Award, which went to Elliot Smalley of Tennessee’s Achievement School District and Patrick Dobard of the Louisiana Recovery School District. I’ve included the link for your enjoyment. The NEPC has some pretty good research articles out about the reform movement and its pseudoscience. http://nepc.colorado.edu/think-tank/bunkum-awards/2013
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ANY organization (like the NEPC, which I greatly respect) that claims to provide objective, peer-reviewed research should not be involved in such belittling tactics like the “Bunkum Awards”. Please rise above the crap, not plunge yourselves into it.
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Hey Diane,
Love your blog. Thanks for keeping up the good fight. It is very disheartening to hear what is going on country wide with public education, but at least we know here, in NC, that there are others behind us fighting for the just and proper cause of public education. Just wanted to send you a link about final grades for first semester classes. As we are giving finals and finalizing semester grades, across the state this week, this was released yesterday.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/14/4610889/state-exams-delay-cms-first-semester.html#.UtaMAyf-2wE
How does a system not have a process in place to have these scores converted and back to the teachers in a timely manner? One thing to keep in mind here, they are saying they will have the converted scores back by the end of January or beginning of February, the new semester for these students and teacher (who will have to deal with these grade changes) will have already been in session for 1-2 weeks.
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Hi Diane,
I am a middle school librarian living in Upstate NY. I love receiving your blog and cannot thank you enough for your honest words and ability to cut to the chase to let others know what is really happening in education.
I am writing with perhaps an odd request. I saw your post about the production of “Twelfth Night” and it peaked my interest. I was an english major in college and loved my literature classes. I thought this would be a wonderful show to take my 13 year old son to – he’s very interested in the arts and loves musicals and theater.
I made arrangements for my family to be in NYC this weekend as it is a three-day weekend and tried securing tickets to the show with no avail. It must be very good, as you said, it’s sold out! I tried getting tickets for the Sat. performance (1/18) or the Sunday matinee at 3 pm. I had no luck other than going through an expensive vendor and spending about $500 which I simply cannot afford. I really couldn’t spend more than about $300 total.
So, I know it is long shot – but if you or one of your followers might know of a way that we can obtain two tickets to either show at a more reasonable cost- I would be ever so grateful. It never hurts to try and I would really like to give this gift to my son – I know he’ll never forget it.
Thanks for listening and all that you do for us in education – especially us librarians!
Sharon
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Sharon,
Call the boxoffice and see how far in advance you have to book tickets. It is the most popular show in NYC and it is hard to get tickets. But if you are willing to wait–and the wait is worth it–you should be able to buy directly from the boxoffice.
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Hello Diane –
Thank you for the advice. My husband and I did some searching on Craigslist and were able to secure two tickets to see this Saturday’s performance of Richard III. We are so excited! I remember you saying you wanted to see this show next so I am sure it will be as good as Twelfth Night. I know this will mean so much to our son – exposing children to the arts is a wonderful thing. I know you agree. I wanted to thank you for writing about it on your blog, otherwise, I wouldn’t have known. I simply cannot wait- I have a feeling this will be a show like no other!
Sharon
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Sharon Bush,
Wonderful! It will be q great experience. Someone old me the o stage stalls sell for $25 but I don’t know if that’s true
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Dear Diane,
Please move to Indiana, kick all the bums out of the state government who have turned against education, and help Glenda Ritz fix it.
Sincerely,
Hannah
😉 😛
PS: Only one I voted for was Glenda!!!!!
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Diane,
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing merit pay at the behest of billionaires. I write about it here:
http://sullio.blogspot.com/2014/01/who-funds-new-yorks-funds.html
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Diane, yesterday in NC there was a forum to discuss ending tenure in this state. 4 people showed up because it was scheduled at 1 pm. How many school teachers are free at 1pm on a school day? In my opinion, that scheduling was deliberate.
http://m.wunc.org/?utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwunc.org%252Fpost%252Fteachers-fight-over-loss-tenure-new-contracts%26h%3D8AQF1aeli%26enc%3DAZPKmZNKY_7apwwjIsiCsALLhDHchb-NM32BTLU5arBH_iMsvhFHI68S8kTu0ijn2rWQnnW9DoDLXDOmKdlvlp7B5Z_YC40N4kjU4UyRS9TA8qsj2hjwwB4-zZEAAKiHzZ1pubJeucWxsAKvigf6TWMb%26s%3D1#mobile/29023
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