Thank you, Alabama!
You rebuffed not only Roy Moore, you rejected Trump and Bannon.
You rejected racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, and all the other appeals to hatred and disunity.
Doug Jones brought together whites, African Americans, Latinos in a spirit of dignity and respect.
I have been hearing from family members tonight who say their faith and hope for the future is renewed.
Thank you, Alabama, and Thank you, Doug Jones, for renewing our hope.
Having watched the non-debate about the GOP Tax bill in the Senate, having seen it rushed through without time for anyone to read what was in it, knowing that the bill is very harmful to education at every level, Peter Greene is depressed. Very depressed.
Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel and accept a two-tier system of schools: one for the fortunate and affluent, another for the kids who are going nowhere.
“So maybe we do need a two-tiered system of schools in this country. One tier for the wealthy, some nice private schools (complete with vouchers that give yet another kickback of tax dollars to the rich) that prepare them to be future leaders and well-off masters of the universe. And then another tier for those who had the misfortune to be poor and must be prepared to live on the bottom rungs of the ladder, because there is no hope in hell that they will ever get out. Oh, sure, a handful now and then will be found worthy, just to keep the fiction alive that we still have the prospect of upward mobility in this country (and always making sure to include a person or two of color so that it’s clear, you know, that we aren’t that racist). But mostly they will need the skills and training to survive in America’s basement, because if they’re born there, they will probably stay there, always living one health problem or bad accident away from financial ruin, never able to afford any education after high school, and condemned to a high school that is either an underfunded public school or a selective and possibly fraudulent charter school, established specifically to help them be more comfortable in their proper place (perhaps delivered through some half-assed software program that maintains their permanent personnel file for the convenience of their corporate overlords). Certainly this is what some people already envision; it’s what Betsy DeVos means when she suggests that students should be “allowed” to go to school in a place that’s the “best fit,” like a snotty rich girl in an 80s comedy looking down her nose at lower class children and saying, “Dear, wouldn’t you be happier somewhere with your own kind?””
Yeah, things look grim. And with these heartless soulless troglodytes in charges, things are grim.
But we can’t give up hope. We can’t stop fighting. We can’t abandon our ideals. We can’t let them win.
Think of all the times in history when evil was triumphant. Think of the tyrannies that had their day, but were eventually overturned. Resistance is hard but it will not be futile.
There are just a few weeks left in 2017. Then it is 2018, and we are on track for a new round of elections. Let’s begin to plan and start to fight. Let us not let evil Triumph. And above all, never lose hope because to lose hope is to lose everything. We neeed the will to fight for what we believe is right. We must start now.
Steven Singer finds that there is a missing ingredient in the present discourse about School Reform. Reformers think they have made great strides if they open more opportunities for choice. What reformers have not been willing to do is to guarantee that every child has the right to an excellent education.
We know what excellent education looks like. It is the education that the 1% demand for their own children. Small classes. Experienced teachers. Beautiful grounds. Ample supplies. A well-stocked library. A curriculum that takes every child as far as they can go. No obsession with test scores.
So why do reformers want other people’s children in overcrowded classes, staffed by inexperienced teachers, focused in tests. Learning to obey and conform?
Singer writes:
“Let’s get one thing straight: there are plenty of things wrong with America’s school system. But they almost all stem from one major error.
“We don’t guarantee every child an excellent education.
“Instead, we strive to guarantee every child THE CHANCE at an excellent education. In other words, we’ll provide a bunch of different options that parents and children can choose from – public schools, charter schools, cyber schools, voucher schools, etc.
“Some of these options will be great. Some will be terrible. It’s up to the consumer (i.e. parents and children) to decide which one to bet on.
“In many places this results in children bouncing from school-to-school. One school is woefully deficient, they enroll in another one. One school closes suddenly, they start over again at another.
“It’s terribly inefficient and does very little good for most children.
“But that’s because it’s not designed with them in mind. It does not put the child first. It puts the education provider first.
“It is a distinctly privatized system. As such, the most important element in this system is the corporation, business, administrator or entrepreneurial entity that provides an education.
“We guarantee the businessperson a potential client. We guarantee the investor a market. We guarantee the hedge fund manager a path to increased equity. We guarantee the entrepreneur a chance to exploit the system for a profit.
“What we do NOT guarantee is anything for the students. Caveat emptor – “Let the buyer beware.”
“Imagine if, instead, we started from this proposition: every child in America will be provided with an excellent education.
“Sound impossible? Maybe. But it’s certainly a better goal than the one we’re using.”
There is much more. Singer doesn’t have a cookie-cutter in mind.
Dear Readers,
I know you live in every state. You are parents, grandparents, educators, and concerned citizens. Can you respond to this request that I received? Please respond here and I will forward your suggestions to Mr. Casteel.
“Dr. Ravitch,
“Greetings.
“I work for the Danville Regional Foundation (DRF), a place-based, hospital conversion foundation located in Southern Virginia. We focus on the transformation of a region that has a population of about 125,000 in a geographic area on the Virginia/North Carolina border about the size of Rhode Island. Generations ago this region made their economic bets on textile manufacturing and tobacco, and for a few generations that worked out really well. Now the median household income in Danville Virginia is about half that of the state average. And many realize we’re not simply coming out of a recession where things will get back to normal, but we’re struggling to find a new normal in a transformed economy. Our foundation is one of the partners trying to help the region find new competitive advantages. We focus most of our efforts on education, workforce development, economic development, and health and wellness.
“Every other year DRF takes our board of directors on a trip to places which are farther along the developmental curve in certain areas than this region. In the past we’ve been to Greenville SC (downtown revitalization), Lewiston-Auburn Maine (regionalism), and Dubuque Iowa (economic development platforms). We do this not to find silver bullets, or buy models off the shelf and try to plug them in here, but to try and understand the issues more deeply and to “see the possible” of what’s out there and working in other places.
“We want to go to places that look like this region as much as possible, rather than significantly larger and wealthier cities with lots of resources. This year, the board is interested in a trip that would highlight a place that is doing innovative work in education.
“We’ve made some significant investments (for us) in education, including over $9 Million in the region for the creation of a local program focused on early childhood education. With those efforts we realize measuring impact is a long-term prospect. We’re looking for a place being thoughtful about various innovations that are focused not on “failed fads and foolish ideas” and not models built only to improve the test scores, which I fear is what many think success looks like. Ideally, perhaps, would be a school district where the community and the schools have a shared vision about what success looks like for them and agreed upon strategy to get there.
“I very much appreciate your work and ideas in the field and I write today to see if you have any suggestions of places we should consider, or other guidance you can offer.
“Sincerely,
“Clark Casteel”
Mercedes Schneider enjoyed the exchange between Jennifer Berkshire and Peter Cunningham. But she wondered who was funding Cunningham’s “Education Post.”
Read how she investigated the money flow. It is a model of research and creative digging. She knew that money was coming from Walton, Broad, and Bloomberg. But guess who else funds Peter and his $12 million blog?
Ted Dintersmith is a most unusual venture capitalist. He recently co-authored a book with Harvard professor Tony Wagner called “Most Likely to Succeed,” and also produced a documentary of the same name that is critical of rote learning, standardized testing, and no-excuses charter schools.
In this post, EduShyster interviews Ted Dintersmith, and he will surprise you with his candor. He has taken the documentary on the road, to show parents and students the value of project-based learning.
EduShyster asks Dintersmith whether there is any hope, and he tells her to look at any kindergarten and think about ways to capture the spirit and motivation you see there. (That is, unless it is a kindergarten that is subject to standardized testing.)
He answers:
When people say *is there any hope?* I say walk with me through kindergartens all over your state. Look at the the characteristics of every five year old. If we just didn’t screw that up there is every reason to be optimistic. If we could take those characteristics and develop them and make them more powerful through education, there’d be all sorts of reasons for optimism. What kids tell me in state after state—and I’ve now been in 25 out of 50 states with this film—is that when they have the chance to experience project-based learning, they thrive and blossom and develop confidence.
Dintersmith is a huge supporter of projects driven by students’ passions as opposed to adults compelling students to do what they expect of them. This is good news! A venture capitalist who has seen the light.
I am currently reading the book and enjoying it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 