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Julian Vasquez Heilig: The Eight Questions Betsy DeVos Will Never Answer About Vouchers

By dianeravitch
April 30, 2017 //
8

Julian Vasquez Heilig dissects the claims about vouchers by posing eight questions about vouchers that Betsy DeVos cannot or will not ever answer.

First is, where did the idea come from? Well, there is that famous essay by libertarian economist Milton Friedman in 1955, but there is also the advocacy of Southern politicians following the Brown decision. Friedman had the idealistic belief that parents should spend their education voucher in any school. Southern politicians persistently and loudly called for “school choice” as a way to preserve racially segregated schools.

Julian also asks about the international repute of the free market and mentions Chile, which has seen the inevitable segregation that follows vouchers. He might have also mentioned Sweden, which took the same path, and found not only increased segregation but plummeting scores on international tests.

Voucher advocates have noticed that research does not support their claims about higher test scores or better education so they have resorted to advocating for choice for the sake of choice.

Today we have the unprecedented phenomenon of a U.S. Secretary of Education who advocates for a policy that will produce ever higher levels of segregation. This is wrong.

Categories Betsy DeVos, International, Segregation, Vouchers

Kelvin Smythe: When Pooh and Christopher Robin Went Searching for a 21st Century Education

By dianeravitch
April 18, 2017 //
9

Kelvin Smythe is an educator and blogger in New Zealand who left the education system when the ideas of the New Right took over. He has since been a critic and an activist.

A friend Down Under sent me one of his recent writings, in which Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet and Christopher Robin go searching for a 21st Century Education.

But first a bit about Smythe. He wrote this about his views:

Kelvin Smythe makes a plea for teachers to see behind the commodification of education, the managerialism, the data gathering, the claims of new knowledge, the fads, the array of electronics to what teaching is really about – key interactions between teacher, child, and what is being learnt. He knows that many of his concerns about education, his aspirations for education, his style of writing about them will be dismissed as out-of-date. His claim, though, is that these key interactions are the essence of what teaching should be, and are timeless.

In the story he tells about Pooh and friends, there is this beginning:

Just as they came to the Six Pine Trees, Pooh looked around to see that nobody else was listening, and said in a very solemn voice: ‘Piglet, I have decided something.’

‘What have you decided Pooh?’

‘I have decided to catch a 21st Century Education.’

Piglet asked, ‘But what does a 21st Century Education look like? Then continued thoughtfully: ‘Before looking for something, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.’

Smith then observes:

We are, it seems, getting ourselves tied in knots about something called 21st century education – before looking for it, as Piglet suggests, it might be wise to find out what we are looking for.

This could be done in respect to how it might differ from what went before, how it might be the same as what went before, how it might be worse than went before, who is supposed to benefit from it, who is calling for it, does it exist, should it exist, what are its aims and, being education, how much is career- or self-serving bollocks.

I intend this posting to be a search for something called a 21st century education.

As part of that I declare my prior understandings about the concept – a concept because there has never been any discussion about something called 20th century education, it was never conceptualised in that way, so why for 21st century education?

The formation and high usage of the concept label suggests powerful forces at work – forces, I suggest, taking control of the present to control the future.

Those active in promoting the concept of 21stcentury education are mostly from political, technology, and business groupings, also some academics: the immediate future they envisage as an extension and intensification of their perception of society and education as they see it now. And in the immediate future, as well as the longer term one, they see computers at the heart of 21st century education, which is fair enough as long as the role of computers is kept in proportion as befits a tool, a gargantuanly important one, but still a tool….

Smythe goes on to write about the dominant philosophy behind the 21st century education hullaballoo.

School education is being pressured to inappropriate purposes by groups who claim a hold on the future and from that hold generate techno-panic to gain advantage in the present.

Another prior understanding is that the inappropriate use of computers for learning has contributed to the decline in primary school education (though well behind the contribution of national standards and the terrible education
autocracy of the education review office).

For all the talk of personalising learning, of building learning around the child, of individualising learning, the mandating question for 21st century education seems to be: how can we build the digital into learning instead of how can we best do the learning? And even further: how can we build schools for digital learning instead of what is best for children’s learning environment? Large open spaces are not the best environment for children’s learning, meaning that in combination with the heavy use of computers to make large open spaces ‘work’, a distinct problem is developing. Computers and large open spaces are being promoted by 21st century advocates as the two key ideas to carry us forward to the education for the 21st century.

I think you will find this an interesting read and will spot the commonalities that we face, in the U.S., Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand. It is the phenomenon that Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg calls GERM (the Global Education Reform Movement). Its proponents say that it is sweeping the world, and that the train has left the station. But please notice that educators and children are not on the train. They are on the tracks.

Categories Common Core, Corporate Reform, For-Profit, Global Education Reform Movement (GERM), International, Real Education, Technology, Computers

Singapore Will Drop Grades, Reduce Testing

By dianeravitch
March 11, 2017 //
18

Singapore has decided to eliminate grades. No more standardized testing for young children.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39142030

Singapore has decided that values and character must be emphasized, not test-taking skills.

The BBC reports:

“Singapore is in top place in the international rankings for education. But it wants the next upgrade of its school system to focus on keeping students positive and resilient.

“Dr Lim Lai Cheng, former head of the prestigious Raffles Institution school in Singapore and director at the Singapore Management University, explains the push for character as well as qualifications.

“It was no accident that Singapore created one of the world’s highest performing education systems in five decades.

“Reminiscent of the examinations for selecting mandarins in old China, the road to success in Singapore has always been focused on academic credentials, based on merit and allowing equal access for all.

“This centralised system helped Singapore to create social cohesion, a unity of purpose among its schools and an ethos of hard work that many nations envy.

“But the purpose of the education system has changed and Singapore in 2017 is no longer the fledgling state it was in 1965.

“Schools have become highly stratified and competitive. More advantaged families are better able to support their children with extra lessons outside of school, such as enrichment classes in mathematics, English, dance and music.

“Those who can’t afford this have to depend on their children’s own motivation and the resources of the school to catch up.

“Dr Lim Lai Cheng says the school system needs to encourage well-being

“This social divide continues to widen because the policies that had won the system its accolades – based on the principle of meritocracy – no longer support the social mobility they were meant to bring about.
So work is in progress to tackle anything in the system that seems to be working against social cohesion.

“This time around, it will no longer be enough to develop a highly-skilled workforce to plug into the global economy.

“The next update of the education system will have to ensure that Singapore can create a more equitable society, build a stronger social compact among its people while at the same time develop capabilities for the new digital economy.

“Government policies are moving away from parents and students’ unhealthy obsession with grades and entry to top schools and want to put more emphasis on the importance of values.
Schools have been encouraged, especially for the early elementary years, to scrap standardised examinations and focus on the development of the whole child.”

Interestingly, the Singapore school
Authorities were influenced by the work of Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania.

Categories Childhood, International, Testing

What You Need to Know about Putin and Trump

By dianeravitch
March 10, 2017 //
35

This is a long, a very long, article in the New Yorker. It was written by Evan Osnos, David Remnick, and Joshua Yaffa. David Remnick is the editor-in-chief of the New Yorker and a Russian specialist. The article is a history of the past twenty years of relations between the United States and Russia. It gives an in-depth explication of Vladimir Putin. It explains the origins of the new cold war. It explains the long history of cyberwarfare between our nations. You should set aside about 30-45 minutes to read it.

There is another article that is worth your while. It was written by Masha Geffen, and it is shorter that the New Yorker article.

Masha Gessen is a Russian-American writer who has been publishing articles in the New York Times and the New York Review of Books, among other outlets.

In this article that appeared in the New York Review of Books, Gessen describes the life of certain dissidents. Russia is not a normal country. Putin is not a normal leader. Dissidents are suddenly killed and/or poisoned.

Thus, when Trump talks about his admiration for Putin, you can be sure that he knows nothing about the events portrayed here. Or maybe doesn’t care.

Marsha Gessen wrote another article in the New York Review of Books, warning that our obsession with the Russian conspiracy will
Ultimately prove fruitless because there will never be a smoking gun. In the meanwhile, too little attention is paid to Trump’s determination to “deconstruct the administrative state,” as Steve Bannon put it. To destroy public education, reduce healthcare insurance, cut taxes for elites, impose religious discrimination, and harm the most vulnerable among us.

However, if a foreign power–any foreign power–interfered in our national elections, that is an unprecedented threat to our democracy. Many Americans, including me, find it hard to believe that this mendacious and hate-filled clown won the election.

http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/03/06/trump-russia-conspiracy-trap/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20James%20Baldwin%20Russia%20conspiracies&utm_content=NYR%20James%20Baldwin%20Russia%20conspiracies+CID_1ea8302b7e7aabe466bf844bb89c8ebb&utm_source=Newsletter

Categories Democracy, International, Trump

A Must-See Oscar-Winning Documentary: “The White Helmets”

By dianeravitch
March 4, 2017 //
42

Tonight, I watched “The White Helmets,” which won the Oscar for best foreign documentary. It is well worth watching, though I don’t recommend that you watch it while eating a meal. It is heart-rending. It is about a corps of volunteers who save lives in Syria when the bombs are falling. Not much is said about politics. It is about humanity. It is hard to forget that the bombs are falling because the Syrian dictator Assad decided to obliterate his own people rather than compromise and risk losing power. The bombs are falling because Russian airplanes are targeting apartment buildings and hospitals.

President Obama drew a line in the sand a few years ago and said that Assad must go. But then he did nothing. Hillary Clinton wanted a no-fly zone to stop the aerial bombardments of civilian targets, but Obama vetoed that. He thought it might anger the Russians, who were intent on protecting Assad.

The film says that 400,000 Syrians have been killed, as Assad continues to eliminate his population, and the Russians carry out their deadly airstrikes to support their ally. Millions of Syrians have left their homes, but we don’t want them. We won’t help them, and we don’t want them.

The cinematographer for this Academy Award-winning film was barred from entering the country by Trump’s Muslim ban. He did not attend the ceremony when his film won the Oscar.

P.S. I don’t usually watch Netflix because it profits Reed Hastings, who is one of the big funders of charter schools. But I wanted to see this moving film.

Categories International

This is Not Bedtime Reading: The International Movement to “Drain the Swamp,” by Alexander Dugin

By dianeravitch
February 25, 2017 //
41

Reader David Phillips sent this translation of Alexander Dugin’s analysis of Trump’s election, in which he declared that the hegemony of modern liberalism was at last over. Dugin, as I noted in an earlier post, is considered “Putin’s Brain.”

Now, he says, Russia and America will “drain the swamp” together. Rid it of its corrupt elements.

“The Swamp” is to become the new name for the globalist sect, the open society adepts, LGBT maniacs, Soros’ army, the post-humanists, and so on. Draining the Swamp is not only categorically imperative for America. It is a global challenge for all of us. Today, every people is under the rule of its own Swamp. We, all together, should start the fight against the Russian Swamp, the French Swamp, the German Swamp, and so on. We need to purge our societies of the Swamp’s influence. Instead of fighting between ourselves, let us drain it together. Swamp-drainers of the whole world unite!… We need a Nuremberg Trial for Liberalism, the last totalitarian political ideology of Modernity. Let us close this page of history….

The USA is the Far West of the world. It is the space of Midnight. And there the final point of the Fall is reached. The moment at hand is one of a change of poles. The West turns into the East. Putin and Trump are in two opposite corners of the planet. In the 20th century, these two extremes were embodied by the most radical forms of Modernity – capitalism and communism. Two apocalyptical monsters – Leviathan and Behemoth. Now they have turned into two eschatological promises: Putin’s Greater Russia and America liberating itself under Trump. The 21st century has finally begun.

So all we need now is the Fire.

This is scary stuff. Lunatics of the world, unite. Your time has come.

Categories International

Alexander Dugin, “Putin’s Brain,” Loves Trump

By dianeravitch
February 25, 2017 //
9

The Chicago Tribune published an article about the strange Alexander Dugin, known as Putin’s brain. He is Putin’s Bannon.

Dugin is an unreconstructed admirer of old-style Soviet hegemony. He longs to create a Russian-Islamic alliance (including Iran) and break up the western alliance. The article describes his behind-the-scenes work to repair relations between Turkey and Russia.

“Dugin, who’s been described as everything from an occult fascist to a mystical imperialist, lost his prestigious job running the sociology department at Moscow State University in 2014 after activists accused him of encouraging genocide. Thousands of people signed a petition calling for his removal after a rant in support of separatists in Ukraine in which he said, “kill, kill, kill.”…..

“Dugin, who has long predicted the demise of “the West’s liberal hegemony,” said the election of Trump promises to change the course of world history.

“Incredibly beautiful-one of the best moments of my life,” he said after Trump’s inauguration.

“After decades of railing against Washington for seeking the “Westernization of all of humanity,” Trump’s elevation has led to a Damascene conversion for Dugin, who declared anti-Americanism “over.”

“America not only isn’t an opponent, it’s a potential ally under Trump,” he said.

“Now Dugin’s focusing on Europe, where he’s been cultivating ties with anti-establishment parties that threaten a political and military union seven decades in the making.

“With key elections in France, Germany and the Netherlands this year, the Russian polemicist has a new mantra for Europe that’s ripped straight out of Trump’s campaign playbook:

“Drain the swamp.”

Categories International, Trump

Kenyan Court Blocks For-Profit Bridge International Academies

By dianeravitch
February 19, 2017 //
4

For those of us who find for-profit schooling offensive, this is good news:

If you cannot read this email, follow http://bit.ly/2lT2vHG

Dear Diane,

A judgement delivered yesterday by a Kenyan Court upholds the action taken by Busia County Government to close down ten Bridge International Academies – the largest and most contested chain of low-cost private schools – for violating education norms and standards. It marks a turning point and must signal a move towards fulfilling the right to education in Kenya and other countries, say five organisations. This could be a landmark case as the legality of Bridge Academies’ operations is increasingly contested in Kenya and Uganda.

Nairobi, Kenya, 17 February 2017

Just over a month after the High Court of Kampala, in Uganda, allowed the Ugandan Government to close all schools run by Bridge International Academies (BIA) in the country, the High Court of Kenya in Busia County announced yesterday in a similar case that the Busia County Education Board could proceed in closing ten Bridge schools operating in the Busia county for failing to meet education standards.

Hon. Justice Korir ruled yesterday that it dismissed a complaint from Bridge, which sought to contest a decision by the Busia County Education Board to close their schools. The judge allowed Busia County to close 10 of the schools for which there were school inspection reports recommending closure, out of the 12 in the County. He ordered that the Bridge schools remain open until the end of the current school term (in April), for the County to secure placement in a public school for the affected children. The Busia County has 45 days from the date of the judgement to show evidence that another school has been found for the children.

The County Education Board had decided in November 2014 to close Bridge schools in Busia for not complying with the minimum education standards, including failure to employ trained and registered teachers and managers, inappropriate facilities, and lack of an environmental impact assessment. After the Board moved to enforce its decision in March 2016, Bridge International responded by suing it and its director on the ground that they did not follow the adequate process.

“Beyond just the case of Busia, the Kenyan Ministry of Education has held various meetings with BIA to ask the company to comply with regulations. They wrote to the company at least twice on 17th November 2014 and 17th February 2016, based on internal reports raising concerns about BIA’s compliance with the law, apparently without success. The Kenya Ministry of Education wrote again to BIA on 31st August 2016 with a 90-day deadline until 30th November last year to comply with guidelines and standards. It seems that rather than complying with Kenyan laws, which they’ve had ample time to follow since they opened in Kenya in 2009, BIA keeps on using delaying tactics. The decision shows that the County of Busia was right in demanding standards to be enforced. It is time for the rule of law to be respected. Children’s rights are not negotiable, even by powerful international companies,” reacted Abraham Ochieng, from the Kenyan organisation East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights).

The judgement confirms that, contrary to what the company has claimed, BIA had been duly informed by the local and national authorities of the legal requirements it had to follow, but failed to take appropriate action to meet those standards.

Boaz Waruku, from the Africa Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA), commented: “This judgement adds to the similar one in Uganda and is a strong affirmation that Bridge schools do not comply with the minimum education standards in the region. We’re extremely concerned that Bridge Academies, an international profit-driven company with investments that are counted in several billions of Kenya shillings, can come to African countries and charge fees from poor children in our communities without respecting basic laws and education standards of the country.”

Sylvain Aubry, of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) added: “Put simply, together with the Ugandan case, this judgement shows that a multi-million dollars American company, which has the means and resources to comply with regulations, is not fulfilling basic educational standards of two African countries in which it operates. Two UN human rights committee have already raised concerns about this situation. The Government and County authorities are therefore right in taking steps to fulfil their human rights obligations by engaging in dialogue with operators that do not respect standards, and eventually closing them if necessary. It will now be important for the Government to ensure all children affected have access to public schools, as requested by the Judge.”

The decision comes shortly after the Kenya education Cabinet Secretary, Dr Fred Matiang’i, declared that he agreed with a report from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) and Education International (EI) which highlighted the low standards of Bridge schools and the contravention with national law. The report, titled Bridge vs. Reality: a study of Bridge International Academies for-profit schooling in Kenya, also emphasised the lack of training and difficult working conditions of the teachers, as well as the high hidden fees charged by the company. During the launch of the report on 5 December 2016, Dr Fred Matiang’i, indicated that he would take a decision soon as to the course of action, as reported in the local and international media.

In line with the civil society statements for the case in Uganda, the five organisations signing this statement call on the Kenyan Government to ensure timely and orderly transition of affected students to nearby government schools to ensure the uninterrupted full realisation of the right to education of all children. The signatory organisations also remain highly concerned that BIA’s shareholders, among them high profile investors such as Mark Zuckerberg, Omidyar, Novastar, the World Bank Group, the British development agency and the U.S. Government’s development finance institution could be failing on their due diligence obligations and responsibilities, which might have legal implications.

The organisations supporting this statement are ready to work with the County of Busia, the Government of Kenya, and other interested authorities to support the development of a quality public education system in which all schools comply with human rights norms and standards.

*************************
Background on Bridge International Academies
Bridge International Academies Ltd (BIA) is an American based company registered in Delaware. Operating for-profit the company runs a commercial, private chain of nursery and primary schools. With over 400 institutions and 100,000 children in enrolled BIA schools, it is the largest chain of commercial private schools worldwide.

BIA is one of the most controversial chains of private schools. The use of standardised curriculum developed abroad, the poor working conditions of teachers and the robotization of their work, profit-making by charging poor families in informal settlements, and questions about its respect for some national education and health and safety standards are some of the most debated aspects of Bridge’s operations.

BIA has received funding from several large corporations, investors and development partners including the Omidyar Network founded by the billionaire creator of eBay, Pearson (the world’s largest educational business), Novastar Ventures, Kholsa Ventures, philanthropist Bill Gates, Facebook founder’s Zuckerberg Education Ventures, the International Finance Corporation (a branch of the World Bank Group), the UK’s Commonwealth Development Corporation (with funds from the Department for International Development – DFID) and the US Government Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

The company opened its first school in Mukuru kwa Njenga slum in Kenya in 2009, by 2015 the company had 405 schools in Kenya, as well as other schools in Uganda, Nigeria, Liberia, and India. BIA seeks to grow further with the aim of reaching 10 million students by 2025.

Key Documents
· Court judgement: http://bit.ly/2kRzxnG
· Information statement on ongoing cases involving Bridge International Academies in Kenya and Uganda: http://bit.ly/2eFckEp
· Human rights bodies statements related to States’ obligations with regards to Bridge International Academies: http://bit.ly/2fXvM11
· Human rights analysis of data on Bridge Academies in Kenya http://bit.ly/2h66Br3 and related blog post http://bit.ly/2kngeEW
· Kenya National Union of Techers (KNUT) and Education International (EI) report (December 2016) on BIA in Kenya: Bridge vs. Reality: a study of Bridge International Academies for-profit schooling in Kenya: https://download.ei-ie.org/Docs/WebDepot/Bridge%20vs%20Reality_GR%20Report.pdf
· Education International report (sept 2016) on BIA in Uganda: Schooling the Poor profitably: the innovations and deprivations of Bridge International Academies in Uganda: http://bit.ly/2cSQidq
· August 2016 statement by civil society on the closure of BIA in Uganda: http://bit.ly/2fTQM8Q
· May 2015 statement signed by 120 organisations related to the World Bank’s support to BIA: http://bit.ly/statementWBprivatisation
· July 2016 UN Resolution urging States to regulate education providers and support public education: http://bit.ly/PRHRC2016eng

Key Contacts
· EACHRights: Abraham Ochieng’, info@eachrights.or.ke; abraham@eachrights.or.ke; +254701670090
· ANCEFA: Boaz Waruku, +254 722 663290⁠, boaz.waruku@gmail.com
· GI-ESCR: Sylvain Aubry, sylvain@globalinitative-escr.org, +254 7 88 28 96 34

Signatories
· Africa Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA)
· East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights)
· Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
· Hakijamii
· Right to Education Project

Categories For-Profit, International

The Trump Presidency, As Seen from Australia

By dianeravitch
February 2, 2017 //
51

Trump had a phone conversation with the Prime Minister of Australia. Trump was rude, they exchanged words, and Trump hung up on him, 30 minutes early. Trump later boasted about “being tough” on our allies, about how everyone takes advantage of us and it’s time to be “tough,” since (he implied) every previous president was a chump.

He sounds like a schoolyard bully, who ends up with no friends, just those who are afraid of him. His lack of diplomatic skills, his bellicose nature, his need to belittle others–will turn the USA into a pariah nation. He is looking for a fight. I hope we don’t all get hurt to prove how “tough” he is.

How long will the Republican leadership cower in fear?

A friend in Australia sent this news report about Trump’s first week in office.

Categories International, Trump

Henry Levin: School Choice Increases Segregation Without Improving Achievement

By dianeravitch
January 31, 2017 //
9

Henry Levin, the William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, has studied school choice and privatization around the world. Levin says there is no evidence for the efficacy of these strategies.

http://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-01-30/little-global-evidence-suggests-school-choice-helps-performance

Levin writes:

“Some have argued that competitive incentives induced by school choice will lead to better educational outcomes. However, there is little evidence to support this claim.

“Sweden has had an educational voucher system since 1992, but its achievement levels on international tests have been falling for two decades. Chile has had such a system since 1980, and there is little evidence of improvement in achievement relative to countries at similar levels of income. Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the District of Columbia have issued vouchers to low-income families, but sophisticated evaluations find no difference between achievement in private voucher schools and public schools with similar student populations. Students from low-income families in Louisiana who have used vouchers to shift from public to private schools have experienced striking reductions in achievement gains relative to similar students in public schools…..

“In England there has been a dramatic shift from schools governed by public councils to academies run by private groups with great autonomy and the ability to select their own students. The results on student achievement show no distinct advantage, and there are similar results for U.S. charter schools based upon careful statistical comparisons.

“Where school choice has shown powerful effects around the world is the systematic separation of students by ethnicity, social class and religion.

“Sweden’s vouchers have increased segregation by social class and immigrant status. Chile’s voucher system has produced one of the most segregated system of schools in the world by family income. In the Netherlands, studies of the school choice system have pointed to school separation of students by ethnicity, immigrant status and family income. A Brookings Institution study found that U.S. charter schools are more segregated racially and socio-economically than public schools in surrounding areas. The Program for International Student Assessment, an important triennial study of international student performance, finds school segregation by social class is associated with school choice.

“Although even public schools have segregation challenges typically caused by residential location, school choice tends to streamline the racial, social class and ethnic isolation of students, as well as separate them by political ideology and religion.”

Categories International, School Choice, Vouchers
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