Archives for category: Network for Public Education
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Do You Want to Bid on My Set of the 50-Volume Harvard Classics?

By dianeravitch
November 29, 2017 //
11

Here is a chance to buy a wonderful gift for yourself or your favorite bibliophile.

I am auctioning off my 50-volume set of the Charles Eliot’s Harvard Classics. It is in good-to-very good condition. Some of the pages are uncut. None of the books are damaged.

The volumes are: (1) Franklin, Woolman, Penn (2) Plato, Epictetus, Marcus, Aurelius (3) Bacon, Milton’s Prose, Thomas Browne (4) Complete Poems in English: Milton (5) Essays and English Traits: Emerson (6) Poems and Songs: Burns (7) Confessions of St. Augustine. Imitation of Christ (8) Nine Greek Dramas (9) Letters and Treatises of Cicero and Pliny (10) Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith (11) Origin of Species: Darwin (12) Plutarch’s Lives (13) Aeneid Virgil (14) Don Quixote Part 1: Cervantes (15)Pilgrim’s Progress. Donne and Herbert. Bunyan, Walton (16) The Thousand and One Nights (17) Folk-Lore and Fable. Aesop, Grimm, Andersen (18) Modern English Drama (19) Faust, Egmont Etc. Doctor Faustus, Goethe, Marlowe (20) The Divine Comedy: Dante (21) I Promessi Sposi, Manzoni (22) The Odyssey: Homer (23) Two Years Before the Mast. Dana (24) On the Sublime French Revolution Etc. Burke (25) Autobiography Etc. Essays and Addresses: J.S. Mill, T. Carlyle (26) Continental Drama (27) English Essays: Sidney to Macaulay (28) Essays. English and American (29) Voyage of the Beagle: Darwin (30) Faraday, Helmholtz, Kelvin, Newcomb, Geikie (31) Autobiography: Benvenuto, Cellini (32) Literary and Philosophical Essays: Montaigne, Sainte Beuve, Renan, Lessing, Schiller, Kant, Mazzini (33) Voyages and Travels (34) Descartes, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hobbes (35) Chronicle and Romance: Froissart, Malory, Holinshed (36) Machiavelli, More, Luther (37) Locke, Berkeley, Hume (38) Harvey, Jenner, Lister, Pasteur (39) Famous Prefaces (40) English Poetry 1: Chaucer to Gray (41) English Poetry 2: Collins to Fitzgerald (42) English Poetry 3: Tennyson to Whitman (43) American Historical Documents (44) Sacred Writings 1 (45) Sacred Writings 2 (46) Elizabethan Drama 1 (47) Elizabethan Drama 2 (48) Thoughts and Minor Works: Pascal (49) Epic and Saga (50) Introduction, Readers Guide, Indexes (–) Lectures.

It is known as the Five Foot Shelf.

It is a first edition, dated 1910. I bought the set about 35 years ago from a bookstore in Philadelphia. Some sets, like this one, have 50 volumes; others have 51 or 52.

I was going to sell it on EBay, but I decided instead that it would be a good fundraiser for the Network for Public Education.

The opening bid is $200.

Here is the way it works. Send your bid to Carol Burris. She will report the highest bid to me each night. I will announce it at 8:30 a.m. each day, and the “auction” will end Friday night. The winner will be announced Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. (anonymously, if you prefer).

The winner will send a check or money order made out to “The Network for Public Education,” along with name and address to Carol Burris. I will pack the books and mail them to the winner.

The winner will get a fabulous set of great classics and the satisfaction of helping a good cause.

Send your bid to Carol Burris at:

cburris@networkforpubliceducation.org

If you win, send your check to her at:

The Network for Public Education
PO BOX 150266
Kew Gardens, NY 11415-0266

If you want to make a donation to the Network, please send it to this address.

Categories Network for Public Education

#GivingTuesday: Please Give to The Network for Public Education

By dianeravitch
November 28, 2017 //
0

Please add The Network for Public Education to the list of charitable organizations you support.

Please donate to support our work.
NPE fights for better, stronger public schools.

We vigorously oppose Betsy DeVos’ privatization agenda.

NPE connects activists within and between states. It builds coalitions of people who resist privatization of public schools, high-stakes testing, and corporate invasions of student privacy.

This is our work:

We believe that our society must invest more in its children; that schools should be equitably funded; that teachers should be well-prepared professionals and should be respected and paid as professionals; that all children deserve an excellent education and a curriculum that includes the arts, physical education, history, civics, literature, foreign languages, mathematics, and science; that every school should have small classes, a library with trained librarians; a school nurse; a psychologist and social worker; well-maintained facilities; up-to-date technology, accessible to all students; that public schools should be democratically controlled, academically and financially transparent. We believe that all students should have the opportunity to play an instrument, to perform in an orchestra or a jazz band or a string quartet or alone, to dance in a group or alone, to act in plays, to sing in a chorus, to paint and draw and sculp and engage in whatever artistic expression interests them.

We believe in our teachers and principals. We admire and respect their work.

Help us in our work, as we fight for better public schools for every child.

Categories Education Reform, Network for Public Education

Save the Date: #NPE18Indy on October 20-21, 2018!

By dianeravitch
November 27, 2017 //
10

Exciting news!

The Network for Public Education will hold our 5th Annual National Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 20-21, 2018.

You are invited!

We are jumping right into the heart of Mike Pence country, abetted by our great grassroots Hoosier allies.

We will once again line up great speakers, organize wonderful panels, and we promise you a weekend of inspiration, support, encouragement, and good fellowship.

Mark the date and plan to join us.

See you in Indy!

Categories Indiana, Network for Public Education

MUST READ! A Major Report on Charter Schools by the Network for Public Education

By dianeravitch
November 19, 2017 //
19

The first law authorizing charter schools was authorized by Minnesota in 1991, and the first charter school opened in St. Paul in 1992. The original idea of charters was that they would enroll students with high-needs, would try new approaches, and would share what they learned with the public schools. They were not intended to be competitors with public schools, but to be akin to research and development centers, abetting the work of the public schools.

Now, 25 years later, the charter sector has burgeoned into nearly 7,000 schools enrolling some three million students. Some charters are corporate chains. Some are religious in character. Some operate for profit. Some are owned and run by non-educators.

Instead of collaborating with public schools, most compete for students and resources. Instead of serving the neediest students, many choose the students who are likeliest to succeed.

It is time for a thorough inquiry into the status and condition of charter schools today, and that is what Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education, has done in this report.

An experienced high school principal, Burris has traveled the country, visiting charter schools and talking to parents, teachers, students, and administrators.

Not only has she examined many charters, she reviews the marketing of charters and their fiscal impact on traditional public schools. Policy makers have not expanded the funding at the state or local level to pay for new charters. Instead, they have cut funding for the public schools that typically enroll 85-90% of students. Thus, most students will have larger classes and fewer curriculum choices because of the funding taken away for charter schools. Burris also analyzes the report on charters by the NAACP and the response to it by charter advocates.

This is neither fair nor just nor wise.

This is the only post you will see today, except for a graphic that will pop up in an hour or so.

Take the time to read the entire report.

Let me know what you think.

Categories Accountability, California, Charter Schools, Education Industry, Network for Public Education, Privatization

Jennifer Berkshire: Meet the Pastor Who Fights for Public Schools in Texas

By dianeravitch
November 16, 2017 //
17

In this post, Jennifer Berkshire interviews the remarkable Charles Foster Johnson, the pastor who has brought together hundreds of religious leaders in Texas to fight for public schools and to oppose vouchers. His group, Pastors for Texas Children, is now working with like-minded clergy in other states, especially in the South.

Charlie Johnson believes that the best way to preserve religious liberty is to maintain separation of church and state. He encourages faith leaders to support public schools but keep religion out of the schools and in the houses of worship.

He was one of the keynote speakers at the annual conference of the Network for Public Education in Oakland. You will enjoy watching this passionate pastor win over an audience of educators.

Categories Network for Public Education, Religion, Separation of church and state, Texas

Yohuru Williams at the NPE Conference: A Spectacular Analysis of Betsy DeVos’ Rhetoric

By dianeravitch
November 14, 2017 //
5

If you watch one video today, watch Yohuru Williams take apart the rhetoric of the reformers, piece by piece, word by word.

Yohuru gave this dynamic talk at the annual conference of the Network for Public Education.

He deconstructed Betsy DeVos’ speech at Harvard University. He gave it a close reading.

He literally brought down the house with his humor and sharp intellect.

Yohuru Williams is Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas University in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

He is an expert on African American history. You have probably seen him on one of his many appearances on PBS and the History Channel.

We are fortunate that he is a member of the board of the Network for Public Education.

I was blown away by his presentation. I think you will be too!

Categories Betsy DeVos, Education Reform, Network for Public Education, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Race

Phyllis Bush: This Post Is Not About Me or Cancer

By dianeravitch
November 10, 2017 //
3

Phyllis Bush writes a blog about her battle with cancer. So far, she is winning, which is not surprising because Phyllis is a fighter. She also has an irrepressible sense of humor and insists on calling the disease “cancer-schmanzer.” Many years ago, people called it simply “the C word,” fearful of saying the word. Phyllis refuses to be cowed.

This post is not about cancer.

It is about a cause dear to Phyllis’s heart.

Phyllis lives in Indiana. She is a retired teacher. She has seen the Pence-DeVos privatization movement up close. It is divisive, unproductive, anti-democratic.

I hope you will honor her fight by joining her in the battle to save public education.

Categories Betsy DeVos, Charter Schools, Education Reform, Indiana, Network for Public Education, Pence, School Choice, Vouchers

BOMBSHELL: Dark Money Targets School Board Races for Takeovers

By dianeravitch
October 29, 2017 //
16

Carol Burris and Darcie Cimarusti of the Network for Public Education spent months assembling a portrait of the Dark Money that is now pouring in to local school board races, not to save schools or improve them, but to privatize them.

Valerie astrauss posted their shocking expose here.

Strauss begins:

“The Denver Post’s editorial board recently published a piece endorsing four candidates running for the Denver school board, all of them in support of reforms that employ some basic principles of for-profit businesses to the running of nonprofit public education. The editorial calls their opponents “anti-reformers” (as if they oppose making things better for students) and says they “enjoy plenty of money and energy.” (That, apparently, includes a 19-year-old “anti-reformer” candidate who just graduated from high school.)

“Here’s what it doesn’t mention: the big out-of-state money behind the editorial board’s chosen candidates. This is a phenomenon that we’ve seen for years now, one in which some of America’s wealthiest citizens back school board candidates — even in states in which they don’t reside — to push their view of how public schools should operate. It has happened in Louisiana, California, Minnesota, Arkansas, Washington, etc.

“This is a detailed post explaining the flow of dark money — funds donated to nonprofit organizations that spend the money to influence elections but do not have to disclose where they got it — by looking at the Denver school board race. There are four open seats on the seven-seat board and a total of 10 candidates.”

Who are these billionaires and millionaires who are spending huge sums to buy acquiescence to privatization, whether in Denver or Massachusetts or elsewhere?

Read on.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Dark Money, Denver, Education Industry, Network for Public Education, Privatization

At the NPE Conference, I Explain Who We Are and What We Do

By dianeravitch
October 23, 2017 //
1

The Network for Public Education just held its fourth annual conference in Oakland, California, on October 14-15.

It was a fabulous conference, with great speakers, roundtables, panels, and camaraderie.

I opened the conference on October 14. I introduced our wonderful board and staff (we have 1.5 staff members and hundreds of amazing volunteers).

I described what we are for and what we oppose.

If you agree with us, please join, donate whatever you can, and help us continue our grassroots efforts to strengthen and support public education.

In the days ahead, I will post all the keynote addresses. They were fantastic.

If you knew how inspiring these two days were, you will want to join us next year. I can’t give the location yet, but we will meet in the Midwest.

Categories Accountability, Betsy DeVos, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Childhood, Corporate Reformers, Dark Money, Data and Data Mining, Education Industry, Education Reform, Network for Public Education, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund, Privatization, Testing

A Brief Overview of the NPE Conference in Oakland

By dianeravitch
October 16, 2017 //
21

I write this Sunday night. I will be flying home to New York City while you read this.

It has been an exhilarating few days in Oakland.

I left NYC on Thursday, amidst a lot of anxiety about whether my flight would be canceled and whether the air quality in Oakland would be bad (my lungs are not in great shape because of a pulmonary embolism many years ago). The plane took off three hours late, and I was never so happy to board a flight even though it was delayed.

The sky in Oakland was a brilliant blue but I saw many people wearing face masks. The Marriott, where we held the conference, was giving out face masks. When I checked in, I noticed that there was another conference going on concurrently at the hotel, called the Cannabis Tech Conference. It seems the pot growers were meeting to learn about technology to grow better weed. They were not handing out free samples, but there was definitely some second-hand smoke in the air, and it was not coming from wine country.

On Friday night, Jitu Brown and I had a public conversation at Oakland Technical High School. It was recorded by KPFA, and I will post it as soon as it becomes available. Jitu led the 34-day hunger strike in Chicago to protest the closing of Dyett High School. He and 11 others did not end the strike until the mayor and his hand-picked Board of Education agreed to keep the school open. The city invested $16 Million in renovations. Jitu and the Journey for Justice demonstrated how a small number of determined people can change the world.

The next day began with a dual keynote: one by me, one by board member Yohuru Williams, historian and dean of the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Yohuru was brilliant! I am eager to post his funny, learned, scathing performance about “The Principles We Fight For.” It included a “close reading” of Betsy DeVos’ speech at Harvard, which was a tour de force. I’m glad I didn’t have to follow him.

I won’t attempt to walk you through the many wonderful workshops and keynotes that were available. Investigative journalist Nikole Hannah Jones gave the closing keynote. Only a few days earlier, she learned she had won a McArthur Award for her reporting on racial injustice. She made an impassioned plea to make racial integration the focus of school reform.

All the keynotes and some of the workshops were videotaped.

I will post them as soon as they are ready.

The most important things that happened at the conference were not on stage, but in the hallways, where people from across the country met others they had only heard of. We had parents, teachers, principals, superintendents, local school board members, state school board members, journalists, students. The conversations were buoyant.

No one was paid to attend. Almost everyone paid their own way. The speakers were not paid. This was truly a grassroots effort, run on a shoestring, but a very beautiful, unencumbered shoestring. Nearly 500 people came together to find comfort, fellowship, solidarity, and hope.

We sold books and T-shirts and any proceeds from those sales will be donated to relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Judging by the enthusiastic responses of attendees, I think this was our best conference yet.

The board meets Monday to decide on the location of our next conference.

At one point in the middle of an unusually joyful workshop, I turned to Anthony Cody and said, “Can you believe we started this only four years ago”

Categories Network for Public Education, Networkfor Public Education Action Fund
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