Archives for category: Teach for America TFA
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Minneapolis: A Profile in Courage

By dianeravitch
May 29, 2013 //
14

I received this email from a teacher who decided the only way to save public education was to run for mayor. He deserves our support.

“I am a Minneapolis teacher running for Mayor of Minneapolis. I am bright but politically inexperienced. I wouldn’t have dared enter the race except that Minneapolis has Ranked Choice Voting and 7 (at least) other candidates vying for the office, and none are incumbent. Still, I entered the race reluctantly, and only because at that time no one else who was running was much interested in what’s happening with public education.

Before I entered the race I attended a school board meeting where the board decided to sell a vacant Minneapolis school building to a charter school. Our class sizes in public schools in that part of the city are in the mid to upper thirties. I know that many families are either moving to the suburbs or switching to private schools because of class size.

After that vote I decided to enter the race. With the surge in charter schools, high class sizes, high stakes testing, over-evaluation of teachers, the deprofessionalization of teaching through TFA, and union-busting efforts nationwide, I am terribly concerned about the future of public education.

The Minneapolis teachers’ union (MFT 59) is not endorsing anyone, but is discussing a forum or a candidate survey including questions to see where candidates stand on TFA, class size, high stakes testing, teacher evaluations, and site based management of schools, etc.

I would like to win this mayoral race to ensure that public education has a strong advocate and voice in the mayor’s office. An equally strong goal of my campaign is to build a coalition of like-minded people who will work to get information out to voters regarding the positions on education taken by school board members, city council members, and candidates for those and other public offices.

I am writing to ask for your help. We have an immediate need for cash. You could help us by writing about what is happening in Minneapolis and if you feel the spirit move, endorse me and ask those who follow you to go to my website and donate. Your help could make this a competitive race.

I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about my candidacy. If you want to know a little more about me, you can check me out on FB: Jim Thomas for Mayor of Minneapolis, or visit my web page: http://www.jimthomasformayor.com. I’d be happy to give you the names and contact information of several teachers who support me, as well.

Thanks for your time, Diane.

Sincerely,

Jim Thomas
Minneapolis Public School Teacher”

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Class size, Minnesota, Teach for America TFA

TFA Cleans Up in North Carolina, Where Privatizers Run Legislature

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2013 //
16

As an earlier post showed, Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota vetoed $1.5 million earmark for Teach for America, noting that the organization has $300 million in assets and thus no reason to be charging the state for its bright but poorly prepared recruits. But TFA scored big in North Carolina, where the reactionary legislature handed over $6 million a year to TFA. This from a parent activist in North Carolina:

The NC Senate just passed their version of a budget in which State support for TFA will total $6 million in both years of the biennium.
We had an outstanding program, the NC Teaching Fellows program http://www.teachingfellows.org.  That received the ax.  Two of our legislators filed a bill to restore the program, but the bill doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The bigger picture so far with the state budget looks like this:
 
Here’s the Senate’s education budget:
http://www.ncae.org/wp-content/uploads/Education-Section-F.pdf?j=1681267&e=zkids@yahoo.com&l=14260_HTML&u=21281549&mid=1077648&jb=119
 
Here’s what the NC Association of Educators thinks of the budget:
http://www.ncae.org/whats-new/give-the-senate-budget-an-f-viral-campaign/
 
NCAE President’s letter to House Speaker with recap of destructive budget cuts in the version passed in the Senate:
http://view.email.nea.org/?j=fe9515777566017f7c&m=fe8e1570726302797d&ls=fe2c1276776d017f741771&l=ff021574776204&s=fe541c74776303787217&jb=ff6415717c&ju=fe5c16717367037b7011&r=0
Categories Budget Cuts, North Carolina, Privatization, Teach for America TFA

Gov. Dayton Joins the Honor Roll

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2013 //
13

Governor Mark Dayton vetoed an earmark (set-aside) of $1.5 million for Teach for America. The governor quite reasonably noted that TFA is a wealthy organization with $350 million in assets and saw no reason the state should pay to rent more of
them. He suggested a competitive bidding process. Here is his veto message.

For his recognition that Minnesota needs a cadre of highly professional, experienced teachers, for his willingness to stand up to the fawning media hype about TFA, Mark Dayton joins the honor roll as a champion of American education.

Categories Minnesota, Teach for America TFA

Why Did David Letterman Invite Only TFA for Teacher Appreciation Week?

By dianeravitch
May 25, 2013 //
52

This teacher noticed with chagrin that David Letterman invited ten Teach for America teachers to deliver his top ten reasons for Teacher Appreciation week. Somewhat in Letterman’s defense, I have to say that the top ten reasons, which were mostly sardonic and cynical, did not reflect much credit on teachers or on the kids who delivered the lines.

I conclude that David Letterman saw no reason to express appreciation for teachers.

Our elites have gone bonkers. How else can you explain their fascination with young college graduates who agree to teach for only two years as the very best way to improve education? Their “sacrifice” is only temporary; soon they will be in graduate school or law school or working for Goldman Sachs, leaving behind their measly teacher pay.

How would our elites (talking to you, Charlie Rose, and to you, editorial boards and corporate chieftains) feel about handing foreign policy over to the recruits in the Peace Corps instead of the seasoned diplomats in the Foreign Service? The kids are alright, but why are they celebrated instead of celebrating the three million plus women and men who make a career of teaching?

Categories Teach for America TFA, Teachers and Teaching

How Can We Assure Equity in Education?

By dianeravitch
May 19, 2013 //
49

Uri Tresiman of the Dana Center at the University of Texas spoke to the annual NCTM conference about the true needs of American education.

This is an important speech in which he shows how shallow current reforms are and how deeply poverty affects children’s performance in school.

I intend to post this speech twice this week. It is that powerful.

I may post it more than twice.

It meant a lot to me because Dr. Treisman agreed with what I have been saying. We will not narrow the achievement gaps unless we act to reduce poverty. He does not say–nor do I–that schools don’t matter. We agree that schools and teachers matter very much. But so does poverty.

A few days ago, I wrote that if we halved the child poverty rate–now a scandalous 23%–then achievement would score. A faithful reader and blogger who works for a conservative think tank wrote offline to disagree with me. He said that we don’t know how to reduce child poverty, and he doubted that it would matter much even if we did. He countered that if we increased the number of charter schools, then achievement would soar.

I challenge him to watch Dr. Treisman’s speech. Pay particular attention to his evidence about the effects of charter schools.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Common Core, Curriculum, Education Reform, Poverty, Teach for America TFA

Pasi Sahlberg Blows Up Reformer Myths

By dianeravitch
May 16, 2013 //
8

Pasi Sahlberg, the great expert on education in Finland, here examines the founding myths of the corporate reform movement.

Reformers search for the teacher who can generate high test scores. They like the idea that teachers compete for rewards tied to scores. Sahlberg points out that a school is a team, not a competitive individual sport. Teachers must work together towards common goal.

Another fallacy is the “no excuses” claim that great teachers overcome all obstacles. Sahlberg reminds us that the influence of the family and student motivation is far greater than the efforts of teachers in determining outcomes.

A corollary to this fallacy is the belief that three or four great teachers in a row eliminates all social and economic disadvantage.

Sahlberg maintains that teacher education requires high standards and even standardization to produce highly skilled teachers. Once the pipeline is improved, teachers should have a high degree of personal autonomy. He notes that there is no Teach for Finland. All teachers go through a highly selective process and are well educated and prepared for their profession.

All in all, a great post.

Send it to your legislators and leaders.

Categories International, Poverty, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Evaluations, Teachers and Teaching

North Carolina: Public Schools and Students Endangered by Radical Agenda

By dianeravitch
May 14, 2013 //
36

Legislation is advancing in North Carolina that will harm the state’s underfunded public schools and strike a blow against its beleaguered teachers.

North Carolina is a right-to-work state, so there is no collective bargaining, and teachers have no voice in policy decisions about education.

Among the worst of the new bills is a proposal to fund a voucher/tax credit program, removing $90 million from public schools so that 1% of the state’s 1.5 million students may attend private and/or religious schools.

Another bill would strip away due process rights from teachers, so that teachers would have no right to a hearing if fired, no matter how many years of experience they have.

The new legislation would restrict eligibility for preschool, reducing the number of children who may enroll, and remove class size limits for some elementary grades.

Make no mistake (President Obama’s favorite expression, mine too): this legislation will save money in the short run but will cost the state far more in the long term. The Legislature is planning not only to harm public education, but to harm the children who benefit by being in preschool and in classes of reasonable size.

Former Congressman and State Superintendent Bob Etheridge said: “To the folks now running our state government in Raleigh, education reform is just another code word for cut, slash and burn.”

Governor Pat McCrory, who supports the radical anti-teacher, anti-public education agenda, has just named Eric Guckian as his Senior Education Advisor. Guckian was regional director of New Leaders in North Carolina (which recruits “transformational” leaders) and before that, was executive director of Teach for America in the state. He has been a consultant for the Gates Foundation and worked with KIPP. The following comes from the Governor’s press release:

“I am honored and humbled to serve as a member of Governor McCrory’s team,” said Guckian. “This is a critical time for education in our state, and I’m looking forward to working with committed teachers, leaders and community members to ensure that all of North Carolina’s students, regardless of circumstance, achieve an excellent education that will put them on the pathway to a better life; a life of honor, prosperity and service.”

Guckian joins John White in Louisiana and Kevin Huffman in Tennessee as TFA alumni in state-level positions serving reactionary administrations.

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, Class size, Corporate Reformers, North Carolina, Privatization, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Tenure, Vouchers

Charter Appreciation Week and Teacher Appreciation Week

By dianeravitch
May 8, 2013 //
60

By some strange coincidence, Teacher Appreciation Week coincides with National Charter School Week.

Bear in mind that almost 90% of charters are non-union, that charters may fire teachers at will, that charter teachers do not have tenure, that many charters are known for high teacher turnover due to the stress of longer school days, and that many do not hire certified teachers. In some states, like Ohio, charter teachers earn half as much as public school teachers, because the charter teachers are typically younger and less experienced.

Just thinking about that when I read President Obama’s proclamation.

Categories Charter Schools, Teach for America TFA, Teacher Tenure, Teachers and Teaching

What Makes a Great Teacher?

By dianeravitch
May 5, 2013 //
24

You won’t find the answer to that question in this exchange but you will see some sharply worded responses to David Greene, who has mentored many TFA recruits.

Greene has the somewhat antiquated (but true) belief that we need teachers who see teaching as a career. As he writes, “Teaching must be a lifelong career worthy of those we want to teach.”

It is odd that there are so many (including Arne Duncan and the far-right Walton Foundation) who see TFA as a systemic answer to the question. Duncan gave TFA $50 million. Walton gave them $49.5 million.

And yet in its 20+ year history, TFA has produced less than 30,000 alumi. Most of them are no longer in classrooms. Its most prominent graduates are demanding privatization of public education: Michelle Rhee, John White in Louisiana, Kevin Huffman in Tennessee.

Categories Duncan, Arne, Teach for America TFA, Teachers and Teaching, Walton Foundation

New Housing for TFA, Subsidized by Your Tax Dollars

By dianeravitch
May 5, 2013 //
74

The New York Times reports today about construction of new apartments in Philadelphia, meant specifically for teachers. The development is made possible by state and federal tax credits.

But not for any teacher. Not for the teachers who live in the community. Not for veteran teachers who have put their hearts into the community schools for 10-20 years. They already have a place to live.

No, these are below-market apartments built for Teach for America recruits, those great kids with five weeks of training who plan to leave after two years.

The project will set aside office space for TFA along with a gym and coffee shop. That way, the kids may not burn out so fast.

There is a similar project for TFA in Baltimore and Newark.

Categories Philadelphia, Teach for America TFA
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