Category Archives: libraries

More from the edumucation files

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Wow. I am continually amazed at what has been going on behind the scenes with the charter school engineers.  Truly amazing how they have been able to get away with it.

This report from a teacher who spells out exactly what my fear is of the nonsense testing that really cannot test potential and does not allow for the obstacles to learning for kids in poorer districts….and then blames the public school teacher for things that are out of their control: student engagement and parent involvement.  The resident troll, teaching economist, has finally revealed he has no clue about what teachers in k-12 are up against.  He teaches lecture courses of 500 students, some of them online.  There is no engagement with classes that size–that was my complaint about my classes in college–no class discussion to enrich the learning experience.  The guy’s a robot who cannot engage in dialogue.

Parents United Philadelphia has this up.

Advice from a money manager….who actually likes public education.

From a comment:

As a teacher with wealthy connections, I can tell you that most of the rich don’t care much about public education either way. They send their kids to private school on principle. The public schools are for the “unwashed masses”. They use private schools to separate their children from the commoners. The old money saw public schools as giving back to their butler’s kids or their cook’s children, and they weren’t bothered by paying taxes (chump change anyway). The new money see taxes for public schools as irritating, and they want to keep as much money as they can, and don’t care about their cook’s children, city children, etc. The “new money” have no interest in community or helping others.

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Spot on. The wealthy do not care about public education. Period.  It has always been for the “rest of us” who cannot or will not put our kids into private schools.   The most annoying thing to the wealthy is that public education creates citizens who are….educated.  Educated citizens cause all sorts of trouble–like being able to carry on arguments against the destruction of public schools; like asking intelligent questions of politicians; of fighting for civil rights….of fighting against things the wealthy hold dear: greed, selfishness,  lack of social conscience…..

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The student who stood up to be heard at the *cough*  conversation with teachers has a blog up explaining what went on.  What a powerful young woman…this old lady was worried about the future generation, but Hannah gives me hope….

(hat tip to Diane Ravitch)

Lastly, a blog at Reclaim Reform on Arne Duncan.  How can someone who failed so miserably be….promoted...?

A student speaks up to Michelle Rhee

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What a brave phenomenal young woman.  Truth to power.

Steve Perry sounds like a real nice guy….not.  Cockroaches?  Really??  Sounds like sour grapes to me…

Pence Determined to gut Dept of Education

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In non-war news,  Diane Ravtich has a sobering post up this morning.

…and this is how the neocons have been able to get away with so much…unethical crooks moving in the shadows…

Labor Day…what unions…?

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Another reader of Diane Ravitch posted this on how times have changed.

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We Do Not Support A War on Syria.

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“You Take Care of Us.  We Keep Everything.  Screw You.”

 

 

Geoffrey, can you spare a dime?

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A reader of Diane Ravitch wants to know if Geoffrey Canada of Harlem Children’s Zone can spare some change from the $200 million in the bank?

“Held up my sign:

“Philadelphia, Mississippi: 1963 Black children not allowed in libraries

“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2013 No school libraries”

Barbara McDowell Dowdall English Department Head (Ret.) A, Philip Randolph Technical High School

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A letter to Boston

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The Indignant Teacher has  a post up highlighting Diane Ravitch and her letter to Bostonians.

Bostonians being recently threatened with the bombing perhaps can understand a bomb has gone off in the public school system–put there by billionaires who wish to destroy it for their own greed.  Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to see as a bombing in a public space…it’s much more stealth than that…and the damage done is not felt in real time, but in years past it.  It will be hard for some to realize the connection to the destruction to society and democracy…making it easier for those doing it to not be held accountable.

Education News

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A Chicago Alderman has proposed drones in Rahm Emanuel’s Safe Passage routes.  I kid you not.  If you continue with the next blog of Fred Klonsky, he questions the “none of your business” attitude of CPS on emergency preparedness plans.  At the end, there is another link “continuing the story” which has this:

In a written statement, CPS officials insisted that every school in the district does, in fact, have a plan but said they were limited to “management level staff within the Office of Safety and Security,” building principals and assistant principals, and officials of the Chicago Police and Fire Departments.

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This is ridiculous.  The schools that I have taught at had plans the teachers knew and the children went through drills so they would know what to do.  It is important because their teacher may be incapacitated, so the children all the way up to the principals need to know the plan.    I found it highly ironic one year when we had a small earthquake while I was teaching.  I asked the kids if they knew what to do in case of an earthquake, which they didn’t, so I told them to stay under their desks until the shaking stopped, and then we would leave the building in the usual emergency route.  One of the regular instructors thought that I had needlessly worried the children….all the while they have been  put in “lockdowns” for some terrorist going to attack the school.  <sigh>
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The Indignant Teacher has a post up on a petition to remove David Koch from the board of WGBH Boston’s PBS station.  I have always admired WGBH and WTTW PBS stations, and now that Kochs are trying to control the media, it is even more imperative to get them out.
More moneyed influence on campaigns of the anti-public school crowd.  Good God, this guy is a liar.  A bold-faced one at that.
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More here on John Pelto’s blog that Diane links to:
The evidence is clear that income inequality is a major factor in educational inequality. Children living in poverty experience prolonged stress that affects their brain development in the regions associated with learning. There is a strong correlation between socioeconomic status and standardized test scores. As proven by Stanford’s Sean Reardon, the widening of the achievement gap results from additional opportunities affluent parents provide their children out of the K-12 environment: high-quality pre-K, tutoring, and after-school and summer enrichment. Reardon demonstrated that the test score disparity between low-income and high-income children is not the result of schools.
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See, the pro-Charter $$ folks would prefer to ignore this important fact that impacts learning….it’s much more fun to blame unionized teachers…and watch them scramble to put out fires the Charter proponents deliberately set.
This is pretty powerful.  He puts it so well–that every child develops in different ways and at different speeds and those differences should be honored, not ridiculed by failure of a “skills” test.  (hat tip to Diane Ravitch)
Finally, a wonderful history lesson here by Diane.  She was there on the March on Washington.

Go Virginia!

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Virginia has had enough of dismissive politicians who circumvent the people whom they represent and they have filed suit against what is basically taxation without representation.

 

In other education news,  Diane reposts about the Gesell Institute’s take on Common Core…waay back in 2010.

From the statement:

We urge the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to respect the individual developmental differences of children and revise the K-3 standards based on research and the advice of experts in the field of early childhood.

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In the comments, someone provided a link to Bill Moyers’ program on Glitz and Greed in D.C.  I haven’t viewed it yet, but knowing Bill Moyers, it will be eye-opening.

Segregation persists in Texas schools

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Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig has a post up on his findings of segregation in Texas schools.  He asserts that there is a third segregation–by language.  Non-English speaking children are in the low socioeconomic group and racially segregated schools.  Poverty is the number one reason children don’t do well in school–it’s hard to think when you’re hungry or your family may have to move that night to another area….and another school district.

And if you cannot understand English, it’s a given that you’re not going to learn.  It’s hard to learn anything when your teacher sounds like Charlie Brown’s.  All one has to do is listen to the spanish-speaking video to understand the problem.