From The Times (UK): Business will seek to run state schools after shift in political attitudes Greg Hurst, Education Editor Businesses are looking to revolutionise state education by bidding to run hundreds of schools, as politicians open the door to new education providers. Companies want to create national chains of state schools, eclipsing the current […]
On Intellectually and Psychologically Sterilizing the Working Poor in the Name of Education and for the Benefit of Walmart
March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A clip from a post at HuffPo by Joel Shatzky: . . . .A number of prominent educators, most notably Diane Ravitch, have warned the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, that the testing mania in the guise of accountability is producing bad schooling and low-quality teaching, but these criticisms seem to fall on deaf ears. […]
Episode 6
March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
ED Blueprint Reactions
March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Monty Neill posted a good sampling of reactions to the “Blueprint” at ARN: The Forum on Educational ACcountability (FEA), which I chair, submitted its recommendations to the House Ed Comm on Friday; it includes evaluation of the Administration’s ‘blueprint.’ . . . . And FairTest has its summary of these proposals on our website, off […]
Duncan Bribery Turns to Blackmail and Extortion
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
From Firedoglake: . . . .Race to the Top just announced their first two grant winners, Tennessee and Delaware, yesterday. I hope we can be honest about what this actually represents: blackmail. It forces states to change their education laws to fit particular notions about how to manage public education in America. And it does […]
RIP Jaime Escalante
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Here’s an article about it. He probably did not actually say the following, but this is a pretty good line from the movie Stand and Deliver: There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion. Because of those two strikes, there are some people […]
Please, please no more!
March 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
Angry New Orleans Parents Not Nearly So Thankful for Katrina as Duncan
March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Paul Vallas, the man who taught Arne Duncan everything he doesn’t know about schools, now runs the discriminatory corporate chain gang charters that have replaced public school.s in New Orleans. Parents have seen their children neglected, abused, and pushed out long enough to know that they want their schools back. From the Times-Picayune: A crowd […]
My favorite reads…
March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
… just kidding. Seriously, though, saw this today about some very creepy children’s books. It’s worth a laugh or two. You know, the first one listed, you can easily find on Amazon and for the low price of $999. Wait, what? Why does that happen, anyway? I see this every so often: some sellers have […]
Cliffside, NJ Students Walk Out to Protest Teacher Cuts
March 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
From NorthJersey.com: The 45-minute protest by hundreds of students included some stinging criticism of Governor Christie’s plan to slash state education aid as part of his attempt to balance the upcoming state budget. “Right now, he’s creating a fence around our future,” said 17-year-old senior Barbara Hernandez of Fairview, who called the aid cuts misguided. […]
Thank You, Professor McLeroy
Everyone’s favorite wingnut, outgoing Texas SBOE member Don McLeroy, has certainly left his mark on public education in the Lone Star state, but he’s also left us with a digital record of his various wisdoms (particularly in the realm of history, geology, and education philosophy). The video above is from a debate between the dentist […]