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Monday, April 15, 2013

Diane in the Evening 4-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

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San Diego: Dean Vogel (CTA), Bill Freeman (SDEA), me, Cindy Marten (incoming superintendent). pic.twitter.com/HRf8Fkkl6R




Washington Post: Anti-Testing Movement Grows

From the local school boards in Texas to the teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle to the Providence Student Union, the movement against high-stakes testing is growing everyday.
The Washington Post reports here that the public is rising up against the Bush-Obama education agenda.
Across the nation, students, parents, and teachers have had it.
Officials keep pouring millions into testing while cutting the budget for everything else.


A Teacher’s Pledge for the Ethical Use of Test Data

Anthony Cody met teacher Michelle Gunderson at Occupy the DOE. When he heard her ideas about testing, he invited her to write a guest blog.
Gunderson explained that she has seen test used to sort children, to punopish children, and now–to privatize schools.
She has developed her own credo for the ethical use of tests.
Please read it.
The essence of the pledge is that a student’s test scores should be


Terrible News: Terrorist Attack on Boston Marathon

Just unspeakably awful.

A Bit of Beauty Today

A regular reader shared this stunning video. She said we need some beauty today.

SUNY Educators: Teachers Should Speak Out Too

This letter comes from three teacher educators at the State University of New York
In the assault on public education, New York State is in the midst of a battle. The growing movement to opt out of state testing has caught the attention state leaders and school administrators, who have a stake in supporting assessments. The New York State Teacher Union (NYSUT) represents public school educators. As a public union, it claims to support the best interests of students. In fact, NYSUT has sponsored a petition to limit high stakes testing and a forum for teachers to “tell it like it is” about testing. And on April 13, NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira led a rousing call for teachers to “ratchet up our collective voice.”
But earlier in the week, NYSUT President Richard Ianuzzi sent a memo to local union leaders. This memo acknowledges the growing opt out movement, as well as the complex role of teachers in this era of “over-

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-15-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Best Comment of the Week: The Washington Post and Rhee by dianerav The same reader wins two straight weeks! In this article, he writes about the Washington Post’s internal dissent about covering Michelle Rhee. Jo-Ann Armao, the editorial writer, was a Rhee fan. Bill Turque was the reporter who covered Rhee, fairly and without bias. He writes: I won “COMMENT OF THE DAY (SO FAR” last Saturday, in an article Dr. Ravitch wrote of the same name about that COMMENT. I’m ... more »