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Friday, May 24, 2013

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-24-13 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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Will Obama and Duncan Condemn School Closings in Chicago?

Chicago Public Schools voted to close down dozens of public schools. As many as 40,000 children are losing their schools, many of who are children with disabilities. The vast majority of the children are African American.
Will the President and Secretary of Education speak out against this willful destruction of public schools and 

Why It Is Hard to Boycott Walmart

I never want to shop at Walmart. I hate to see even a penny of my money going to support the Walton family crusade to privatize American education.
However, I am in Watkins Glen in upstate Néw York, a beautiful town on Lake Seneca. I am here awaiting the birth of my fourth grandson. I wanted to buy a toothbrush but couldn’t find any pharmacy in town but Walmart. Lots of empty stores because Walmart has replaced almost

North Carolina Newspaper Puts Public Schools First

The Wilmington, North Carolina, Star-News published an editorial recognizing the danger of taking money away from public schools and giving it to charters, vouchers, and private vendors.
The editorial begins:
“Private schools and charter schools may satisfy individual parents, but they will not improve the public schools. They take not only money out of the system but also those students whose parents have the means, work 

Norm Scott: Obama’s Dilemma

Norm Scott, retired NYC teacher posted this on his website, Ed Notes Online:
We have Al Qaeda on the run but right now the biggest threat to our agenda is Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers Union,” said an Obama spokesperson.
“Our pal Rahm Emanuel has been forced to close 50 schools in retaliation for the strike led by Lewis and now suffers poll numbers so low they are getting close to the interest rate. He is actually being criticized for using money he saves by closing schools to put $100 million into building a new basketball arena where our president and Arne Duncan will be able to shoot hoops once their term in office is over. For that Rahm is being called the 

The Scoop on Chicago Privatization

Just saw this amazing interview and could not resist posting it in full:
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An Interview with Paul Horton : What Goes on in Chicago—Should be exposed to the world?
[Paul Horton is a History teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School]
Posted by Michael Shaughnessy EducationViews Senior Columnist on May 18, 2013 in Commentaries, Daily, Editor’s Pick, Insights on Education, Teachers | 0 Comment
Michael F. Shaughnessy -
1) Paul briefly, what the hell is going on in Chicago?
54 schools are targeted for shut down and 90% are 

Chicago: Time for a Néw Mayor

George Buzzetti writes:
“Chicago, you must set the agenda not Emmanuel and his destruction crew. You must take back control of Chicago and the School Board. There is nothing like a politician who gets the public mad as hell at them for change. In L.A. Monica Ratliff was elected with only $44,000 against more than a million and she never took a day off work and she drives a long way to her teaching job. If you have a good mayoral candidate the chances are good to get Emmanuel out and to elect sense again even if it has been a long time. Now is the time for 

Temps Scoring Essay Questions on State Tests

This article may explain why the big testing corporations won’t machines to score essays.
How do you think they score them now?
How do you think they have been scored for many years?
By temps. By people earning $10-12 an hour with no particular skills and minimal training.
Not long ago, I posted a story that said that Pearson was advertising on CraigsList in Texas for people to score 

John White Makes Excuses for Low-Scoring Voucher Students

Vouchers were supposed to “save poor kids from failing schools,” but what happens when the voucher schoolsare far worse than the public schools?
John White made excuses. He blamed the schools they attended the previous year.
No excuses, John!
“LEAP scores for third- through eighth-graders show only 40 percent of voucher students scored at or above 

Big Rumor in Louisiana: John White Heading to DC

The Louisiana blogs, which these days are the only place in that corrupt state to read honest and probing discourse, are buzzing with rumors that their state commissioner John White will soon leave for a job with Arne Duncan.
If true, he will not be missed. Jindal will find another reactionary ideologue to take White’s place and pursue the governor’s radical privatization agenda.
Why would Duncan want White? When Jindal chose White, Duncan called him “a visionary leader.” White would 

An Account of Historic, Tragic Day in Chicago

The best reporting on the historic closure of dozens of Chicago public schools was in the Sun-Times. It provided a human face to a public tragedy.
Most moving were the scenes at schools listed for clisure.
The board voted enmasse. It didn’t even take time to name the schools it killed.
The decision was rendered unless time than it takes to boil an egg.
And there was this:
“One of the speakers lugged out of board chambers by CPS security was Erica Clark, a CPS parent and 

PT Barnum and the Louisiana Circus

Louisiana matters hugely to the fate of American public because of the myth that Néw Itleans had a miraculous transformation once Hurricane Katrina wiped out the public schools and the teachers’ union.
Julian Vasquez Heilig here explains that the myth is a lie.
The Louisiana Department of Education controls the data and they are not releasing it. When they do, it can’t be 

Alabama Teacher of the Year: A Great Teacher Whose School Did Not Make AYP

Alison Grizzle was chosen as Alabama Teacher of the Year.
Read this article and watch the video and you will see why.
She teaches math at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham.
She is a National Board Certified Teacher.
Her school did not make AYP.
The punitive, no-brain law called No Child Left Behind

How Low Can Rahm Go?

Rahm Emanuel has distinguished himself by his sycophancy towards Chicago’s power elite. Here “The Nation”dissects his tawdry record.
The Chicago Teachers Union plans a voter registration drive to sign up new voters in the communities damaged by Rahm’s schoo closings.

Diane in the Evening 5-23-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Rahm: No Money for Schools But Millions for…. by dianerav Even as Rahm Emanuel says he has no money for schools, none at all, the cupboard is bare….. He somehow managed to find $55 million to build a private basketball stadium. Now, this is a mayor with priorities! Scott Walker Determined to Privatize Wisconsin Schools by dianerav Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is following the ALEC script: More charters More vouchers Lower standards for entry into teaching Did he ask the voters if they want to get rid of pub... more »