Ravitch on Obama charter school accountability Race To The Top 1% public education reform vs

[onzilla1]

Ok.. Let's just keep everything the same and have our kids fail. "insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results"

[ENGUNI]

She said, Study after study has shown that, “Teachers are not solely or even primarily responsible for students test scores”. Are you joking? Teachers ARE primarily responsible! Today's teachers have way too many excuses for their own failures. I should know I am one and I can't believe how much other teachers are blaming the parents, lack of resources and 50 other reasons why the do not need to be held accountable.

[feloniousbutterfly]

Schools suck, they should be abolished. I can't believe we've allowed our kids to be locked up in these concentration camps for so long. Can you imagine how much more civilized and functional our society would be if they hadn't introduced public schools? The mind boggles.

[MrGidgid4u]

@feloniousbutterfly my grandparents were murdered in a concentration camp and I am asking that you rethink this if you want to use the word "civilized". I am a public school teacher and I work hard, and i see a lot of good things happening at my school and in other schools. The attacks upon the basic idea of public education undermines teachers. Please read Ravitch book about the "Death and Life" of public education so you'd become a positive participant in this legitimate debate.

[AmericanNohbuddy]

I've heard nobody talk about how kids would not bother to study or care about classwork, which in turns means they fail. But then the teachers are to blame.

[Sfireblue]

I think if they'd let my daughter (a philosophy major) teach a classroom of kids (even without a background in teaching) the kids would learn more than they do in school now!

[maocchino]

@Sfireblue ... On what basis do you make this specious claim? Your opinion about your daughter is sweet but baseless. Add something... anything to make your claim rational.

[Sfireblue]

@maocchino Sorry for the delay. My daughter has always been a learner and knows what it takes to be one. Teachers only know how to do show and tell. Kids learn to temporarily memorize from that and maybe learn just a little, but it's not likely to stay with them unless it is something that sparks their interest, or can be applied in their lives. I believe only questioning people can be great "teachers".

[ClixDis]

@Sfireblue "Teachers only know how to do show and tell." Really?

[iamcompucomp]

Ravitch is having a big impact. We need about a dozen more of her to really get things going.

[MrGidgid4u]

She got into a public spat with Bill Gates who wants schools to be running like the viruses on Windows ... he really means well but his idea of getting rid of the unions and tenure takes away much of the incentive of any decent candidate going into teaching as the money is ok but not great.

[audhilly]

@MrGidgid4u I don't think he means well. I think his intention is to use education to empower microsoft.

[sandinista138]

Speaking TRUTH to Power!!!! Thank you.

[MrGidgid4u]

@sandinista138 After proper training and on the job evaluation lasting two years teachers should be trusted to make some decisions without fear of the local politicians or administrators. That is the idea about tenure... its not that you can't get rid of a bad one,,, its just that it has to be a clear case of either law or code of conduct or several parent complaints along with a couple of years of negative evaluations...

[MrGidgid4u]

@sandinista138

One last thing... the best schools are in the north east and guess what... they also have the strongest unions... the south?... not that good as far as schools and yeah... weak unions...

[TheTeachalisaElliott]

A great speech and very interesting statistics.

[pmpeterson73]

Thank you for posting this - the truth needs to be heard.

[cinemaforever7]

Thanks you for posting this! A voice of reason in our current Dark Ages!

[MrGidgid4u]

@cinemaforever7

Thank YOU ...forever... now lets b able to fall asleap as Obama is while a massive re-segregation of our schools is taking place... he does sleep the guy...

[petulia67]

Finally, someone who knows what she is talking about. Diane Ravitch has studied the issue of charters vs. Public schools and she speaks the truth! Unfortunately her low key modest style isn't enough to counter liars like Chris Christie and uninformed charter school fans like Oprah Winfrey. Charters are a tax shelter for multimillionaires and the country should realize it.

[bbbbmer]

One of the worst charters is St Hope in Sacramento, founded by basketballer Kevin Johnson, and found to have committed fraudulent use of fed Americorps funds, mishandling of allegations of child sexual abuse against KJ himself, payoffs to victims, in receipt of secret school district loans in violation of the law which remain unrepaid, etc., etc., etc., and displacing neighborhood students in favor of cherry picking high performing students to boost their scores, and then falsifying scores.