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Field Notes: Waiting for ?Ravitch?
I went to bed last night reading the latest issue of the New York Review of Books and, as some of you know, I woke up this morning ? it is morning, isn't it? ?
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Who Said It?
I realize that in the Google Age nothing can stay unknown for long, but I have noticed, of late, an awful lot of merging of education reform roads; at least, there seem to be more blurred lines about more topics than ever.? So, in the interests of ?continuous improvement,? I'm wondering if there could be a new parlor game:??Who Said It??
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If all your friends were jumping off a bridge?
On Oklahoma's ballot today, voters find eleven questions, one of which asks them whether per-pupil funding in the OK should be increased to match the expenditures of neighboring states.
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Knock, knock. Who's there?
Phase One of Mark Zuckerberg's cool $100 million grant to Newark Public Schools has commenced?and it's taking place outside the schools. Volunteers and paid canvassers are hitting the streets (and the phones) to find out parents' opinions on what does and doesn't work for their children's education.
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State cut scores still don't make the cut
Review: International Benchmarking: State Education Performance Standards
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Less money, less reform?
I'll admit it: while she's not perfect, I'm still a huge fan of Michelle Rhee, what with her ?let's not mince words? style and her all-in approach to school reform. So it's not surprising that her Wall Street Journal ?manifesto?
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Education News Nuggets
Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! Not everyone was celebrating, though.
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Quotable & Notable
?Four years ago, we both found a cause that inspired us to work hard every day. Reformers nationwide need to take up that mantle. Now is not the time to go soft on tough decisions. Fixing our schools will require courage and persistence, but young lives are at stake. What could be more worth the risks?''
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Merit pay and homework and Dickens
Huh? Guess the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is really hurting for op-eds these days. ?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
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Back from the dead
Bellwether Education's Andrew Rotherham has penned an atypically sensible article on income-based integration?atypically sensible, that is, for pieces about income-based integration, which tend to be flowery and na?ve, and not for pieces that Rotherham writes, which are often quite prudent.
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Lessons on class-size reduction from Florida
Florida's ?no-win? class-size situation is a foreshadowing for Ohio, as we're bound to come to the same obvious conclusions about universal class-size reduction (CSR) requirements: does it really add value and even so, how the hell do we afford it?
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We don't need innovation, but problem-solving
Review: Sounding the Alarm: A Wakeup Call with Directions
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District-charter relationships are love/hate
A love/hate relationship sums up what's happening across the country when it comes to district-charter collaboration. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to spread the love by providing support and encouraging cooperation among district and charter leaders in places like New York City, New Orleans, Denver, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
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To Close or Not to Close: A Second Opinion
No sooner had I hit the ?publish? button on my recent post on school closures than my new issue of Education Week arrived (yes, in the mailbox on the front porch). And after glancing at the front page ? ?Turnaround Team Picks Up the Pace in Ky.?
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Education News Nuggets
A chicken in every pot and a playground in every school. Along with healthy lunches, we can go a long way toward improving schools.
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Quotable & Notable
?No one in the mainstream of the education debate wants segregated schools. But while such schools are not an immutable condition, they are an unfortunate fact of life.'' Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Partner, Bellwether Education
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ED bullies schools over bullying
A week before the mid-term elections, Arne Duncan and his team have taken a courageous stand: they're against bullying children. ?Bullying is a problem that shouldn't exist,?
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Gadfly while it's hot!
We've got a great issue of the Education Gadfly for you this week. To whet the appetite, here's a smattering of the articles and analyses that you'll find within its wings:
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Character programs lack social intelligence
Review: Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
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The welcome earthquake
If a recent spate of Wall Street Journal articles is any clue, a week before the election we could be sitting on a tectonic fault with the potential to turn into an education earthquake?and that might actually be a blessing. It has to do with teachers, their unions, and U.S. politics?all of which would benefit from some profound movement.
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To Close or Not to Close? Not a Question in Gotham
If you're following the school closure / school turnaround debate, the story in today's NY Times ? ?In Sharp Rise, 47 City Schools May Close Over Performance? ? will offer some insights, if not a great deal of , er, closure.
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Trick or Treat
Listen to a good radio debate between Michael Kirst and William Evers (by way of Andy Rotherham) on education and the California gubernatorial race.? It's money and more.
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STEM the Tide of Distractions
While our education system obsesses over the latest socio-pathological?disease (e.g. bullying) or vacuous phrase (e.g. 21st century skills),? more of the rest of the world seems to be keeping its eyes on the education prize.?
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NCLB's teeth now sinking into high-performers
On Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that more than half of the state's schools failed to meet federal testing targets.?? This isn't a widespread indictment of the performance of public schools, however.??
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Whatever happened to the ?65 percent solution??
That's my random question of the day. It dawned on me that this Big Idea, circa 2005, has all but vanished. Thirty seconds of Googling indicates that Patrick Byrne, the Overstock CEO who spent big bucks pushing the notion, has been embroiled in some controversy in recent years. Is that why it fell off the radar screen?
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Education News Nuggets
What's worse for students: having a moldy gym or spending too much time texting and browsing Facebook?
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The Education Gadfly Show ? Rick the Pumpkin
The latest Education Gadfly Show is now available for download. This week Mike and Rick answer life's mysteries as they pertain to the election, OCR overreach, and publicly-available teacher ratings. And if that's not enough, Amber questions character education and Chris brings in the dogs.
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Quotable & Notable
?America needs a high bar so everyone is on a level playing field. Reform can't be led from Washington. It has to be led by state.? Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education