I Don’t Understand Michelle Rhee
Diane Ravitch I am trying to understand Michelle Rhee. She has allied herself with the most right-wing governors in the nation, yet she claims to be a Democrat. She has worked with Republican Rick...
View ArticleSchool Vouchers and the Religious Subversion of Church-State Separation
Katherine Stewart "Choice" is such a nice word that everybody wants to have it on their side.School vouchers enable federally-funded religious schools to teach creationism rather than evolution as...
View Article'Racing to the Top' with the Hare and the Pineapple
The following is an open letter from a group of New York state principals to the New York State Board of Regents about school reform and the standardized testing regime (h/t Valerie Strauss at the...
View ArticleFreeing the University: Education Occupation on May Day
Michelle Chen Pop quiz: what’s the value of an American education? To some, it’s a booming industry that preys on debt-crippled students. But to the educators, youth and workers who keep the system...
View ArticleThe People Behind the Lawmakers Out to Destroy Public Education: A Primer
Diane Ravitch Since the 2010 elections, when Republicans took control of many states, there has been an explosion of legislation advancing privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job...
View ArticleQuebec Students Send a Message Against Austerity
Linda McQuaig No wonder those Quebec student protestors have been spooking the English Canadian establishment. If they get their way, the same ideas could catch on here, leaving the best-laid plans...
View ArticleThe End of Public Education in Philadelphia
If the School Reform Commission and Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen have their way, we may witness the end of public education in Philadelphia. A five-year plan proposed by Philadelphia School...
View ArticleHigh-Stakes Testing Protests Spreading
Valerie Strauss Opposition to high-stakes standardized testing is growing around the country, with more parents choosing to opt their children out of taking exams, more school boards expressing...
View ArticleA Future for Teachers Unions, But Only with a Fight
James Cersonsky “Things are the way they are” in urban schools, Michelle Rhee professes in Waiting for Superman, because “it all becomes about the adults.”read more
View ArticleMitt Romney's Blueprint for Privatizing American Education
Diane Ravitch On 23 May, the Romney campaign released its education policy white paper titled A Chance for Every Child: Mitt Romney's Plan for Restoring the Promise of American Education. If you liked...
View ArticleFire All the Teachers! (and Other Inanities)
David Macaray Two of the most damaging misconceptions people have about labor unions are (1) that union members tend to be substandard workers (lazy, unreliable, surly, privileged), and (2) that union...
View ArticleTeachers in the Crosshairs
David Macaray During my twenty-odd years as a union rep in a big-time factory (a 44-acre paper mill), I had occasion to talk to over a hundred people about the things we most regretted in our lives....
View ArticleAddiction to High Stakes Testing is Killing US Education
Jim Horn Diane Ravitch, for whom I have a great deal of respect for leading the charge against the Billionaire Boys’ Club in recent years, has written on her blog that she is agnostic on the national...
View ArticleGet Corporations Out of Education: An Open Letter to Arne Duncan
(Note from the Answer Sheet's Valerie Strauss: A coalition of teachers from public and private schools — including the school that Education Secretary Arne Duncan attended as a child and where...
View ArticleAn Open Challenge to Michelle Rhee and the Corporate Education Zombies
Jesse Hagopian Maybe I shouldn’t have stood up and said, “Welcome to Seattle,” while wearing my Garfield High School hoodie when Michelle Rhee took the stage at a recent Town Hall event in Seattle....
View ArticlePoll: American Parents Want Public Schools, Not Charter Schools
Students protest against Chicago public school closures. (Photo: WBEZ/Bill Healy)Despite the recent rash of school closures and legislation aimed at destabilizing the public school system, a new poll...
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