newteacher

School Budget Cuts Nationwide

Things are tough all over I'm afraid.  It is interesting however how the cry of "failing schools!" almost never includes a discussion of budget cuts, class size, and firing teachers.  The other key point here is that the stimulus is only that and can't be sustained or expected too.  Folks really need to be looking into how the cuts have effected there schools and start making noise.

Obama and No Child Left Behind

Well, Friends.....Obama was clear in the election that the place where he broke with the Democrats was on education policy; It looks like those chickens have come home to roost. One doesn't have to look too far to see how folks are clamoring to take advantage of the moment and also to be able to say "We're doing what Obama wants!"  The problem lies in folks not knowing anything about education making education policy (and i'm including Obama here)--what you get are this common-sense solutions to very complex problems and....you just might make it worse.

p.s. note Ravitch's concern here too....very interesting.

Dangling Money, Obama Pushes an Education Shift

By SAM DILLON

Published: August 16,

“I am a public school teacher who vehemently wanted to vote for a president who would save us from No Child Left Behind [but]...the potential is there for the test frenzy to get worse than it is under No Child Left Behind.”

Holding out billions of dollars as a potential windfall, the Obama administration is persuading state after state to rewrite education laws to open the door to more charter schools and expand the use of student test scores for judging teachers.

That aggressive use of economic stimulus money by Education Secretary Arne Duncan is provoking heated debates over the uses of standardized testing and the proper federal role in education, issues that flared frequently during President George W. Bush’s enforcement of his signature education law, called No Child Left Behind.

 

READ MORE at NYTIMES.COM

Public v. Charter

...a new article in the NUVO on the charter school debate, flawed in several ways (most notably being that charter schools are public schools in Indiana) and including some voices that may be familiar to some.  In general, I would say that the article tries to do too much-- forcing a less than in-depth discussion of the multiple issues presented here (i.e. school funding & budget cuts, charter schools in general, education reform, market logic, etc...).   It would be good to hear some comment, correction, or critique here.  Have at it!

 

Public v. Charter: A tale of two schools by Josefa Beyer

Something’s lost and something’s gained in the public school marketplace

Since the first Indianapolis charter school opened in 2002, an advertising campaign of billboards and summer mailbox brochures has been targeted at consumers of public education. With more than 20 charters to choose from this fall, many parents are pleased with the widening school selection. However, because 14 Indianapolis Public Schools have closed in just two years, another set of parents see their choices dwindling.

Before summer break, I visited two Indianapolis schools set apart by miles and experience. One is finishing its first year. The other is finished, closing its doors forever. They seem like good places to find what’s gained and what’s lost in the public school marketplace.

Read More at NUVO:

Lowering School Standards in Indiana

Nicely argued here is the apparent contradiction in demanding more accountabilty on one hand and decentralizing (without funding BTW) on the other.  One starts to think pretty quickly that the idea that this is all about the kids is pretty far from what's really motivating these efforts.

Lower school standards?

If the assertion that Indiana schools will be improved by lowering standards for teachers, principals and superintendents strikes you as odd, you aren’t the only one. Educators across the state are wondering how changes that would make it easier to teach or to supervise teachers will benefit students. If the assertion that Indiana schools will be improved by lowering standards for teachers, principals and superintendents strikes you as odd, you aren’t the only one. Educators across the state are wondering how changes that would make it easier to teach or to supervise teachers will benefit students.

Read More: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090731/EDIT07/307319949/1021/EDIT