Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

proud2BlibKansan

(96,793 posts)
Sun Dec 11, 2011, 06:58 PM Dec 2011

Wow. Did you all see Diane Ravitch's latest speech?

Earlier today, I posted a link to Teacher Ken's post on Daily Kos, where he called it the most important speech on education in years. Here's a direct link to the entire speech. It's outstanding!. Ken is not exaggerating.

http://parentsacrossamerica.org/2011/12/whose-children-have-been-left-behind-by-diane-ravitch/

Some highlights:

Let’s be clear about what NCLB has really accomplished: It has convinced the media and major philanthropies and Wall Street hedge fund managers that American public education is a failure and that radical solutions are required. The philanthropists and Wall Street hedge fund managers and Republicans and the Obama administration and assorted rightwing billionaires have some ideas about how to change American education. They aren’t teachers but they think they know how to fix the schools.



We have now had ten years of No Child Left Behind, and we now know that there has been very little change in the gaps between the children of the rich and the children of the poor, between black children and white children, between Hispanic children and white children. Meanwhile our policymakers say we need higher standards, more rigorous standards, and more testing. How exactly will that help children who are struggling to read and do math? Or, in some cases, struggling to read and speak English? Or in the case of children with disabilities, how are they helped by harder tests? This is like saying, “if these children can’t jump over a four-foot bar, let’s lift the bar to six feet and see how they do.” Do you know how they will do? It seems obvious to me.


We now know that none of the current carrot-and-stick policies will shrink the gap. We know it because they have been tried for 10 years and they haven’t worked. Structural changes like charters and vouchers overall will not make a difference. Merit pay makes no difference. Judging teachers by test scores demoralizes teachers and will lead to narrowing of the curriculum—so that the districts where children have the lowest scores will have more time for test preparation and less time for the arts, less time for history or civics, less time for science, less time for physical education. The children who need a great education the most will get the least.

And many more children will be left behind.

6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Wow. Did you all see Diane Ravitch's latest speech? (Original Post) proud2BlibKansan Dec 2011 OP
It's about time!!! ewagner Dec 2011 #1
It kicks ass. Starry Messenger Dec 2011 #2
None of the entire tribe of idiots in Washington give a rat's ass about kids in school. MichiganVote Dec 2011 #3
It's all about profit and power. badhair77 Dec 2011 #4
So-called "education reform" is not about educating children. It is about "profitizing" education. AdHocSolver Dec 2011 #5
Same one reposted at Common Dreams, right? eridani Dec 2011 #6

Starry Messenger

(32,342 posts)
2. It kicks ass.
Sun Dec 11, 2011, 08:50 PM
Dec 2011

I am hoping someone filmed it and we have video. Or if she could go on PBS or somewhere and deliver it again. It needs to be yelled from the rooftops, all of it.

 

MichiganVote

(21,086 posts)
3. None of the entire tribe of idiots in Washington give a rat's ass about kids in school.
Sun Dec 11, 2011, 10:19 PM
Dec 2011

Or teachers
Or school buildings
Or materials
Or supports for kids with disabilities

All they care about is destruction of the very systems that need re structuring not de structuring. And they can start with many of the lame ass administrator jobs that are in systems that can barely feed kids. They can start by trimming and in some cases a full on hair cut of the same administrators who are making big, big bucks with huge perks.

Washington does not live in the same country we live in.

badhair77

(4,191 posts)
4. It's all about profit and power.
Sun Dec 11, 2011, 10:52 PM
Dec 2011

I wish more people could hear DR's message.

She says "In some states, like Ohio, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, virtual charter schools are making millions of dollars for their owners, while children sit home alone in front of a computer." A friend of mine works for a cyberschool and it is definitely FOR-PROFIT.

AdHocSolver

(2,561 posts)
5. So-called "education reform" is not about educating children. It is about "profitizing" education.
Mon Dec 12, 2011, 01:01 AM
Dec 2011

Health care, pharmaceuticals, health insurance, "energy", and now "education reform". Agribusiness, factory farms, genetically modified food, outsourcing jobs, credit default swaps...does anybody see a pattern here?

Computerizing education is all about control of the learning process to indoctrinate (not educate) children.

Using computers as a learning tool is in the same category as using secret, proprietary software in electronic voting machines to count votes in elections.

Does anyone really believe that private corporations will really educate children to fill the nonexistent jobs of the future that those same corporations outsourced to low wage countries?

It is time for people to get the big picture and stop quibbling about irrelevant details.

Using a computer to teach children is equivalent to putting shackles on their minds. Its sole purpose is to teach the victims of such abuse abject obedience to authority.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Education»Wow. Did you all see Dian...