Category Archives: Ed Reform

Charters, Vouchers, and Segregation

Posted on June 21, 2019 by

A breathtakingly good summary of the sordid history of using charters, vouchers, and private schooling to effect de facto segregation: https://southernspaces.org/2019/segregationists-libertarians-and-modern-school-choice-movement   Advertisements

Posted in Ed Reform | Leave a comment

He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

Posted on May 11, 2019 by

The utter subjugation of the populace didn’t happen via secret police and mass executions as in Stalin’s Russia. No, it was much more subtle, occurring bit by bit, drip by drip, a boiled frog phenomenon. It all started, seemingly innocently, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Short Stories | 1 Comment

Ed Deform Follies: Yes, You Get What You Measure, or Be Careful What You Wish For

Posted on May 1, 2019 by

April 30, 2019 Today, Diane Ravitch posted two  important pieces on her blog. One is on Ken Robinson’s book about the egregious consequences of high-stakes standardized testing. The other is about the Stalinesque workings of the “justice” system in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Roy Turrentine on the Long-term Effects of a Good Education and One of the Many Things That Ed Deformers Don’t Understand

Posted on April 14, 2019 by

I don’t usually post work by others on my blog, but I loved this piece by ex-farmer and history teacher extraordinaire Roy Turrentine. It’s a comment he left on Diane Ravitch’s wonderful blog. I was very busy yesterday . . … Continue reading →

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What Should Be Taught in an English Teacher Preparation Program?

Posted on April 9, 2019 by

Recently, I was teaching in a high school, and a directive came down from our administrators that final exams were to be graded on a curve. In a meeting with the other English teachers in my department, I found that … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Teaching Literature and Writing | 4 Comments

How to Prevent Another PARCC Mugging: A Public Service Announcement

Posted on March 24, 2019 by

NB: Everything said of PARCC here applies, as well, to all the standardized tests in English language arts currently being used by state departments of education. In other words, PARCC is singled out, here, as an example of a general … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Teaching Literature and Writing | Leave a comment

Killing Ed Deform and Making American Education Suck Less: Some Suggestions

Posted on March 17, 2019 by

The subtitle of Diane Ravitch’s Blog, one of my favorite Internet sites, is “A site to discuss better education for all.” It’s wonderful to read, on her site, the heated discussions of curricula and pedagogy. As many readers of her … Continue reading →

Posted in Ed Reform, Teaching Literature and Writing, Technology | 2 Comments