Los Angeles’ “School Choice” Revolution or Lack Thereof
Did LAUSD make the right move with their school choice decisions?
Tag Archives: Urban Ed
NYC Rubber Rooms: The New Secret Police or Reasonable Reaction to a Broken System?
Wow. I’ve been totally into the recent outcry over NYC’s rubber rooms. I learned this week that rubber rooms are places where teachers go, when they are accused of detrimental or dangerous behavior. Teachers might go there for a myriad of reasons such as assaulting students, abuse, being drunk in the classroom, or just plain [...]
Language in the Classroom: OMG, INBD!
The erosion of the English language in classrooms is not a new topic. One hundred years ago it was immigrants; now it is still immigrants, plus a few new threats. The polemic has dulled in recent times, or at least the attacks have assumed more cunning guises. Individuals, for instance, support either bi-lingual or immersion [...]
With “Race to the Top,” We All Lose, Part II
“Race to the Top” advocates support well-intentioned educational reforms and the means to achieve them. What is often forgotten when we discuss reforms are the underlying ideologies and goals. David Labaree identifies three goals for education, which are rooted in our schizophrenic support of democracy and capitalism. Democratic equality as a goal supports educating citizenry; social efficiency [...]
With “Race to the Top,” We All Lose, Part I
Last week, the President and Secretary of Education announced a plan to accelerate reform and innovation. President Obama stated that “[t]his competition will not be based on politics or ideology or the preferences of a particular interest group. Instead, it will be based on a simple principle: whether a state is ready to do what [...]
The Race Begins Today
The purpose(s) of compulsory education in modern America have not been clear. Today, during President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s announcement of the criteria for the “Race to the Top” Fund, they will become a little clearer. In The Washington Post, both the President and Secretary of Education discussed the new plan. Duncan outlined four reforms: “To reverse [...]
The CliffsNotes of Teaching: Movies about Education – Part I
Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds—along with Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me, which I will never tune away from when it’s on television—form a curious genre in American cinema, the based on a true story, inspirational educator genre. Warning: Spoiler alert. Stop reading if you do not want to know how these movies end. [...]
