I have this recurring nightmare – one that, I fear, is about to become reality for most of America’s school children. In my dream, I’m back in elementary school. It’s testing day and I’m struggling to remember my locker combination and get to class on time. My [...]
"The Safety Net." We hear the term often, or at least during election season we do. Congressional Hearings too evoke the conversation. Safety Net? What is that and why do we need it? This week Conservative Congressman Paul Ryan asked these questions. He had his answer, although, [...]
Are liberals finally ready to oppose neoliberal education reform? By Lois Weiner | Originally Published at Jacobin Magazine. July 31, 2013 An eloquent call to “reclaim the conversation” challenges leading liberal educators to repudiate their involvement in what’s being called “corporate school reform.” We finally see liberal [...]
AP Photo/Seth Perlman). By Kay Steiger | Originally Published at The American Prospect. July 31, 2013 A new study finds that drops in white student achievement often lead to the passage of "teacher quality" bills. Not so much when it comes to dips in black student achievement. [...]
By Jessica Shiller | Learning on the Edge July 29, 2013 | Students stage a sit-in at Williams Elementary (Credit: OccupyCPS) The battles over school closings have been fierce nationwide. In Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Baltimore, and Los Angeles, announcements of public school closings have been [...]
Photograph; Karen Lewis, center, president of the CTU is joined by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, left, and United States Representative Bobby Rush, right, during a demonstration and march over the a plan to close fifty-four Chicago Public Schools through Chicago's downtown Wednesday, March 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles [...]
By Peg Tyre | Originally Published at TakePart. June 25, 2013 For the last three decades, our schools have been shaped by so-called accountability measures. Standardized tests were meant to make sure students were learning, and schools and teachers were held responsible if kids did not meet [...]
Originally Published at Education Opportunity Network Institute for America's Future on June 25, 2013 The end of another school year is leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths. A steady diet of government austerity and top-down “accountability” mandates have left numerous communities across the country with [...]
The last day of school is usually one in which students and parents rejoice. It is thought of as a reprise, a temporary break taken before we come together again in the fall of the year. Never do we imagine that when school closes for the summer [...]
