I am quickly becoming enamored with all things Diane Ravitch. In an interview with the Washington Post she expresses the frustration that every educator I know is feeling about the state and federal direction of so called education reform.

The local conservative mouthpiece is at it again. This time going after teachers and that dastardly union of theirs. Yes, Gary, when you go after the union you go after the teachers because the union speaks for the VAST MAJORITY of educators in the state of Minnesota. Let’s see what inaccuracies we can find in [...]

I don’t normally just post a link without comment but after reading an article by Diane Ravitch about education reform entitled, “In Need of a Renaissance“, I had to share. It’s long but well worth the read for anyone interested in the ongoing debates to improve education.

There has been considerable discussion lately at both the state and national levels about “evaluating teachers” and “teacher effectiveness” in general. In particular, I just noticed this post at the United States Department of Education website:

So I read this story on MPR NewsQ: St. Paul, Minn. (AP) — A state consultant has a found some common failings among 32 of the state’s lowest-performing schools, including poor leadership and a lack of parental engagement. [emphasis mine]

Governor Pawlenty reintroduces initiatives contained in his first Race To The Top application in the form of a legislative reform bill.

State leaders in Minnesota discuss education reform and how to move forward on accessing federal dollars.

In their quest to demonize teacher unions across the country, conservatives have typically used two main issues with which to attack: teacher tenure and merit pay. The latter argument is presented as the union and its members simply not wanting to be evaluated based upon “merit“. Everyone else is evaluated based upon their merit, so [...]

President Obama discusses education and his agenda for improving the system.

Former Secretary of State Collin Powell and President Obama discuss changing education in the United States.

President Obama speaks to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee Issues Conference and takes questions from senators.

Read an excellent piece this weekend about the education reform debate and where teachers fit into that debate. Written by Anthony Mullen, the National Teacher of the Year, it describes a roundtable discussion with political leaders about the topic of education and how it can be improved. Needless to say, it didn’t turn out well [...]

President Obama speaks about restoring security for middle class families after a lost decade of declining wages, eroding retirement security and escalating health care and tuition costs.

President Obama announces a proposed $1.3 billion investment in Race to the Top, a program to encourage innovation and excellence in education through competitive grants, at an event at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, VA.

This past week Minnesota 2020, a progressive think tank, came out with two articles critical of the Minnesota Department of Education and the grant it has prepared to compete for federal Race to the Top education funds. The first article suggests that despite the potential for $175 million in federal grant money the state could [...]

I have been hesitating on saying to much or engaging to much on the issue of the current Race To The Top Grant that Minnesota is writing to hopefully obtain federal education monies because the Minnesota Department of Education is asking for the contents of the grant to be kept secret. That being said, this [...]

Education Minnesota announced today that they have endorsed Assistant Senate Majority Leader, Tarryl Clark (DFL) to run against Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th District. From Clark’s website: Clark’s work ethic, her willingness to listen to educators and work with them, and her strong campaign make her the best candidate for the job, Education Minnesota President [...]

Some recent developments in the world of education here in Minnesota have me considering some questions about education reform that I am hoping my fellow educators can help me answer. I have heard and am relatively well versed in all of the reasons why we should resist performance pay which emphasizes test scores as its [...]