Chris Goering | Public School Shakedown

Methinks Pearson Doth Propriety-Ize Too Much

On Friday I received a 188 word email invitation to an “Arkansas Forum” to “learn about and discuss current hot topics in Arkansas academia” from the Pearson company. Invitations like this aren’t all that uncommon; I receive them with some frequency and it seems that every single day there is a book buyer on campus with 3 million titles on her or his electric reader that wants to stop by my office, take a look at my books, and buy them from me. I’ve only responded to either a couple of times, asking them to promptly get lost.

Will the Left Wake Up to Charter Realities?

While some—including President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—want charter school proliferation, the dangers of doing so, of giving choice to some, seem to far outweigh any benefits.

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Charter School

School choice

SHOULD PARENTS OPT THEIR STUDENTS OUT OF THE 11TH GRADE LITERACY EXAM?

Reposted from the Arkansas Times. There’s a dirty secret in the hallways of all public high schools in Arkansas this week—the state is giving a bogus test to all eleventh graders on Tuesday and Wednesday: The Arkansas Grade 11 Literacy Exam. That’s right, for parts of the day on Tuesday and Wednesday, your 11th grader is going to spend time under high stakes testing pressure, chained to a chair, unable to so much as use the bathroom for large chunks of time all for no good earthly reason. Subjecting your students—who by the way have been tested more than any students in American history—to another test is asinine and here’s why.

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Reign of Error in Your Ways: An Open Letter to Arne Duncan

We write to you today with all seriousness and hopes that you come across our letter, read it, and reconsider your own Reign of Error as Secretary of Education. We are two lifelong educators who currently work, teach, and research together at the University of Arkansas. It is an honor to be invited to review Diane Ravitch’s new book and participate in its national release today. Rather than writing a garden variety book review, we decided that we would share lessons that Ms. Ravitch explores with the current Secretary of Education, Mr. Arne Duncan, in the form of an open letter.

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Diane Ravitch

Arne Duncan

Is it time for a holding pattern?

Public education is under attack from just about every possible angle as we enter the 2013-2014 school year. Many think its days are numbered, but I happen to side with the others who believe that public education is a civil rights issue because without it, our democracy and country are lost or worse. It must be saved.

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Public Schools

Education Reform

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Home About Current Articles Legislation Map Meet the Bullies Resources/Partners Donate Featured Writers Contact Privacy Policy The Progressive Magazine	Background: The attack on public education is an attack on the very heart of our democracy. Yet the "school choice" movement has succeeded in setting the terms of the conversation. To the layperson, "school choice" and "education reform" sound like benign policy goals that aim to improve children's access to high-quality education. The Progressive Magazine announces a major new online resource to EXPOSE the behind-the-scenes effort to privatize our public schools, and CONNECT propublic school activists nationwide.	The Progressive is a monthly leftwing magazine of investigative reporting, political commentary, cultural coverage, activism, interviews, poetry, and humor. The Progressive Magazine is particularly well situated to provide such a platform. A national political magazine founded in 1909 by Fighting Bob La Follette, it has been a voice for democracy and social justice for over 100 years. From our base in Madison, Wisconsin, we have made the attack on public schools a particular focus of our reporting.
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