eduwonkette
Through the lens of social science, eduwonkette took a serious, if sometimes irreverent, look at some of the most contentious education policy debates in this opinion blog. Find eduwonkette’s complete archives prior to Jan. 6, 2008 here. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
What Can $7,789,623 Buy in New York City?
A) 3,894,812 subway rides
B) 15,579 pairs of Prada heels
B) 15,579 pairs of Prada heels
Federal
Opinion
Roberta Flack, Vietnam, and NCLB - All in One Op-Ed
It's a deadly slow week in education policy, so I'll pass along this op-ed in the School Library Journal (Killing Me Softly: No Child Left Behind) on a teacher's decision to leave teaching because of the No Child Left Behind Act. Minus 5 points for the melodramatic beginning (I feel like the last marine who got out before the siege of Khe Sanh. I feel like the one Titanic band member who overslept, missed the voyage, and lived. In my darkest moments, I feel like a traitor.), but you can't hold that against a guy who writes young adult fiction. Here's an excerpt:
Education
Opinion
Watch Out, Elizabeth Green, Erin Einhorn, & Jenny Medina!!!
NYC education reporters take note. Straying from his Code Blue demeanor, Mayor Mike proves that he will devour you (without checking your calories) if you accuse him of "maintaining" anything - about NYC schools or otherwise. That's a shame, because this has been a blockbuster school year for "maintaining" in NYC. (Greatest hits: here, here, and here.)
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Who Slipped a Mickey in John Merrow's Kool-Aid?
It wasn't me, that's for sure. John Merrow shed crocodile tears this morning over public education's "upside-down universe where student outcomes are not allowed to be connected to teaching." He gives a special shout out to New York, though conveniently fails to mention that our tests are administered smack in the middle of the year. We'll give him a pass for forgetfulness - but watch your drink next time, J.
Education
Opinion
And the Winner is....
Someone should make tee shirts.
From left to right, the Fordham Foundation's Liam Julian, Mike Petrilli, and Checker Finn. If you missed the beginning of this thread, here's the original name brainstorm.
From left to right, the Fordham Foundation's Liam Julian, Mike Petrilli, and Checker Finn. If you missed the beginning of this thread, here's the original name brainstorm.
Education
Opinion
TNTP Throws Down the Gauntlet
Why sort out all those pesky details? Let's get to the table, says TNTP in its latest statement.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Joel Klein Blames Idle Teachers for $4 Gas, Subprime Crisis
Forget Secretary of Education - this guy should be running the Fed. This morning, the Daily News reported that "Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said the teachers union - and policies that keep instructors from their classrooms - bear some of the blame for next school year's budget cuts."
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Guest Blogger Tim Daly on The New Teacher Project's Report
Tim Daly is the President of The New Teacher Project and the lead author of "Mutual Benefits."
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Why Buy the Teacher When You Can Have the Teaching for Free?
New Yorkers love themselves some incentives. We have incentives for students to do well on tests and incentives for parents to take their kids to the doctor. Now that we can't enjoy a meal without contemplating its caloric content, we have guilt-based incentives to eat Pinkberry yogurt instead of Beard Papa's cream puffs. Last week, the New Teacher Project argued that teachers in the "Absent Teacher Reserve" have no incentive to get a job. This morning, it's clear that, in many cases, principals have no incentive to hire them.
Education
Opinion
Vote Early, Vote Often
You know you loved the picture - so between now and Thursday night at midnight, help pick a name for Fordham's boy band.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Why You Should Read the Fine Print in the New Teacher Project Report
From the coverage of the New Teacher Project's report, "Mutual Benefits: New York City’s Shift to Mutual Consent in Teacher Hiring,” you'd think that the 235 teachers excessed in 2006 and remaining in the "absent teacher reserve" in December 2007 are the worst of NYC's worst teachers. Consider the National Center on Teacher Quality's retelling: "They are also a generally substandard bunch, with a higher rate of unsatisfactory ratings on their personnel records than their more successful peers. For those content to do very little in life, why give up the life of an excessed teacher?" Or, as the NTP's press release put it, "By September 2007, unselected excessed teachers from 2006 were six times as likely to have received a prior “Unsatisfactory” rating as other New York City teachers."
Curriculum
Opinion
Guest Blogger Sol Stern Weighs In on Social Justice Teaching
Sol Stern, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, responds both to my post and Bill Ayers's post on social justice teaching.
Education
Opinion
Guest Blogger Bill Ayers on Social Justice Teaching
I asked Bill Ayers, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois - Chicago, to weigh in on teaching for social justice. You can read his blog here.