In Case You Missed It – July 8, 2024

Here are links to last week's^† articles receiving the most attention on NEIFPE's social media accounts. Keep up with what's going on, what's being discussed, and what's happening with public education.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The assault on public education has displayed the fundamental disconnect between the civic purposes of education and citizens who see education as just another private, consumer good–skills to be acquired (by those who can afford it) in order to enhance the ability of one’s children to succeed in the marketplace." -- Sheila Kennedy in The MAGA Vendetta Against Arts And Education.

PROJECT 2025

The MAGA Vendetta Against Arts And Education

Former Republican Sheila Kennedy writes about politics in Indiana. In this article, she explains an imminent threat to public education.

From Sheila Kennedy

I forget who first popularized the phrase “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” but if Trump should win in November, Project 2025 has outlined policies that would dramatically escalate the attack on public education.

Here are some of the elements of what I can only describe as an assault on steroids:

• Title I, the $18 billion federal fund that supports low-income students, would disappear in a decade.
• Federal special education funds would flow to school districts as block grants with no strings attached, or even to savings accounts for parents to use on private school or other education expenses.
• The U.S. Department of Education would be eliminated.
• The federal government’s ability to enforce civil rights laws in schools would be scaled back.

The proposals are contained in a comprehensive policy agenda that’s part of a Heritage Foundation-led initiative called Project 2025: Presidential Transition Project, which includes nearly 900 pages of detailed plans for virtually every corner of the federal government and a database of potential staffers for a conservative administration. It will also feature a playbook for the first 180 days of a new term.

Project 2025 was devised by several former Trump administration officials and allies, working with dozens of aligned advocacy organizations (misnamed “think tanks.”) including Moms for Liberty. You will recall that Moms for Liberty is the organization that fought school boards over COVID-19 safety protocols, advocates for censorship of books in school libraries, and endorses far-right school board candidates.

THE EDUCATION WARS

The Education Wars Provides A Guide For Supporters Of Public Education

The podcasters at Have You Heard provide a playbook to defend public education.

"If we are to preserve our schools, it must be clear that public education is for all of us. We must win the peace.

"If we fail at that, we will lose our schools. And if we lose them, they won’t come back."

From Peter Greene at Forbes

In their 2020 book, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire sounded the alarm:

The threat to public education...is grave. A radical vision for unmaking the very idea of public schools has moved from the realm of ideological pipe dream to legitimate policy.

In their new book The Education Wars (out this week), Schneider and Berkshire update us on how that radical vision, now fueled by the culture wars, is faring.

The culture wars—roaring debates over what schools are for, what they should teach, who should decide— are not new. But the writers note that “this time it’s different.” This time, the questions under debate include the question of whether public schools should exist at all.

CHOICE

Debunking the School Choice Movement’s Top Evangelist

Corey DeAngelis is on a mission to demonize public schools—and promote voucher programs that benefit his wealthy backers.

From Peter Greene at The Progressive

Corey DeAngelis is an influential, if not the most influential, voice in the rightwing campaign to demonize public schools and privatize public education. The guy’s résumé hits all the bases in the libertarian gameplan. After earning a doctorate at the University of Arkansas’s education reform program (funded by the pro-school choice Walton family), DeAngelis helped found the Education Freedom Institute, became a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation, worked as an adjunct scholar at the CATO Institute, took up an appointment as a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and was hired on as a senior fellow at Betsy DeVos’s American Federation for Children.

He still holds all of those jobs, but his more common title is “school choice evangelist.” As the recent school voucher wave has surged in state after state, DeAngelis has been there to spread the word. While on tour in support of his new book, he distills the current pro-voucher argument.

In a recent talk at the Heritage Foundation, DeAngelis touched on most of the main arguments for vouchers (many of them false) and revealed a few truths about the pro-voucher strategy.

1. The Evil Unions and COVID...

LOCAL NEWS

Imagine if every child has a library of their own

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is a free children's book gifting program that she started in 1995. The program began by offering every child in Sevier County, Tennessee, the area where Dolly was born and raised, a free age-appropriate book each month in the mail until the age of five, regardless of family income. In 2000, the Imagination Library became so popular that Dolly announced that she wanted to make the program available to any community that would partner with her and support it locally. The program has expanded and is currently located in 1,800 local communities in the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Now, the Imagination Library is coming to Fort Wayne.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a pathway to bridging the reading gap between low-income families and their wealthier counterparts. But most of all, the library is fun for children and families.

Inspired by Parton’s favorite children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could,” Allen County Public Library staff has launched a spirited $100,000 fundraising campaign with the Allen County Public Library Foundation to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to local children. The program gives children one free book each month from birth to age 5.

The enthusiasm is palpable, with nearly 900 Allen County families eager to enroll their children — a testament to the community’s belief in the power of early literacy.

**Note: The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette is behind a paywall. Digital access, home delivery, or both are available with a subscription. Staying informed is essential; one way to do that is to support your local newspaper. For subscription information, go to fortwayne.com/subscriptions/ [NOTE: NEIFPE has no financial ties to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette]

^†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted by the end of the day every Monday except after holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.

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Book Review: Letters to a Young Teacher

by Jonathan Kozol

Reviewed by Susan Berry

Jonathan Kozol is an educator, activist, and author of more than eleven books. His most popular book, you may remember, was Savage Inequalities, a book that showed the “extremes of wealth and poverty” in our nation’s schools. He is a strong advocate for inner-city children and those who work with them. Kozol has been a teacher and understands daily life in a classroom. He is frustrated with vouchers and inequity among schools. He is especially frustrated with the excessive testing being forced on our students and teachers. He agrees with his good friend, the late Mr. Fred Rogers, that children need “open space and open time.” He contends that the “sacredness he saw in children” has been replaced by concerns like “economic value,” “utility,” and “productivity.”

Kozol worries too about the young men and women becoming teachers. He worries that their energy, enthusiasm, and passion may not last. And he prays that all teachers never lose the joy and tenderness that “brings good people to the task of teaching.” Kozol understands kids and teachers and he shows that support in all the letters he has written to a first-year teacher and has published in this book.

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Book Review: Finnish Lessons

Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland? by Pasi Sahlberg

For years, educators have been hearing about the exemplary reading teachers in Finland. Their highly regarded literacy program has been in place for more than 30 years; in fact, many reading specialists from the United States (and other countries) have observed their schools and studied the Finnish reading curriculum. Since 1988, as evidenced by their high PISA scores (an international student assessment test), Finnish students have been top performers in math and science, as well as reading. Now the world is asking what can be learned from this educational change in Finland.

Finland is a small country with 5.5 million people. It is about the size of the state of Minnesota. Finland completely reorganized its schools in the early 70’s. The central idea of “peruskoulu” was to merge existing grammar schools, civic schools, and primary schools into a comprehensive nine-year municipal school. That means that students of different socioeconomic levels would all attend the same schools. Early childhood care and voluntary free preschool are provided by the government. Primary school begins at age 7, followed by a lower secondary level (grade 9, age 16). Then comes general upper secondary school which usually leads to university or vocational upper secondary school which leads to either work or vocational college.

Schools are small with an average size of 200 students. (With less government money now available schools are becoming larger and that is a concern for many.) Free lunches are provided to all and children with special needs are identified early. Each building has enough counselors and special education teachers for all students. There is no standardized testing until the end of general upper secondary school.

Education policies in Finland encourage “collaboration and friendly rivalry, not competition and race to the top”. Finnish educators look at accountability as threatening and say that it damages trust and critical thinking among teachers and students. Nokia is the biggest manufacturer in Finland and they contend that “if people work or learn in an environment where avoidance of mistakes and fear of failure are dominant, workers typically don’t think for themselves.”

So where does the United States fit into this picture? The author says that because this system works in Finland doesn’t guarantee that it will work in other countries. This book is not a blueprint but it does give powerful ideas and suggestions for all countries:

1. Equal opportunities are important for all children. Invest in early childhood education and primary school with a big focus on literacy.
2. Teachers are treated as professionals. A master’s degree is required for a beginning teacher. Finland pays for this higher education. Finland values its teachers; good teaching trumps all other factors.
3. Finland’s policy on accountability is to focus on learning. Primary school is considered a “standardized – testing free zone.”
4. The public trusts its schools. That began in the late 1980’s and continues today.
5. Political stability and “sustainable leadership” help the economy and the schools.

Educators in Finland are aware of their success and aim to continue that education to all their children. They call it the “Big Dream” and this is what they strive to attain: “Create a community of learners that provides the conditions that allow young people to discover their talents.”

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Book Review: The Flat World and Education

The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity will Determine Our Future by Linda Darling-Hammond

Reviewed by Susie Berry

Linda Darling-Hammond is well known for her work as an educator, researcher, and author. She began her work as a public school teacher (with a B.A. degree from Yale in 1973) and now holds an Ed.D. from Temple (1978). She has just been named one of the nation’s ten most influential people affecting educational policy and has served as the leader of President Barack Obama’s educational policy transition team.

This book compared (through many graphs and statistics) the math, science, and reading scores of students around the world. The discouraging information for anyone in the United States who cares about our children and our schools is that the last two decades have shown a substantial drop in our scores while the scores in many other countries have steadily improved.

Darling-Hammond is most concerned about the inconsistencies in both funding and academic achievement in the schools in this country. She notes that the emphasis on high-stakes testing (which was pushed in “No Child Left Behind”) correlates with the drop in our scores. She writes about the success of performance assessments using open-ended questions in the state of Connecticut and problem-solving assessments implemented in North Carolina.

Details about schools in Finland, Korea, and Singapore show how these countries have improved their scores for all students. Even with higher numbers of immigrant students and many in poverty, learning (particularly in the areas of problem solving and critical thinking) has continued to improve. Aggressive recruitment of bright, committed teachers and support of these teachers through on-going training consistently is a priority in these successful countries. Finland says that teachers are ranked highest in importance; Korea’s curriculum focuses on development of the whole child; and Singapore focuses on “thinking schools” with much less emphasis on testing.

How can the United States learn from countries that place a high priority on the education of their children? Darling-Hammond contends that the classroom teacher is “key.” Teachers need to be prepared through a strong pre-teaching curriculum, with strong skills in child development and educational pedagogy. They need to be prepared to expect all children to succeed. The inequality in funding between wealthy and poor districts must be remedied. Darling-Hammond also supports smaller schools – no more than 1,200 in high schools with an ideal of 300 – 500 students.

This book does not paint a pretty picture of education in this country, but the author did give specific suggestions on how we can learn from the success of other countries. She contends that an aggressive plan that would rapidly solve teacher shortages and dramatically upgrade teaching in all communities would cost $5 billion annually – far less than 1% of the cost thus far of the War in Iraq! Is this country ready to make that commitment?

Linda Darling-Hammond: The Flat World and Education - Video

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Book Review: A Mindful Nation

A Mindful Nation: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit by Tim Ryan

Reviewed by Susie Berry

This author, Tim Ryan, was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 at the age of 29. He is serving his fifth term and is focusing on improving the economic and social well-being of his constituents in Northeast Ohio. And now he is an author!

Ryan practices “mindfulness” each day and has researched how this practice of quiet thinking and quiet breathing can help war veterans, abusers, abuse victims, educators, and students. One of his researchers claims that time spent on mindfulness is time well spent. Jon Kabat-Zinn says that “we can be calm, open, attentive, and gentle, no matter how stressed out and self-absorbed we’ve become.” We can teach our children this same skill. Ryan says that kids who can regulate their emotions will do better in school. He says that kids who practice mindfulness will be more attentive and less distracted both at school and at home.

Ryan observed real public school classrooms and watched teachers help kids learn to be “mindful.” He watched classes of students learn about their brains and their emotions. He introduced us to several projects and the schools that were supporting them. Neuroscience supports this method of working with kids and now data is being collected to document its success.

Ryan feels strongly about these programs and is confident of their continued success. These ideas and programs sure feel healthier to me than adding another test to a child’s school day.

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Book Review: Many Children Left Behind

Many Children Left Behind by Deborah Meier and George Wood (Editors).

Reviewed by Susie Berry

Many Children Left Behind (edited by Deborah Meier and George Wood, 2004) is a compilation of essays written by educators and supported by detailed research. There has been considerable bashing of No Child Left Behind (a law mandated by the federal government) and these authors agree that much is wrong but this book gives suggestions on how we can attempt to “right that wrong.” The book is loaded with information so this review will only focus on testing – how it has changed curriculum and how it is affecting students, teachers, and schools.

One of the biggest problems of NCLB is how it measures schools. As part of the NCLB law, states are required to test students each year and show Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The issue is how the states do this testing. The law mandates that 100% of students must score at the “proficient” level by the year 2014. How reasonable is that expectation and is a 100% proficiency level even possible with the kinds of tests being given? ISTEP+ (Indiana’s yearly test) is a criterion-referenced test currently based on Indiana’s State Standards. Students must score above an arbitrarily selected “cut score” in order to pass. NCLB requires that a school be labeled “failing” if a certain number of students do not reach the “cut scores”. One of the problems is that the test themselves as well as the “cut scores” are often changed from year to year. It’s almost as if the state is setting up students to fail.

Then to complicate this complicated issue, there is a question of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and special needs students (what the law calls “students with disabilities”). Schools with a high number of these students are being punished and labeled “failing” – no matter what gains these students are making yearly. Large urban schools are most vulnerable.

Another issue that has surfaced with high-stakes testing is the increase in the high-school drop-out rate. Interestingly, students who have not done well on these tests eventually drop out of school. The consensus among the authors who contributed to this book is that the extensive standardized testing hurts more than the drop-out rate. Teaching to the test (so that students can pass, so that schools are not labeled “failing,” so that good teachers can keep their jobs) severely narrows the curriculum. There is less discussion, less critical thinking, and fewer school experiences. It’s not fun to teach and it is certainly not fun for the students. More than one student has come to school asking, “What kind of test do we have today?”

George Wood, one of the seven contributors to Many Children Left Behind, is a high-school principal married to a kindergarten teacher. He says that changing this law “will require a strategy that shows the progress of the standards and testing agenda and at the same time offers ways to focus on helping schools, especially those that serve our most vulnerable children.” He has these suggestions for a national campaign:

• Testing Moratorium – Call for a national or state-by-state moratorium on high-stakes testing. Tests need to have predictive value and should be linked to predicting success after school.
• Assessment of School Health – A measure of school health would show if children are engaged using their minds, and are “even happy”. It would also use samples of student work and academic achievement.
• Targeted Intervention – “We should begin by demanding that funding for our schools be equalized. Additional funds should flow to schools that serve our most needy students.

Wood contends that many supporters of NCLB have (had) good intentions. The one-size fits all, blame-and-shame agenda does nothing to help our schools and our children.

Monty Neill was another contributing author and he has these specific suggestions for helping our schools. He bases them all on “authentic accountability:”

• Shared Vision and Goals – Community goals should prioritize what is important in both academics and school life.
• Adequate Resources Used Well – Hire good teachers; spend money on professional development; and provide books, technology, and supplies in a comfortable, clean environment. Children who need more should be provided with more.
• Participation and Democracy – Teachers, parents, and administrators must play key roles in planning goals and expectations and appropriate ways to evaluate them.
• Prioritizing Goals – Standardized testing might be the easiest way to measure but improving the climate and culture in schools is more important.
• Multiple Forms of Evidence – Standardized tests do identify some educational problems but “accountability requires the use of both qualitative and quantitative evidence.” And the focus of all this assessment should be to improve instruction.
• Inclusion – Accountability and assessment should include all children but in-school and out-of-school factors should also be considered.
• Improvement – Schools and districts must implement procedures to “guide decision making” to improve the quality of schools and learning.
• Equity – All the measures established must focus on overcoming “the consequences of poverty and racism.”
• Balance – We should expect “equitable uses” of resources and a sound basis for educational reform.
• Intervention – “Firing teachers or changing governance are not paths to meaningful improvement. Intervention should focus on factors that can produce powerful improvement, such as rich professional development, stronger parent involvement, and high-quality classroom assessment.”

All this takes time but some states have begun implementing alternative forms of assessment and are minimizing the role of state standardized testing. Indiana and other states should follow and establish reasonable criteria that is good for students and truly will improve the quality of our schools.

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Book Review: The Shame of the Nation

The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America by Jonathan Kozol

Reviewed by Susie Berry

Jonathon Kozol has been writing about education and schools (particularly schools that support children of poverty) for more than 40 years. The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America provides compelling evidence that the poorest children in this country are being short-changed. For example when this book was written (2005), the amount of spending per pupil in Detroit was $9,576 compared to $12,825 per pupil in nearby, suburban, Bloomfield Hills. Kozol describes the horrible conditions of many schools in New York – mold, bugs, collapsing ceilings, and severe overcrowding. He quoted a letter from a child named Alliyah (an eight-year old from the Bronx) who said, “We do not have the things you have. You have clean things. We do not have. You have a clean bathroom. We do not have that. You have Parks and we do not have Parks. You have all the thing and we do not have all the thing … Can you help us?”

While making observations about the poor physical conditions of so many of these schools – and often comparing these conditions to the much better conditions of the schools in the suburbs, Kozol described teachers who were striving to do their best with kids despite all these obstacles. The descriptions of activities in classrooms and the high expectations of so many principals and teachers were heart warming. Kozol’s theme seemed to be that many principals and teachers are doing their best to be good teachers despite disturbing conditions.

Kozol and others (quoted in the book) are concerned about the discrepancies in money spent and the increase in “prescribed lessons” (He used “Success For All” as an example.) in the schools with underprivileged children. He compared that with more creative and joyful lessons in the schools with higher test scores. He sees a shift; schools are becoming segregated again – almost a case of “haves” and “have nots.” He quoted Congressman John Lewis (who was born to a family of sharecroppers in Pike County, Alabama) who spoke about the dismantling of court-ordered integration and the recent movement toward school vouchers. Lewis says that all these changes are leading us to “turn away from one another” and to “retreat into separate tribes.” This, contends Kozol, is “the shame of the nation.”

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Book Review: Learning on Other People's Kids: Becoming a Teach for America Teacher

This is from the blog, A Teacher's Fight

Reviewed by Eileen Doherty

Book Review: Learning on Other People's Kids by Barbara Torre Veltri

I just finished reading a book about Teach for America called Learning on Other People's Kids: Becoming a Teach for America Teacher by Barbara Torre Veltri. After countless numbers of conversations about whether or not TFA is good for schools and students, I decided that I better arm myself with some factual information since I don't want to unnecessarily discredit the organization. Here are a few of my thoughts from reading this book.

One only needs a little bit of common sense to realize that placing a TFA teacher, who only has about 5 weeks of training, into an urban classroom could be a recipe for disaster. Most TFA teachers have very little to no experience working with children or being in an urban environment. The original intention of TFA was to help urban or rural districts that had a difficult time finding and placing teachers in some of the most challenging schools by taking recent college graduates, putting them through teacher training during the summer, and placing them into these classrooms for at least 2 years. I can agree that using TFA teachers is better than putting uncertified, long-term substitutes into classrooms, but TFA has transformed into what I believe is a money-making business that ultimately preys on our neediest students.

"...many core members noted that they were "teaching out-of-field" (e.g., an English major teaching eighth-grade math). More serious questions surfaced with respect to the nearly 20% of TFA novices who were assigned to teach special education with no prior training or clinical exposure to special education classrooms."

The fact that TFA teachers were being placed in special education classrooms was a shock to me. Isn't this illegal? I figure that the only way schools would get away with this "crime" is if parents of special education students were not aware of their rights or that the teacher did not hold a special education license. This is just unconscionable.

Much of the book looks at how TFA teachers learn to be teachers. Unlike traditionally trained teachers who can refer to their combined practicum and student teaching experiences when they need to figure out what and how to teach, TFA novices can only rely on their limited group teaching experience from Summer Institute and their own experiences as students. When a TFA teacher enters the classroom, they have had no experience with running a classroom by themselves. The number of mistakes and mismanagement errors will be high and the students will be the ones waiting for their "teacher" to get things figured out. They are learning on other people's children.

Personally, I don't think poorly of the individual TFA teachers. The organization put them in an unfair situation in which they do not fully understand the true difficulty of the job or how they are ultimately giving children less than what they deserve. They also have to live up to some insanely demanding expectations. Corp members are expected to take on additional leadership responsibilities in schools like sponsoring clubs and writing grants. They also are required to attend corp meetings and attend university classes. Then there is the pressure to create results and make TFA look good. They have a certain type of allegiance to the organization that has to be maintained.

"It troubles me that, regardless of my good intentions, I am contributing to the cycle of inconsistency present in my school....

But, as I try to accomplish these goals, however, I am learning to be a teacher. Herein lies the struggle. My students need experienced teachers who know what works and can implement it effectively. Instead, they have me, and though I am learning quickly, I am still learning on them, experimenting on them, working on their time."

"I went through 4 years at Harvard and nothing was as hard as this."

The most troubling part of Teach for America is that there have been many corp members who have tried to speak up about problems and suggest ways to strengthen the educational foundations and provide better support to their members, but very little has changed. "Teach for America, Inc. spends three times as much on marketing and expansion, as it does on training." Any organization that does not address educational issues cannot claim to be putting students or schools first.

Some corp members have described TFA as acting like a cult. If you are not all for it, then you are made to feel that you are a bad person. There is a strange parallel between this organization mentality and the large charter school chains like Imagine Schools. I'll save that comparison for another blog post.

Overall, this book is worth reading to really understand how TFA harms schools and children. Veltri does a nice job of weaving research and anecdotes throughout the book. I also found it quite fascinating to look at TFA's tax forms and the example of their contract with a particular school district. My only criticism is that it gets a little repetitive with some of the ideas.

Book Review: What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten?

What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? by Susan Ohanian

Reviewed by Susie Berry

What Happened to Recess and Why Are Our Children Struggling in Kindergarten? is not just for parents and teachers of young children. It is for anyone concerned about the radical changes happening in the public schools (charters, vouchers, high-stakes testing, for example) in Indiana and across the country. While reading I marked (with my little book darts) many pertinent quotes from Ohanian and other educators, parents, and even students. Here are just a few of the quotes I “darted”:

From David Elkind, The Hurried Child: “International research shows that pushing children to read early causes later reading problems.”

From Lucy Haab, a longtime kindergarten teacher: “I am tired of the attitude that seems to serve politicians … if children have a difficult time learning something at age five, let’s ask them to learn it at age three.”

From Molly Ivins, who wrote about an excellent teacher she knows in Arizona: This teacher protested when legislators passed a law saying the only method that can be used to teach reading is phonics. She contends that phonics is a good way to teach reading but is certainly not the only way. She said, “There is not a single teacher in the Arizona Legislature. Why are they telling me how to do my job?” This teacher felt so strongly she resigned.

From Professor Stephen Krashen: He stated that in 2001 “Chicago spent $29 million in an attempt to boost test scores of 29,000 students. There might be an easier way,” suggests Krashen. “The time spent on reading for pleasure has a stronger impact on increasing reading test scores, and $29 million buys a lot of books.”

Annalise Schantz was the valedictorian of a high school class in Massachusetts (where high-stakes testing was encouraged by the governor). This was part of Schantz’s address to students, parents, administrators, and a few elected officials: She asked what separated her “from two, 50, or 120?” She said the “assigned numbers reflect nothing about the true character of an individual. Nothing about personality. Nothing about desire or will. Nothing about values or morals. Nothing about intelligence. Nothing about creativity. Nothing about heart.”

On testing, Ohanian says, “The notion that subjecting an eight-year old to a
17-hour test to prove that the state has standards is a colossal fraud as well as child abuse.”

Ohanian contends that schools should not be labeled based on test scores. She is afraid that testing is controlling the curriculum and worries about the fairness of the questions asked our students. Interestingly, even in 2002, when this book was written, parents were beginning to take stands on all the testing. Ohanian referenced parents in California, New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts. A California parent uses the slogan “High stakes are for tomatoes.”

Our voices need to be heard. Legislatures in our state need to be informed by teachers, administrators, and parents. We know what is best for our children; if the legislators don’t know how we feel we need to inform them.

I read this book and wrote this review before the Diane Ravitch speech in Fort Wayne March 13. It is noteworthy that the compelling research Ravitch cited is so similar to what Ohanian referenced in this book.

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Book Review: Feel-Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling

Feel-Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling by Alfie Kohn.

Reviewed by Susie Berry

Feel-Bad Education: And Other Contrarian Essays on Children and Schooling is Alfie Kohn’s newest book; he has written eleven others. It is a collection of nineteen essays on children and schooling.

Kohn hits the controversial topics of homework, grades, and standardized tests. One of his essays discusses learning, motivation, and creating non-readers. Another essay presents data about setting up wellness programs and the financial incentives to promote these programs. He compares research with these wellness programs and the motivations used with children in our schools. He questions the use of rewards in both places.

This book will cause you to rethink your beliefs, especially ideas about the use of rewards and punishments. These nineteen essays make this a very readable book for parents, educators, and those key leaders who make so many decisions pertaining to our children.

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Book Review: The Death and Life of the Great American School System

The Death and Life of the American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch.

Reviewed by Susie Berry

The Death and Life of the American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education was written by Diane Ravitch in 2011. Dr. Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. She is the featured speaker on March 13 at the Omnibus Lecture Series at IPFW.

In this book, Ravitch reviews the No Child Left Behind legislation which promised
a “new era of high standards, testing, and accountability in which not a single child would be overlooked”. Five years after this legislation was enacted, a panel of scholars and representatives from a conservative think tank presented evidence that none of the remedies advocated in NCLB were making a difference. According to Ravitch, choosing your child’s school also did not improve test scores. The information learned that day and the thorough research conducted after that presentation were really the basis for Ravitch’s change in thinking and the motivation for writing this book.

Ravitch addresses the newest information about charter schools, vouchers, the standards movement, accountability, and the “billionaire boys’ club”. She questions how corporate leaders – and many politicians – can write blanket prescriptions for restructuring schools without consulting educators.

The author’s research also indicates that the real problem facing schools is poverty and advocates for family involvement in education from an early age.

Based on Ravitch’s thorough research and keen insight into the educational needs of students, teachers, and families, her presentation on March 13 will surely impress.

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