Year: 2014

England is Trying to Catch up with Massachusetts: England’s Secretary of Education says Massachusetts’ Education System is One of the Best in the World!

Deborah Duncan Owens education reform, England, Great Britain , , , ,

Wow!  Thanks, Michael Gove!  BBC Education News Correspondent Sean Coughlan quoted Gove in 2013 as saying, “No national curriculum can be modernised without paying close attention to what’s been happening in education internationally,” citing Hong Kong, Massachusetts, Singapore and Finland as as “the world’s most successful school systems”.

Reminiscent of the U.S., teachers in England have confronted an ideological sentiment that their schools need reforming in order to address the downward spiral of their students on international measures of academic achievement.  Under the leadership of Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron, led the initiative to re-write England’s national curriculum to make it more “rigorous, engaging and tough.”  I wonder, however, if the writers of England’s revised curriculum examined Massachusetts’ standards and curriculum as a model.  And, if they did, was it the set of standards and curriculum that created Massachusetts’ excellent education system and made it worthy of such praise?  Or did they examine the one-size-fits all CCSS that was adopted by Massachusetts in order for their state to be aligned with the rest of the U.S.?

I wonder, too, why our country didn’t simply look to the Massachusetts’ education system for a model of excellence instead of embarking on the corporate inspired Achieve model for developing education standards?  Another thought occurs to me as well.  It seems that teacher tenure and teacher unions may very well be a very good thing for educational excellence.  At least that’s the case in Massachusetts.

 

The NAACP’s Proud Tradition of Advocating for all Children — Charter Schools are not the Solution

Deborah Duncan Owens Uncategorized ,

Just a reminder of the NAACP’s position on Charter Schools.  Good charter schools only serve only a small percentage of children, they are proving to be a tool for segregation, and they divert needed funds from public schools.  Today’s charter school movement is far removed from the original notion that they could be a source of innovation.

“The NAACP rejects the emphasis on charter schools as the vanguard approach for the education of children, instead of focusing attention, funding, and policy advocacy on improving existing, low performing public schools and will work through local, state and federal legislative processes to ensure that all public schools are provided the necessary funding, support and autonomy necessary to educate all students.”

http://nepc.colorado.edu/blog/naacp-resolution-charter-schools

The NAACP fully supports public schools.

Coalition of Pastors Call for Halt to Privatization of Education

Deborah Duncan Owens charter schools , ,

“There are two competing visions for public education: one weakens the public portion, and one strengthens it. On one side, there is a drive to defund public education, de-professionalize teaching, misuse test scores to declare schools as failing, and institute paths to privatize schools in the name of school reform. These privatization schemes take the form of private school vouchers, for-profit virtual schools, and corporate chain charter schools that do not serve all students equally.”

We appreciate the insightful words.  Thank you.  We appreciate your support.

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20141019-coalition-of-pastors-urges-support-for-public-schools.ece

 

 

What Happened to Ruby Bridges’ Dream for The Ruby Bridges School of Community Service & Social Justice?

Deborah Duncan Owens charter schools, new orleans, ruby bridges , ,

A few years ago Ruby Bridges had a dream for the William Frantz Elementary School, the school she made famous for breaking the color barrier in New Orleans.  Of course, Hurricane Katrina was hailed by free market champion, Milton Friedman, as an opportunity to completely remake the New Orleans Public School system and privateers rushed in to fire all the teachers and turn all the schools into charter schools.  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan repeated Friedman’s assertion in 2010, stating that Hurricane Katrina was “the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans.”

The Ruby Bridges Foundation had an excellent idea:  honor the history of her efforts and create a school that would “feature a social justice curriculum” and focus “on history, civil rights, civic engagement, leadership development, and service learning.”  And they also envisioned a Civil Rights Museum as part of the site.  The foundation applied for a charter from the state of Louisiana.  I’m not sure what happened to her application, but I can speculate that the cost of renovating the William Frantz Elementary School was cost prohibitive.  Coming to the rescue was Crescent City Schools, a charter school operator funded by venture capitalists through the Newschools Venture Fund, public tax dollars and through donations they solicit on the website.  Acknowledging that the school site’s history is significant, Kacie Fusilier of Crescent City Schools stated, “We recognize the symbolism of us returning children to that school.”  And she explained that they are “working to cultivate a stronger relationship with Bridges herself.”

Of course, the fact that William Frantz Elementary School has been renovated since Hurricane Katrina is a good thing.  And a few days ago, the school unveiled a a statue of Ruby Bridges to commemorate her historical act of social justice when she was just a child.  It’s a beautiful statue.  However, I can’t help but cringe at the fact that the school has been renamed and now bears the name Aliki Academy.   Why not maintain its original name to honor its place in history?  Or, better yet, if the charter school operators truly wanted to honor the symbolism the school represents, why not rename it the Ruby Bridges School?

You will not find the concept of social justice in Aliki Academy’s mission statement.  Rather, they promote things like grit and excellence.  Their philosophy reflects the no-excuses attitude so prevalent in charter schools:

The educational philosophy of the Akili Academy of New Orleans is driven by our college preparatory mission. Our philosophy is based on four core values:

  1. All students can learn, regardless of background.
  2. Great teachers and great teaching are essential to student academic success.
  3. A highly structured, focused, and accountable school culture drives student achievement.
  4. Data analysis drives effective instruction.

Ruby Bridges’ place in history should be honored.  She did attend the ceremony unveiling her statue at Aliki Academy along with her mother and her former teacher.  It would have been so much more meaningful, however, if the school actually bore her name.  I wonder if a hundred years from now, or even twenty years from now, people will lose the historical memory of what occurred at the William Frantz Elementary School?  Will people ask why the there is a statue of a little girl on the site and why the school has two names on its building?  Where is the social justice in erasing Ruby Bridges’ name from the school?

Why I Wrote “The Origins of the Common Core: How the Free Market Became Public Education Policy”

Deborah Duncan Owens Common Core Book, conservatism, corporate education reform, david berliner, diane ravitch, education reform, free market education policies, high stakes tests

My book will be released next January by Palgrave Macmillan.  It represents a number years of research which began when I was an elementary public school teacher in Mississippi.  What originally began as an inquiry into the voucher movement emerged throughout the implementation of No Child Left Behind and the introduction of the Common Core State Standards and Race to the Top policies.

http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/the-origins-of-the-common-core-deborah-duncan-owens/?isb=9781137482679

It’s Sunday morning and my husband, Thomas Fiala,  and I are listening again to an interview with David Berliner that was posted on Chalk Face radio last summer.*  Berliner has been a valuable voice in education policy for quite a number of years.  The book he wrote with Bruce Biddle in 1995, The Manufactured Crisis, is an essential read for anyone attempting to understand education policy history.  I read The Manufactured Crisis when it was first released.  It remains on my bookshelf, now highlighted, annotated, and a little worse for wear — an enduring valuable resource.

David Berliner was asked by Shaun Johnson, how do we go about having a conversation with our teacher colleagues about what’s happening in education?  Berliner basically said, by somehow getting enough people to talk about it will get the conversation going.  I found it interesting that the interview began with the notion that we need to get a conversation going, given that the blogosphere seems to be well populated with voices opposing Race to the Top policies and the Common Core.  Grassroots movements, such as the opt-out movement, have indeed been fueled by the blogs.  However, it’s hard to stop a freight train, particularly when it carries a cargo laden with millions of federal RTTT dollars and a slew of free market devotees poised to make huge profits from charter school expansion policies, creating data mining systems, publishing and administered standardized tests, and promoting Teach for America and alternate certification paths for teachers.  Well funded conservative think tanks have dominated education reform discussion for many years and they continue to fuel the education reform freight train, persevering in efforts to free-marketize and privatize public education.

The grassroots movement to address failed education policies certainly lack the financial resources of those who are actually making education policy in the U.S.  To the billionaires who have a seat in policy discussions, the blogosphere represents a swarm of mosquitoes biting at their heels, which they too often seem to easily swat away. Will grassroots efforts have an impact?  YES!!  Certainly, for example, the opt-out movement has the power to impact education policy — and it doesn’t cost a thing to simply refuse to take a standardized test.

One of my motivations in writing the Origins of the Common Core was to do my part in helping to get a meaningful conversation started.  However, I wanted to not only get teachers involved in the conversation, but to get all citizens involved who support their public schools and local control over those public schools, something that Berliner indicated was important.  I realized that what was needed was a coherent story that helped explain how we ended up in this place and time in education policy history.  On March 2, 2014, as I was completing my book, Diane Ravitch spoke at the first Network for Education conference in Texas, echoing my thoughts.  In her speech she explained, “The problem that liberals have is liberals believe that facts will persuade people.  Conservatives understand that stories persuade people, so we must have our story.  We already have the facts. … There is no question that the facts are on our side.  But we have to shape the narrative. … So its very important that we shape our narrative to say we’re defending American democracy, we’re defending the children, we’re fighting for what’s right.  We have the narrative.  We’ve got to think about our rhetoric and get the story to the public …”.**   In writing this book I have tried my best to accomplish this task.

Over the years, as I transitioned from elementary teacher to teacher educator, first at Arkansas State University and now at Elmira College in New York, I continued to try to make sense of what was happening in education policy. Why is America so convinced that our public schools are a failure?  Why were the dominant voices in education policy coming from conservative think tanks, continuously promoting school choice, high stakes standardized testing, VAM teacher accountability models, the erosion of local public school governance, and national standards?  And in spite of the voices of scholars like David Berliner, Susan Ohanian, Alfie Kohn, Patrick Shannon, Joel Spring, and Gerald Bracey, to name just a few, who for many years warned the American public that we were on the wrong track, the freight train of systemic education reform continued at break neck speed.  Nevertheless, the voices of these giants should be heeded as never before!  Seamlessly, however, from one presidential administration to the next, education policies were re-hashed, re-framed, re-named, and foisted on the American public.  I breathed a sigh of relief when Barack Obama spoke along the campaign trail about the problems associated with high stakes testing and promised to address these issues once he became president.  It soon became obvious, however, that President Obama would heed the siren song of free market ideas in the education arena.  His appointment of Arne Duncan solidified his position and, once again, the U.S. would continue its quickstep march toward free market education reform. Race to the Top policies would solidify the Obama administration’s allegiance to free market reform initiatives in education.

While much has been written about the current problems associated with the Common Core and corporate reformers, and certainly Bill Gates is being well and thoroughly blasted on the blogosphere, how is it that the Common Core so readily became the law of the land?  And why are charter schools seen as the panacea for education reform?  I set out in The Origins of the Common Core to lend my small voice in telling that story.  It was an interesting journey, leaving me to realize that our federal education policy makers acquiesced their decision making responsibilities to corporate reformers a long time ago.  Tech companies have led the way.  Bill Gates is walking, albeit with much more money at his disposal, in the footsteps of other technology corporate superstars like David Kerns and Lou Gerstner, who led the charge to revolutionize education policy through systemic free market reform education policies.  Other billionaires would lend their effort to these efforts.  Along the way, the voices of less monied education scholars were systematically silenced.  Federal policies, built on the false notion that America’s public schools were a total failure, continued to thrive in spite of documentation to the contrary.

The titles of the chapters in The Origins of the Common Core demonstrate a road map to my journey in writing the book:

  1. The Nation Was at Risk and the Public Schools Did It
  2. Public Schools: Conservative Coalescence and the Socialist Threat
  3. Friedmanomics, School Vouchers and Choice
  4. Corporate Superstars and an Inconvenient Truth
  5. Public Schools and a Third Way of Governing
  6. NCLB and the Texas Tall Tale
  7. Education Reform and the Deep State: An Alternate Universe
  8. The CCSS: Systemic Education Reform Writ Large
  9. CCSS: The Gorilla in the Room for Free Market Education Reform

*http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chalkface/2014/08/17/david-berliner-the-chalk-face

**http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/diane-ravitch-speech-network-public-education-conference

http://www.amazon.com/The-Manufactured-Crisis-Americas-Schools/dp/0201441969

“That Kid”

Deborah Duncan Owens Uncategorized , ,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/14/teacher-to-parents-about-that-kid-the-one-who-hits-disrupts-and-influences-your-kid/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

If Valerie Strauss’ story doesn’t touch your heart, nothing will.  I’m a mom to one of “those kids.”  He’s 24 now.  He’s brilliant.  But we had some dark days and I finally home schooled him after the 8th grade.  He has Asperger’s Syndrome.  I love him dearly.  He’s in college now and doing very well.  Thank you, Valerie Strauss for sharing this.  I couldn’t help but cry when I read your article.

I’ve been on both sides of the teacher desk.  I’ve been a teacher to “those kids.”   And I’ve been the mom of “that kid.”

Teachers are special.  Whether they teach young kids or older kids, they are special.  Elementary teachers care for those children who throw temper tantrums, are angry, or just can’t get along in the classroom.  High school teachers care for students who are pregnant, have run-ins with the law, and/or are grappling with very grown-up issues.

And parents seek solace and understanding.  Our dreams for our children are fragile at times.  We seek Providence in dark days.

Thank you, Valerie Strauss.  Your article means more than you’ll ever know.

Deb

Arne Duncan Kicks the Education Can Down the Road: NCLB Waivers for 3-4 Years!

Deborah Duncan Owens Arne Duncan, Common Core, corporate education reform, ESEA, free market education reforms, NCLB Waivers, standardized tests

Arne Duncan will allow states to apply for No Child Left Behind waivers shortly that will remain in place for three or four years.  Of course, in order to receive a waiver, states are required to implement Race to the Top policies such as college and career ready standards (CCSS or a mirror image) and teacher evaluation systems largely based on student test scores.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/13/education-department-drops-new-no-child-left-behind-waiver-guidance

In effect, Duncan is kicking the ESEA can down the road and solidifying Obama education policies for the next few years — beyond the next presidential election cycle.  Of course, this is very good news for corporate education reformers and education entrepreneurs.  The Obama administration is sending out strong signals that he and Duncan will not be tampering with policies that maintain their ability to profit from the education field.  They can continue to operate in an unfettered free market and receive federal and state dollars to open charter schools, develop data systems to monitor school children, teachers, and schools, promote curricular material to support the CCSS, and create, administer, and score all those standardized tests!

It’s also good news for Republicans and Democrats on sides of the aisle.  They are off the hook now.  So what if they don’t get around to reauthorizing ESEA?  Heck, it hasn’t been reauthorized for a dozen years now.  No hurry.  Arne Duncan maintains a firm grip on the the noose around the public education sector and will for the next few years.  No need for messy debates in Congress about education policy.  No need for presidential candidates to debate education policy.  There’s absolutely no need to ruffle the feathers of those big foundations, corporations, and philanthropists who dominate education policy discussions.  Any threat to their stakeholder status in education may mean a reduction in their donations to political campaigns.   A grazing field of corporate profit continues to expand in America’s wild west of unproven free market education reform opportunities and initiatives.