tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post3155464606736277023..comments2024-03-09T03:19:57.797-05:00Comments on The Delaware Libertarian: Why isn't opposition to "ed reformists" news?Steven H. Newtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097470960863103473noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-43751160401099739002012-05-02T23:04:29.336-04:002012-05-02T23:04:29.336-04:00@coolspringer
Interesting links, thanks. I need ...@coolspringer<br /><br />Interesting links, thanks. I need to look these over.Steven H. Newtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09097470960863103473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-36548704419079077222012-05-02T21:36:58.202-04:002012-05-02T21:36:58.202-04:00I'm another on the "wary" list. I w...I'm another on the "wary" list. I wasn't really brought up to raise hell. :) I may favor some ways more than others but overall to me there are ideas and practices to keep and lose from both (all?) angles.<br /><br />Like the DSEA, Rodel also has many components and projects and they are by no means made up of drones any more than the DSEA.<br /><br />Anyway, mainly I wanted to add a point - there IS organized resistance to corporate ed reform in the same cloth of the scattered resistance, it is national and Delaware has an affiliate. They have next to no funding as far as I can tell, but they are pretty organized, and their vision goals are clear and admirable, important. I think it's fair to say that much resistance has been fueled by their organization and the work of those involved with them, especially post-Waiting for Superman. <br /><br />National: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/what-we-believe/<br /><br />Delaware PAA affiliate: http://www.communities4educationde.org/<br /><br />I haven't seen the local affiliate get a lick of press. Maybe that is by design, I don't know.<br /><br />And I think there is room for more such affiliates watchdogging various aspects of where vision (and Vision) is falling short. Not sure all those things will or should all fit under one group's umbrella.Coolspringernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-9080373427737550832012-05-01T14:51:24.083-04:002012-05-01T14:51:24.083-04:00@pandora
Love ya too, but please know this: Ds an...@pandora<br /><br />Love ya too, but please know this: Ds and Rs are both the problem on "reformer" issues.<br /><br />From Bush's NCLB to Obama's RTTT, what a mess.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-89243110214852614062012-05-01T13:53:18.177-04:002012-05-01T13:53:18.177-04:00So, in the booth, underr which column do you place...<i>So, in the booth, underr which column do you place the candidates names? D or R?</i><br /><br />Let me put on my political hat... I can tell you which party at least 70% of school board members belong to. So, adding a D or an R after their name isn't that difficult.<br /><br /><i>School board elections are not party affiliated</i><br /><br />Why yes, yes they are. For the most part. We just pretend they aren't.<br /><br />Can we please stop pretending that politics isn't involved in school boards? That all school board members are somehow above politics. That simply isn't true. Politics are becoming the driving force behind these elections.<br /><br />John, I love ya, but you need to see that school boards are political, and have been for quite some time.<br /><br />And, going back to the point of Steve's post and keeping my political hat firmly in place... changing the process for resisters might very well begin with changing the election date. If I were you, I would take the fact that we live in a blue state as an advantage, and play it for all it's worth.pandorahttp://delawareliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-28643829298135748872012-05-01T13:18:01.789-04:002012-05-01T13:18:01.789-04:00indeed they are winning. Moving elections to Nov w...indeed they are winning. Moving elections to Nov will have them win faster. They have the $$ and access to campaign tools that local community members who want to serve in a voluntary elected position for the benefit of children mostly don't have.<br /><br />So, in the booth, underr which column do you place the candidates names? D or R? School board elections are not party affiliated and the folks that pull a donkey or elephant "all" lever may elect the school board person by happenstance without engaging the issue at all? <br /><br />You can make the argument that the informed people will still come out, but now the rabble could mindlessly sway the election just like they often do in November anyway.<br /><br />I guess it boils down to how the community feels about the position and even more interestingly its electors. As you know access becomes and issue as school board elections are not from a pool of registered voters but of residents with positive IDs. If November rules come with moving the election, we ow disenfranchise some people. I wonder who those people are?<br /><br />I know I'm rambling, it's just not so cut and dry for me.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-22936434308558184362012-05-01T12:59:37.716-04:002012-05-01T12:59:37.716-04:00Red herring, or not... something has to change. A...Red herring, or not... something has to change. And, in case no one has noticed the ed reformers are winning anyway. <br /><br />Strategy wise... resisters have <i>nothing</i> to lose by moving school board elections to November. If anything, they would gain an audience ed reformers ignore for a reason. <br /><br />As it stands now, ed reformers will continue to pick off candidates/board members one by one. How's that working for ya?<br /><br />Move the elections to November and make everyone work for the voters they ignore and count (desperately) on not to vote.<br /><br />Just sayin'pandorahttp://delawareliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-57873114670820306732012-05-01T12:40:10.813-04:002012-05-01T12:40:10.813-04:00@steve
re #3): Dead on about the groupthink thing...@steve<br /><br />re #3): Dead on about the groupthink thing!<br /><br />Also, 100% agree on the November election red herring.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-21593249144164699502012-05-01T12:38:19.493-04:002012-05-01T12:38:19.493-04:00I did not think you were calling me out at all. In...I did not think you were calling me out at all. In fact, I read your post as sort of a call to action. I agree with pretty much every point you made about process and just used your post to pivot on ideology.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-14773914605496094352012-05-01T12:36:03.872-04:002012-05-01T12:36:03.872-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-63729613945253661262012-05-01T12:35:18.176-04:002012-05-01T12:35:18.176-04:00pandora,
Vision 2015 would argue that they have b...pandora,<br /><br />Vision 2015 would argue that they have brought everyone to the table. They have educational administrators, they have teachers' union reps, they have parents from the PTA, they have university types, they have corporate types, and they would say to you that they put out a call for everybody several years ago, and they have worked with everybody who showed up.<br /><br />The problem is that they now "define" the table: the discussion about the future of Delaware public education, for better or worse (and by that I mean the discussion that has the practical ability and the resources to implement its conclusion) is occurring through the prism of the Vision Network.<br /><br />This is especially true after Governor Markell has annointed one of them to be Sec Ed for Delaware.<br /><br />In other words, what I am saying is that on any coordinated basis, that bird has already flown, leaving people with different idea only three options that I can see:<br /><br />1) Construct a viable alternative, as I outlined in this post.<br /><br />2) Get into the network of Vision 2015 and try to affect it from the inside.<br /><br />3) Continue to be the irritant, and feel good about what you are doing without seeing any major systemic movements away from the groupthink. That's OK--even honorable--but it is not terribly effective.<br /><br />The other alternative is for the teachers to retake control of their union at the State level, for the parents to do the same, and internally transform the Vision partners out from under them.<br /><br />And if we do move school board elections to November, all we will be doing is ensuring the election of more pro-reform candidates.Steve Newtonhttp://www.delawarelibertarian.blogsspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-18422993215557709862012-05-01T12:14:56.067-04:002012-05-01T12:14:56.067-04:00Know what? It's time to get everyone to the d...Know what? It's time to get everyone to the damn table. I'm sick of these sides. It's past time to think about the kids. Yeah, novel idea.pandorahttp://delawareliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-41593849652775475252012-05-01T12:07:23.658-04:002012-05-01T12:07:23.658-04:00I hear ya. I was approaching it from a Marketing ...I hear ya. I was approaching it from a Marketing standpoint. Bumper sticker slogans are effective. Probably too effective.<br /><br />This was a Process piece, after all. ;-)<br /><br />The ed reformers are winning on process - and a big part of that process is convincing (rightly or wrongly) that traditional public schools are failing our kids and it's time for something new.<br /><br />Truthfully, ed reformers don't bring much in the way of solutions, either. They rely on everyone buying into their initial premise (traditional public schools are failing our kids) and then shoot from the hip - selling a variety of untested products under the guise that <i>anything</i> is better than what we have now. Powerful stuff, but hardly deep. Then again, I've never been a fan of throwing the baby out with the bath water.pandorahttp://delawareliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-50778268633186675262012-05-01T11:33:35.694-04:002012-05-01T11:33:35.694-04:00John
Just so we're clear: I have a great res...John<br /><br />Just so we're clear: I have a great respect for what you are doing, and i was not calling you out.<br /><br />Nor do I expect you to organize the resistance.<br /><br />This was a PROCESS piece, aimed at explaining to a lot of people who have asked me why nobody is covering or really talking about the resistance to ed reform.<br /><br />My point is fairly simple (but apparently not so simple as I thought): the only way to derail such a process in the education world, once it has become politicized, is through a countervailing political process. Yes, you can raise issues and change things around the margins, but the machine marches on.<br /><br />There is a current opportunity in Delaware, however, for such a resistance to coalesce. A lot of things have weakened the reform movement this year, not the least of which is its own over-reach. But the movement is not composed of stupid people, and they have resources, and they will adjust, and they will move more effectively next year to marginalize opposition.<br /><br />Before that happens is the time to set up a counter-movement; I was just laying out the parameters as I see them.<br /><br />pandora: I don't agree that an alternative would have to be as simplistic as "Traditional schools have failed" and "Charter schools have failed" to be effective.<br /><br />There are a variety of ways to go about it (this below is very very rough and is only meant to give an idea):<br /><br />--Education happens in the classroom. The Federal government needs to provide resources, not mandates.<br /><br />--If choice is a parent's option, why does the State get to pick where the charter schools go?<br /><br />--Charter schools for Everybody! It can only happen when we make all schools that good.<br /><br />--Reforming education has more to do with teachers and resources than it has with corporatons and their visions.Steven H. Newtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09097470960863103473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-31751485189664095072012-05-01T10:08:22.477-04:002012-05-01T10:08:22.477-04:00@ Pandora
I agree, but charters are not really th...@ Pandora<br /><br />I agree, but charters are not really the problem, sure the law needs some work, but their existence is not inherently problematic.<br />By comparison, the policies being made and enforces the DE Legislature, DOE and State Board of Education that have little basis in research are choking our schools to death:<br /><br />funding equity, busing, testing, curriculum, standards, school climate, school violence/bullying, teacher career pathways, administrator pathways, merit pay, untrained teachers coming in from alternative routes of certification (like TFA), Neighborhood Schools, re-segregation are the problems.....charters are sometimes a symptom, but generally do not cause the problem in DE education.<br /><br />So, I am not going to organize or try to organize. Ideas have power. Pointing out that other ideas are bad has power. Being articulate, if not sometimes abrasive in the public space has power. Embracing the David v. Goliath mindset has power. I get ZERO power from being a school board member, just a 5 year platform to inject ideas.<br /><br />Just like the corporate interests that control the landscape, the marketplace will embrace or reject my ideas. For sure you can't win them all, but little 'ol me got meetings electronically recorded, defended my teachers (for 11 days) against the Governors office in a way that shed real light on the nexus of bad policy and practice, have over 100,000 hits on my blog discussing and linking to thoughtful analysis of ed policy and have assisted in ensuring that the ARTC TFA pathway gets a formal review in three years rather than a lifetime license to bring untrained educators in Delaware's highest needs schools..all without a brand or a 501(c)4. Imagine that.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-40921690967462523842012-05-01T09:53:04.724-04:002012-05-01T09:53:04.724-04:00This:
"[I should be clear and transparent (i...This:<br /><br /><i>"[I should be clear and transparent (if not as in Christina, ouch): there are multiple items of the reformers' agendas with which I agree, others than strike me as innocuous or silly, and some that I downright dislike."</i><br /><br />Is the difference between you and Ed reformists. <br /><br />And you're correct, "resisters" won't organize. Know why? In order to organize they'd need a message as simplistic (and as misleading) as ed reformers.<br /><br />Ed Reformers message is: Traditional public schools have failed our children.<br /><br />Resisters, in order to be effective, would then have to take the opposite argument: Charter schools fail our children.<br /><br />Both positions, imo, are ridiculous, and neither has anything to do with children.<br /><br />So... I wouldn't necessarily classify myself as a resister. I'd call myself wary. I don't want to get rid of charters; I want to find a way for them to co-exist and enhance traditional public schools.<br /><br />I am not a true believer - and I have never trusted true believers. No one has all the answers, and those (true believers) who claim they do should be avoided at all costs.pandorahttp://delawareliberal.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893272060787897238.post-60030800874967943912012-05-01T09:47:22.997-04:002012-05-01T09:47:22.997-04:00nothing in your article makes me bristle at all.
...nothing in your article makes me bristle at all. <br /><br />I will say that offering an alternative is critical as you suggest, but I do disagree about the efficacy of trusting teachers or demanding research based solutions. To knock those is to suggest that it is OK to deploy non-research based "solutions" that may literally tear asunder a school and its community.<br /><br />In effect, I see that statement from you arguing in favor of experimenting on children. To me, that is unacceptable.<br /><br />After reading you pot I mostly want to ask you why is it OK for the "reformers" to not beheld to account for their ideas and the results. You point to Indian River's success, but I counter with is that success absolute or conjectural within the context of whether or nor DCAS scores are even a useful measure of success in a school or with a child.....<br /><br />The problems about on both sides for sure, as you note, it's a Civil War.....but the side that has organized and played by the processes you note has something the resistors don't: money.<br /><br />And speaking of money....the DSEA's support of RTTT is what Kilroy says it is,a political go along to get along stubt to ty and protect teachers from a runaway evaluation system. A stunt that is going to fail in my opinion. They are not resistors.<br /><br />I am a resistor and calling me out as solution-less is certainly fair game, but it's no more specious than ignoring that the reformers have no evidence of success, just a network of monied organizations (Innovative Schools, Rodel, Vision 2015, Chamber of Commerce, etc)that subsist on diverting taxpayer dollars into companies and out of classrooms....all in the name of helping children.<br /><br />As you know, I embrace the role of the rouge School Board Member Blogger. I know my limitations and my effect. I am #1 on the tote board in 2014 for electoral defeat. Somehow, I will sleep well again tonight. When you believe in your cause and you kids, fighting for equity and excellence in public education is an honor. <br /><br /><br />Fending of individuals and organizations that exist to laud themselves is a privilege.Ed Diagnosticianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15327161701331135519noreply@blogger.com