Monthly Archives: July 2011

Ravitch vs. Kopp Part III

Posted on July 25, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Click here for Part I Click here for Part II This discussion now moves to the question and answer portion. I already have a sense of who this audience is and where they stand, based on the applause they give … Continue reading →

Posted in Debate Analysis | 7 Comments

Ravitch vs. Kopp Part II

Posted on July 23, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Click to read Part I first Part 1 ended with Wendy Kopp misquoting an already exaggerated claim by a charter network as her proof that “it” is happening all over. Ravitch was surely skeptical of this claim, but without time … Continue reading →

Posted in Debate Analysis | 6 Comments

Ravitch vs. Kopp Part I

Posted on July 23, 2011 by garyrubinstein

On June 29th 2011, two of the most important people in the current ed reform debate squared off for a ‘discussion’ at the Aspen Ideas Festival.  As they are opposed on many of the vital issues, this had the makings … Continue reading →

Posted in Debate Analysis | 10 Comments

Why do some TFA trainees have only 4 students in their student teaching classes?

Posted on July 22, 2011 by garyrubinstein

I’ve written a lot recently about how negligent it is that the student teaching component of the TFA institute is too short.  A CM from Atlanta wrote to me that he only got 12 hours total.  There may be people … Continue reading →

Posted in Teach For America | 22 Comments

Putting the Principal’s Survey Into Perspective

Posted on July 20, 2011 by garyrubinstein

The National Education Association recently passed some kind of resolution to oppose TFA sending corps members to cities that are not suffering teacher shortages. This, of course, was the original intention of TFA. We are not supposed to take jobs … Continue reading →

Posted in Teach For America | 3 Comments

Why I’m marching in the ‘Save Our Schools’ march on July 30th

Posted on July 16, 2011 by garyrubinstein

After finishing my thirteenth year of teaching, I’m pretty tired.  Like many teachers who get the summers off, I need to waive that benefit and work over the summer to supplement my salary.  This makes me even more tired. Usually … Continue reading →

Posted in Teach For America | 8 Comments

@2011s: Welcome to ‘Lead For America’

Posted on July 16, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Do you feel horribly unprepared for the task you are about to undertake?  If you answered ‘yes,’ you are correct.  If you answered ‘no,’ then you’re really in trouble. TFA’s training model is so flawed that without some serious extra … Continue reading →

Posted in Teach For America | 11 Comments

Some Charters finally admit attrition — then rationalize it

Posted on July 11, 2011 by garyrubinstein

There are much more subtle ways to fraudulently raise test scores than tampering with student test papers.  One that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the practice by many charter schools of improving their test scores through attrition.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | 26 Comments

KIPP On Trickin’ — looking at the raw data

Posted on July 8, 2011 by garyrubinstein

I’ve written before about KIPP attrition in response to reports that had been released studying it.  When reports conclude that KIPP does not have high attrition, they tout it on their websites.  When reports concluded that they do have high … Continue reading →

Posted in Research | 28 Comments

Tips On Being An Effective Teacher

Posted on July 3, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Many people have been commenting that they’d like more helpful teaching advice and fewer angry rants from me.  When I started writing this blog, that was the main point, and most of my earlier posts were just that.  So what … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching Advice | 6 Comments