Category Archives: favorites

Value Added — Scrutinizing The Most Widely Cited Study

Posted on August 11, 2011 by garyrubinstein

It was the best of teachers.  It was the worst of teachers. But how much better are the best teachers than the worst teachers?  Well THAT’S a tough one, but one that is very important to answer.  The corporate reformers … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites, Research | 8 Comments

What happened to my TFA?

Posted on May 21, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Some readers of my blog, particularly the TFAers who  are about to begin their training, are probably a bit confused about who I am and why I’m so cranky. Originally, I was just a guy who had a very tough … Continue reading →

Posted in book proposal, favorites, Teach For America, tfa rants | 61 Comments

Obama at the ‘Miracle In Memphis’

Posted on May 14, 2011 by garyrubinstein

On Monday May 16th, President Obama will be the commencement speaker at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, TN. They had won a competition called ‘The Race To The Top High School Commencement Challenge’ based mainly on the claim … Continue reading →

Posted in Debunking, favorites | 32 Comments

Same Kids, Same Building, Same Lies

Posted on March 6, 2011 by garyrubinstein

One of the highlights of the TFA 20th anniversary summit was certainly when Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made a rousing speech at the closing ceremony. The most impressive part of his speech was when he described the transformation of … Continue reading →

Posted in book proposal, Debunking, favorites, Tom, top posts | 26 Comments

LIFO is good

Posted on March 2, 2011 by garyrubinstein

The TFA alumni organization has been recently calling to get the opinion from different alums about the recent debate in New York City, and elsewhere, about ending LIFO (Last In First Out). At a first glance, it probably seems crazy … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites, Research | 7 Comments

A Chance To Make History — my review Part III

Posted on February 9, 2011 by garyrubinstein

I’m going to summarize and then finish this review in this post, I hope. Here’s what we’ve learned in the first two parts of the review: Chapter 1:  TFA has produced some transformational teachers who have managed to succeed despite … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites | 5 Comments

A Chance To Make History — my review Part II

Posted on February 8, 2011 by garyrubinstein

Chapter 4 is the one where Wendy pulls no punches and says exactly what’s on her mind.  This is the ‘controversial’ chapter where Wendy surprises everyone, even her critics. I, myself, was very surprised about something that I’ll explain in … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites | 6 Comments

A Chance To Make History — my review Part I

Posted on February 7, 2011 by garyrubinstein

About a year ago TFA came out with the ‘Teaching As Leadership’ book, which I thought was horrible and wrote a scathing nine part critique.  This new book, you’ll all be happy to know, is actually pretty good, though not … Continue reading →

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Mixed feelings about the upcoming summit

Posted on February 2, 2011 by garyrubinstein

I have an unusual relationship with TFA.  To me, TFA is like an ex-boyfriend who dumped me after a five year relationship from 1991 to 1996, just as things were about to get serious.  Now after the dumping back in … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites | 3 Comments

Can Superman make a more accurate documentary?

Posted on September 28, 2010 by garyrubinstein

I watched ‘Waiting For Superman’ last night and I’ll admit the ending had me in tears — though not for the reason that the filmmaker intended. This movie, I think, will unfortunately stall our country’s progress in closing the achievement … Continue reading →

Posted in favorites | 6 Comments