Dr. Diane Ravitch, one of the principal education theorists behind the No Child Left Behind Act, will speak twice in Dallas over the next two days — telling how NCLB is not working
Both public events, tonight at 7:00 p.m., and Thursday at the Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities, are sponsored by the Dallas Institute.
Note that registration is required for tonight’s session:
To All Staff RE: The Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities presents: Education Forum: What Makes a Good Education?
Two Public Events: Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m., and Thursday, April 29, at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 7 p.m. Evening Forum and Book Signing at the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Montgomery Arts Theater, 2501 Flora Street, Dallas, 75201
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Diane Ravitch, Education Historian
In this age of productivity models and minimum standards, the topic of a good education often
gets lost, but it evokes the century-long quarrel between the practical and the academic
curricula in our public discourse. Today, if we want to build a school system that will serve our
youth not only in their schooling but throughout life, we need to place what makes a good education
at the center of our discussion.Beginning this conversation during our inaugural Education Forum are two noted authorities in the teaching profession: Dr. Diane Ravitch and Dr. Louise Cowan
Dr. Diane Ravitch, one of the nations leading education historians and author of the
#1 bestselling book on education, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education.In it, Dr. Ravitch explains why she is recanting many of the views she held as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education. Based on the data, she claimed in a recent interview on The Diane Rehm show, the remedies are not working and will not give us the educated citizens that we all want. Dr. Ravitch will explore what makes a good education and how to fulfill our commitment to a democratic future.
Dr. Louise Cowan, a Founding Fellow of the Dallas Institute and former dean at the University of Dallas, created the Institutes nationally recognized Teachers Academy programs from her vision of what makes a good education. For 27 years, these programs have challenged area school teachers to assume their full authority and responsibility as teaching professionals.
SEATING FOR THE EVENING FORUM IS LIMITED – ADMISSION BY RESERVATION ONLY
Teachers Admission – $15 / General Admission – $25
Deadline to register is noon, Wednesday, April 28.
For more information or to register, call 214-871-2440, or go to http://www.dallasinstitute.org/programs_events_eduforum.html
Thursday, April 29, 2010, 7 p.m. Evening Book Discussion at the Dallas Institute of Culture and Humanities, 2719 Routh Street, Dallas, Texas 75201
The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.
Discussion of Dr. Ravitchs new book will be led by Institute Fellows and Teachers Academy alumni.
General Admission – $10
For more information or to register, call 214-871-2440, or go to http://www.dallasinstitute.org/programs_events_eduforum.html
The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture
2719 Routh Street
Dallas, Texas 75201
www.dallasinstitute.org
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Here in Texas we have a writing component on the English Language Assessment, the standardized test. We give that test two months earlier than the rest of them because it takes so long to grade.
But I suspect that’s not enough to make up for the damage that standardized testing does. Not because students spend more time learning to guess bubbles, but because the entire curriculum is dumbed down, aimed at getting everyone over the minimum bar, leaving no time to get the better-educated kids over the maximum bar.
I don’t have time to grade writing. We have to have three solid grades a week, and with 150 students, there’s just not time. Projects? No writing projects for certain.
When do kids get any practice in writing? Not in any class other than English composition.
Remember the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall? Well, we aren’t planning on sending any kids there. They just have to bubble 50% of the questions correctly. No practice, no Carnegie Hall. None of us has time to go see anyone at Carnegie Hall — we’re too busy providing documentation to the state officials that no one cheated on the bubbles.
LikeLike
I have very substantial disagreements with Diane Ravitch on the issue of charter schools, but I am in strong agreement with the failure of NCLB.
What I’d be curious to see is some research on NCLB’s effect on student’s writing abilities. I and several of my colleagues at the college level think we’ve seen a sudden sharp downturn in incoming students’ writing abilities (not that we ever were very impressed in the first place), and we wonder if it’s caused by the emphasis on standardized tests–filling in bubbles instead of writing essays. (Of course that’s assuming there’s actually a phenomenon, and not just our imaginations.)
LikeLike