Joe Williams' Blog
July 4, 2007
Mea Culpa On Standardized Testing Dangers
My thinking that the whole "run for your lives the tests are coming" presidential pandering routines were overblown turns out to have been off the mark.
Just this morning, I was walking down a path in the Adirondack Mountains when, out of nowhere, a standardized test jumped out of the bushes and tackled me to the ground.
Someone needs to stop this menace. Now. Thankfully, our party was ahead of the curve on this one.
Posted by Joe Williams on July 4, 2007 5:48 PM
July 3, 2007
Presidential Candidates And Charter Schools
A friend emailed to ask why I wasn't making a bigger deal over the fact that many of the Democratic presidential hopefuls are supporters of public charter schools. Yes:
-- Sen. Hillary Clinton has said many times (including during her speech at Pander-palooza '07 yesterday) that she is a strong supporter of charter schools and public school choice.
-- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told a crowd at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials con-fab that he supports charter schools.
-- Sen. Barack Obama frequently notes (including once at a fundraiser I attended for him at Steven Gluckstern's house in Manhattan) that he was one of the strongest supporters of charter schools when he was in the Illinois legislature.
Continue reading "Presidential Candidates And Charter Schools"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 3, 2007 12:35 PM
Man, I Wish He Was Wrong (But Unfortunately He Isn't)
Even before Presidential Pander Week kicked off in Philly, Washington Post op-ed columnist Richard Cohen was busy at work penning a stinger piece that looks at the shameful mismatch between our nation's education problem and the platitudes our party's leaders push that supposedly will cause the revolution that will save our kids.
Continue reading "Man, I Wish He Was Wrong (But Unfortunately He Isn't)"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 3, 2007 11:47 AM
YUCK: It's Presidential Pander Week in Philadelphia!
I'll have a lot more on this later in the week once all of the Democratic presidential candidates have had their chance to take their medicine from Reg Weaver's spoon.
But if you want to see how awkward our party has become on education, just check out some of the video clips of the Representative Assembly pandering at the National Education Association web site.
Continue reading "YUCK: It's Presidential Pander Week in Philadelphia!"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 3, 2007 10:59 AM
If A Crappy School Is Named After You, Is That Cool?
Jay Greene and his friends at the Manhattan Institute have a new report out which looks at how schools are named. They note that in Florida, there are more schools named after manatees than after George Washington.
There's just one point I'd like to make, one that my friends have heard from me before.
Continue reading "If A Crappy School Is Named After You, Is That Cool?"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 3, 2007 10:26 AM
NYC Charter Schools To Receive $60 Million in CFE Cash
NY Sun reporter Elizabeth Green reports that a bunch of new money from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit will be going to public charter schools, outside the contours of Gov. Slitzer's "Contract for Excellence" that was designed to make sure the dough wasn't pissed away wasted.
People like Mike Rebell, of CFE fame, aren't happy, since this was always about trying to get more money to the system, not to actually provide a better public education for NYC kids. "Why should money going to charter schools be less accountable than money going to public schools," Rebell wondered.
Continue reading "NYC Charter Schools To Receive $60 Million in CFE Cash"....
Posted by Joe Williams on July 3, 2007 10:01 AM
July 1, 2007
DFER Quote of The Week Goes Daily
But we need to have an agreement, between you and me. I'll try to find interesting quotes (past and present) for posting each day, if you promise not to get all hot and bothered if I miss a day here and there. Also, feel free to do any of the following:
-- If you are a wonk and you find some quote goodies, share them with me at joewilliams@dfer.org.
-- If you are a politician (Democrat) and you are sick and tired of supporting/defending schools that are crappy, say/do something about it so the material doesn't run dry!
Today's quote comes from New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Posted by Joe Williams on July 1, 2007 1:48 PM
