Rahm Emanuel’s kids’ principal: Student test scores shouldn’t be used to rate teachers. (In These Times)
A California fifth-grader explains her state’s teacher hiring and firing rules. (YouTube via Mike Petrilli)
States that won Race to the Top funds can ask for an extra year to fulfill their promises. (Politics K-12)
Behind the counter-intuitive practice of sending home students who don’t want to be at school. (Slate)
D.C.’s charter schools board wants less reliance on zero-tolerance policies. (Washington Examiner)
An advocate of longer school days describes the ones she saw in a trip to Cuba. (ExpandEd Learning)
When top officials took Rhode Island students’ standardized test, they weren’t happy. (Answer Sheet)
A.S.Neill
It’s interesting to note that the “longer school day” in Cuba does not indicate a longer academic school day which is what the term implied in the US for the deformers. The total academic learning time is about the same in both countries, but the extended time in Cuba is spent in recreational or enrichment activities which is America is equivalent to after school sports, child care or enrichment activities. The chief difference is that whereas in the US, the parents are expected to pick up the cost and time for this (if they want it and have the money), whereas in Cuba is picked up by the state. So this seems like a good thing to me since it would extend the benefits to everyone equally.
Also, Cuba is known for high literacy rates as the author notes. However, literacy without the freedom to read what you want is the problem in totalitarian states. You can read but just only what is not censored which extends to their education system. So we shouldn’t be blinded to what may be good in Cuban education but also why it breaks down as a model of a good society.
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