Education reform paralysis — and how to fix it

12-21-2011

Guest blog by Mark Phillips/Washington Post

The world of educational reform is stuck. Don’t you get bored repeatedly reading about variations on the same topics? Standardized testing, useful or harmful? Charter schools, the answer or the new problem? Teachers maligned, teachers defended, teachers resistant to change. No Child Left Behind, revise or eliminate? How many ways can we turn these topics? I recently revisited the classic book Crisis in the Classroom , by Charles Silberman, circa 1970, and thought: “That could have been written this year!” There’s little he reports or advocates that isn’t relevant today. And the classic by Willard Waller, The Sociology of Teaching , written in 1932, describes classrooms that are much the same as most of ours. (more...)

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California Education News Roundup: The California Education News Roundup is a daily publication that highlights news and commentary about California educational policy, educational reform, and related items of interest to California's educational justice community. Included are brief summaries and links to full articles from mainstream media, ethnic media, and select blogs. The News Roundup also features local education stories related to statewide education issues or to local advocacy campaigns. Finally, the Roundup includes selected national stories that may affect California educational policy and reform.

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Education reform paralysis — and how to fix it

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