15 must-read books about K-12 education in the US - 'Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn from Educational Change in Finland?,' by Pasi Sahlberg. Uneducated youth a time bomb for Detroit. DETROIT -- Libya, like a number of other oil-rich nations, is tottering on the brink of revolution and, perhaps, chaos. Thousands in Michigan were riveted by developments there this week, as they were by the earlier revolution in Egypt. Few, however, seemed to be paying much attention to a development that threatened to have an enormous impact on life in Michigan: the impending destruction of Detroit's public schools.
The state Department of Education this month issued an ultimatum that -- unless something changes soon -- promises to finish the job of effectively destroying those schools. Lansing ordered the deficit-ridden district to put in place a financial restructuring plan that would close nearly half of its 143 schools within two years. Among other things, that would result in an average high school class size of 62 students. That would make anything resembling learning all but impossible. Parents have been fleeing the district in droves. "Politically incorrect? " Perhaps. Grassroots Education Movement (NYC) Links « Grassroots Education Movement (NYC) Kids Rethink New Orleans Schools. No School Left Behind. Brian Jones Secretary Department of Education As the new Secretary of Education, my first priority will be to reverse the trend toward the privatization of the public schools, to end the pervasive climate of fear and demoralization among the nation’s educators and to urgently promote desegregation and genuine equality of resources and opportunity in all K-12 schools.
Toward this end, I will seek an immediate repeal of No Child Left Behind legislation and of the Race to the Top competition. Together, these have raised the stakes of standardized assessments beyond any reasonable proportion; narrowed the curriculum; created a culture of corruption, cheating and competition between schools; and have increased the trend toward teaching as a short-term job, not as a long-term profession. I will call for an end to high-stakes standardized testing and a moratorium on school closings. To improve teaching and learning, we must empower teachers and learners.