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Diane Ravitch shares a blog post written by Oklahoma educator John Thompson about Ken Burns' new PBS documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust.
We share two articles about the failure of charter schools.
And we close with an exciting new project in FWCS.
"YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE FOR THE FUTURE"
John Thompson on Ken Burns’ Powerful “The U.S. and the Holocaust”
Ken Burns's new documentary on PBS, The U.S., and the Holocaust, gives teachers an opportunity to explore pre-World War II America. We have to teach students actual American history, the bad with the good. That's how we ensure that the bad doesn't happen again. [Note: link available to Indiana state standards]
"...would legislators who voted for censorship of school curriculums want to admit out loud that they want Anne Frank’s story banned? And would even the most extreme legislators follow through with mass firings at a time of teacher shortages?"
A must-read...
From John Thompson on Diane Ravitch's Blog
...The U.S. and the Holocaust also raises questions such as “what are the responsibilities of our leaders to shape public opinion rather than follow it?” and “what does this history tell us about the role of individuals to act when governments fail to intervene?” It also raises tough questions about the role of the media in spreading hate, as well as constructive information.
The film’s website also links to Oklahoma’s and other states’ Academic Standards. They call for high school students to “examine the causes, series of events and effects of the Holocaust through eyewitnesses such as inmates, survivors, liberators, and perpetrators,” and examine the “rise of totalitarian regimes in the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and Japan.” Such Standards also call for an examination of “how the media we consume shapes our beliefs, opinions, and actions both historically and in modern contexts in this media.”
These Standards are very consistent with the concepts that Burns explored. If I were still teaching high school, I’d be carefully building a unit that follows the Standards and instructional techniques that were carefully prepared by state and national experts. For instance, I would begin with the recommended, first question, “Why do you think many people did not question or push back against the harmful ideas presented by people who believed in eugenics?”
As also recommended, as students watched video clips, and read and analyzed the primary source materials in The U.S. and the Holocaust website, I’d ask them to share their “feelings or thoughts after each clip as some of the content covered is very heavy and may be emotional for students.” Students would take notes and engage in classroom discussions. I’d end with the recommended question, “Although the images and videos shown in the last clip are very challenging to watch, why do you think U.S. Army leaders said they needed to be shown to people in the United States and across the world?”
CHARTERS DRAIN MONEY FROM REAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
There's no doubt about it; Charters drain money from real public schools. We must continue to fight the privatization of public education in Indiana and the U.S.
Stephen Dyer: The Abject Failure of Charter Schools in Ohio
From Diane Ravitch
Stephen Dyer, a former state legislator in Ohio, writes a blog that tracks funding and privatization in Ohio. It’s called “10th Period.” He relies on state data to tell the truth about the failure of charters and vouchers. Here is the latest data on charter schools.
Dyer’s summary:
98 Percent of Ohio Charter School Graduates are Less Prepared for Post-Graduate World Than Students in Youngstown City Schools
Dayton is the lowest performing major urban district. Yet 2 out of 3 Ohio charter schools are less prepared than Dayton students Ohio’s new report card has revealed something extremely troubling about Ohio’s Charter Schools. On a new measure called “Students in the 4-year Graduation Cohort who Completed a Pathway and are Prepared for College or Career Success”, only 9 percent of Ohio’s potential Charter School graduates met those qualifications. More than 36 percent of Ohio’s public school district students met those qualifications.
Of the 43 Ohio Charter Schools with enough students to count in this College and Career Readiness measure, 18 schools had zero — that’s right, not a single student —who qualified as college or career ready. That means that 3 out of every 25 Ohio charter school graduates attended a school where not a single potential graduate was considered college or career ready.
But it gets worse.
From Jan Resseger
I am grateful that last Sunday the Washington Post’s Scott Wilson recounted the long, sad story of the school closings in California’s Oakland Unified School District. Oakland has universal school choice, and this fall, students in two of Oakland’s now shuttered public schools had to find new schools elsewhere in the school district—with five additional public schools to be closed at the end of the current school year. As Wilson explains: “The district has… been whiplashed over the years, by education trends and population changes, leaving many schools under annual threat of school closure.”
We have been watching this story develop for years. Wilson reports: “By 2003, with the district facing a roughly $35 million budget deficit, the state Department of Education took over the operation of Oakland’s public schools, laying off hundreds of teachers and eventually shuttering more than two dozen schools. The state’s day-to-day management ended six years later, but the education department still has what is effectively veto power over fiscal decisions. At the time of the takeover, the state extended the district a $100 million line of credit, which has yet to be paid off entirely. The district’s uncertain finances and poor performance also opened the door for experimentation from wealthy, mostly White philanthropists with no ties to Oakland. One initiative was the ‘small schools’ movement, financed in large part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The idea was to break up big campuses into more intimate places for learning. The money—about $25 million before it ran out—helped open about two dozen schools. But the state administrator at the time closed 14 others over several years.”
Wilson continues: “More lasting was the charter school movement. At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland… But in a state that funds districts by student, every pupil who enrolled in a charter school meant money lost to the broader public education system.”
AN OUTDOOR CLASSROOM IN FWCS
Fort Wayne principal envisions 'oasis' with outdoor classroom
Hands-on learning for students in Fort Wayne...
From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette**
A Fort Wayne Community Schools principal can already envision what her students might experience in an outdoor classroom.
Apple trees could teach kindergartners about the life cycle of an apple, and water tables could offer lessons about erosion, said Mary Kinniry, Irwin Elementary School principal.
“What we’re most excited about is really just bringing learning to life,” Kinniry told the school board last week. “I really just hope to create an oasis within our urban district next to the school so the kids can be immersed in nature in a very unique way.”
Outdoor classroom learning equipment will be installed at Irwin and two other magnet schools next summer in conjunction with sitework needed to create the outdoor learning areas at each building. The board approved buying the equipment – including seating and shade structures – from Recreation inSites of Fishers on Sept. 12.
Officials said the $308,457 expense is supported by a grant.
†Note: NEIFPE's In Case You Missed It is posted by the end of the day every Monday except after holiday weekends or as otherwise noted.
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