Archive for July, 2007

Parent Involvement: An Inalienable Right

Parents who feel so helpless and alienated from their schools need to know that they are right to feel upset about being unjustly excluded from their rights and duties regarding their children. Long standing research overwhelmingly points to the positive benefits of parent involvement in schools, and only recently have efforts been directed to […]

Choice in Schools Still Widely Resisted

The Economist news magazine (May 5, 2007) reported
New research shows that parental choice raises standards–including for those who stay in public schools. FEW ideas in education are more controversial than vouchers—letting parents choose to educate their children wherever they wish at the taxpayer’s expense…the principle is compellingly simple. The state pays; parents choose; schools […]

Choicelessness in Education Contributes to Poverty

One of the most important jobs of families is to ensure their children get an education suitable to their talents and needs. Most parents start out eager to help their children in their schools, but can rapidly lose self confidence if involvement is superficial or rebuffed. What really hurts is if parents are perceived […]

Teacher Bashing a Myth

Diane Ravitch, long time commentator on education, after attending another conference on the state of school performance in the United States, says, June 14, in the New York Sun :
We have heard all of this before, for at least the past 25 years.
When the time comes to talk about solutions, the conversation and the remedies […]