Making some fast lemonade…UFT head Randi Weingarten says that the new reading scores show that there is no problem with the contract. OK, assume that’s true. Does it mean in all the places where scores are flat (about everywhere according to No Child Left Behind foes) that the contracts are a problem? At the PPI – UI conference on collective bargaining Chuck Kerchner called for incorporating performance measures into contracts…
Also, the UFT honored noted educational historian Diane Ravitch with its John Dewey award earlier this week. It was compared to the Southern Poverty Law Center giving David Duke an award. That’s offensive, way overstates it, and is a sad commentary on the state of today’s debate. However, while Ravitch is an outstanding historian, the award is a little ironic in light of this book (though Dewey himself would probably shudder at some of what is done educationally in his name).
Nonetheless, as you can see from Ravitch’s speech accepting the award, she and the UFT have a common foe in Bloomberg – Klein.