In fairness, helping “failing schools” and “bad teachers” get better is also part of the attack on America’s education deficiencies, as embodied in “Race to the Top” and Obama’s proposed addition of “School Turnaround” grants. The problem is an irrational premise, setting up firings and closings as criteria for funding rather than as possible results of person-by-person and room-by-room analysis. A sad and dangerous deviation for a thinking person’s president.

“Our kids get only one chance at an education and we need to get it right,” Obama said last week. Implicitly, the “we” means all of us. Perhaps if all of us — kids, parents, taxpayers, politicians — could get fired for our failures, we’d usher in a golden age.

To read all of Dan Carpenter’s article go to Indystar.com and meet Dan.

We’re all taking our bumper stickers for Obama off our cars.
Marcia Reback

Central Falls, Rhode Island (CNN) — Graduates of the nation’s most vilified high school descended upon campus Tuesday evening to support the school’s fired teachers. They also had a message for President Obama: Don’t bash our school.

“He doesn’t know us. He doesn’t know the teachers. He doesn’t know the students,” said Nikko Calle, 21, a graduate of Central Falls High School in 2006. “I think it’s a real outrage what’s happening here.”

Nearby, Ashley Delgado, 19, stood on the school’s steps clutching a sign that read: “Dear Obama, I supported you, your causes, goals and beliefs. Why aren’t you supporting mine?”

A firestorm has erupted in this Democratic stronghold in recent weeks after 93 teachers, support staff and administrators at Central Falls High School were fired for the low performance of the school, which graduated just 48 percent of its seniors last year. The firings will go into effect at the end of the school year. Teachers can re-apply, but no more than 50 percent will get rehired.

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In Ralph Fletchers book, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices , He writes about writing test scores indicate that boys have fallen far behind girls across the grades. In general, boys don’t enjoy writing as much as girls. What’s wrong? How can we do a better of job of creating boy-friendly classrooms so their voices can be heard? In Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices Ralph Fletcher draws upon his years of experience as staff developer, children’s book author, and father of four boys. He also taps the insights from dozens of writing teachers around the US and abroad.

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