teacherken's musings on everything

Researcher Gerald Bracey has for years run an annual feature in Phi Delta Kappan(for whom he writes a research column) on the state of education.  In the past he made positive and negative awards, in the form of Golden and Rotten apples, for the best and the worst of what he had seen in terms of educational policy in the pas year.  PDK got nervous about the rotten apples, so Jerry has distributed them on his own, via various email lists, and posted a pdf on his EDRRA website (at which you can see previous editions, as well as a link for the Annual report in education.

I think it worthwhile to read the report on the condition of education.  But I absolutely recommend reading ROTTEN APPLES IN EDUCATION - 2005 EDITION (this link will download a PDF file).  You may not agree with Jerry, but he lays it out quite bluntly.  Below you can see the list of awards, as Jerry summarized them in his email.

The "Jimmy Carter Amphibious Killer Rabbit" Award: Margaret Spellings.
The "This Turntable for Hire" Award: Armstrong Williams and the U. S. Department of Education.
The "Co-Mingling of Science With Comparative Religion" Award: The Dover (PA) School Board and the Kansas State School Board.
The "Yes, You Really Can Gather Empirical Evidence to Support or Refute Intelligent Design" Award: Pat Robertson.
The "Chutzpah Only a New Yorker Could Love" Award: Joan Mahon-Powell.
The "Game the System? Moi?" Award: Jeb Bush.
The "Notes From a Distant Planet" Award: Human Events.
The "Big Brother Wants to Watch You Even More" Award: Walter Jones, Dennis Baxley.
The "I'm Not a Researcher" Award: Diane Ravitch.
The "The Enemy of My Enemy Might Still Not Be My Buddy" Award: United Federation of Teachers.
The "Delusions Die Hard" Award: Amy Wilkins.
The "Mike Cohen and Matt Gandal Memorial Confusion of Rates with Scores Award:" The Achievement Alliance.
The "George W. Bush-Style Accountability" Award: Chester E. "Checker" Finn, Jr.
The "Literacy is Vastly Overrated" Award: The State of California.
The "Arbeit Macht Frei" Award: Dan Doerhoff.
The "This is What's the Matter With Kansas" Award, or, "Prima Emienda Derecho? En Kansas, No" Award, Jennifer Watts.
The "Our Lousy Public Schools Really Do Turn Out People So Dumb We Can Skunk the Pubic With Any Story We Want" Award: The Bush Administration.

Please note, I am distributing this for those who may be interested. While I agree with Jerry on most of his assessments, in posting this I am offering no endorsement in the diary of any particular point, although I will be happy as time allows to converse on list with anyone so inclined. This is offered simply for your elucidation. Read the piece (remember, it is a PDF) and then react as you see fit. But remember, on this on Teacherken is merely the message delivery boy, and not either the messenger nor the message.

Peace.

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