Ever since a California superior court determined three years ago that teacher tenure and seniority rights concentrated inexperienced teachers in disadvantaged communities (Vergara v. California), the state’s Board of Education has been trying hard not to think about teacher effectiveness. An appeals court overturned the lower court decision, but the state board remains worried about other legal and political attacks.
If you’re looking to grade public education in California, pass-fail probably isn’t the way to go but make sure to leave plenty of room in the “comments” section of your report card. On the one hand, the system has bred success. The late Steve Jobs was a product of California’s K—12 system.
By law, textbooks and other teaching materials in California’s public schools are supposed to be up-to-date. Yet history textbooks that are currently in the schools are twelve-years old.
Hard to believe, but this weekend marks 14 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger pulled off a plot twist that was creative, even by Hollywood standards, and declared himself a candidate in California’s gubernatorial recall election.
You might recall that California voters can recall incumbent lawmakers if they so desire. It’s what brought Arnold Schwarzenegger to the state Capitol, broom in hand. It may deliver a new state senator in the Southland.
Years ago, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan used an oft-used phrase – “the dance of the lemons” – to lament the education establishment’s penchant for shuffling bad teachers from district to district.