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Jeb Bush, Retention, and the Failed Ferris Wheel of School Reform

October 1, 2016 By Nancy Bailey Leave a Comment

Post Views: 172

Jeb Bush continues to ride the failed Ferris wheel of school reform. He is most likely emboldened by state politicians and business leaders, like in Michigan, subscribing to harmful 3rd grade retention policies. Also, with a fancy university invitation for him to lecture about schools and stuff.

Michigan is following Florida’s lead, and that of other states, and jumping on the third grade retention bandwagon. Many parents, especially those with students who have reading disabilities and dyslexia, are unhappy about this. Think how humiliating these students must feel, especially when there are other methods and arrangements to address learning problems.

At the same time, knighted the King of school reform, Jeb Bush is lecturing at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Of course, we all know he would rather be stepping in front a different lectern, one where he faces Hillary Clinton.

I wonder, is he asking himself how much his school reform measures hurt him in his run to be President? He should. Admitting he is wrong to lead America’s children to school privatization would prove a powerful new agenda.

He could still possibly turn his philosophical thinking around and become a champion for children and public schools.

Unfortunately, instead, Bush will brag to college students and the school privatization shills who set up shop at Harvard, that his school reform ideas have been great, even though all signs are that these are the only people who think that way.

Education reform, in all honesty, is not so sunny in the Sunshine State, or the rest of the country.

Angry parents recently sued the State of Florida against forced retention because their students opted out of a test. And career teachers there and everywhere are leaving the classroom in droves.

Floridians, for the most part, don’t like what has happened to their schools.

But, like Florida, other reform politicians in other states don’t care what parents and students want. They have an agenda that doesn’t include them.

Like the Michigan politicians, who, following Jeb Bush’s lead, will now likely hold back third graders, despite the overwhelming research that says it is a bad thing to do.

The problem for Jeb Bush is that his school reforms aren’t as popular with the American public as they are with friends in high places. Even the conservative Brookings Institute has come out questioning whether third grade retention is cost-effective.

If Mr. Bush would confess, with a contrite heart, that holding students back in third grade doesn’t work and is too costly, it might be an endearing first step to thinking about what is best for children. For Jeb Bush, stepping off the Ferris wheel of school privatization failure could conceivably help him with a Presidential run in four years.

Also, he could revisit his “devious plans” to destroy the Florida Class Size Amendment. If he’d done his homework earlier, if he’d cared, Jeb Bush would have insisted that across the board class size reduction might not be best, but lowering class size in K-3rd grade could be advantageous—without holding third graders back!

Lowering class size in just K-3rd would likely boost a child’s ability to learn as determined by the Tennessee STAR Study. It would help children read in those important formative years. It would have long-term effects, and make teachers happy too. It would be less expensive than flunking kids.

Parents would not have to see their children as failures in third grade. Indicting children as losers by the use of high-stakes testing is hard to promote if you want people to like you.

But alas, Jeb Bush will likely lecture to the Harvard elites about school achievement gaps without recognizing the deep divide he has on this issue with so many middle and lower-socioeconomic class parents–voters.

He will continue to ride that failed Ferris wheel of school reform. He will push for the destruction of America’s public schools by making them so bad no one will want to send their child to one.

His business and political friends will love him for it, and, sadly, he quite possibly could prevail with his agenda.

But it’s un-American. The American public won’t like him for it, and he will probably never be President because of it.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 3rd Grade Retention, dyslexia, Florida, Florida and 3rd Grade Retention, Harvard, Jeb Bush, learning disabilities, Michigan, Michigan and 3rd Grade Retention, privatization, public schools, Smaller Class Sizes, Tennessee STAR Study

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Author, Ph.D. Ed. Leadership and longtime teacher, Blogging for Kids, Teachers, Parents & Democratic Public Schools.

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dianeravitch Diane Ravitch 🇺🇸🇺🇦🌈 @dianeravitch ·
17 Jan

A must-read. School choice started as a means of resisting the Brown decision and racial desegregation. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2021/01/14/the-dark-history-of-school-choice/

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vfleischfresser Vaughan Fleischfresser @vfleischfresser ·
25 Jan

The cutting of music has to stop. The reduction of funding has to stop. The devaluing of music has to stop. The idea that it’s an ‘extra’ has to stop. The idea that it’s not academic has to stop. The idea that it’s not essential to education has to stop. It all has to stop. Now.

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tygersongbird TygerSongbird 💜 🂡 ♠️🏹 @tygersongbird ·
26 Jan

Most boardroom meetings don't even have 35 people in them. Yet, Republicans want teachers to teach over 50 kids. That is insane. Most days in class, I didn't have enough desks or space for those desks. So, how can we put more kids in these classes? There will be no walking space. https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1617516564432961537

The Tennessee Holler @TheTNHoller

😳WATCH: “Class size limits could soon be a thing of the past in Tennessee.”

As Republicans steer💰from underfunded public schools to private
ones in a teacher shortage, senator @lundbergjon (R) wants to make it worse. (TEACHER: “A catastrophe.”)

FULL: https://www.wymt.com/2023/01/21/more-kids-classrooms-its-possible-tennessee/

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joshcowenmsu Josh Cowen @joshcowenmsu ·
25 Jan

Having failed at drumming up even artificial support for DeVos #schoolvouchers in #miched, it seems bored Right-wing PACs are organizing around—wait for it—keeping 3rd grade retention in place #mileg 🤦‍♂️

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plthomasedd Paul Thomas @plthomasedd ·
25 Jan

The #scienceofreading movement is yet another anti-teacher movement in education reform. Just like TFA, charter schools, and the VAM-era of Michelle Rhee. Bashing veteran teachers and teacher educators and coaxing new teachers with false blame and false narratives

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