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Larry Lee

Larry Lee

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Review: Reign of Error, the Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch

By Larry Lee Education Matters As I turned the pages of Reign of Error, the Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools by Diane Ravitch, I kept having a mental image of an editorial cartoon showing two groups staring across a deep crevasse at one another. On one side stand … Continued
October 28, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee It was 10:30 on Friday morning when I wheeled into the parking lot at Hubbertville School.  Just down the hill a white-haired man was running a red riding mower across the football field, where later that day the school and community would celebrate homecoming. I walked down and he came … Continued
October 9, 2013

Education Matters

By Larry Lee Education Matters It was billed as a “Teacher Town Hall” and since teachers are usually the forgotten voices in any discussion about education, I headed to Birmingham on a recent Thursday night to look and listen. The event was put together by StudentsFirst, a national organization operated by Michelle Rhee, one-time chancellor … Continued
September 23, 2013

Education Matters

By Larry Lee Education Matters To say that educators everywhere are gun shy these days is an understatement. Chicago is closing more than 50 schools, actions of the North Carolina governor and legislature against education have prompted demonstrations at the state capitol, the Philadelphia school system is on the verge of bankruptcy, the mayor of … Continued
August 26, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee The Alabama Accountability Act requires the state department of education to identify “failing” schools. After several false starts, the list is now public and includes 78 schools, 72 of which ranked in the bottom six percent of all schools in three of the last six years.  The other six came … Continued
July 15, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee Sometimes you come across courage in the darnest places.  I certainly did not expect to find it on a recent June afternoon in a sparse and ancient mobile home down a dirt road in southwest Alabama. It’s my great pleasure to chair the state advisory board for HIPPY (Home Instruction … Continued
July 1, 2013

Education Matters

By Larry Lee Education Matters It was exciting to read recently that one of the GOP leaders of the Alabama House said, “It is time to take bold new steps and leave the broken status quo behind.”  I could not agree more. Obviously Dr. Tommy Bice, state superintendent of education, feels the same way.  In … Continued
June 13, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee “Dad, why is it always 1963 in Alabama?” That question has haunted me since my son asked it weeks ago.  So I went in search of an answer.  But first I re-visited 1963.  What a year it was. A year that stamped Alabama into the psyche of the rest of … Continued
May 28, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee We all remember as kids looking at a sheet of paper with what seemed to be random numbers on it.  Then we would take a crayon and draw a line from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and so on. Suddenly, to our delight, the outline of a house … Continued
May 13, 2013

Education Matters

Education Matters By Larry Lee Hell froze over. That’s the only conclusion one can reach as they see our leaders in Montgomery, the same people who loudly claim how conservative they are, support legislation that would make Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid swell with pride. These are the people who talk incessantly about “Alabama values” … Continued
April 26, 2013