Author: Ben Spielberg
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Paid Sick Leave and the Three Lenses of Policy Analysis
Some political debates have two equally valid sides. More often than not, however, the evidence is significantly more one-sided than journalists and pundits suggest. AB 1522, a bill that the California Senate’s Committee on Appropriations just shunted into its Suspense File for consideration on August 14, is an example of…
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StudentsFirst Vice President Eric Lerum and I Debate Accountability Measures (Part 1)
After my blog post on the problem with outcome-oriented teacher evaluations and school accountability measures, StudentsFirst Vice President Eric Lerum and I exchanged a few tweets about student outcomes and school inputs and decided to debate teacher and school accountability more thoroughly. We had a lengthy email conversation we agreed…
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Sustainable in the South Bay: Silicon Valley’s Top 10 Restaurants
My fiancé (Kate) is attending Georgetown Med in the fall and we just hit the road for Washington, DC. I’ve enjoyed eight awesome years in the Bay Area and feel fortunate to have gone to college, worked, and occasionally dominated adult league softball and basketball with so many amazing people.…
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Vergara v. California Panel Discussion with Leadership for Educational Equity
Leadership for Educational Equity (LEE), Teach For America’s (TFA’s) partner organization that focuses on alumni leadership development, held an online panel for members interested in learning more about Vergara v. California on June 26. I was excited to receive an invitation to speak on the panel – I enjoyed talking…
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Informed Student Advocates Pursue Reforms that, Unlike Vergara v. California, Actually Address Inequity
Judge Rolf Treu just ruled in favor of Students Matter in Vergara v. California, deeming teacher permanent status (commonly called “tenure”), due process protections for teachers with permanent status, and seniority-based layoffs unconstitutional. Treu’s opinion unfortunately reflects a misunderstanding of education research and teacher employment law’s effects. His decision also…
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Political “Pragmatism” Undermines Progressive Goals
The Working Families Party (WFP) bills itself as “New York’s liveliest and most progressive political party.” Founded in 1998, the WFP sought to use fusion voting and community organizing to “hold politicians accountable” to an admirable set of progressive principles including but not limited to “full public financing of elections…community…
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The Problem with Outcome-Oriented Evaluations
Imagine I observe two poker players playing two tournaments each. During their first tournaments, Player A makes $1200 and Player B loses $800. During her second tournament, Player A pockets another $1000. Player B, on the other hand, loses $1100 more during her second tournament. Would it be a good…
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Teachers Unions: What We Do and How Students Benefit
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recognized the Northwestern University football team’s right to unionize in February and the players just held a unionization vote. Quarterback Kain Colter began the program’s union movement primarily to address player safety, but supporters of the team’s efforts believe unionization will improve college athletes’…
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Free Speech: More a Means than an End
There is a major difference between legitimate, intellectually honest disagreements and speech, activism, votes, and/or donations that oppress people.
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Lessons About Gay Rights and Business from Arizona Bill’s Veto
On Wednesday, February 26, Republican Governor Jan Brewer vetoed S.B. 1062, a bill that would have helped Arizona businesses deny service to gay customers on religious grounds. Brewer’s veto and the political controversy surrounding the bill illustrated several important developments in the gay rights movement. First, US society is finally…
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