The Power of Privilege – Camden Residents are Always the Last to Know

Here we go again. Last year, new charter schools coming to Camden were holding recruiting sessions at Rutgers-Camden before the schools were approved or announced. This year, Camden residents are again the last to know about new schools. It’s not exactly an industry secret that Mastery and at least one other charter are expanding in … Continue reading The Power of Privilege – Camden Residents are Always the Last to Know…

Posted February 10, 2015, by Stephen Danley in education, Local Knowledge.

Camden Bashing, and the Twitter Warriors who Respond

Ugh. “If you feel so strongly that Camden has been wronged why don’t you plan you next vacation visiting the great safe city. Does not matter what the ranking is it is still a very dangerous place that you should avoid at all costs.” Comment sections are often the lowest form of public discourse (one … Continue reading Camden Bashing, and the Twitter Warriors who Respond…

Posted February 6, 2015, by Stephen Danley in Camden.

Credit, Tradeoffs and Misrepresentation in Camden Demolition Project

For those who haven’t been following, Courier-Post reporter Kevin Shelly has been all over the Camden demolition project. I’ve been following it step-by-step, even having him come to speak to a class about the issue last year. There are a few reasons for that: 1) my work shows that community groups really care about blight 2) two of … Continue reading Credit, Tradeoffs and Misrepresentation in Camden Demolition Project…

Posted February 2, 2015, by Stephen Danley in Local Knowledge.

Least Favorite Education Talking Point: the “Silent Majority”

In the last few weeks, I’ve heard my least favorite education talking point return. People keep claiming that a “silent majority” is scared off by those loud activists. But when I hear that claim, here’s what I’m really thinking. Such a claim dampens participation, holds activists to a double-standard, and is woefully culturally unaware of … Continue reading Least Favorite Education Talking Point: the “Silent Majority”…

Posted January 28, 2015, by Stephen Danley in education, Local Knowledge.

Tour de Decarcerate Comes to Camden

I was not able to attend last Saturday’s Tour de Decarcerate event in Camden, so I’ve been catching up on the videos and wrap-up here: And in this NJ.com article by Greg Adomaitis.There’s a lot there, and I just want to highlight a few key points. It’s nice to see Camden connecting to broader movements on key … Continue reading Tour de Decarcerate Comes to Camden…

Posted January 27, 2015, by Stephen Danley in Local Knowledge.

The Challenge Before Us and “to Hell with Good Intentions”

My lecture tomorrow in class will focus on Ivan Illich’s speech To Hell with Good Intentions. It’s a particularly frustrating talk, and class to teach, as it focuses on the challenges of even communicating when trying to “help.” I’ll let Illich take it from there: In fact, you cannot even meet the majority which you pretend to … Continue reading The Challenge Before Us and “to Hell with Good Intentions”…

Posted January 21, 2015, by Stephen Danley in Camden.