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Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform


Schools Matter: Come Out and Greet the Michelle First Campaign in Boston November 9

Schools Matter: Come Out and Greet the Michelle First Campaign in Boston November 9:Come Out and Greet the Michelle First Campaign in Boston November 9by Jim HornEVERY PARENT, STUDENT, TEACHER, PRINCIPAL, YOUTH WORKER, UNION MEMBER, PUBLIC SERVANT, and CONCERNED CITIZEN in the area should be at this event.*PLEASE LET BYOP KNOW IF YOU'RE COMING THROUGH HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'RE BRINGING, IF YOU KNOW (:WHEN EDUCATION IS UNDER ATTACK, WHAT DO WE DO?

I Got Nuttin’ But Love For Ya | The Jose Vilson

I Got Nuttin’ But Love For Ya | The Jose Vilson:I Got Nuttin’ But Love For Yaby JoseMusée de la Bible et de la Terre SainteI wear a mask when I go to work. It’s the Mr. Vilson mask, and it provides me the distance from people that my age (and respect) otherwise wouldn’t give me. I wear it when I get off the A train on the Dyckman – 200 St. stop. I wear it as I race up ... more »

School Tech Connect: Onward With SB 512

School Tech Connect: Onward With SB 512:Onward With SB 512by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Well, the bad news is that the #SB512 passed out of committee. The good news is that if we keep calling, we can stop it on the House floor, just like last time.Did anyone see the action? Did Elaine Nekritz say anything intelligent before casting her vote or was she just sort of there? Is there any chance that a warm body might primary her? At this point I'd ... more »

Union rights win big in Ohio. « Fred Klonsky

Union rights win big in Ohio. « Fred Klonsky:Union rights win big in Ohio.by Fred KlonskyEarly returns predict a major defeat for Ohio Republican Governor Kasich.His attempt to destroy collective bargaining is going down to defeat by a two to one margin in an election that was held today.Ohio voters flocked to polls on Tuesday as Ohio Republican governor John Kasich awaited the results concerning a controversial law concerning collective bargaining.Issue 2 is failing by a 63 percent to 37 ... more »

Schools Matter: Reasons to Celebrate in Wake County--Five of Them Now

Schools Matter: Reasons to Celebrate in Wake County--Five of Them Now:Reasons to Celebrate in Wake County--Five of Them Nowby Jim HornIt's a done deal--sanity has returned to the Wake County School Board, and the Kochsters have been defeated! WAKE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 3 (Vote For 1)Vote Type SummaryContest Detail Map26 of 26 Precincts ReportingPercentVotesKevin L. Hill52.28%10,672Heather Losurdo47.72%9,74020,412

Grumpy Educators: HELP Committee leaves out parents

Grumpy Educators: HELP Committee leaves out parents:HELP Committee leaves out parentsPearson lobbyist Sandy Krell was listed as a witness to the full Senate HELP committee hearing on the reauthorization of legislation affecting national education. The ESEA bill is to replace NCLB.However, parents were excluded from the hearing. Not a single parent was allowed as a witness to express national concerns.Here's a statement from Parents Across America on the lack of parent voices.Today, Parents Across America sent a letter to the ... more »

Grumpy Educators: "Pearson" the corporate veil #ows

Grumpy Educators: "Pearson" the corporate veil:"Pearson" the corporate veilby SandraThe practice of the Pearson Foundation paying for Education Commissioners trips to China, Singapore, and Finland to meet their counterparts was reported in the New York Times. Included in that list was former Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith, who went to Finland. Questioned about that trip, Smith says he checked with the Florida Department of Education's General Counsel to make sureFlorida: Bringing Parent Activism Out of the Shadowsby SandraIn Brevard County, ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: NY Charter schools join the pushback vs. teacher evaluation and data systems promoted by the corp reformers

NYC Public School Parents: NY Charter schools join the pushback vs. teacher evaluation and data systems promoted by the corp reformers:NY Charter schools join the pushback vs. teacher evaluation and data systems promoted by the corp reformersby Leonie HaimsonToday the NY Charter Schools Association senta letter to the state’s charter schools, rejecting the demand from the State Education Department that they provide information that can link teachers to student test score to enable the creation of a statewide data system ... more »

City schools tour aims to spur democratic education elsewhere | GothamSchools

City schools tour aims to spur democratic education elsewhere | GothamSchools:City schools tour aims to spur democratic education elsewhereby Jessica CampbelliSchool students taking part in a Model United Nations class that the IDEA tour visitedAmmerah Saidi, a program coordinator with Detroit Future Schools, meandered in and out of classrooms in the iSchool one morning last week. She had her pick of classes to observe – classes such as “Sixteen,” a course designed around the question of what it means to ... more »

The most misleading ranking of educators yet - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The most misleading ranking of educators yet - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:The most misleading ranking of educators yetby Valerie StraussWendy Kopp made a mistake with her list of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Educators”— and I’m not referring to the fact that she actually names eight people. The Teach for America founder and leader should have included herself (given the broad definition of “educator” that she uses) because only someone pretty powerful could have persuaded Forbes to ... more »

MMAC Proposes New MPS Takeover Plan « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

MMAC Proposes New MPS Takeover Plan « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:MMAC Proposes New MPS Takeover Planby millerlfThe Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (MMAC) is proposing another plan to takeover Milwaukee Public Schools. Their new scheme is to create two school districts, one for high performing schools to serve 20,000 students and the second to serve low-performing schools. With this proposal 16% of Milwaukee’s children will attend “high performing” schools and MPS will be responsible for educating low performance ... more »

Keep your job for five years, get $50,000 … Lol, this teacher says heck ya ! « Continuing Change

Keep your job for five years, get $50,000 … Lol, this teacher says heck ya ! « Continuing Change:Keep your job for five years, get $50,000 … Lol, this teacher says heck ya !by gatorbonbcMy response to CNN article. Would you stay at a job for five years for a 50 thousand dollar bonus?Well, let’s see…I have been a Florida teacher for over 20 years,I have never seen a bonus or even made an annual salary of 50 thousand…But, Florida ... more »

What’s a Connected Educator? - The Educator's PLN

What’s a Connected Educator? - The Educator's PLN:What’s a Connected Educator?Posted by Thomas Whitby on November 8, 2011 at 2:19pmView BlogThe idea of being connected in the Twentieth Century had a very different meaning than it does today. Back then being connected conjured up visions of pinstriped suits and shoulder holsters. Today, being connected brings up visions of computers, Smartphones, and tablets. A general misconception is that to be a connected educator, one needs to be a computer geek, with ... more »

Schools Matter: Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate Agendas

Schools Matter: Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate Agendas:Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate Agendasby P. L. ThomasPoverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate AgendasRelease a report, make it appear like scholarly research (include footnotes, charts, graphs, and data), and suggest something provocative such as "teachers are overpaid"—the result? The media gives the claim and report a free and frequent ride.Walt Gardner, on his blog, has lamented about this exact phenomenon concerning The Heritage Foundation report, "Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers" by Jas... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts #ows #edreform

Modern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 hour agoModern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers):Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)by Michael DunnHuck/Konopacki Labor CartoonsNew York and New Jersey are on an insane mission to give mandatory school-readiness tests to children as young as 4 years old. Why? To get some of Obama’s Race to the Top money. The tests would assess children's language, ... more »

Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate Agendas | Dailycensored.com

Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate Agendas | Dailycensored.com:Poverty Not Destiny?: Masking Corporate AgendasWritten by Paul ThomasEducationNov 8, 20110diggShareRelease a report, make it appear like scholarly research (include footnotes, charts, graphs, and data), and suggest something provocative such as “teachers are overpaid”—the result? The media gives the claim and report a free and frequent ride.Walt Gardner, on his blog, has lamented about this exact phenomenon concerning The Heritage Foundation report, “Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers” by Jason Ric... more »

TAG, Notebook to discuss 'teaching in the time of testing' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

TAG, Notebook to discuss 'teaching in the time of testing' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:TAG, Notebook to discuss 'teaching in the time of testing'by thenotebookThe Philadelphia Public School Notebook and the Teacher Action Group are excited to announce a co-sponsored event titled - "Cheating or Resistance?: Teaching and Learning in a Time of Testing" that will take place Monday, November 14 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the United Way Building.The Notebook is pleased to share our recent reporting on testing as ... more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents to Senate Ed Committee: You need our input!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Parents to Senate Ed Committee: You need our input!:Parents to Senate Ed Committee: You need our input!by adminToday, Parents Across America sent a letter to the members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after noting that panelists testifying this morning at a committee hearing on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education law included no parent representatives.PAA has reached out to the HELP committee repeatedly with our concern ... more »

Modern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)

Modern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers):Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)by Michael DunnHuck/Konopacki Labor CartoonsNew York and New Jersey are on an insane mission to give mandatory school-readiness tests to children as young as 4 years old. Why? To get some of Obama’s Race to the Top money. The tests would assess children's language, math, science and literacy skills, and their emotional and physical development, Lisa Fleisher reported in the Wall Street ... more »

How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike? « Fred Klonsky

How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike? « Fred Klonsky:How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike?by Fred KlonskyFor as long as I have been going to demonstrations there have been debates about how big the crowd was. The rule of thumb is to take the number that the organizers claim and the number reported by the press and the government and split the difference.But the Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur makes a good case for ... more »