Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, January 30, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 1-30 Early Morning Posts #ows #edreform


Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts 1-30 #edreform #ows

Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose VilsonBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-4 hours agoKick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose Vilson:Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass]by JoseBiggieOne of the questions people ask me is how I do this. Whatever this is. I’m reminded of this every semester or so when a random professor asks students to ... more »

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg and Merit Pay

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg and Merit Pay:Mayor Bloomberg and Merit Payby NYC EducatorMayor Michael Bloomberg, after denying educators the 8-plus percent all other city employees got for the 2008-2010 bargaining period, is now touting a $20,000 raise for those teachers who can manage to be rated "highly effective" two years in a row. There are caveats, of course, including the fact that the evaluation system on which this is based does not yet exist, the tests that would help determine ... more »

solidaridad: Schools Matter: Peas in a pod: Koret Foundation, The Hoover Institution, and Democrats for Education Reform

solidaridad: Schools Matter: Peas in a pod: Koret Foundation, The Hoover Institution, and Democrats for Education Reform:Schools Matter: Peas in a pod: Koret Foundation, The Hoover Institution, and Democrats for Education Reformby Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene"I tell you, my friends, the trouble with this whole country is that so many are selfish! Here's a hundred and twenty million people, with ninety-five per cent of 'em only thinking of self, instead of turning to and helping the responsible business men ... more »

Should we switch to weighted student funding and do it now? | Thoughts on Public Education

Should we switch to weighted student funding and do it now? | Thoughts on Public Education:Should we switch to weighted student funding and do it now?SharePosted on 1/30/12 • Categorized as Equity issues, Finance, Student spending,UncategorizedBy forumIn next year’s budget, Gov. Jerry Brown proposes to rearrange school funding based on a weighted student formula – a concept that State Board of Education President Michael Kirst fleshed out in a 2008 brief. Beyond a flat grant for all students, districts with ... more »

Schools Matter: Robert D. Skeels: How Administration Tries to Cow Teachers Into Submission

Schools Matter: Robert D. Skeels: How Administration Tries to Cow Teachers Into Submission:Robert D. Skeels: How Administration Tries to Cow Teachers Into Submissionby Robert D. Skeels * rdsatheneTalk by PESJA/CEJ activist and District 2 LAUSD Trustee Candidate Robert D. Skeels at the Support Cadre Resisting Administrative Maltreatment (SCRAM) Caucus Meeting at CTA State Council of Education on January 29, 2012.Special thanks to John Cromshow of KPFK and SCRAM for arranging the event.

When Did Physical Education Become An Issue of Social Justice?

Missouri Education Watchdog: When Did Physical Education Become An Issue of Social Justice? Do School Districts Using Polar Bracelets Understand the Goals of Producing Fit Workers for the System?:When Did Physical Education Become An Issue of Social Justice? Do School Districts Using Polar Bracelets Understand the Goals of Producing Fit Workers for the System?by stlgretchenThe Suburban Journal wrote about Polar bracelets in use at the Parkway School District (suburban St. Louis area) and questioning privacy issues involved in wearing them ... more »

Jeb Bush Takes His Ed Privatization Show on the Road Again | Scathing Purple Musings

Jeb Bush Takes His Ed Privatization Show on the Road Again | Scathing Purple Musings:Jeb Bush Takes His Ed Privatization Show on the Road Againby Bob SikesFormer governor Jeb Bush continues his US tour that’s bankrolled by education corporations and billionaires toLouisiana today and New Jersey on Thursday. Whether or not Bush receives speaking fees is not known. He’s never asked about that or who pays for his travel. Bush prefers to be seen as a pure reformer whose vision ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Big Questions About Charter Applications in NJ

Jersey Jazzman: Big Questions About Charter Applications in NJ:Big Questions About Charter Applications in NJby DukeSo I'm still left wondering how exactly Pastor Amir Khan got his charter school approved when the community clearly doesn't want it. To help figure out this mystery, I made a timeline of the events that led up to the approval:January, 2010: Pastor Amir Khan and his wife, Aughtney Khan, are featured in a video produced by the Star-Ledger that shows the couple demonstrating against ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:WEEKEND QUOTABLESby Mike KlonskyJesse Jackson Keep your finger in your pocket," Gov. Brewer. -- Sun-TimesRichard RothsteinEducation “reformers” have a common playbook. First, assert without evidence that regular public schools are “failing” and that large numbers of regular (unionized) public school teachers are incompetent. --‘Reformers’ playbook on failing schools fails a fact checkWarren Buffet"If this is a war, my side has had the nuclear bomb," Buffett

California Education Update « InterACT

California Education Update « InterACT:California Education Updateby David B. CohenCalifornia State Senator Joe Simitian represents the 11th Senate District in our state (which is where I live and work), and a couple of times each year, he hosts education town hall meetings. These meetings provide a useful opportunity for various stakeholders in the community to hear from the Senator, and for him to hear from all of us. Senator Simitian is a particularly good person to hear from on education ... more »

Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose Vilson

Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose Vilson:Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass]by JoseBiggieOne of the questions people ask me is how I do this. Whatever this is. I’m reminded of this every semester or so when a random professor asks students to read my blog for their course or pick a teacher blog that best exemplifies their core beliefs. While privileged to have people read ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 1-29 #edreform #ows

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-32 minutes ago“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky:“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice.by Fred KlonskyNew York music teacher Eric Shieh:If you ask me what needs to happen, ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Brilliant Mike Daisey

School Tech Connect: The Brilliant Mike Daisey:The Brilliant Mike Daiseyby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Riveting, funny, horrifying story-telling here. I may just go to New York to see it live. Anyway, in my mind, I'm pretty sure that I had a similar fantasy going on in my head about how all these gadgets were being built by robots, I'm embarrassed to admit. Listen to the whole thing--- I couldn't stop.This all has to be dealt with by educators. We really can't be advocating ... more »

January’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

January’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:January’s Best Tweetsby Larry FerlazzoEvery month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a bit easier for me, I may try to break it up into mid-month and end-of-month lists (and sometimes I’m a bit late).I’ve already shared in earlier ... more »

Sabrina Stevens Shupe: Why the #EdSOTU Matters

Sabrina Stevens Shupe: Why the #EdSOTU Matters:Sabrina Stevens ShupeTeacher-turned-activist; WriterGET UPDATES FROM SABRINA STEVENS SHUPE Like12Why the #EdSOTU MattersPosted: 01/29/2012 6:25 pmOr, A Tale of Two Speeches)Over at Teacher in a Strange Land, Nancy Flanagan asked, ""Who speaks for public education?"I'd answer that a lot of people do (for better, and for worse) but we don't all get the same kind of microphone, or the same airtime.After watching the State of the Union address Tuesday night, I found myself thinking ... more »

Oakland Bail Fund | OccupyWallSt.org #ows #edreform

Oakland Bail Fund | OccupyWallSt.org:Oakland Bail FundPosted 5 hours ago on Jan. 29, 2012, 12:16 p.m. EST by OccupyWallStOCCUPY OAKLAND NEEDS BAIL FUNDS! (click here to donate) Police Chief Howard Jordan has been quoted in AP saying there were almost 400 people arrested yesterday. There are many people who were arrested that need urgent medical attention, people who have been injured by the police or do not have their medication with them that they need to treat prior conditions. We ... more »

A Look Back at the League of Education Voters | Seattle Education

A Look Back at the League of Education Voters | Seattle Education:A Look Back at the League of Education Votersby seattleducation2011I’ve been following issues in education since 2009 when my daughter entered the Seattle Public School system and therefore don’t have any previous history with the League of Education Voters (LEV) before that time. I can only tell you what I have observed in the last few years.LEV is an education advocacy group. They do not have members and rely ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 1-29 Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

Sunday links. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-34 minutes agoSunday links. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyMoney Talks Too Much, Josh MacPhee, Just Seeds.Just when we thought our kids were safe, “Fast Eddie” Vrydolyak is back. The convicted felon and former Machine alderman has sold polluted industrial land in his old ward to CPS to build a new school. Any student or teacher would face health risks. The deal smells in more ways than one.Haven’t they heard? ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Getting Desperate over at LEV

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Getting Desperate over at LEV:Getting Desperate over at LEVby Melissa WestbrookEvery week, LEV's leader, Chris Korsmo does a column at their webpage. She tries pretty hard to be funny but it usually falls somewhat flat. (If you are not a naturally funny writer, efforts to be funny just don't work.) This is part of what she had to say this week on charter legislation:I don’t know about you, but if one more person tells me that ... more »

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky:“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice.by Fred KlonskyNew York music teacher Eric Shieh:If you ask me what needs to happen, I have a few suggestions. First, unions need to widen their discourse beyond bread-and-butter issues like compensation and work environment. Teachers must be able to engage seriously and ... more »