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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape 2-18-12 » PostRank #EDchat #EDreform #soschat #p2 #1u



Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank 



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AFT - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools

2012-Feb-23
AFT - A Union of Professionals - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools:Research Begins to Detail Successin Community SchoolsTeachers know firsthand that wraparound services like healthcare and family counseling really help when it comes to getting students ready to learn. But education experts are only beginning to gather actual data that show us how."Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools" begins to fill that gap. The report, produced by the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities ...
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United Opt Out National

2012-Feb-23
United Opt Out National:OCCUPY THE DOE IN DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – PLEASE READ ENTIRE POSTEvent:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postStart:March 30, 2012End:April 2, 2012Organizer:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postUpdated:December 9, 2011Venue:U.S. Department of EducationAddress:Google Map400 Maryland Ave, SW ,Washington, DC, 20202,United StatesUnited Opt Out National endorses Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together by creating ACTION in solidarity. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST ...
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The Good Doctor Seuss, Green Grinches, and a Lorax who Speaks for Trees - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

2012-Feb-23
The Good Doctor Seuss, Green Grinches, and a Lorax who Speaks for Trees - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard:The Good Doctor Seuss, Green Grinches, and a Lorax who Speaks for TreesFeb 23rd, 2012 by Lily.March 2nd was chosen by the National Education Association years ago to celebrate NEA’s Read Across America Day.It’s Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and each year is another chance to celebrate a joy that goes beyond sounding out the word and improving one’s vocabulary. Teachers and college professors ...
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Education Research Report: California Charter Schools Don’t Narrow Black-White Achievement Gap

2012-Feb-23
Education Research Report: California Charter Schools Don’t Narrow Black-White Achievement Gap:California Charter Schools Don’t Narrow Black-White Achievement GapJonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 1 hour agoΩ In a recent report, the California Charter School Association claims that the state’s charter schools are narrowing the Black-White achievement gap. Not so, explains Arizona State University professor David Garcia, an expert on charter school research, in a review of the CCSA study conducted for the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the ...
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Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

2012-Feb-24
Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted out | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:Occupy Dallas interrupts DISD meeting, members escorted outby Tawnell Hobbs/ReporterSome Occupy Dallas members were removed from a Dallas ISD board meeting on Thursday after breaking out in loud chant. The group was escorted out of the auditorium by DISD police. They were protesting various issues, including the board's recent decision to close 11 schools and its approval to extend teacher workdays by 45 minutes without more pay. ...
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Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson

2012-Feb-24
Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myself | The Jose Vilson:Why The New York Times Is Asking Me To Validate Myselfby JoseNot sure if you’ve heard, but, against their own wishes -ahem-, the NYC Department of Education is releasing their infamous Teacher Data Reports, a set of papers ostensibly compiling a teacher’s student scores on English and Math scores from 3rd to 8th grade to determine their effectiveness, normalizing scores for effects like poverty and growth. ...
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NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun

2012-Feb-24
NYC Educator: Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gun:Bullets Are Only One Small Part of the Gunby NYC EducatorSo says Mike Klonsky, on whether VAM, or value-added, should be part of any evaluation system. This notwithstanding, there are various ways of looking at New York's new evaluation system, and UFT High School VP Leo Casey may not see eye to eye with Klonsky.I'd like nothing more than to agree with Casey. This would mean that all my colleagues ...
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Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders

2012-Feb-24
Missouri Education Watchdog: In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disorders:In Ten Years, Maybe the Food Police in Schools will be Arrested for their Actions Which Led to...Eating Disordersby stlgretchenThe government obsession of obesity and controlling student food choices may result in unintended consequences.Producing fit workers for the society might just boomerang into producing a generation of children with increasing emotional problems. While the food police is obsessing about ...
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AFT - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools

2012-Feb-23
AFT - A Union of Professionals - Research Begins to Detail Success in Community Schools:Research Begins to Detail Successin Community SchoolsTeachers know firsthand that wraparound services like healthcare and family counseling really help when it comes to getting students ready to learn. But education experts are only beginning to gather actual data that show us how."Positive Student Outcomes in Community Schools" begins to fill that gap. The report, produced by the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities ...
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Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-23 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

2012-Feb-23
Buyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education WeekBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-46 minutes agoBuyer Beware - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Buyer Bewareby Deborah MeierDear Diane,Three days with the North Dakota Study Group restores my spirits every year. Some great speeches, small "works in progress" workshops, presentations by students, and just food and talk, talk, talk.I read your blog this week while I was at the NDSG and passed it around. It's superb, and we should all tweet it ...
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United Opt Out National

2012-Feb-23
United Opt Out National:OCCUPY THE DOE IN DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – PLEASE READ ENTIRE POSTEvent:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postStart:March 30, 2012End:April 2, 2012Organizer:Occupy the DOE in DC – ALL DETAILS HERE – Please read entire postUpdated:December 9, 2011Venue:U.S. Department of EducationAddress:Google Map400 Maryland Ave, SW ,Washington, DC, 20202,United StatesUnited Opt Out National endorses Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Together by creating ACTION in solidarity. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST ...
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HechingerEd Blog | Affirmative action on the docket again: Justice Kennedy’s past opinions hint at outcome

2012-Feb-23
HechingerEd Blog | Affirmative action on the docket again: Justice Kennedy’s past opinions hint at outcome:Affirmative action on the docket again: Justice Kennedy’s past opinions hint at outcomeby Sarah GarlandAffirmative action in college admissions is on the Supreme Court docket again this year after a white student named Abigail Fisher challenged a University of Texas program meant to promote diversity on UT campuses.Affirmative-action proponents, including many university leaders, are concerned that if the University of Texas loses, efforts to increase ...
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Arbitration over Jefferson Parish teacher layoffs begins | NOLA.com

2012-Feb-23
Arbitration over Jefferson Parish teacher layoffs begins | NOLA.com:Arbitration over Jefferson Parish teacher layoffs beginsPublished: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:49 AM Updated: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 10:16 AM By Mark Waller, The Times-Picayune FollowThe Jefferson Parish School Board and Jefferson Federation of teachers start arbitration today over the union's claim that teacher layoffs last summer violated its collective bargaining agreement with the board. Union President Meladie Munch said the proceedings will begin about 9 a.m. and are likely to last ...
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Are We Fighting Each Other? (And Why?)

2012-Feb-23
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Are We Fighting Each Other? (And Why?):Are We Fighting Each Other? (And Why?)by Melissa WestbrookIt's becoming apparent that those who fight for charters have their own agenda. I say that because they are not making the argument based just on the merits of charter schools. And, they are certainly not fighting on the merits of this particular charter bill (on which they all seem strangely silent except to say "tool in the toolbox" and "let's try ...
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Disciplining students - chicagotribune.com Support PURE!

2012-Feb-23
Disciplining students - chicagotribune.com:Changing the code of disciplineComments3Share0As parents and students across Chicago know, and as academic research confirms, the results of these extreme discipline policies have been disastrous.(Jon Krause illustration / February 22, 2012)RelatedThe Noble rulesBy Jasmine Sarmiento and Julie WoestehoffFebruary 23, 2012If you don't like it, you can leave.That's the line of defense that Noble Network of Charter Schools' supporters have fallen back on in the wake of research showing that the rapidly expanding charter school network has ...
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Shanker Blog » Do Value-Added Models "Control For Poverty?"

2012-Feb-23
Shanker Blog » Do Value-Added Models "Control For Poverty?":Do Value-Added Models “Control For Poverty?”by Matthew Di CarloThere is some controversy over the fact that Florida’s recently-announced value-added model (one of a class often called “covariate adjustment models”), which will be used to determine merit pay bonuses and other high-stakes decisions, doesn’t include a direct measure of poverty.Personally, I support adding a direct income proxy to these models, if for no other reason than to avoid this type of debate (and ...
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DIANE RAVITCH: Education reform: Testing teaching, teaching testing | The Economist

2012-Feb-23
Education reform: Testing teaching, teaching testing | The Economist:Testing teaching, teaching testingFeb 22nd 2012, 15:07 by M.S.DIANE RAVITCH, the education-reform advocate famous for having long advocated chartered schools and centralised assessment of teachers only to turn against both reforms in the past few years, has a post at the New York Review of Books railing against New York's new testing standards. The state moved last week to conduct a centralised assessment of all public-school teachers on the basis of whether ...
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The League of Education Voters is at it again. This time they’re going after the teachers’ union. | Seattle Education

2012-Feb-23
The League of Education Voters is at it again. This time they’re going after the teachers’ union. | Seattle Education:The League of Education Voters is at it again. This time they’re going after the teachers’ union.by seattleducation2011Nick Hanauer, one of the founders of the League of Education Voters (LEV) and a proponent of charter schools has lately decided to take it upon himself to publicly target teachers in general and the teachers’ union specifically in his quest to turn the ...
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Louisiana Educator: Basic Flaws in Education Reform

2012-Feb-23
Louisiana Educator: Basic Flaws in Education Reform:Basic Flaws in Education Reformby Michael DeshotelsSeveral local and regional newspapers around the state are editorializing about what the editors perceive as possible flaws in the Jindal education reform package. In addition, some local superintendents and other long time educators are pointing out basic flaws in the plan. Our readers can get a good overview of concerns of educators and non-educators by reviewing the following recent articles from around the state:Problems with Jindal's plan; ...
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Bill Gates — Yes, Bill Gates — Calls Making Teacher Ratings Public “A Big Mistake” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

2012-Feb-22
Bill Gates — Yes, Bill Gates — Calls Making Teacher Ratings Public “A Big Mistake” | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:Bill Gates — Yes, Bill Gates — Calls Making Teaching Ratings Public “A Big Mistake”by Larry FerlazzoI have little confidence in Bill Gates judgment on education issues, including on how to evaluate teachers. However, he did get one thing right in today’s guest column in The New York Times, which is headlined “Shame Is Not the Solution”:LAST week, the ...
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Bill Gates: For Teachers, Shame Is No Solution - NYTimes.com

2012-Feb-22
For Teachers, Shame Is No Solution - NYTimes.com:Shame Is Not the SolutionBy BILL GATESPublished: February 22, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHARESeattleEnlarge This ImageJohnny SelmanRelatedTimes Topic: Teachers and School EmployeesLAST week, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that teachers’ individual performance assessments could be made public. I have no opinion on the ruling as a matter of law, but as a harbinger of education policy in the United States, it is a big mistake.I am a strong proponent of measuring teachers’ effectiveness, and ...
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Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Funds | Truth in American Education

2012-Feb-22
Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Funds | Truth in American Education:Common Core Standards Cost Exceeds RTTT Stimulus Fundsby James BellStates and Localities Projected To Shed Lots of Dollars for the National StandardsThe Obama Administration spent an unprecedented $4.35 billion in Stimulus money to create an incentive for states to join the Common Core Standards and compete in the Race to the Top competition.All but five states (Virginia, Texas, Nebraska, Alaska, and Minnesota) jumped on the Common Core bandwagon, ...
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Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understanding

2012-Feb-22
Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understanding:Common Core Literature Standards Provide Less Common Understandingby AnngieYou would think that with the word "common" in its title, Common Core standards would be concerned with providing students across the country education on common (meaning -shared) resources. But a look at the Common Core Standards for language arts reveals that they actually move students away from classic literature that has been studied for generations and provides commonality to our experience, ...
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This Week In Education: Thompson: Charter Fines & Expulsions Create Dysfunctional System

2012-Feb-22
This Week In Education: Thompson: Charter Fines Expulsions Create Dysfunctional System:Thompson: Charter Fines Expulsions Create Dysfunctional Systemby john thompsonRecent coverage on excessive disciplinary actions in charter schools in the Chicago Catalyst and the Washington Post should prompt soul searching for educators in both charter and neighborhood schools. One of the original purposes of charter schools was pushing the educational status quo to think anew. Traditionally, attendance and behavior were the third rail of school politics, and urban schools were especially ...
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Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity | National Education Policy Center

2012-Feb-22
Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity | National Education Policy Center:Chartering Equity: Using Charter School Legislation and Policy to Advance Equal Educational Opportunity Share6by Julie Mead, Preston GreenFebruary 21, 2012Guided by the assumptions that charter schools will be part of our public educational system for the foreseeable future; that charter schools are neither inherently good, nor inherently bad; and that charter schools should be employed to further goals of equal educational opportunity, including ...
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Modern School: Evaluation Deal is Major Defeat for NY Teachers—Harbinger for Others?

2012-Feb-22
Modern School: Evaluation Deal is Major Defeat for NY Teachers—Harbinger for Others?:Evaluation Deal is Major Defeat for NY Teachers—Harbinger for Others?by Michael DunnA statewide deal was announced last week setting the stage for performance-based evaluations for New York teachers, with state officials finally settling a lawsuit brought by the state teachers union. 700 local districts throughout the state will still have to negotiate the fine points with local unions.The new framework bases 40% of a teacher’s evaluation on student performance, ...
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Sh*t TFA'ers Say

2012-Feb-21
This video was actually produced internally at Teach For America for cheap yuks. Apparently, they're proud of their superficial, jargon-y gloss on the problems of inner-city poverty and education.
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Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-21 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

2012-Feb-21
Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform BlogBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-31 minutes agoTeacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and Termination « PWC Education Reform Blog:Teacher Contracts, Evaluation Policies, and TerminationFebruary 21, 2012 — pwceducationreformThe VA General Assembly is considering a number of bills that affect education. One is HB576, which deals with teacher contracts, evaluation policies, and reasons for terminating a teacher, among other things.Current LawCurrently teachers are hired for what is called a continuing contract ...
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RheeFirst! » Michelle Rhee makes no apologies for firing a principal on camera

2012-Feb-21
RheeFirst! » Michelle Rhee makes no apologies for firing a principal on camera:Michelle Rhee makes no apologies for firing a principal on cameraby adminIn a February 2012 interview, Michelle Rhee makes no apologies for firing a principal on camera. Her only regret is that it damaged her image of caring for people. Read her chilling response for yourself.Q. Is there anything you’d take back — perhaps your firing of a principal in front of PBS cameras?A. [I would take it ...
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Opinion: Farai Chideya: Stop attacking public schools for political gain – In America - CNN.com Blogs

2012-Feb-21
Opinion: Farai Chideya: Stop attacking public schools for political gain – In America - CNN.com Blogs:Opinion: Farai Chideya: Stop attacking public schools for political gainEditor's note: Farai Chideya is a journalist and the author of four nonfiction and fiction books, and she blogs at Farai.com. She is a spring 2012 fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.By Farai Chideya, Special to CNN(CNN) – Over President’s Day weekend I traveled from the halls of Harvard to ...
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Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 2-21 AM Posts #soschat #edreform

2012-Feb-21
OCCUPY EDUCATION - I Occupy Education by helping to bring communities...Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 hours agoOCCUPY EDUCATION - I Occupy Education by helping to bring communities...:I Occupy Education by helping to bring communities together...I Occupy Education by helping to bring communities together through helping us understand our similarities rather than only focusing on our differences! I work in an environment where not all of my ideals mesh with the standards of the company, but I see HOPE ...
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Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-20 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

2012-Feb-20
Assemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of Rights - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson Representing the 9th California Assembly District - AD09Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 minutes agoAssemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of Rights - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson Representing the 9th California Assembly District - AD09:Assemblymember Dickinson Introduces Public Employee’s Bill of RightsSacramento – Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) introduced Assembly Bill 1655. The bill would enact the Public Employee’s Bill of Rights Act to provide various rights and ...
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Respect? What exactly does the DOE consider bold and transformative in education? Do they respect our opinions? « Continuing Change

2012-Feb-20
Respect? What exactly does the DOE consider bold and transformative in education? Do they respect our opinions? « Continuing Change:Respect? What exactly does the DOE consider bold and transformative in education? Do they respect our opinions?by gatorbonbcRespect? What exactly does the DOE consider bold and transformative in education? Do they respect our opinions?From the Department of Education blog:“To bring this vision to fruition, the President proposed a new $5 billion grant program to support states and districts that commit to ...
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A Father's Place Is in the School – SchoolBook

2012-Feb-20
A Father's Place Is in the School – SchoolBook:A Father's Place Is in the SchoolÁngel Franco/The New York TimesJuan Brea, president of the P.S. 11 PTA, walks to school with his daughter and wife.FACEBOOKTWITTERPRINT0 CommentsRespondRelated SchoolsP.S. 11 William T. HarrisP.S. 110 Florence NightingaleP.S. 75 Emily DickinsonP.S. 3 Charrette SchoolP.S. 295P.S. 261 Philip LivingstonFeb. 20, 2012, 8:56 a.m.By SCHOOLBOOKThere have always been fathers involved in school PTAs, fund raising and education governance and politics. But as Kyle Spencer reported in The ...
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Teachers are the new “Welfare Queens”. | Seattle Education

2012-Feb-20
Teachers are the new “Welfare Queens”. | Seattle Education:Teachers are the new “Welfare Queens”.by seattleducation2011In one of the episodes on Bill Moyers and Company, Mr. Moyers speaks to Heather McGee on the subject of Economic Malpractice and the Millennials.One of the phrases that comes up during the conversation is teachers are viewed as “Welfare Queens” in terms of how the corporate reformers have framed the debate on the value of professional, qualified teachers.Here is that part of the transcript:BILL MOYERS: ...
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Big Education Ape: 2-20-12 AM 'Tis a Shame, the Mastication of Education EDition #soschat

2012-Feb-20
Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!: Big Education Ape: PARENTS CAN!Published by Coopmike48 – 5 news spotters todayNext update in about 9 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONSOCIETYSTORIESPOLITICSART ENTERTAINMENTHEALTH#EDU#CORPREFORM 'Tis a Shame, the Mastication of Educationoneteachersperspective.blogspot.com - In his 2006 memoir Teacher Man, the late, great Frank McCourt tersely wrote, “Teaching is the downstairs maid of professions.” Just six years later, McCourt’s proposition is already in need o...DianeRavitch‘You are so smart…why did you become a teacher?’ - The Answer Sheetwashingtonpost.com - This was written ...
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Daily Kos: How we're doing evaluation could destroy teaching

2012-Feb-20
Daily Kos: How we're doing evaluation could destroy teaching:How we doing evaluation could destroy teachingby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)Steve Ball, executive principal at the East Literature Magnet School in Nashville, arrived at an English class unannounced one day this month and spent 60 minutes taking copious notes as he watched the teacher introduce and explain the concept of irony. “It was a good lesson,” Mr. Ball said.But under Tennessee’s new teacher-evaluation system, which is similar to systems being adopted around the country, ...
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NYC Public School Parents: The battle for the soul of a community: #soschat

2012-Feb-19
NYC Public School Parents: The battle for the soul of a community: Thursday night's contentious charter school hearing in S. Williamsburg -- and the memory of another controversial co-location 25 years ago:The battle for the soul of a community: Thursday night's contentious charter school hearing in S. Williamsburg -- and reference to 1986 boycott because of another "co-location"by Leonie HaimsonPlease check out the videos of Thursday night’s contentious hearing on the proposed co-location of yet another branch of the Success ...
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Peg with Pen: Looking the Other Way

2012-Feb-19
Peg with Pen: Looking the Other Way:Looking the Other Wayby PeggyThis weekend I attended the Colorado People’s Assembly, agathering of activists from across the state who are working hard to wake upColorado. They have brilliant ideas and strategies – they weren’t crunching numbers to determine howthe end result will create profit for a few.I went to the Colorado People’s Assembly to help create communityand to do a teach-in on the effects of corporate education reform. It can be hard for ...

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