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Friday, February 10, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts 2-10 #ows #edreform #edchat


Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Show - NYTimes.com

Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Show - NYTimes.com:Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies SayBy SABRINA TAVERNISEPublished: February 9, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTSINGLE PAGEREPRINTSSHAREWASHINGTON — Education was historically considered a great equalizer in American society, capable of lifting less advantaged children and improving their chances for success as adults. But a body of recently published scholarship suggests that the achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens to dilute education’s ... more »

What This Teacher Means By Whole Child Education | The Jose Vilson

What This Teacher Means By Whole Child Education | The Jose Vilson:What This Teacher Means By Whole Child Educationby JoseOn Monday, I finally handed in my second quarter grades, still dizzy from the desultory amounts of sleep I got the night before. Gasses in a baby don’t have an appointment, so I spend nights either patting my baby’s back or listening to my fiancee do this. As I start looking at my online gradebook, I put in my grades on ...more »

NYC Public School Parents: Thursday night massacre

NYC Public School Parents: Thursday night massacre:Thursday night massacrePanel for Education Policy votes to close all 23 schools despite thousands of protesters.photo: Ben Chapman, Daily News

School Tech Connect: The Time Is Now For Crane

School Tech Connect: The Time Is Now For Crane:The Time Is Now For Cranenoreply@blogger.com (Tim) Feb 9, 2012 7:40 PM - Show original item...to hit the phones.1-713-553-1500Ask for Jean Claude Brizard. Tell him to read the hearing officer's report, and keep Crane open. And get over to the feeder schools as well, because Crane belongs to them, too.Don't forget Ayodeji Griffin's words at the community hearing:A couple of years ago, I questioned an elementary counselor who attended our articulation breakfast ... more »

Daily Kos: Applying the Success of NCLB to the Improvement of Interscholastic Football

Daily Kos: Applying the Success of NCLB to the Improvement of Interscholastic Football:Applying the Success of NCLB to the Improvement of Interscholastic Footballby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)NCLB: The Football Version1. All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship, their footballs and equipment will ... more »

Asthma and Indoor Air Quality in Schools - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Asthma and Indoor Air Quality in Schools - Letters (CA Dept of Education):Asthma and Indoor Air Quality in SchoolsJoint letter from the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health regarding asthma and indoor air quality in California schools.CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONTOM TORLAKSON, State Superintendent of Public Instruction1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814-5901916-319-0800CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTHRON CHAPMAN, MD, MPH, Director1615 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA, 95814916-558-1700February 9, 2012Dear County and District Su... more »

Modern School: Tech Giants Take On Publishers for Control of Education

Modern School: Tech Giants Take On Publishers for Control of Education:Tech Giants Take On Publishers for Control of Educationby Michael DunnCollage by Modern School (with Images from Flickr, sucello and mikebaird)In a rare moment of lucidity and honesty, the Los Angeles Times published a piece last week criticizing tech giants’ play for billions of federal and state K-12 public education tax dollars. Reporting for the Times, Michael Hiltzik attended a Digital Learning Day Town Hall meeting sponsored by Google, Comcast, ... more »

Arne Duncan Supports Using Student Portfolios To Evaluate Teachers? | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Arne Duncan Supports Using Student Portfolios To Evaluate Teachers? | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:Arne Duncan Supports Using Student Portfolios To Evaluate Teachers?February 9, 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo | 0 comments2I support using alternative methods to student performance on standardized tests to evaluate teachers. In fact, I have a long list of “tried and true” alternatives at The Best Articles Describing Alternatives To High-Stakes Testing.One of those alternative measures worth considering, I believe, are student portfolios.Well, this week, Arne ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Pioneer Institute Asks "Is the US Department of Education Violating Federal Law by Directing Standards, Tests, and Curricula?"

Missouri Education Watchdog: Pioneer Institute Asks "Is the US Department of Education Violating Federal Law by Directing Standards, Tests, and Curricula?":Pioneer Institute Asks "Is the US Department of Education Violating Federal Law by Directing Standards, Tests, and Curricula?"by stlgretchenIs the Federal Government breaking the law with Race to the Top? Various organizations have come to the conclusion that it indeed is acting unconstitutionally. Reprinted with permission from The Pioneer Institute:Contact Jamie Gass, 617-723-2277, ext. 210 or jgass@pioneerinstitute.orgIS THE U... more »

I want everyone to read this message regarding #rhee and #studentsfirst, the nerve, right @rheefirst? « At the Chalk Face

I want everyone to read this message regarding #rhee and #studentsfirst, the nerve, right @rheefirst? « At the Chalk Face:I want everyone to read this message regarding #rhee and #studentsfirst, the nerve, right @rheefirst?February 9, 2012I got this little note in an email about Rhee’s crony organization, filling parents’ heads with drivel, getting everyone all ginned up, and shuffling them to some room to email elected officials. Check it:Our school board president, who is out of office in April, has ... more »

More Anti-Charter School Resolutions in Washington State | Seattle Education

More Anti-Charter School Resolutions in Washington State | Seattle Education:More Anti-Charter School Resolutions in Washington Stateby seattleducation2011From the Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle:Resolution for Continued Prohibition of Charter Schools in Washington StateWhereas the platforms of the King County Democrats and the Washington State Democrats specifically oppose publicly funded charter schools and vouchers; andWhereas the voters of Washington State have defeated charter measures three times1; andWhereas peer-reviewed research shows that 83% of charter schools per... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Mayor's poor showing in Quinnipiac poll, and vote in our poll now!

NYC Public School Parents: Mayor's poor showing in Quinnipiac poll, and vote in our poll now!:Mayor's poor showing in Quinnipiac poll, and vote in our poll now!by Leonie Haimson1. A new Quinnipiac poll came out yesterday, showing that only 26% of New Yorkers approve of the way Bloomberg is handling our schools; 61% disapprove. 57 57% think he has failed to improve our schools, and only 13% think the next mayor should retain mayoral control. The mayor blamed his poor ... more »

RheeFirst! » Rhee dismissed the cheating scandal as driven by the “enemies of school reform”

RheeFirst! » Rhee dismissed the cheating scandal as driven by the “enemies of school reform”:Rhee dismissed the cheating scandal as driven by the “enemies of school reform”by adminWritten by Guy Brandenburg for his blog. Read the entire post here.“And, of course, all of that supposed credit for dubious gains at certain schools also went to Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson. Remember Rhee’s initial reaction to the USA Today article on cheating on her watch? ‘It isn’t surprising,’ Rhee said in ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will reform the reformers?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will reform the reformers?:Who will reform the reformers?by Mike KlonskyRahm's urban removal projectHere's more on Chicago's top-down, corporate-style school reform -- the "miracle" that propelled Arne Duncaninto the Sec. of Education job.The latest study by the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research finds that after 20 years of reform efforts, reading scores in the city's weakest elementary schools didn't budge. An editorial in

On Kids in the College Classroom, and Academic Etiquette More Generally « Student Activism

On Kids in the College Classroom, and Academic Etiquette More Generally « Student Activism:On Kids in the College Classroom, and Academic Etiquette More Generallyby Angus JohnstonThe “I hate my students” essay has long been a Chronicle of Higher Education staple, and for obvious reasons. The classroom can be a frustrating place, and sometimes a prof just needs to vent.The problem with venting in the Chronicle, though, is that you open yourself up to rebuttal.Meet Ann Hassenpflug.Hassenpflug is a professor of ... more »

Throughout February: Engaging Learning Strategies « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Throughout February: Engaging Learning Strategies « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Throughout February: Engaging Learning StrategiesFebruary 9th, 2012 by Klea ScharbergLearning is active, engaging, and social. Students need to be engaged and motivated in their learning before they can apply higher order, creative thinking skills. They are most engaged when they themselves are part of constructing meaning, not when teachers do it for them. By encouraging students to meet challenges creatively, collaborate, and apply critical thinking skills to ... more »

NYC: Stop the Vote to Close Schools - Occupy the PEP | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

NYC: Stop the Vote to Close Schools - Occupy the PEP | OccupyWallSt.org:NYC: Stop the Vote to Close Schools - Occupy the PEPby OccupyWallStFollowing a mass walk-out by high school students earlier this month in protest of Mayor Bloomberg's plan to close their schools. Even as the demonstration was harassed by Bloomberg's NYPD, students and allies denounced Bloomberg as "Mayor 1%" and demanded fair and accessible education for all. Today at 5:30pm until 8:30pm at Brooklyn Technical High School (29 ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will turnaround the turnarounds?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Who will turnaround the turnarounds?:Who will turnaround the turnarounds?by Mike KlonskyLast summer, we learned that L.A.'s mayor-run and privately-operatedturnaround/charter schools were a miserable failure even when compared to struggling regular district-operated public schools. Similar results are now being reported in other urban districts where contract-hungry corporate reformers are imposing top-down turnaround solutions to complex problems.Now the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research reports that, after four years, “tur... more »

Union's Advice to District: Don't Play Budget Game - voiceofsandiego.org: Education

Union's Advice to District: Don't Play Budget Game - voiceofsandiego.org: Education:Union's Advice to District: Don't Play Budget GameStoryComments (5)ImageShareSharePrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeFile Photo by Sam HodgsonBill FreemanRELATED STORIESThe Teachers Union Gets Tough, and IsolatedCity Schools: Please Respond ASAP to Our Nonexistent ProposalTeachers Union: We’ve Heard Budget Woes Before'The Worst of Times in California Public Education'From the ReporterChanging a Broken SystemThe teachers union says the school district should s...more »

Brent McKim | The many problems of charter schools | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com

Brent McKim | The many problems of charter schools | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com:Brent McKim | The many problems of charter schoolsProponents' ads ignore failingsWritten byBrent McKimSpecial to The Courier-JournalFILED UNDEROpinionOpedJefferson County Public SchoolsJcpsRecently, proponents of charter schools have been spending remarkable sums of money on advertisements designed to make our public schools look worse and charter schools look better than they really are. Before jumping on the charter school bandwagon, Kentuckians should consider these points:Charters woul... more »