Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 8-25 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - 
MORNING WINK  AM POSTS



LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-25-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 7 minutes ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] This Teacher Says: Support Teachers and Get Out of the Way by dianerav In response to an earlier post that asked whether schools improve by attacking teachers, this reader offers advice based on her experience in Nevada: *Schools don’t improve if you attack teachers, or threaten them, or harass them, or fire them, or just hound them out of the profession! Schools only improve with appropriate professional development training in ‘best practices,’ with a shared belief system, and a common and well defined g... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Reformies = Liars

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Reformies = Liars: Reformies = Liars by Duke The time has come to start using the "L" word with these people: *TFA got caught in a huge lie when they claimed that 41% of the first years get at least 1.5 years of gains*, and once you are outed as a liar it does cast a shadow over your other claims, even if some of those other claims happened to be true. This is why it is best not to lie. Even in this statement, they cite a favorite statistic that 2/3 of alumni are still ‘in education.’ This is also a stretch. Can any TFAer out there even claim that 2/3 of the ... more »

This Week's Answer Sheet 8-25-1212 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 minutes ago
The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] Education news you shouldn’t miss... Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 46 minutes ago Here are some things that happened this week that are worth knowing: * Hispanics now account for nearly one-quarter of the pre-K through 12th grade population, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of newly available U.S. Census Bureau data. Read full article >> [image: Add to Facebook] [image: Add to Twitter] [image: Add to Reddit] [image: Add to StumbleUpon] The cre... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 8-25-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 minutes ago
Education Research Report: *THIS WEEK'S EDUCATION RESEARCH REPORT* Study finds a new pathway for invasive species – science teachers Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 48 minutes ago A survey of teachers from the United States and Canada found that one out of four educators who used live animals as part of their science curriculum released the organisms into the wild after they were done using them in the classroom. Yet only 10 percent of those teachers participated in a planned release program, increasing the likelihood that the well-intentioned practice of using l... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… 8-25-12 …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 minutes ago
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] “Teachers tell parents how to help their kids be better students” Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 10 hours ago Teachers tell parents how to help their kids be better students is from The Washington Post and, even though I’d prefer if the headline wasn’t “teachers tell parents,” it still has some good information. I’m adding it to The Best Ideas On How Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed Academically. “Home ... more »

Top Content this Week - 8-25-12 The Educator's PLN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 30 minutes ago
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: 1[image: Seth Godin on Education]Seth Godin on Education Added by Thomas Whitby on April 26, 2012 2[image: A great video/lesson educational site for teachers!]A great video/lesson educational site for teachers! Added by Rae Ross on August 21, 2012 3[image: Benefits of Educational Apps for Preschoolers]Benefits of Educational Apps for Preschoolers Added by Dorothy Hastings on August 21, 2012 4[image: STEM - Getting started with STEM]STEM - Getting started with STEM Posted by Lori Callister on August 11, 2011 5[image: What’s the big deal about Bl...more »

Daily Kos: Saturday morning reflection

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 38 minutes ago
Daily Kos: Saturday morning reflection: Saturday morning reflection by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) even though I am no longer in the classroom. If I were, I would have completed one week with students, and this weekend would be devoted to calling all of their parents, who by now might have heard strange (but true) tales about this guy teaching Government to their children. Yes, there is some sadness that I am not in the classroom, but at the time I made the decision to take the buyout and retire it was the correct decision. I did not have the passion, nor the necessary love a... more »

Jersey Jazzman: More Like This!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 47 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: More Like This!: More Like This! by Duke Now we're talking: Popout As Digby explains, we are being presented with a false choice in this election: Romney's stark austerity vs. Obama's "grand bargain," which ain't so grand. There is a better way: a progressive growth strategy, based on investment in the country fueled by a real progressive tax structure. Nothing would be better for the free market, the middle class, or democracy. Part of that strategy would be to fully fund public education to ensure that every child learns in a beautiful school Obama's Mixed Mes... more »

School Tech Connect: The Kids Will Be Watching

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
School Tech Connect: The Kids Will Be Watching: The Kids Will Be Watching by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I'm not with CPS or CTU. I'm just a guy with a blog. But I did teach for a long, long time, and I did what I could for my local. Now I do school tech in the burbs. But my heart is with Karen Lewis. So this next remark is coming from me, not from any organization. I just wonder what it's like for these people who've taken jobs in the charters because so many of the jobs are there now, and now they're face-to-face with the prospect of being used as happy, diligent, complian... more »

School Tech Connect: End the Revolving Door

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 11 hours ago
School Tech Connect: End the Revolving Door: End the Revolving Door by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Go sign. While I don't like the wording of this petition's title, it's a great petition.

Community Forum at Social Justice High School in Chicago. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 12 hours ago
Community Forum at Social Justice High School in Chicago. « Fred Klonsky: Community Forum at Social Justice High School in Chicago. by Fred Klonsky PopoutParents, students, teachers and community members gathered at Social Justice High School to demand answers from the new interim principal, CPS administrators and Network Office regarding top-down changes to staffing and programming that threaten to destabilize the school. And the students speak. Popout

School Tech Connect: Asocial Media

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
School Tech Connect: Asocial Media: Asocial Media by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) I'm trying to check in on Twitter more often to see who's following me. I get a lot of life coaches and public relations people and other sad types, but I also have a lot of people I really admire. I dunno. My relationship to social media is like my relationship to *Old Style. *There's a long history but it probably could have been replaced by something better. Every once in a while I see someone on the list and I wonder what *their *deal is, and I follow the links. Now, I've got no bone to pick w... more »

Schools Matter: Letter from NY Administrator, Carol Burris

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
Schools Matter: Letter from NY Administrator, Carol Burris: Letter from NY Administrator, Carol Burris by Jim Horn Dear friends, Exciting things are beginning to happen. Parents realize that their children's test scores should not be used for reasons other than guiding learning. They also realize that because of other purposes, like APPR, their sons and daughters are sitting for more tests which are becoming longer and longer. The costs are enormous at a time of shrinking budgets, and student data is being collected at very detailed levels. Tax dollars and learning time are be... more »

California High School Puts End to "Hurtful and Demeaning" Event - Hispanically Speaking News

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
California High School Puts End to "Hurtful and Demeaning" Event - Hispanically Speaking News: High School Puts an End to Tradition, Calling it “Hurtful and Demeaning” to Latinos [image: High School Puts an End to Tradition, Calling it “Hurtful and Demeaning” to Latinos]A tradition at an Anaheim high school has been nixed after officials deemed in offensive to the Latino community, calling it “hurtful and demeaning”. For years, Canyon High School senior activity week has included a dress-up day in which seniors (those in their fourth year of high school, not the elderly) dress up ... more »

The Week’s Second Staged Study to Support a Bush Initiative – This Time With an Even More Outrageous Conclusion | Scathing Purple Musings

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 16 hours ago
The Week’s Second Staged Study to Support a Bush Initiative – This Time With an Even More Outrageous Conclusion | Scathing Purple Musings: The Week’s Second Staged Study to Support a Bush Initiative – This Time With an Even More Outrageous Conclusion by Bob Sikes The *Tampa Bay Times *Cara Fitzpatrick reports on the second conveniently released study to support one of Jeb Bush’s pet projects. Last week, a study from a researcher who works for a center chaired by Jeb Bush released a report favorable to the state’s 3rd grade FCAT-based retention policy. This time it’s vouchers – an... more »

English Learner Parental Waiver Notification Lette - Resources (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 17 hours ago
English Learner Parental Waiver Notification Lette - Resources (CA Dept of Education): Querido Condado y los Superintendentes de Distrito: EXENCIONES DE LOS PADRES DE ESTUDIANTES DE INGLÉS El propósito de esta carta es para recordarle de las leyes y reglamentos que rigen la exención de los padres en lo que respecta a la instrucción para estudiantes de inglés (EL). *Código de Educación de* California *(EC)* Sección 305 requiere que, salvo por renuncia de los padres, todos los niños se colocan en las clases de lengua inglesa. ELs deben ser educados a través de la inmersión Inglés p... more »

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Discovering "Discovery Education! It's Not Just Videos Anymore!"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 18 hours ago
DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: Discovering "Discovery Education! It's Not Just Videos Anymore!": Discovering "Discovery Education! It's Not Just Videos Anymore!" by Lisa M I remember when I began using Discovery Education. It was years ago, and I was excited because they had great videos per United Streaming, that I could show my students! Well, Discovery Ed has come a long way baby, and it's not just about videos anymore! As a matter of fact, there is so much more to Discovery,that I couldn't possibly cover it in this post! Yeah, they still do videos, tons and tons of video,on... more »

Thanks to Student Activism, Los Angeles Schools Have Banned Styrofoam - Education - GOOD

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Thanks to Student Activism, Los Angeles Schools Have Banned Styrofoam - Education - GOOD: Thanks to Student Activism, Los Angeles Schools Have Banned Styrofoam from GOOD by Liz Dwyer [image: styrofoam] Thanks to some vigorous student activism, the era of ubiquitous Styrofoam in the Los Angeles Unified School District is over. The decision makes LAUSD the first school district in the nation to issue such a ban. Two and a half years ago students in the Environmental Studies Magnet program at Thomas Starr King Middle School in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles were assigned a proj... more »

Daily Kos: A response to Mitt Romney

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 19 hours ago
Daily Kos: A response to Mitt Romney: A response to Mitt Romney by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) who today in Michigan said "No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate." Besides the fact that is beyond despicable as a political tactic, it does require a response. Yes, Mitt, we know you are the son of a honorable man, who when he was running released 13 years of tax returns. Who when questions by a reporter why he had not availed himself of every possible deduction was straight forward in saying he did not think it was proper - which of course disqualifies him by your judgm... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm no "honest broker"

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 20 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Rahm no "honest broker": Rahm no "honest broker" by Mike Klonsky Rahm claims he's the guy who can step in at the last minute with his tough guy approach and prevent a strike. The Sun-Times' Fran Spielman is painting Rahm as the *broker*, the one guy who can step in at the last moment, resolve the contentious contract negotiations in a closed door meeting, and by sheer will, prevent a teachers strike. At the same time, Spielman is portraying the mayor as the tough guy (unlike Mayor Daley) who can keep the union in its place. *Early next week, sources s... more »

What’s happening in Santa Fe schools? « Parents Across America

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
What’s happening in Santa Fe schools? « Parents Across America: What’s happening in Santa Fe schools? by leoniehaimson *Cate Moses, a Santa Fe parent, just sent in this comment, after reading the influential post by Sue Peters called “How to tell if your district is infected by the Broad virus.” See also our Parent Guide to the Broad Foundation’s Training Programs. You can also check out the new memo, recently disclosed, revealing plans by the Broadies to further expand their influence across the country. Cate alerts us to a similar program, called the *Harvard Urban Superinte... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Why did the DOE cancel the Healthy Lunch school program?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 21 hours ago
NYC Public School Parents: Why did the DOE cancel the Healthy Lunch school program?: Why did the DOE cancel the Healthy Lunch school program? by Leonie Haimson *For several years, the non-profit organization Wellness in the Schools [WITS] program has been bringing professional chefs into schools to teach kids and the DOE’s school cooks how to prepare healthy meals; last year they also provided lunch in thirty public schools. * *Without warning last week, the NYC Department of Education suddenly announced it wouldcancel the WITS healthy school lunch program, claiming that its meal... more »

What You Need to Know about Chester Upland « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
What You Need to Know about Chester Upland « Diane Ravitch's blog: What You Need to Know about Chester Upland by dianerav A reader comments on previous posts (see here and here) about Governor Corbett’s appointment of a voucher advocate to be the “chief recovery officer” for financially stressed Chester Upland, Pennsylvania. This is a district that allocates 1/3 of its scarce budget to a for-profit charter school that pays its owner a management fee of $16 million. Oh, and one other thing: First Lady Michelle Obama invited a teacher from Chester Upland to sit with her during the S... more »

Agenda September 4 and 5, 2012 - Administration & Support (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Agenda September 4 and 5, 2012 - Administration & Support (CA Dept of Education): Agenda September 4 and 5, 2012Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE) meeting agenda. ------------------------------ Advisory Commission on Special Education Members Kristin Wright, Chair Diane Fazzi, Vice Chair Feda Almaliti Janice Brown Maureen Burness Kenneth Denman Morena de Grimaldi Betty Karnette Susan Martinez Laurie Newton Tomislav Peraic Naomi Rainey Barbara Schulman Laureen Sills Jaclyn Vincent Student Members Matthew Stacy Timothy Higgins Legislative Members Carol Liu, Senate Joan Buc... more »

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 24, 2012

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Sally Ride * *Born May 26, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. Died on July 23, 2012* Education Headlines *Friday, August 24, 2012* Alisal school district board won't reduce services at Family Resource CenterFacing pressure from community members and leaders, administrators at the Alisal Union School District have backpedaled on instructions to redirect services from their family resource center to their school sites. Riverbank district OKs final budget that assumes tax hike failsTrustees have passed a revised $22.3 million budget... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical: Times Keeps Up It's Desperate Efforts to Look Logical by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] More inane arguments from the Times over charter schools. They try to play the civil rights card and they might want to watch that because there are those in minority groups who do NOT follow that argument. *They also say it is "divisive" to talk about loss of funds to schools if we have charters.* That's misleading because (1) the charter system WILL cost more... more »

Battling the Common Core at the State Level | Truth in American Education

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
Battling the Common Core at the State Level | Truth in American Education: Battling the Common Core at the State Level by Shane Vander Hart An article in the Indianapolis Star today demonstrates the impact that can be made in battling the Common Core State Standards. Tony Bennett, the Indiana State Superintendent of Education who is an elected official, has found that his challenge for re-election has been on the right, not on the left with teacher’s unions. He wants to talk about his reform efforts and school choice, but people who attend Tea Party groups want to know about th... more »

NYC Educator: Another Day, Another Sliming

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 22 hours ago
NYC Educator: Another Day, Another Sliming: Another Day, Another Sliming by NYC Educator It seems like not a day goes by that we who teach the children of this country are not trashed in the media. In my school, free tabloids are all over the place, and I'd open them in teacher rooms to discover what fresh perfidies we'd committed this week, this day, this hour. We are perverts. We are incompetent. Our jobs are protected forever. We make too much, work too little. Today, on the heels of a new evaluation system based on junk science the Daily News bemoans the fact that not enough t... more »

Community College Spotlight | Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Community College Spotlight | Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students: Sorted out: Remedial ed doesn’t prepare students by Joanne Jacobs Remedial courses usually fail to prepare students for college-level work, concludes a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Remediation does not develop students’ skills sufficiently to increase their rates of college success,” concludes Judith Scott-Clayton, an assistant professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College, who wrote the paper with graduate student Olga Rodriguez. Still, the remedial track may hav... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 23 hours ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day: Schools to Provide the 3 R's and 3 Squares a Day by Anngie Missouri's DESE, in partnership with the Midwest Dairy Council, just announced a contest to see which schools could increase the number of children receiving breakfast at school the most. The goal is to increase breakfast participation by 20 percent this year. Schools who make big gains can win awards from $1,000 to $4,000. Sounds good right? Feed kids. Get Money. It's a win-win. But why the big push to have schools be a meal provider? Missouri... more »

UPDATE: I’m getting into this retirement thing. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 day ago
I’m getting into this retirement thing. « Fred Klonsky: I’m getting into this retirement thing. by Fred Klonsky It has only been a couple of months. But I’m getting into this retirement thing. You meet the greatest people. Like last night. My pal Glen Brown and I were invited to speak to a meeting of the North Lake Shore chapter of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association. The IRTA is the largest organization of teacher retirees in the state of Illinois. Irene Jinks is the North Lake Shore chapter President. Back in the day when I first got hired in Park Ridge Irene was on the s... more »






Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 8-11-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 8-4-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-28-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PosBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-21-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-14-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-7-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post
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