Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, February 11, 2013

UPDATE: Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests

Schools Matter: "Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests:



Thousands Protest Chicago School Closures and Budget Lies

February 8, from George Schmidt:

Things are exploding here, with protests of more than 1,000 people against Chicago's school policies every night. We are only reporting some of them, and just about everyone leading them will need some rest this weekend. The CORE re-election campaign is holding the Second City benefit Sunday night, and that will provide everyone with some respite.

In addition to the local protests against the latest round of proposed school closings and the latest budget lies, the CTU voted unanimously Wednesday night to be part of "More than a score" and begin the petitioning, in the middle of winter, at 35 elementary schools. 



"Minimum" tech standards to give common core tests

A blog in Ed Week has summarized “minimum technology standards states will have to meet” to give the common core tests. The description is quite daunting. All this has to be done by 2014-15.

http://tinyurl.com/amc4g8j

Here are two comments posted on the Ed Week website:

Sonja L
3:39 PM on February 8, 2013
Common Core is just another push by big business to suck public funds from our school system. There are so many urban poor and rural areas that would never have funds, nor means to have the computer access/internet platforms available to take the publishing industrial complex's "tests" in the time frame suggested. Many schools don't have full-time teachers (or properly credentialed teachers in the case of many Charter schools that are 

Dan Rather Covers Scrap the Map

If you have access to AXS TV, Dan Rather features Seattle school district opt out
movement and Garfield High Teacher Jesse Hagopian

Published on Feb 6, 2013
Saying it's a waste of time, teachers in Seattle are refusing to give standardized tests to high schoolers because the tests don't effectively assess students and educators don't want their evaluations tied to a faulty test. The move is receiving widespread support across the nation. Dan Rather Reports airs Tuesdays at 8pm 

LA Times publishes the other side of the education story


THE KEYS TO LEARNING

All four letters published in the Sunday Los Angeles Times, Feb. 10. 2013

Re "Beware of miracles," Editorial, Feb. 6

I was delighted to see The Times recommend healthy skepticism before adopting the latest "solutions" to educational problems. And yes, I clearly remember my colleagues' "value-added" ratings splashed across your website, even though there were plenty of cautionary articles elsewhere calling their use problematic.
The Los Angeles Unified School District seems to think that having students take standardized tests is an answer to our achievement problems, even though most teachers feel their curriculum has been weakened by 

What Diversity and Greatness Look Like: A Year at Mission Hill School

James Coleman told us almost fifty years ago about the importance of social capital.  Here's what he was talking about:

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