Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, July 21, 2014

Nite Cap 7-21-14 #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT


James Baldwin said it best: 

"For these are all our children, and we will profit by or pay for whatever they become."


A BIG EDUCATION APE NITE CAP




Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan Kantrowitz
Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study shows - Jonathan Kantrowitz: Tea Party support linked to educational segregation, new study showsPosted on July 21, 2014 | By Jonathan KantrowitzPRINTSource: University of Notre DameIn January of 2009, Barack Obama assumed the U.S. presidency in the midst of the most severe recession since the great depression of the 1930s. While many
Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Are First-Year Teachers Ever Proficient?By Nancy Flanagan on July 21, 2014 4:53 PMI was enormously impressed with a recent blog by Tim Walker (Taught By Finland), an American teacher currently working in Finland. In this piece--a must-read, especially for novice teachers and policy-makers--Walker confess
Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function? | Missouri Education Watchdog
Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function? | Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Phrase: Teachers are ‘Guides on the Side’. Can Jibo Perform that Function?inShareCommon Core State Standards Initiative is dependent on technology for teaching material, assessing the material and then gathering the data from the assessments into state databases which t
7-21-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: POTUS gains support for minority educationMorning Read: POTUS gains support for minority education Obama to report widening of initiative for black and Latino boys President Obama will announce on Monday that 60 of the nation’s largest school districts are joining his initiative to improve t
7-21-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"
Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": “Want More Kids to Graduate? Report Suggests Starting with Mom and Dad”Want More Kids to Graduate? Report Suggests Starting with Mom and Dad is the headline of a post over at Education Week. Here are a some excerpts: A new report released today by the Foundation for Child Development and CLASP, a Washington think tank, find
7-21-14 The Whole Child Blog — What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?As the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools, principals are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting change in the ongoing school-improvement process. Those who have a clear vision; inspire and engage others in embracing change for improvement; drive, facilitate
Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter funding :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet
Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter funding :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet: Conservative advocacy group pushes for charter fundingby Alisha KirbyModel legislation aimed at improving the budgets of charter schools was released earlier this month by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which brings state lawmakers together wi
7-21-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Five Ways to Tell Whether the Charter School Near You Sucks
With A Brooklyn Accent: Five Ways to Tell Whether the Charter School Near You SucksThere are some excellent charter schools in NY and around the nation. I am not attacking them. However, all too many charter schools have the following characteristics1. Over paid "CEO's" who take pride in their dictatorial management style.2. Terrorized teacher temps who have no union protection 3. Studen
7-21-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Chicago politics. Magical thinking, perfect storms and bean bag.All weekend I have been asked the same question. “Is Karen going to run?” I consider Karen a friend. But let us be clear. I am not on her exploratory committee, an insider or political confidant. I don’t like sitting in on strategy meetin
Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Cartoons of Kids in SchoolYep, here’s another edition of monthly cartoons. The following cartoons of kids in school (and at home) have tickled me and I wanted to share them with readers. Enjoy!Cartoons of Kids in School | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:
No Water, But Lots of Tests | educarenow
No Water, But Lots of Tests | educarenow: No Water, But Lots of TestsPosted on July 21, 2014 | Leave a commentI was recently at a social event when I mentioned to an educator friend that I was off to protest the Detroit water shut offs the following day.  I also added that every educator should be there.She paused and looked at me, and then asked, “Give me the nutshell explanation that connects wa
Morning Wink 7-21-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-21-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: South Carolina: State Vouchers Allow Profits at Expense of Public SchoolsThere is more than one way to harm public education. Several states have passed legislation to allow tax credits for scholarships to privat
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-21-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: South Carolina: State Vouchers Allow Profits at Expense of Public SchoolsThere is more than one way to harm public education. Several states have passed legislation to allow tax credits for scholarships to private and religious schools. This reduces the money available to support public schools. But it gets better! In South Carolin
7-21-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: Rockaway Theatre Company's Gypsy: Weekend Sellout - Some PhotosIt's tough to have to spend less than 5 minutes on stage with no lines and basically nothing to do other than have the actors move you around and then spend the next 2 hours backstage until the curtain call trying to get out of everyone's way. When I'm done I'll share the column for The Wave I'm working on the total ex
7-21-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Latest Resources On The Child Refugee Crisis© 2011 Takver, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio Here are the latest additions to The Best Resources For Learning About The Children Refugee Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border: A Central America expert explains the root causes of the migrant crisis is from Vox. The Myth of the Disease
7-21-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy
Wait What?: Wait What? Malloy Administration looks to stick it to public education yet again…Proving that there is apparently no bounds to the arrogance and sense of entitlement displayed by Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy and his administration, the Day newspaper of New London is reporting that, “The [New London] Board of Education will go forward with its scheduled vote tonight on the contract for
7-21-14 Answer Sheet
Answer Sheet: Why college remediation needs to be overhauledAward-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York has written here and here about how college remediation rates are often hyped. In in the following post she expands her examination by looking at the purpose and efficacy of the remedial model. Burris has been exposing the problems with New York’s disastrous […]1 b
Shanker Blog » Where Al Shanker Stood: Democracy In Public Education
Shanker Blog » Where Al Shanker Stood: Democracy In Public Education: Where Al Shanker Stood: Democracy In Public EducationPosted by Shanker Institute Staff on July 21, 2014There is an ongoing debate in the U.S. about the role of democracy in public education. In March 1997, in his final “Where We Stand” column in the New York Times, Al Shanker addressed this issue directly. The piece, published p
7-21-14 Schools Matter
Schools Matter: TURNcoats Meet in Rosemont, IL to Promote Common Coreby Jim Horn / 2h  7-20-14 Schools Matter All WeekSchools Matter: NEA, SEIU, and Eli BroadAt the recent AFT and NEA coronations, there was news about new linkages with SEIU, whose former president, Andy Stern, had close ties with Broad, Gates, and Obama (Stern had a choice seat in the Obama box at the Inauguration Parade). Below i
7-21-14 @ The Chalk Face
@ THE CHALK FACE: “No new federal spending” Equals “This really doesn’t matter”“No new federal spending” Equals “This really doesn’t matter”. via “No new federal spending” Equals “This really doesn’t matter”.by plthomasedd / 0min hide  //  saveBack from vacation to crowdsource a problem with school enrollmentHelp. My elementary school in a low-income part of Washington, DC needs its community to e
7-21-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness
the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): “No new federal spending” Equals “This really doesn’t matter”Mykoto Rich’s lede sounds promising: President Obama will announce on Monday that 60 of the nation’s largest school districts are joining his initiative to improve the educational futures of young African-Ameri
7-21-14 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: CCSS and EsperantoWhy don't we speak Esperanto?You know Esperanto. It's a constructed language created in the late 19th century by a young man who was very interested in languages and who thought he might come up with a neutral language that transcended all the biases and baggage of previous languages. Ludwik Lazarus Zamenhof became an opthamologist, so he wasn't technically a lang
7-21-14 Perdido Street School Week
Perdido Street School: Daily News Continues To Shill For The Common CoreA Siena poll released today found the following:BY a 49-39 percent margin, voters want to see implementation of the Common Core stopped rather than continued.Despite these numbers, Common Core-supporting newspaper the Daily News reports voters are "split" on the Core here in New York.Here's their headline:Voters back
The Myth of the Helpless Parent | Truth in American Education
The Myth of the Helpless Parent | Truth in American Education: The Myth of the Helpless ParentFiled in Common Core State Standards by Laurie H. Rogers on July 21, 2014 • 0 Comments“I Can” statements are all the rage in our public schools. Students are to say “I can” and then positively reaffirm something they feel capable of doing.I’m offering suggestions for “We can” statements. If your school di
10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detector :: Frederick M. Hess
10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detector :: Frederick M. Hess: 10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detectorby Frederick M. Hess  •  Jul 21, 2014 at 8:28 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareEducation is filled with jargon, buzzwords, and BS. I've had a lot of fun over the years skewering the inanity that gets bandied about in education resear
Hubris Of The Hoch-Tech – redqueeninla
Hubris Of The Hoch-Tech – redqueeninla: Hubris Of The Hoch-TechWritten by redqueeninla in Education What is it with high tech entrepreneurs and the hubris of their bastardized version of noblesse oblige?First came Bill Gates with his “philanthrocapitalism” and in particular his focus on education philanthropy. The effort to overlay pedagogy with business practice have been problematic, to say the
The Billionaire Boys: Reinvesting A Small Percent of the Spoils of Capitalism | janresseger
The Billionaire Boys: Reinvesting A Small Percent of the Spoils of Capitalism | janresseger: The Billionaire Boys: Reinvesting A Small Percent of the Spoils of CapitalismPosted on July 21, 2014 by janressegerThe political philosopher Benjamin Barber may be a little theoretical for the general reader, but he really gets what’s happening these days:   “We can be glad Carnegie built libraries, glad t
Audit finds missing, misused funds at LA charter network | 89.3 KPCC
Audit finds missing, misused funds at LA charter network | 89.3 KPCC: Audit finds missing, misused funds at LA charter networkThe Los Angeles Unified school district is investigating a network of eight charter schools for misuse of public school funds.An audit showed Magnolia Public Schools used classroom cash to help six non-employees with immigration costs. The schools had trouble justifying ano
NYC Educator: The Deformer Formula for "De-Motivating" Kids
NYC Educator: The Deformer Formula for "De-Motivating" Kids: The Deformer Formula for "De-Motivating" KidsIn all the discussion of higher standards, I doubt the "reformers" have given much consideration to the complexities of motivation.Some "reformers" seem to think that students who fail will seize the day.  They will harness their inner grit, work harder
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES: WEEKEND QUOTABLESNatasha KoreckiA new progressive movement that’s swept through New York; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Jersey City, New Jersey; Oregon; and Seattle has arrived in Chicago. -- Sun-TimesAmisha Patel, executive director of Grassroots Illinois Action“We’re building ward committees with everyday people who are wanting to take back their city

YESTERDAY

7-20-14 Jersey Jazzman
Jersey Jazzman: Civil Conversations Are Honest ConversationsVia Peter Greene, I see that Andy Smarick, formerly of the New Jersey Department of Education, is quite vexed at the idea that someone's feelings may get hurt when discussing the expansion of charter schools:I have two concerns with the way these things are trending. The first is that our field needs someone who consistently makes earnest
7-20-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy
Wait What?: Wait What? And from the Wall Street Journal – Spoiler Fears on Left in Connecticut Governor RaceIn a story entitled, Spoiler Fears on Left in Connecticut Governor Race – Jonathan Pelto’s Campaign Poses Risks for Gov. Dannel Malloy, the Wall Street Journal’s Jospeh De Avila writes, Some Republicans argue a conservative third-party candidate cost GOP nominee Tom Foley the governorship of
Coleman Corps | WagTheDog
Coleman Corps | WagTheDog: Coleman Corps In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,but in the expert’s there are few ~ Shunryu SuzukiHard to imagine an applicant for a teaching job explaining to the panel of educators interviewing him/her that he really doesn’t give a shit what his students or their parents think or feel and admitting to the panel that she really isn’t qualified to teach
Teachers: Don’t waste your votes? Waste? | Reclaim Reform
Teachers: Don’t waste your votes? Waste? | Reclaim Reform: Teachers: Don’t waste your votes? Waste?Posted on July 20, 2014by Ken Previti“Portion of people living in Illinois who say they would move elsewhere if they could: 1/2″- Harper’s Index in the Harper’s Magazine, August 2014 issueWho believes all the lies about the greedy, lazy, incompetent teachers who are bankrupting the state and failing
Tuning in to Teachers | Randi Weingarten
Tuning in to Teachers | Randi Weingarten: Tuning in to Teachers Why would 3,500 people go to sun- and fun-filled Los Angeles and opt to spend the bulk of their time inside a cavernous convention hall? To be heard. This was the case last week at the American Federation of Teachers biennial convention, where educators spoke up forcefully and passionately about economic and social justice, education
Texas Hangin’ its Hat on its New VAM System |
Texas Hangin’ its Hat on its New VAM System |: Texas Hangin’ its Hat on its New VAM System A fellow blogger, James Hamric and author of Hammy’s Education Reform Blog, emailed a few weeks ago connecting me with a recent post he wrote about teacher evaluations in Texas, titling them and his blog post “The good, the bad and the ridiculous.”It seems that the Texas Education Agency (TEA), which serves
7-20-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Stand for Children's Petition - Don't Sign ItStand has this "education" petition going around. Consider not signing it.First, note the source.  That should tell you all you need to know right there.  (What's funny is they want one word changed and claim it will "free" Washington from NCLB.  There's no way they can know that for sure.  Next, it i
7-20-14 Ed Notes Online
Ed Notes Online: My Video of Randi Press Conf at #AFT14Some interesting insights from Randi on Vergara, Duncan and other issues. But not enough of a rigorous defense of tenure - rather a sense of - we are willing to help get rid of teachers. Left hanging are those teachers who have been chopped due to political persecution. Lenny Isenberg from LA asks Randi a question as do I. A few days later the
7-20-14 Curmudgucation Week
CURMUDGUCATION: Zephyr Teachout Is for RealWhen the Washington Post ran an essay by Zephyr Teachout, they prefaced it by observing that she is "to say the least, not the kind of person you'd expect to run for office."That seems fair. Teachout is a Vermont-born law professor. In profiles of her by those who know her, she comes across as humble. In her own writing and speaking, she comes a
7-20-14 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Happy birthday Karen Jennings Lewis!Sunday reads.Happy birthday Karen Jennings Lewis! Charles Schwab — A core member of the ‘charter cabal’. The Joe Berrios crime family. In case you forgot, Joe is Chairman of the Chicago Democratic Party. Teacher disciplined because her students’ scores are too high.
Morning Wink 7-20-14 AM Posts #edchat #edreform
BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTSLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-20-14 Diane Ravitch's blog #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Arthur Goldstein: Why Good Teachers Need Tenure TooArthur Goldstein, a high school teacher of English as a Second Language in New York City, explains in this article that good teachers need tenure too. Goldstein