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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/17/15




Special Nite Cap 
CORPORATE ED REFORM




Stare Them In The Eyes | The Jose Vilson
Stare Them In The Eyes | The Jose Vilson: Stare Them In The EyesBefore I continue, I’ve been nominated for the National Education Association’s Social Justice Award. If you’re an NEA / UFT member, please consider voting for me. Thank you! Voting ends on May 18th, 2015.When John Norton, editor and writing guru, was having long conversations with me on Skype about the direction of my book, he often
Have We Wasted Over a Decade? | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.
Have We Wasted Over a Decade? | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.: Have We Wasted Over a Decade?A dominant narrative of the past decade and a half of education reform has been to highlight alleged persistent failures of our education system.  While this tale began long ago with the Reagan Administration report A Nation at Risk, it has been put into overdrive in the era of test based accountability that began wit
CEA Convention passes Opt-Out Resolution, re-elects incumbents - Wait What?
CEA Convention passes Opt-Out Resolution, re-elects incumbents - Wait What?: CEA Convention passes Opt-Out Resolution, re-elects incumbentsCongratulations to Sheila Cohen and Jeff Leake on their re-election and a big thank you to Martin Walsh and Scott Minnick for running for and helping to push the CEA forward on the critical opt out issue.As reported by the CEA Blog,“Teacher leaders from across
A failed idea will fail Milwaukee's kids
A failed idea will fail Milwaukee's kids: A failed idea will fail Milwaukee's kidsDuring my 30 years of teaching fifth grade, I've always encouraged my students to look critically at problems and to learn from mistakes.Sen. Alberta Darling's and Rep. Dale Kooyenga's plan to take over public schools in Milwaukee does neither.The few details in their plan provide no framework for actually improving
Schools Matter: Ref Rodriguez's school scandals unreported by LA School Report?
Schools Matter: Ref Rodriguez's school scandals unreported by LA School Report?: Ref Rodriguez's school scandals unreported by LA School Report?“Of course, the network of power and privilege that eases access to the Ivy League isn’t severed at matriculation—it supports the scions of the superrich throughout. Further emails from the Sony hack show the Lynton nepotism machine gearing up for his elde
Peg with Pen: A response to Derek Briggs and the Denver Post re: Opt Out Propaganda
Peg with Pen: A response to Derek Briggs and the Denver Post re: Opt Out Propaganda: A response to Derek Briggs and the Denver Post re: Opt Out PropagandaTruth, Justice, and the American Way My comment in response to the Denver Post piece titled: PARCC adviser: opt-out 'propaganda' mischaracterizes commentsI heard about Dr. Briggs comments via Facebook and I believe that the email he references wa
Kate with a Keyboard: Public Education is a Right!
Kate with a Keyboard: Public Education is a Right!: Public Education is a Right!The following article is a post written by guest blogger Richard Lipsitz, president of the Western New York Area Labor Federation (WNY-ALF):Public Education is a Right!The education of ordinary people as a priority of this society has always played a part in economic development.  Historically public education moves an
LAUSD: Fact-checking California Charter Schools Assocation Attack Ads Against Schmerelson
LAUSD: Fact-checking California Charter Schools Assocation Attack Ads Against Schmerelson: Fact-Checking Attack Mailers on Schmerelson Sent By the California Charter School Associationscott4lausd.comBelow in the Scribd window is yet another attack mailer sent to residents of Los Angeles by the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA), a lobbyist group that pushes for unfunded expansion of unr
Big Data and Little Kids: In Whose Best Interest? | ECE PolicyWorks
Big Data and Little Kids: In Whose Best Interest? | ECE PolicyWorks: Big Data and Little Kids: In Whose Best Interest? Americans love data. We cannot get enough of it. Collectors on speed, we measure every indicator in sight. Children are the youngest, most fragile casualties of our obsessive compulsive disorder. How many words do they have in their emergent lexicons? Do they know their letters? C
Attack ads plentiful as more than $5.5 million spent on LAUSD board races
Attack ads plentiful as more than $5.5 million spent on LAUSD board races: Attack ads plentiful as more than $5.5 million spent on LAUSD board racesThree seats on the Los Angeles Unified School Board will cost more than $5.5 million by the time ballots are cast Tuesday.Nearly $1 million of that money will have been spent on attack ads that attempt to misinform voters with revisionist histories and
School is Out - Let Your Education Begin! - Living in Dialogue
School is Out - Let Your Education Begin! - Living in Dialogue: School is Out - Let Your Education Begin! Teacher Jim Owens was chosen by the 435 graduating seniors at Gainesville High School to address them and their families, and delivered this speech to an audience of 5,000 on June 5, 2011. I originally shared this talk back then, and I think it is still relevant now. Testing. Testing 1,2. Just
Preying on the Promise of Higher Education | Randi Weingarten
Preying on the Promise of Higher Education | Randi Weingarten: Preying on the Promise of Higher EducationThere's a promise we make to the next generation: Graduate from college and you can get ahead. Indeed, recent studies show that college graduates earn $1 million more than high school graduates over their lifetimes.Yet, as we make this promise, public higher education institutions nationwide ar
Broken Windows and American Oligarchy - NYTimes.com
Broken Windows and American Oligarchy - NYTimes.com: Broken Windows and American OligarchySome years ago I gave a talk to a group of businesspeople — I don’t remember the occasion — and afterward, during the drink and mingle part of the event, had a conversation about executive pay. Quite a few of the businesspeople themselves thought that pay had grown excessive, but what has remained with me was
Steve Zimmer's Steadfast Endorsement of LAUSD's Bennett Kayser
Steve Zimmer's Steadfast Endorsement of LAUSD's Bennett KayserLAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer explains why a vote for Board Member Bennett Kasyer is a vote for Los Angeles children.
Measuring student safety: Bullying rates at school - NCES Blog
NCES Blog | May 1. 2015: Measuring student safety: Bullying rates at schoolBullying remains a serious issue for students and their families, and efforts to reduce bullying concern policy makers, administrators, and educators. Measuring the extent of the problem, as well as tracking any progress towards reducing the prevalence of bullying, is of utmost importance and why NCES is committed to provid
Opinion: Controversy, ambition continue to define Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson | The Sacramento Bee
Opinion: Controversy, ambition continue to define Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson | The Sacramento Bee: Opinion: Controversy, ambition continue to define Sacramento Mayor Kevin JohnsonKJ pushes to increase staff amid another sexual harassment allegation Outside the city, mayor thrives as an ambassador for Sacramento At home, he struggles with statesmanship and communicationRead more here: http://ww
Hear Our Teachers; A New Film by Laurie Gabriel - Living in Dialogue
Hear Our Teachers; A New Film by Laurie Gabriel - Living in Dialogue: Hear Our Teachers; A New Film by Laurie Gabriel Why waste money on profiteers with no classroom experience when the experts are already on salary? Hear the dangers of corporate / government control. Hear the solutions from those in the know. HEAR OUR TEACHERS.Hear Our Teachers 2 Minute Trailer from Ethan Gabriel on Vimeo.
What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? | WagTheDog
What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated? | WagTheDog: What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated?My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. ~ Maya AngelouEducation should provide countless opportunities for students to discover their talents andpursue th

YESTERDAY

China Keeps Both a Nobel Laureate and Some High School Students Behind Bars | deutsch29
China Keeps Both a Nobel Laureate and Some High School Students Behind Bars | deutsch29: China Keeps Both a Nobel Laureate and Some High School Students Behind BarsOn May 15, 2015, I wrote a post about China’s testing obsession going so far as Chinese high school students’ using amino acid IVs to support their beyond-humane studying for Chinese exams.In that post, I observed that China has very fe
The Gates Foundation and Education Philanthropists
The Gates Foundation and Education Philanthropists: Gates KeepersAt the last Network for Public Education, there was a long and passionate conversation about the foundations that give money to impact education. Warren Buffett has a foundation that funds scholarships to low-income students, among other things. Goldie Hawn has a foundation that focuses on training school teachers and education suppo
Activists look to courts to weaken grip of California teachers union | The Sacramento Bee
Activists look to courts to weaken grip of California teachers union | The Sacramento Bee: Activists look to courts to weaken grip of California teachers union One by one, bills to change education policy are foundering in California.Democratic legislators shelved a measure to extend from two to three years the time it takes for teachers to achieve tenure. They dispatched an effort to do away with
PARCC is CCRAP spelled backwards - The Plagued Parent
PARCC is CCRAP spelled backwards - The Plagued Parent: PARCC is CCRAP spelled backwardsplaguedparent@gmail.comMarch 17, 2015Uncategorized12 CommentsAs of Fall 2014 a new standardized test is to be implemented in the District of Columbia and 12 states, including my home state of Rhode Island. This new test has the dubious title of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness For College and Careers
Former state schools Superintendent Tony Bennett won't face criminal charges
Former state schools Superintendent Tony Bennett won't face criminal charges: Former state schools Superintendent Tony Bennett won't face criminal chargesThe Marion County prosecutor's office will not file criminal charges against former Indiana schools Superintendent Tony Bennett, Prosecutor Terry Curry announced Friday afternoon.Curry renewed the investigation into the case last December after a
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/16/15
Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMLet the Kids Learn Through Play - NYTimes.comLet the Kids Learn Through Play - NYTimes.com:Let the Kids Learn Through PlayTWENTY years ago, kids in preschool, kindergarten and even first and second grade spent much of their time playing: building with blocks, drawing or creating imaginary worlds, in their own heads or with classmates. But increasingly, these act