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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/24/15



CORPORATE ED REFORM




Peg with Pen: No Victory
Peg with Pen: No Victory: No VictoryThere is no victory here. Obama's administration suddenly does not care about our children. King doesn't suddenly care either. These folks and their corporate cronies have been pummeling our public schools for how many years now and suddenly - now suddenly - they are listening and here to save the day? NO. As Morna McDermott (UOO admin) says - the folks who have
Special Banana Break - Everybody Be All Testy: A Day in Memes
Everybody Be All Testy: A Day in Memes 
Obama wants students to stop taking unnecessary tests | 89.3 KPCC
Obama wants students to stop taking unnecessary tests | 89.3 KPCC: Obama wants students to stop taking unnecessary testsToday, President Obama and the Department of Education released a Testing Action Plan, calling on states to cut back on "unnecessary testing" that consumes "too much instructional time" and creates "undue stress for educators and students."In a video
CURMUDGUCATION: USED: Recycled Empty Course Change on Testing
CURMUDGUCATION: USED: Recycled Empty Course Change on Testing: USED: Recycled Empty Course Change on TestingRemember that theoretical problem where someone keeps moving half the distance to a point, and how that means they'll never actually get there? Well, today Arne Duncan once again moved half the distance to the point at which he will someday theoretically accept responsibility for the adminis
Confirmed: Standardized testing has taken over our schools. But who’s to blame? - The Washington Post
Confirmed: Standardized testing has taken over our schools. But who’s to blame? - The Washington Post: Confirmed: Standardized testing has taken over our schools. But who’s to blame?Who’s to blame?A new two-year study on testing in U.S. big-city public schools reveals what many students, parents and teachers have been screaming about for years: Kids take too many mandated standardized tests. What’
BATs Respond to Obama Administration Announcement on Over Testing - Badass Teachers Association
Badass Teachers Association: BATs Respond to Obama Administration Announcement  on Over TestingToday the  Obama  “administration called for a cap on assessment so that no child would spend more than 2 percent of classroom instruction time taking tests. It called on Congress to “reduce over-testing” as it reauthorizes the federal legislation governing the nation’s public elementary and secondary sc
AFT's Weingarten on the US Education Department's 'Testing Action Plan' | American Federation of Teachers
AFT's Weingarten on the US Education Department's 'Testing Action Plan' | American Federation of Teachers: AFT's Weingarten on the US Education Department's 'Testing Action Plan' WASHINGTON—Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the U.S. Department of Education's "Testing Action Plan.""The president and the Department of Education have just prov
Watch “Education, Inc.” on Sunday | Diane Ravitch's blog
Watch “Education, Inc.” on Sunday | Diane Ravitch's blog: Watch “Education, Inc.” on SundayBrian Malone created a powerful documentary about the corporate assault on public education, called “Education Inc.”It will be shown Sunday:Education, Inc.Premiers Sunday, October 25, 2015 6pmFreeSpeech TV (Check local listings)or stream it live here:https://www.freespeech.orgfollowed by:Education Inc. Round
Perdido Street School: Don't Believe The Obama Administration Jive On Capping Testing Time
Perdido Street School: Don't Believe The Obama Administration Jive On Capping Testing Time: Don't Believe The Obama Administration Jive On Capping Testing TimeFrom the "We caused it - now we're trying to walk it back without really walking it back" file:Faced with mounting and bipartisan opposition to increased and often high-stakes testing in the nation’s public schools, the Obama admin
Watch administration twist themselves in knots. | @ THE CHALKFACE
Watch administration twist themselves in knots. | @ THE CHALKFACE: Watch administration twist themselves in knotsOne of the cheapest and least effective interventions in struggling public schools is to require teachers to hang very specific items on their walls. From a teaching standpoint, these interventions do nothing for students, especially in the early elementary grades when students can neit
Panel re-doing illegal charter school evaluations is meeting in private | cleveland.com
Panel re-doing illegal charter school evaluations is meeting in private | cleveland.com: Panel re-doing illegal charter school evaluations is meeting in privateCOLUMBUS, Ohio - Discussion of how to re-do the state's illegal evaluations of charter school oversight agencies isn't open to the public.That's because the Ohio Department of Education and Superintendent Richard Ross consider those discuss
Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in Schools - The New York Times
Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in Schools - The New York Times: Obama Administration Calls for Limits on Testing in SchoolsFaced with mounting and bipartisan opposition to increased and often high-stakes testing in the nation’s public schools, the Obama administration declared Saturday that the push had gone too far, acknowledged its own role in the proliferation of tests, and ur
Russ on Reading: Should Reading Be Taught in Kindergarten?
Russ on Reading: Should Reading Be Taught in Kindergarten?: Should Reading Be Taught in Kindergarten?In a rather snarky post in the Thomas B. Fordham Institute's Flypaper blog last week, literacy expert and professor emeritus from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Tim Shanahan, mocked a recent article in The Atlantic, by Tim Walker, entitled "The Joyful Illiterate Kindergartners of Finla
FL high stakes & the resignation of teacher Wendy Bradshaw, Ph.D. | The Edvocate Blog
FL high stakes & the resignation of teacher Wendy Bradshaw, Ph.D. | The Edvocate Blog: FL high stakes & the resignation of teacher Wendy Bradshaw, Ph.D.Privatizing public education is a cruel and dishonest process. Despite 17 years of Florida “education reform,” teachers continue to stand on the front line to be there for our children.  They know hearts have been breaking for years in Flor
Study says standardized testing is overwhelming nation’s public schools - The Washington Post
Study says standardized testing is overwhelming nation’s public schools - The Washington Post: Study says standardized testing is overwhelming nation’s public schoolsThe number of standardized tests U.S. public school students take has exploded in the past decade, with most schools requiring too many tests of dubious value, according to the first comprehensive survey of the nation’s largest school
CURMUDGUCATION: Eva & Charter Priorities
CURMUDGUCATION: Eva & Charter Priorities: Eva & Charter PrioritiesYes, we're getting a little tired of the story of how Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy got some bad press and Eva went berserk, throwing a ten year old child under the bus in response.But there's one more point I want to make.After many critics cried FERPA rights violation and the mom in the case slapped Moskowitz with acease
Louisiana Educator: Please Help Carolyn Hill Fight Viscious Attacks
Louisiana Educator: Please Help Carolyn Hill Fight Viscious Attacks: Please Help Carolyn Hill Fight Viscious AttacksThis ad was so viscious that the television stations had it pulled off the air. I personally know Carolyn Hill and I can assure the voters in her district that she is an excellent BESE member who fights for the truth on BESE in opposition to corporate forces that will resort to any t
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.: CPS enrollment down by design. Black students being 'reformed' out.Now comes the "stunning" news that CPS enrollment is down by 4,400 studentsthis year. The district reports that student enrollment on the 20th day of school was at 392,285, falling below 400,000 for the first time in over 2
With A Brooklyn Accent: Is Great Hip Hop Compatible With Broken Windows Policing? A New York Story
With A Brooklyn Accent: Is Great Hip Hop Compatible With Broken Windows Policing? A New York Story: Is Great Hip Hop Compatible With Broken Windows Policing? A New York StoryWhen you look at videos from the Golden Age of Hip Hop in NYC, whether it is from Gang Starr, MC Lyte Eric B and Rakim,and Public Enemy, or slightly later,Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang or Biggie, you will see scenes of young Black man a
Perdido Street School: How Did Mary Ellen Elia Get Hired At NYSED Given the Mess She Left In Hillsborough?
Perdido Street School: How Did Mary Ellen Elia Get Hired At NYSED Given the Mess She Left In Hillsborough?: How Did Mary Ellen Elia Get Hired At NYSED Given the Mess She Left In Hillsborough?The Tampa Times has another piece about the mess former Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia left in the school district as a result of the "innovative" evaluation teacher evaluation system she
The perils of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ | Times Higher Education
The perils of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ | Times Higher Education: The perils of ‘philanthrocapitalism’Are corporations profiting from philanthropy? Do mega-donors acquire too much influence? Linsey McGoey on ‘saint’ Bill Gates and the downsides of giving away $16 billionFor many on the political Left, Bill Gates is “the saint of Seattle”. He has long been in favour of gun control and access to contra
In Newark school reform efforts, gains come at a price
In Newark school reform efforts, gains come at a price: In Newark school reform efforts, gains come at a priceFive years ago, Gov. Chris Christie, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former Mayor Cory Booker launched an ambitious plan to remake Newark’s schools by creating a network of charter schools that would operate almost like a business -- a model they hoped could be adopted nationally. Wil
Mark Zuckerberg opening K-12 school that provides health benefits to all students | New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV
Mark Zuckerberg opening K-12 school that provides health benefits to all students | New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV: Mark Zuckerberg opening K-12 school that provides free health benefits to all studentsMark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerPALO ALTO, Calif. — Mark Zuckerberg is making a big bet on a different sort of business.The Facebook founder and his wife Priscilla

YESTERDAY

15 Years of Bill Gates’s Meddling – The Network For Public Education
Feature Report: 15 Years of Bill Gates’s Meddling – The Network For Public Education: Feature Report: 15 Years of Bill Gates’s Meddlingby Carol Burris and Anthony CodyThe Gates Foundation recently marked its fifteen-year anniversary of involvement in education reform. For those of us who view those fifteen years as a decade and a half during which one of the richest men in the world Inserted himse
Moskowitz’s Letter to Merrow: What She Reveals and Omits | deutsch29
Moskowitz’s Letter to Merrow: What She Reveals and Omits | deutsch29: Moskowitz’s Letter to Merrow: What She Reveals and OmitsOn October 12, 2015, PBS NewsHour aired a segment entitled, “Is Kindergarten Too Young to Suspend a Student?” The piece features Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academies of New York. Here is the opener:At the largest charter school network in New York City, strict academic and beh
NPE Action - Political Endorsements
NPE Action - Political Endorsements: NPE Action EndorsesWho are We?NPE Action is the 501(c)4 political action arm of the Network for Public Education. NPE is an advocacy group whose goal is to fight to protect, preserve and strengthen our public school system, an essential institution in a democratic society.Our missionTo protect, preserve, promote, and strengthen public schools and the education
Why are out-of-state billionaires pouring big money into Louisiana board of education elections?
Why are out-of-state billionaires pouring big money into Louisiana board of education elections?  Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook LEE P.BARRIOS FOR BESE 1 Web SiteJASON FRANCE FOR BESE 6 Web SiteMIKE KREAMER FOR BESE 7 Web SiteNPE Action Endorses Dr. Lottie Beebe for BESE - NPE Action http://bit.ly/1kB87lnNPE Action Endorses Lee Barrios for BESE - NPE Action http://bit.ly/1kB8n3CNPE End
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/23/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMGOTTA READ IT! Is New Orleans a preview of Broad's charter expansion plan in LA? - LA School ReportIs New Orleans a preview of Broad's charter expansion plan in LA? - LA School Report:Is New Orleans a preview of Broad’s charter expansion plan in LA?Were it to come to fruition, the Broad Foundation‘s recently announced plan to expand charter schools in LA Unified to include half