Saturday, May 1, 2010

Remarks by the President at University of Michigan Spring Commencement | The White House

Remarks by the President at University of Michigan Spring Commencement

by The White House

11:40 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody. Please be seated.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Laughter.)
It is great to be here in the Big House -- (applause) -- and so may I say, “Go Blue!” (Applause.) I thought I’d go for the cheap applause line to start things off. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, President Coleman, the Board of Trustees, to faculty, parents, family and friends of the class of 2010. (Applause.) Congratulations on your graduation, and thank you for allowing me the honor of being a part of it. (Applause.) Let me acknowledge your wonderful governor, Jennifer Granholm; your mayor, John Hieftje; and all the members of Congress who are here today. (Applause.)

It is a privilege to be with you on this happy occasion, and, you know, it’s nice to spend a little time outside of Washington. (Laughter.) Now, don’t get me wrong -– Washington is a beautiful city. It’s very nice living above the store; you can’t beat the commute. (Laughter.) It’s just sometimes all you hear in Washington is the clamor of politics. And all that noise can drown out the voices of the people who sent you there. So when I took office, I decided that each night I would read 10 letters out of the tens of thousands that are sent to us by ordinary Americans every day –- this is my modest effort to remind myself of why I ran in the first place.
Some of these letters tell stories of heartache and struggle. Some express gratitude, some express anger. I'd say a good solid third call me an idiot -- (laughter) -- which is how I know that I’m getting a good, representative sample. (Laughter and applause.) Some of the letters make you think -- like the one that I received last month from a kindergarten class in Virginia.
Now, the teacher of this class instructed the students to ask me any question they wanted. So one asked, “How do you do your job?” Another asked, “Do you work a lot?” (Laughter.) Somebody wanted to know if I wear a black jacket or if I have a beard –- (laughter) -- so clearly they were getting me mixed up with the other tall guy from Illinois. (Laughter.) And one of my favorites was from a kid who wanted to know if I lived next to a volcano. (Laughter.) I'm still trying to piece the thought process on this one. (Laughter.) Loved this letter.
But it was the last question from the last student in the letter that gave me pause. The student asked, “Are people being nice?” Are people being nice?
Well, if you turn on the news today, or yesterday, or a week ago, or a month ago –- particularly one of the cable channels -– (laughter) -- you can see why even a kindergartener would ask this question. (Laughter.) We’ve got politicians calling each other all sorts of unflattering names. Pundits and talking heads shout at each other. The media tends to play up every hint of conflict, because it makes for a sexier story -– which means anyone interested in getting coverage feels compelled to make their arguments as outrageous and as incendiary as

Sweathogs, Heathers & Mean Girls | Lefty Parent

Sweathogs, Heathers & Mean Girls

by Cooper Zale

Conventional patriarchal wisdom does not necessarily think about young women who are coming of age developing a “thick skin” to help them navigate the slings and arrows of life. Women are supposed instead to be soft, receptive and relational rather than “tough bitches”. But our daughter Emma learned to toughen up to survive a gauntlet of challenging female classmates, and that thicker skin facilitated her overcoming her shyness. Her experience recalled for me the cliques of girls in the movies “Mean Girls” and “Heathers”, and the very tough class of students known as the “Sweathogs” in the “Welcome Back Kotter” situation comedy of the late 1970s. When I discussed it with Emma recently, she said it was definitely

i3 News: Much Ado About Nothing... And Yet Still Cause for Concern :: Frederick M. Hess

Frederick M. Hess's Blog

i3 News: Much Ado About Nothing... And Yet Still Cause for Concern

by Frederick M. Hess • Apr 30, 2010 at 9:53 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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I can't decide whether yesterday's U.S. Department of Education press release on the new "partnership"between twelve foundations and ED's i3 effort is just a painful example of vapid triumphalism or whether it actually sends a worrisome signal. I'm mostly inclined to think it's much ado about nothing. After all, as Ed Week's intrepid Michele McNeil pointed out yesterday, "The new, collaborative effort is not a pooled fund of grants; each foundation will retain control over its contribution...nor is the initiative announced by the U.S. Department of Education April 29 a commitment of additional funding...The $506 million represents the total amount of money they had planned to spend this year on what they consider education innovation."

In other words, it's not new money and the various foundations are retaining full control over the funds they are giving. Instead, the only real developments are that the foundations are signaling their fealty to i3 and

Two school, college bonding measures on Oregon's May primary ballot | Oregonlive.com

Two school, college bonding measures on Oregon's May primary ballot

By Bill Graves, The Oregonian

May 01, 2010, 10:00AM

Oregonians will vote in the May 18 primary election on two measures to expand and clarify the bonding authority of public schools, community colleges and universities seeking to buy, build or improve facilities.

Measure 68 would add a new article to the Constitution, permitting the state to raise matching money through general obligation bonds for local school district projects, much as it does now for community college and university construction.

A significant hitch, however, is the state has no matching money. And it probably won't through the 2011-13 biennium, said Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee.

The state will put money into a matching fund created by the measure, Buckley said, when "the state is back on firm financial footing."

A second proposal, Measure 69, amends the state Constitution to make it clear colleges and universities can use general obligation bonds to buy buildings as well as build them.

A strong bipartisan majority of the Legislature referred both measures, which have drawn broad support from education groups, including the Oregon Education Association and Oregon School Board Association. Neither measure faces organized opposition.

Measure 68 would allow the state to match money raised by local districts through voter-approved bonds for school capital projects. The Legislature would still need to define details for the change, such as how much of a match the state would offer.

The measure broadens the definition of capital costs to include furnishings, equipment, maintenance and repair, which cannot now be purchased with

A “Must-Read” For Anybody Interested In Parent Engagement In Schools | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

A “Must-Read” For Anybody Interested In Parent Engagement In Schools

by Larry Ferlazzo

A “Must-Read” For Anybody Interested In Parent Engagement In Schools is the title of the latest post in my other blog, Engaging Parents In School.
If you’re interested in engaging parents, it’s worth a visit.

Candidates forum planned today at Broadway church - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Candidates forum planned today at Broadway church

by mgutierrez@sacbee.com (Melody Gutierrez)

The Black Parallel School Board will host a candidates forum at 11 a.m. today at Oak Park United Methodist Church, 3600 Broadway.
The Black Parallel School Board is a community organization that advocates for African American students in the Sacramento City Unified School District.
The candidates forum is designed to spark interest in upcoming elections as well as inform the community about ballot measures and candidates.
Representatives of the various campaigns, including the City Council and the Assembly District 9, have confirmed they will participate.
For more information, call (916) 484-3729 or e-mail info@blackparallelschoolboard.com.

Sacramento City Teachers Association. SCTA. Sacramento Teachers.

Sacramento City Teachers Association. SCTA. Sacramento Teachers.:

April 29, 2010

Lay Off Hearings Completed: The hearings were completed this week. At this point we do not have any clarity as to the final lay off orders from the Law Judge or District. During the hearings, a number of teachers had their lay offs rescinded. The hearings did reveal more clearly that the District issued lay offs to SCTA classroom teachers in order to accommodate about 55 administrators and another 45 Resource teachers who are paid by categorical funds. The District developed a bump list that assigned a number of administrators into classrooms. In addition, the hearings revealed that the District deliberately over noticed teachers in a number of areas to make room for administrators or simply because the District was not sure of its final actions… Read More»

Nation's education chief visits Houston | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Nation's education chief visits Houston

Duncan gets message on local control of schools

By ERICKA MELLON
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

April 30, 2010, 10:43PM

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan echoed a familiar theme Friday during a whirlwind tour of Houston: Good teachers deserve rewards, while ineffective ones should be removed from the classroom.

Duncan did not specifically endorse the Houston Independent School District's efforts to pay bonuses to top teachers and to fire weak ones, but his comments sound similar to those of HISD Superintendent Terry Grier and the school board.

“What we want to do is do everything we can to shine a spotlight on great teachers,” Duncan said. “When you have a small percentage of teachers at the bottom, where after help and mentoring and support are simply not working for children, we need to have those honest conversations (about exiting the profession).”

The Houston school board in February became among the first in the nation to take an aggressive approach to ousting weak teachers, with a policy that allows the firing of those whose students consistently score below expectations on standardized tests.

Duncan, the first education secretary since 2001 who isn't from Texas, played nice in the Lone Star State, declining to criticizeRepublican Gov. Rick Perry, who has accused President Barack Obama's administration of pushing a federal takeover of public schools. Texas and Alaska were the only two states not to join a recent initiative to develop common curriculum standards — an idea Duncan supports and Perry rejects.

Asked if he was worried about Texas going at the standards movement alone, Duncan said, “Whether it's states working together, whether it's a state working by itself, the key to me is that every child has access to college and career standards.”

‘This is amazing to see'

Though Duncan didn't make it to Austin — he spent most of the day in Houston — he still got the message that local control over schools, even under-performing ones, is important to many Texans.

“We believe in local decision-making when it comes to turning those schools around and to getting them back on track,” Priscilla Ridgway, an assistant superintendent in Aldine ISD, told Duncan during a panel discussion that included North

Filmmaker takes aim at ‘Cartel’ of education - Malden, Massachusetts - Malden Observer

Filmmaker takes aim at ‘Cartel’ of education

By Dana Barbuto

GateHouse News Service

Posted Apr 30, 2010 @ 01:41 PM

Journalist-turned-documentarian Bob Bowdon saw something very wrong with the New Jersey public education system. More than $400,000 of public money was earmarked for each classroom, yet an alarming rate of students were not proficient in reading or math.

Once he dug deeper, Bowdon found a flawed system that embraced cronyism, squandered money and frowned upon alternative education options such as charter schools. Bowdon spent three years pointing his camera at New Jersey administrators, teachers, unions, students and parents and the result is the documentary “The Cartel,” opening at Kendall Square in Cambridge today. The film focuses on his home state of New Jersey, but Bowdon assures it is a case study likely evident across the country. As the film points out, in 12 percent of U.S. schools, less than 60 percent of freshmen make it to senior year.

Q: Did you ever think you’d be a documentary filmmaker?

A: Well, it wasn’t some sort of lifelong dream. I got a film certificate from New York University, but it really wasn’t to become a filmmaker. This issue wasn’t well covered by traditional media. Education is an emerging national disaster and that story needed long-form treatment.

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Gandhi won't certify D.C. teachers' contract

Mayor Fenty hints that money to fully fund the pact has been found

MORE ON EDUCATION

D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi. (TWP)

VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

Posted at 7:00 AM ET, 05/ 1/2010

Should high schools eliminate honors at graduation?

A high school student writes that high school graduations should honor all students equally, and that icons on programs and honor cords should be eliminated.

Continue reading this post »

Posted by Valerie Strauss | Permalink | Comments (4)

Ed Buzz: The Nation

Boston-area Catholic schools welcome Haitian refugees (Associated Press)
Panel finds no preference in teacher-prep paths (Education Week)
Cyber high re-engages dropouts, at-risk students (Education Week)
56,000 images taken by Web cams on Penn. student laptops (USA Today)
Rule change takes aim at loophole in Title IX (New York Times)
Illinois school fighting cyber-bullying(Chicago Tribune)
Boston teachers asked to work more hours for same pay (Boston Globe)
Advocates weigh Obama's commitment to early ed. (Education Week)
Bilingual ed., immersion work equally well (Education Week)
Schools tackle teacher-on-teacher bullying (USA Today)

Ed Buzz: The Region

Cuccinelli backs Patrick Henry funding deal (Richmond Times Dispatch)
Frederick Community College ups tuition (The Gazette)
Va. phasing out test for special needs students (Examiner)
Md. falling behind on ed. reforms(Baltimore Sun)
Va. gets $59.8 million to overhaul struggling schools (Washington Times)
Are school lunches a threat to national security? (WUSA)
MoCo school investigates cyber-bully threats (WUSA)
P.W. dad wins FOIA fight with school board (Potomac News)

EducationNews.org - EducationNewsToday

EducationNewsToday

SATs pressure turns children off reading, say authors

Almost 100 children's authors and illustrators have signed a letter supporting heads and teachers in their campaign to get rid of national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds.

Full story

Big crowd likely at Phila. teacher-hiring fair

Philadelphia School District officials expect a heavy turnout at a Saturday teacher-recruitment fair. About 1,200 people turned up for a similar event earlier this month, and Estelle Matthews, district human resources chief, said she expected a large crowd. ...