Sunday, May 16, 2010

Blog U.: Is TED Making Us Stupid? - Technology and Learning - Inside Higher Ed

gU

Is TED Making Us Stupid?
By Joshua Kim May 16, 2010 9:02 pm

I'm not trying to pay homage to Nicholas Carr and his new book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. I don't think I'll read Carr's new book, as the article that it grows out of -- "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" -- sort of annoyed me.
This past week I had the depressing revelation that TED has ruined me.
Ruined me for talks or presentations where the speaker:
-- Reads from a typed sheet without making (at least) intermittent eye contact with the audience.
-- Fails to use a slide deck to share images or symbols that propel the narrative.
-- Takes 40 minutes to say something that could have been said in 18.
-- Has not taken the time to practice and rehearse the talk.
-- Does not have something to say that is original, passionate, or particularly smart.
Pre-TED, I used to be able to sit through a boring lecture or presentation - diligently taking notes while being sufficiently nourished by whatever small sliver of new insights or information the speaker could provide. I had patience, fortitude, and a long-attention span for the bad presentation. TED has extinguished this valuable skill.
It is not only the example that TED provides on the right way to give a public presentation.

Schools Matter: Broad and Gist Rebuffed: Central Falls Teachers Keep Their Jobs

Broad and Gist Rebuffed: Central Falls Teachers Keep Their Jobs

by Jim Horn

That was Eli Broad's perky plant as Rhode Island's Superintendent of Schools in February, shortly after the mass firings that oligarchs like Broad and Gates believed would usher in a new era of corporate rule in public schools. Looks like Deborah Gist (Broad Academy Class of '08) has crow to eat if the scoop by Valerie Straussand the story at HuffPo have it right:

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — A school district that gained the support of President Barack Obama for promoting accountability after it fired all its teachers from a struggling school announced on Sunday it had reached an agreement with the union to return the current staffers to their jobs.
The two sides said a transformation plan for Central Falls High School for the coming school year would allow the roughly 87 teachers, guidance counselors, librarians and other staffers who were to lose their jobs at the end of this year to return without having to reapply. More than 700 people had

RI school district agrees to rehire fired teachers - Boston.com

RI school district agrees to rehire fired teachers

By Eric Tucker

Associated Press Writer / May 16, 2010

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CENTRAL FALLS, R.I.—A school district that gained the support of President Barack Obama for promoting accountability after it fired all its teachers from a struggling school announced on Sunday it had reached an agreement with the union to return the current staffers to their jobs.

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The two sides said a transformation plan for Central Falls High School for the coming school year would allow the roughly 87 teachers, guidance counselors, librarians and other staffers who were to lose their jobs at the end of this year to return without having to reapply. More than 700 people had already applied for the positions.

The agreement calls for a longer school day, more after-school tutoring and other changes.

"What this means is that they have come to an agreement about a reform effort and that will change the quality" of the education program at Central Falls, said Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, who applauded both sides for working together.

The board of trustees overseeing the school system in Central Falls, one of the poorest communities in the state, voted in February to fire the staff of one of the

David A. Singer: D-Day For Public Schools in New York State | Educational New York

David A. Singer: D-Day For Public Schools in New York State

by Educational America

While all of New York waits with baited breath for Andrew Cuomo to formally announce his gubernatorial candidacy (now rumored to occur on May 25th) there is an election this week with profound implications for public education in New York … Aside from the uncertainty from Albany — school districts across the state have been decimated by the dramatic drop in property assessments — thereby driving down the primary revenue source for school districts — the property tax

See the rest here:

Here's Another $23 Billion Bailout That You May Have Missed This Week

by Educational America

Besides, let’s hope and pray that private individuals and groups keep providing alternative education , because in many areas public schools are little more than day-time holding pens. If your local schools are good — and in …..

More here:

Schools Matter: Tom Horne Goes After Paulo Freire Books While Sanitizing American History

Tom Horne Goes After Paulo Freire Books While Sanitizing American History

by Jim Horn

The latest bout of virulent racism at the state level in Arizona features, of all people, Arizona's state superintendent of public instruction. Tom Horne (R), who is running for state attorney general, is all about banning ethnic studies courses, except, of course, the white studies course that is sold across the U. S. as American History.

In so doing, Horne is focused on atomizing any constituency that could coalesce to challenge white Republican rule in Arizona, and in the process, he seems intent also upon arresting any book that may be deemed appropriate to encourage people to live as authentic human beings and to participate actively in shaping their own lives. From the New York Times:

. . . . The new law, which takes effect at the end of the year, is a

Eastern Oregon University makes comeback with healthy enrollment, return to roots | OregonLive.com

Eastern Oregon University makes comeback with healthy enrollment, return to roots

By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian

May 16, 2010, 4:30PM

Ricahrd Cockle/The OregonianBob Davies, president of Eastern Oregon University, shares a laugh with student May May Phillip, 21, of Micronesia on the university’s La Grande campus. Phillip’s friend, Tahirih la Bolle, 19, of Taiwan is with them. The gregarious Davies, president of Eastern since July, budgets 30 minutes extra when he walks anywhere on campus to chat with staff and students he meets along the way.LA GRANDE -- When Bob Davies interviewed for the job of president ofEastern Oregon University, search committee members repeatedly asked him: "Will you ride a horse in a parade?"

They usually laughed, and he might have dismissed it as a throwaway question except the university had just emerged from a series of institutional crises. Given that and the region's frontier and rodeo heritage, he figured something important lurked under the query's surface.

"They were really asking, 'Are you going to be up in an ivory tower or engaged with the people you serve?'" said Davies, who accepted the $184,000 president's job last July.

The answer was critical because the state's smallest and most remote public university had endured a period of tumbling enrollments, a spending spree and a bitter rift between the teaching staff and former president. The Legislature even briefly contemplated closing down the university.

But Eastern Oregon has made a striking comeback by rediscovering its roots, drawing its biggest freshman class this year and slashing expenses to once again meet a state-required budget reserve.

"It just seems things are a lot calmer on campus," said Mary Mata , a 37-year-old Eastern senior who graduates next month with majors in rangeland management and ecology. "We have a more realistic president,

Sunday’s developments at the University of Puerto Rico. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Sunday’s developments at the University of Puerto Rico.

MAY 16, 2010

tags: student strike, University of Puerto Rico

by preaprez

Students at the public University of Puerto Rico have been on strike for 25 days.

Sunday’s developments:

The Teamsters have promised not to cross picket lines.

An international group of alumni has been formed and issued a statement of support.

Representatives from the teachers union have joined the picket lines.

Representatives from the Bar Association have accused

Eduflack: Is Ed Reform a Meaningless Term?

Is Ed Reform a Meaningless Term?

by Eduflack

If you haven't seen it yet, there is a new education social networking site on the block -- edReformer. Brought to us by Vander Ark/Ratcliff and originally incubated by New Schools Venture Fund, edReformer describes itself as "a community of advocates, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors seeking to improve student learning worldwide" and "as a catalyst for innovation in the education sector by encouraging entrepreneurship and promoting public and private investment in new learning tools, schools, and platforms."

In contributing to the dialogue, the good folks at edReformer are offering up news, information, interviews, and opinion on all things education policy, while utilizing blogs, Twitter (@edReformer), Facebook, and similar tools at our disposal to spread their gospel of education "excellence and equity through innovation."

After some strong weeks of rich and interesting content, edReformer may have taken a major step back today. They asked dear ol' Eduflack to offer up a guest post from this year's Education Writers Association conference. The agitator that I am, I jumped at the chance, providing edReformer a post here building off of EWA attendee concerns that the term "education reform" has really lost its meaning.

Blog U.: More on 'Frills' vs. 'Serious Subjects' - Mama PhD - Inside Higher Ed

More on 'Frills' vs. 'Serious Subjects'
By Susan O'Doherty May 16, 2010 7:06 pm
The responses to last week’s column have resonated with me in an especially intense way this week.
Before returning to graduate school, I was an aspiring actor. One of the things that held me back was physical clumsiness. It wasn’t much of an issue in straight plays—I tended to get cast in “neurotic” or “charmingly awkward” parts (think Sandy Dennis or, sometimes, Julie Harris)—but I had a pleasant singing voice and was sometimes considered for musicals—and then rejected, or relegated to the back of the chorus (once behind a scrim) because of my horrendous dancing. It was demoralizing, but not anything I imagined I could change.
Recently, after a hiatus of 25 years, I started studying voice and acting again. One of my voice classes is geared toward performance, and as I grow more sure of my singing voice, my physical awkwardness has come to the forefront. So, a few months ago, I started taking a “Broadway dance” class — my first dance class since I (and my teachers) heaved a sigh of relief after I managed to squeak by my college’s dance requirement for drama majors, in 1974.
In the beginning, I was self-conscious and intimidated. I realized pretty quickly, though, that the other students were too intent on getting the steps right to worry about what anyone else

Immigration activists protest Pomona commencement

Sunday, May 16, 2010

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(05-16) 14:52 PDT Pomona, Calif. (AP) --
Demonstrators marched at Pomona College to protest Arizona's controversial new immigration law and the policies of commencement speaker Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
During Napolitano's speech Sunday, the protestors gathered on the steps of the Andrew Carnegie building, waving signs and chanting "Si, se puede!" (Yes, we can).
Protest organizers say they're upset Napolitano wants to expand Bush-era immigration policies they say violate due process

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Minnesota charter schools

Minnesota charter schools

by The Perimeter Primate

State charter schools program is 'out of control': Junk bonds fuel a building spree, but schools are more crowded, insiders are taking fees, and state regulators can't do much about it. (Star Tribune, November 29, 2009)

Minnesota's charter school movement, which sparked a national rethinking of public schooling nearly two decades ago, has been infected by an out-of-control financing system fueled by junk bonds, insider fees and lax oversight.
State law prohibits charter schools from owning property, but consultants have found a legal loophole, allowing proponents to use millions of dollars in public money to build schools even though the properties remain in the hands of private nonprofit corporations.
The key to making it all work is the state's lease aid program, which was created 11 years ago to

Merrick Academy Charter School

by The Perimeter Primate

Merrick Academy students suffer as State Senate President Malcolm Smith profits from charter school(NY Daily News, March 28, 2010) [NOTE: Merrick Academy pays Victory Schools, Inc. to run its school. Victory is a for-profit Educational Management Organization (EMO).]
Students at Merrick Academy charter school - housed in an old bowling alley in Queens Village - must cross busy Jamaica Ave. for recess in a nearby park because there's no gym or playground.
They also must get used to water leaking into classrooms when it rains and wearing winter coats inside when there's no heat.
"The school is on a very big intersection," said Kenneth Eriaidubor, who has a second-grader and a kindergartner at Merrick. "We are very concerned that leaving a school is not a really safe zone for the children."
"There's a leak, there's heating problems," said Sidney Dasent, whose daughter is a second-grader. "There's even a problem with supplies."
There's also another potential problem - one many parents may not know about: Merrick has served as a source