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Sunday, July 25, 2010

Blog U.: When Tenure Disappears: Walking Away from the Ivory Towers - University of Venus - Inside Higher Ed

Blog U.: When Tenure Disappears: Walking Away from the Ivory Towers - University of Venus - Inside Higher Ed

When Tenure Disappears: Walking Away from the Ivory Towers

By Mary Churchill July 25, 2010 9:30 pm
When William Julius Wilson wrote When Work Disappears in 1996, he wasn’t saying that work was actually disappearing. He was saying that work as urban poor folks had known it had been forever changed – factory jobs with benefits had all but disappeared. Today, new positions at factories receive thousands of applications and people are willing to move their families halfway across the country for a full-time job with health insurance. I grew up in a GM family in Flint, Michigan. My father worked night shifts on the line. When he died in 1984, his annual salary was in the $50k range and our family had amazing health benefits. Those jobs have disappeared.
Twenty years later, I earned my PhD and entered a surprisingly similar job market with what seemed like a handful of tenure-track positions receiving hundreds of applications. Tenure-track positions are disappearing. Changes in both of these sectors are the result of changes in the economy and the nature of work. The company is no longer loyal to us and we are no

  • The Grown-up Brain and Us

    By Joshua Kim July 25, 2010 9:19 pm
    What if the real purpose of education should be to prepare our brains to function well throughout our lifespan? What if our explicit goals shift from creating brains that can operate well in the economy (or whatever other institutional missions we promote), to the goal of fostering cognitive reserves? What if promoting healthy brains was the best mechanism for creating productive citizens, and all the other values we believe in as educators and educational institutions were best served in service of the brain?
    I'm starting to come to the conclusion that the brain, our brains, is a theme that should cut

On Education - Equity of Test Is Debated as Children Compete for Gifted Kindergarten - NYTimes.com

On Education - Equity of Test Is Debated as Children Compete for Gifted Kindergarten - NYTimes.com

Equity of Test Is Debated as Children Compete for Gifted Kindergarten


Yana Paskova for The New York Times
From left, Laisha Mendez, 5, Amaya Taylor, 4, and Kellie Pierre, 4, at the Bloomingdale Head Start program in Manhattan.



Teachers at the Bloomingdale Head Start program in Manhattan tell Alexis Stewart that her 4-year-old son, Chase, is bright.

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“He knows about different fish, different birds, different species,” Ms. Stewart said. “He’s on it.”
Chase took the city test for the public schools’ gifted and talentedkindergarten program, but missed the 90th-percentile cutoff, she said.
Ms. Stewart, a single mom working two jobs, didn’t think the process was fair. She had heard widespread reports of wealthy families preparing their children for the kindergarten gifted test with $90 workbooks, $145-an-

Module 9 Assignment | Reflections on Teaching

Module 9 Assignment | Reflections on Teaching

Module 9 Assignment

As part of my assignment for my technology coordinator class, I’m asking readers who are in the following positions (or hoping to be) to help me out:
  1. Technology Coordinator
  2. Technology Coach
  3. Technology Integration Specialist
  4. Some other job working with teachers to use technology in the classroom

The extraordinary story of Shirley and Charles Sherrod. � Fred Klonsky's blog

The extraordinary story of Shirley and Charles Sherrod. � Fred Klonsky's blog

The extraordinary story of Shirley and Charlies Sherrod.

I received this in the mail from Rabbi Arthur Waskow today and I thought it was worth sharing.
Dear chevra –
The extraordinary story of Shirley Sherrod that has emerged so publicly over the last several days has reminded me of an extraordinary moment I lived through that involved the man who became her husband, Rev. Charles Sherrod.
In 1963, Charles Sherrod was one of the leaders of SNCC––the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which was the vanguard for civil rights activism in the South. Like several other SNCC activists, he came for several months to the Institute fior Policy Studies, a very new Washington center for progressive thought and

The Best Resources For Learning About Genocide | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The Best Resources For Learning About Genocide | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Avoiding labor strife, teachers agree to contracts - Boston.com

Avoiding labor strife, teachers agree to contracts - Boston.com

Avoiding labor strife, teachers agree to contracts


July 25, 2010
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PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Teachers in communities throughout Rhode Island are agreeing to new contracts and avoiding labor battles with cash-strapped school districts.
In addition, teacher union officials say they have not heard much dissent in school districts that have yet to work out new contracts for the coming school year.
In districts that settled early or added a year to contracts in force, teachers made concessions to keep their jobs.
Coventry, Little Compton, New Shoreham, Pawtucket and West Warwick had teacher contracts due to expire this summer and all settled early. Others have

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City Brights: Rachel Norton : 'Waiting for Superman': a review

City Brights: Rachel Norton : 'Waiting for Superman': a review

School Board Member


Waiting for Superman': a review



"Waiting for Superman"
Last week I was invited to a screening of "Waiting for Superman," a new education documentary that has attracted a lot of attention--it should be released in theaters in late September. 2010 seems to be the year of the "edumentary," with several films documenting various problems in the U.S. educational system.
I'm torn about how I feel about "Waiting for Superman," which is the highest-profile of the year's documentaries. Made by Davis Guggenheim, a filmmaker who won an Oscar for the climate documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," it's entertaining, with great characters and subject matter that I, at least, find riveting. It's an open question whether the moviegoing public will find education reform as compelling as melting polar ice caps, but based on the early buzz and the reactions of the audience I saw, it should do well. The man sitting next to me actually cried out in disbelief at several points; as the lights came up, many people pulled out their cellphones to text the word "Possible" to an address displayed on the screen. (Some kind of pledge to recommend the movie to friends, I think).

But the movie is also manipulative, over-simplified, and in the end, misleading about where the


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rnorton/detail?blogid=184&entry_id=68320#ixzz0ui5Sw1ET

Zed urges Hindus worldwide to honor sacred guru-sishya relationship on Guru Purnima

Zed urges Hindus worldwide to honor sacred guru-sishya relationship on Guru Purnima


Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has sent greetings to one billion Hindus worldwide on the occasion of Guru Purnima.

In a statement in Nevada (USA) today, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged Hindus to pay due respects and express gratitude on this auspicious day to the guru/gurus to honor this sacred relationship.

Rajan Zed further says that guru is a highly revered spiritual teacher/master/preceptor in Hinduism who helps remove the ignorance of the seeker and who leads one from darkness to light. The guru-sishya (teacher-disciple) relationship lies at the heart of traditional Hinduism. Guru is often allied with the divine. Even Arjuna formally asked Lord Krishna to be his guru in ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord).

This day is also held sacred to the memory of celebrated rishi Vyasa, arranger of Vedas, and the compiler of Puranas andMahabharata.

Hinduism is oldest and third largest religion of the world and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

Common Core Standards: Hardly an Evidence-based Policy � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Common Core Standards: Hardly an Evidence-based Policy � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Common Core Standards: Hardly an Evidence-based Policy

The reform-bound train has left the station and is rolling across the country. Twenty-eight states have adopted the new “common core” English and math standards and both liberals and conservatives are on board. But there is little evidence in the caboose to support either the policy or its goal.

Even as pundits and policymakers say the national standards train will pick up more states (Virginia, Texas, and Alaska don’t want to get on board now), the sweet promise of that reform to finally end the perpetual (or is itmanufactured?) crisis surrounding U.S. schools beckons. But, and you knew there was a “but” coming, as the train hurtles across both “red” and “blue” states, serious questions about adopting voluntarily national curriculum standards and evidence for embracing those standards have to be asked.

Presidents H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have sought national goals such “common core” standards so that the U.S. would be better able to compete with Asian and European for global markets. Now,President Obama has reaffirmed that goal. In a talk to the nation’s governors he said:

“[Asian nations] want their kids to excel because they understand that whichever country out-educates the other

“Using film and moving image to enrich ESOL teaching and learning” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Using film and moving image to enrich ESOL teaching and learning” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Using film and moving image to enrich ESOL teaching and learning”

Using film and moving image to enrich ESOL teaching and learning is a very nice listing of different ways to use film with English Language Learners. It was written by Cormac Conway and Michaela Salmon.

2ND BANANA LAST WEEK’S HIGHLY RATED POSTS Big #Education Ape #edu

2nd BANANA Last week’s highly rated posts Big Education Ape

Big Education Ape



2ND BANANA LAST WEEK’S HIGHLY RATED POSTS


As budget crisis crippled schools, $71 million stimulus sat unused | California Watch

2010-Jul-22
As budget crisis crippled schools, $71 million stimulus sat unused | California WatchAs budget crisis crippled schools, $71 million stimulus sat unusedJuly 22, 2010 | Corey G. JohnsonFor nearly a year, California schools have missed out on the opportunity to spend tens of millions of dollars in federal stimulus dollars as lawmakers and state officials debate how to spend it.The debate over education technology funds has kept the money in state bank accounts, unable to help thousands of K-to-12 schools ...

QUICK Hits � The Quick and the Ed

2010-Jul-21
QUICK Hits � The Quick and the EdQUICK Hitsby Forrest HintonQuick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading and viewing each day.Shanker lives on—in the blogosphere? (Shanker Blog)There’s never enough time—but how can teachers use the time they have for the best instruction? Teacher-blogger Dina Strasser weighs in. (ASCD Community Blog)What do you get when you mix Education Pioneers and Joanne Weiss? (Education Pioneers)What is the ...

Better data needed to accurately rate school systems

2010-Jul-19
Better data needed to accurately rate school systemsBetter data needed to accurately rate school systemsBy Jay MathewsMonday, July 19, 2010Educational statistics expert Joseph Hawkins, one of my guides to the mysteries of test assessment, is impatient with the way the Montgomery County public school system is, as he puts it, "always telling the world how much better it is than everyone else." He finds flaws in its latest celebration of college success by county graduates, particularly minorities.As a senior study ...

Blog U.: Rating and ranking, measurement and management, and maybe a little doing in your spare time - Getting to Green - Inside Higher Ed

2010-Jul-20
Blog U.: Rating and ranking, measurement and management, and maybe a little doing in your spare time - Getting to Green - Inside Higher EdRating and ranking, measurement and management, and maybe a little doing in your spare timeBy G. Rendell July 20, 2010 7:36 pmAs David Moltz reported in these pages Tuesday, a number of campus sustainability officers have issued an open letter describing the characteristics they'd like to see in higher education sustainability surveys, rankings, and evaluations. The ...

Eduflack: Data in Education Storytelling

2010-Jul-20
Eduflack: Data in Education StorytellingData in Education Storytellingby EduflackHow do we use data to better tell the local story? That was the big question Eduflack was asked over the weekend speaking at the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media's Harold W. McGraw Hr. Seminar for Reporters New to the Education Beat.For those who don't know (and you really should), the Hechinger Institute is a terrific outfit being run out of Teachers College, Columbia University. Back in May, Eduflack wrote ...

What Parent Engagement Posts Did Readers Find Most “Engaging” This Quarter? | Engaging #Parents In School... #education

2010-Jul-20
What Parent Engagement Posts Did Readers Find Most “Engaging” This Quarter? | Engaging Parents In School...What Parent Engagement Posts Did Readers Find Most “Engaging” This Quarter?July 20th, 2010 by Larry FerlazzoA few months ago, I began to have PostRank index posts from this blog. Post Rank uses a variety of ways to measure level of “engagement” that readers have with specific blog posts. I have a constantly updated “widget” on my blog’s sidebar that lists these posts, but I thought ...

The Washington Teacher: Why Not Blame DC's Teachers ?

2010-Jul-19
The Washington Teacher: Why Not Blame DC's Teachers ?Why Not Blame DC's Teachers ?by The Wash. TeacherAre the winds changing under Chancellor Michelle Rhee ? Given the recent announcement of low standardized test scores on the elementary level in DCPS, Efavorite poses some interesting questions for us to consider.Written by Efavorite, guest writerHave you noticed that Chancellor Rhee has not pointed the finger of blame at

openSUSE Education 11.3 - still not there yet | ZDNet

2010-Jul-19
openSUSE Education 11.3 - still not there yet | ZDNetopenSUSE Education 11.3 - still not there yetBy Christopher Dawson | July 18, 2010, 11:18pm PDTSummaryIs it openSUSE or their educational package that’s the problem? Hardware and installer issues certainly suggest that the problem lies with Novell, not a hugely dedicated group who wants students to have access to the best FOSS available.TopicsEducation, Distribution,Linux, Education Training, UNIX,Operating Systems,Open Source, Software,Christopher DawsonBlogger InfoChristopher DawsonBioContactI really wanted to love the latest version of ...

Schools Matter: Team Obama Suggested Cutting Food Stamps to Maintain Duncan's RTTT Bribes

2010-Jul-18
Schools Matter: Team Obama Suggested Cutting Food Stamps to Maintain Duncan's RTTT BribesTeam Obama Suggested Cutting Food Stamps to Maintain Duncan's RTTT Bribesby Jim HornThank God for David Obey, quoted here from EmptyWheel:The secretary of Education is whining about the fact he only got 85 percent of the money he wanted .… So, when we needed money, we committed the cardinal sin of treating him like any other mere mortal. We were giving them over $10 billion in money to ...

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: I "heart" Dave Obey

2010-Jul-17
THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: I "heart" Dave ObeyI "heart" Dave Obeyby The Perimeter PrimateThe Fiscal Times' Washington Editor Eric Pianin talked to Rep. David R. Obey (WI), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, on Tuesday, July 13, in his office at the Capitol. Here are some excerpts, but it's definitely worth reading the full story:“I have been working for school reform long before I ever heard of the secretary of education, and long before I ever heard of Obama,” Obey ...