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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank #WIUnion #sosmarch #p2 #pfla #1u


Last Week's Best Posts on Big Education Ape » PostRank


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#SOSMarch No child left behind says test the kids, while teachers are maligned, sing along 3:30 at Ellipse.Whole Child Education Reform

2011-Jul-29
Whole Child Education ReformSave Our Schoolstune, Skip to my Louwords by Susan Ohanian adaptations, Cap LeeLost school funding what’ll I doLost school funding what’ll I doBooks Are old computers tooWhat will we do for childrenSave save save our schoolsSave save save our schools Save save save our schoolsSave them for our childrenStarted a new school called WOOSteve Orel and students whose Opportunities grew and grewWorld that’s new for childrenChoHigh stakes testing they pushed throughHurting students teachers tooLet our natural gifts ...
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This Week In Education: AM News: Uncertainty Over SOS / White House Meeting

2011-Jul-29
This Week In Education: AM News: Uncertainty Over SOS / White House MeetingAM News: Uncertainty Over SOS / White House Meetingby Alexander Russo'Save Our Schools' Leaders Decline White House Invitation EdWeek: Organizers instead say the White House can come to them, or they'll come to the White House on Sunday. Obama officials had no comment on the executive committee's response to their invitation. No area school districts meet annual progress goals Anderson Independent: The disparity led South Carolina Superintendent of ...
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Daily Kos: Save Our Schools #SOSMarch responds to the White House, Dept. of Ed

2011-Jul-28
Daily Kos: Save Our Schools March responds to the White House, Dept. of EdSave Our Schools March responds to the White House, Dept. of Edby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)The following message was just sent in response to a recent exchange with a Department of Education staffer:We sincerely appreciate the interest of the White House in the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action. We’d be pleased to host any White House or Department of Education personnel on the Ellipse on ...
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Inclusion and Standardized Tests « Cooperative Catalyst

2011-Jul-28
Inclusion and Standardized Tests « Cooperative CatalystInclusion and Standardized Testsby joebowerPlans can be important… but it’s important to ask who the plans are for.Most school districts have education plans. So I want to know… who are these education plans for?I am familiar with one school district’s education plan where one of their goals is Inclusion of All Students. The priorities for this goal are two-fold:Each student is engaged in meaningful learning that is appropriate to his or her abilities and ...
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Inclusion and Standardized Tests « Cooperative Catalyst

2011-Jul-28
Inclusion and Standardized Tests « Cooperative CatalystInclusion and Standardized Testsby joebowerPlans can be important… but it’s important to ask who the plans are for.Most school districts have education plans. So I want to know… who are these education plans for?I am familiar with one school district’s education plan where one of their goals is Inclusion of All Students. The priorities for this goal are two-fold:Each student is engaged in meaningful learning that is appropriate to his or her abilities and ...
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When Profiteering and Union-Busting Repackaged as School Reform | MyFDL

2011-Jul-28
When Profiteering and Union-Busting Repackaged as School Reform | MyFDLWhen Profiteering and Union-Busting Repackaged as School Reformby David A. LoveTeacher's Desk (photo: Pikaluk on Flickr)This is one of those stories that shows how far some people will go in America to make a buck—even if it means profiting at the expense of children, or exploiting the legacy of the civil rights movement.Stand for Children is an unassuming name for an organization. Just taken at face value, one would conclude that ...
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Why Save Our Schools #SOSMarch is happening Saturday - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Jul-28
Why Save Our Schools March is happening Saturday - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostWhy Save Our Schools March is happening Saturdayby Valerie StraussI long wondered why public school teachers sat quietly during the decade-long No Child Left Behind era watching high-stakes standardized test-based reform take hold, leading to a host of damaging unintended consequences (narrowed curriculum and teaching to the test, just to name a few).This Saturday, teachers, along with principals, parents and other activists, quiet no longer, ...
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Blogger Fred Klonsky's crusade against public education reform | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago Reader

2011-Jul-28
Blogger Fred Klonsky's crusade against public education reform | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago ReaderJuly 28, 2011NEWS FEATURES » BEN JORAVSKY ON POLITICSBlogger Fred Klonsky's crusade against public education reform Klonsky's is a voice from the classroom that's oft overlookedBy Ben JoravskyBen Joravsky on Politics archives »JOHNNY SAMPSONTOOLSemailprintshareadd to favoritesadd to custom listcomments (1)In the last few weeks, Fred Klonsky has been the Paul Revere of the school blogging world, writing post after post on his education blog warning ...
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The Corporate Education Act Becomes Law | Dissident Voice

2011-Jul-28
The Corporate Education Act Becomes Law | Dissident VoiceThe Corporate Education Act Becomes Lawby Luke HikenRepublican lawmakers were ecstatic today to announce passage of the Corporate Education Act (CEA). The President expressed his support for the Act because the Republican sides of both the House and the Senate had backed it, and that meant it was certainly good enough for Obama. Democrats went along with the Act because they didn’t want to lose the potential financial support of the corporations ...
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voiceofsandiego.org: Education

2011-Jul-28
voiceofsandiego.org: EducationWhy Would Focusing on Weakest Students Cost School?Comments (3) | 11:34 am I had one big question for the U.S. Department of Education: Why should focusing on struggling students cost a Logan Heights school?Last week I reported that federal money to turn around Burbank Elementary could be in jeopardybecause the Logan Heights school offered extra tutoring to struggling students after school. The feds say schools were supposed to add more school time for all children, not just some of ...
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Save Our Schools #SOSMarch and National Call to Action « City School Stories

2011-Jul-28
Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action « City School StoriesSave Our Schools March and National Call to Actionby fmurphyNotes from the Fieldby Frank Murphy on Jul 28, 2011This Saturday, the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action will take place in Washington D.C. The rally, which will be staged at the ellipse, starts at noon. Around 1:30 p.m., participants will march to the White House where the demonstration will continue.Many readers will recognize that most, ...
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School Tech Connect: The Bane of My Existence

2011-Jul-27
School Tech Connect: The Bane of My ExistenceThe Bane of My Existenceby effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)Actually there are several banes. However, lately it's been 2.0 video editing. With the recent transformation/demise/whatever of Jaycut, I've been trying to find a video editor that works reliably.Then I saw Larry Ferlazzo's post mentioning Stroome. Works like a charm--- and I've only tried the basic editor.
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The Washington Teacher: Open Letter To AFT President Randi Weingarten

2011-Jul-27
The Washington Teacher: Open Letter To AFT President Randi WeingartenOpen Letter To AFT President Randi Weingartenby Candi PetersonJuly 27, 2011Dear AFT President Randi Weingarten:I was summarily dismissed without pay by WTU President Nathan Saunders on July 26, 2011 effective 11:50 even though I didn't receive written notice until 2:30 p.m. As an elected union official, it is clear that since this has happened on two separate occasions under two separate presidents (George Parker and Nathan Saunders) under your watch, checks ...
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Walmart, the Walton Foundation, and New York City Schools | Edwize

2011-Jul-27
Walmart, the Walton Foundation, and New York City Schools | EdwizeWalmart, the Walton Foundation, and New York City Schoolsby Christina CollinsThe conservative Walton Foundation’s education spending has been in the news quite a bit this summer — including recent announcements of a $49.5 million dollar contribution to the expansion of Teach for America and the release of a list of how the Foundation distributed over $157 million in grants to education groups in 2010.Overall, the Foundation’s largest grants last year ...
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New York’s $600 Million Fraud Shows Privatization Doesn’t Pay | Labor Notes

2011-Jul-27
New York’s $600 Million Fraud Shows Privatization Doesn’t Pay | Labor NotesNew York’s $600 Million Fraud Shows Privatization Doesn’t PayMischa Gaus| July 27, 2011After a contracting-out scandal revealed a $600 million fraud scheme, AFSCME rallied in June against the New York City mayor's layoffs, calling on him to "fire crooked profiteers, not city workers." Photo: AFSCME DC 37.How did New York City plan to prevent time theft by city workers? By hiring contractors who would, it turns out, steal $600 ...
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Alfie Kohn: We Have to Take Back Our Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

2011-Jul-27
Alfie Kohn: We Have to Take Back Our Schools - Living in Dialogue - Education Week TeacherAlfie Kohn: We Have to Take Back Our Schoolsby Anthony CodyAlfie Kohn has been at the forefront of the resistance to test-based reforms for more than a decade. As we approach the Save Our Schools March this Saturday, I asked him to share some thoughts about the challenges we face.When many of us point out the narrowing of the curriculum that has been the ...
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USSA Congress Report, Part One « Student Activism

2011-Jul-27
USSA Congress Report, Part One « Student ActivismUSSA Congress Report, Part OneJuly 27, 2011 in Organizing, Student Government, Student Power, Student vs. Student,StudentsThe 2011 National Student Congress of the United States Student Association is winding down today — as I type this, the group’s newly elected 2011-12 Board of Directors is meeting for the first time. It’s been a whirlwind of a conference, so I haven’t had the chance to update as much as I’d have liked, but I’ll be ...
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7 Million Youth in Mexico Do Not Work or Study - Easy Prey - Hispanically Speaking News

2011-Jul-27
7 Million Youth in Mexico Do Not Work or Study - Easy Prey - Hispanically Speaking News7 Million Youth in Mexico Do Not Work or Study - Easy Prey Says Experts0 CommentsPublished at 8:19 am, July 27, 2011Photo Credits: 7 Million Mexican Youth at RiskSeven million young people do not study and are unable to find a job, and risk being sucked into the criminal organizations that perfection their networks to recruit more and more young people who live in ...
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Principal: Why I’m marching to ‘save our schools’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-Jul-27
Principal: Why I’m marching to ‘save our schools’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostPrincipal: Why I’m marching to ‘save our schools’by Valerie Strauss--This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, the principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State.Read full article Was a NAEP geography test question poorly constructed?by Valerie StraussLast week I wrote about the newly released 2010 ...
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SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Save Our Schools March: Sacramento

2011-Jul-27
SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Save Our Schools March: SacramentoSave Our Schools March: Sacramentoby Duane Campbell Monty Neil:My organization, FairTest, also endorsed Save Our Schools. True, in time more specifics are needed, but the most fundamental task is to save our schools from the education ‘deformers’ who have decided that tests (the standards don’t really matter except for the tests) and punishments are the core of a ‘solution’ to the very real problem that too many students do leave school not having ...
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DC ErasureGate ranked 2nd most shocking cheating scandal in nation

2011-Jul-26
DC ErasureGate ranked 2nd most shocking cheating scandal in nationNews Corp: a study in the failure of corporate self-regulation Written by Robert Greenwald for The Guardian. Read the entire article here. * *“*Former New York City school Chancellor Joel Klein, now News Corp’s executive vice president, has been tapped to lead the investigation of the company that pays him ...DC ErasureGate ranked 2nd most shocking cheating scandal in nation From the Huffington Post. Read the entire article here. *“The country’s ...
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Schools Matter: The new tough FCAT writing test

2011-Jul-26
Schools Matter: The new tough FCAT writing testThe new tough FCAT writing testby skrashenThe new, tougher FCAT writing test based on incorrect assumptionsSent to the Orlando Sentinel, July 26, 2011The new tougher version of the FCAT writing exam ("FCAT writing test about to get tougher," July 26) is supposed to improve writing, because it will stimulate more instruction in spelling and grammar, as well as more writing. A massive amount of research says that this assumption is not correct.We have ...
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Can’t go to the SOS March? Here’s what you can do instead! « Parents Across America

2011-Jul-26
Can’t go to the SOS March? Here’s what you can do instead! « Parents Across AmericaCan’t go to the SOS March? Here’s what you can do instead!by pureparentsThousands of people will be converging on Washington, DC this week to speak out in support of our schools at the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action.Parents Across America members will be out in full force all week!On Thursday we’re presenting the first of three workshops on “The New Parent ...
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Thank Goodness for Teachers' Unions | NBC Los Angeles

2011-Jul-26
Thank Goodness for Teachers' Unions | NBC Los AngelesThank Goodness for Teachers' Unions|Email|PrintGetty ImagesTeachers' unions have generally opposed high-stakes testing of students, particularly as a way of evaluating teachers.I disagree.I don't think there's any substitute for testing. As a parent, I want teacher evaluations that are based on student performance, which requires testing.And that's yet another reason why we need teachers' unions."Huh?" you ask. Well, here's my point: High-stakes testing may be opposed by teachers' unions. But high-stakes testing can't ...
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Matt Damon Joins Other Supporters in the ‘Save Our Schools March’ | ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

2011-Jul-26
Matt Damon Joins Other Supporters in the ‘Save Our Schools March’ | ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossipMatt Damon Joins Other Supporters in the ‘Save Our Schools March’Filed under: events: DC, film-tv, green and famous, movies — Allyson Koerner @ 10:23 pmWith summer coming to a close and students getting ready for school, actors including Matt Damon and Richard Dreyfuss are joining the Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action in Washington, D.C.The rally includes a four ...
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A Penny For Your PSSA Test Thoughts « City School Stories

2011-Jul-26
Reflections of an Author « City School StoriesA Penny For Your PSSA Test ThoughtsSubmitted by Frank Murphy on July 26, 2011Not long after Congress passed the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, I attended a principals’ meeting where a regional staffer briefed us on the future implications of this new piece of legislation. Schools in districts across the state had been participating in the administration of the PSSA test for several years prior to this new federal accountability mandate. At ...
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Save Our Schools March NEWS #bloggermarch #sosmarch

2011-Jul-25
Save Our Schools March NEWSMonday, Jul. 25, 2011ArchivesSave Our Schools March NEWSPublished by Coopmike48 – 44 news spotters todayNext update in about 12 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONPOLITICSSTORIES#SOSMARCH#EDREFORMBeThink : Why We Say Save Our Schoolsempathyandeducation.org - copyright © 2011 Betsy L. Angert. Empathy And Education; BeThink or BeThink.org I am but one who will stand strong to ensure an equal education for all. All who do or plan to, will express themselv... SOSMarchLos Angeles school teachers: High turnover reported among charter school ...
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''Michelle Rhee and Rupert Murdoch– thick as thieves?''

2011-Jul-25
''Michelle Rhee and Rupert Murdoch– thick as thieves?''''Michelle Rhee and Rupert Murdoch– thick as thieves?''by adminWritten by karoli for Crooks and Liars. Read the original post here.“When Rupert Murdoch gave his testimony earlier this week in London, former New York City School Chancellor Joel Klein was sitting directly behind him. After a stormy tenure in New York City where he fought teachers unions and closed schools according to the Michelle Rhee School Destruction Model, he left and took what looked ...
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This Week In Education: Media: The Cheating "Crisis" & Teacher Culpability

2011-Jul-25
This Week In Education: Media: The Cheating "Crisis" Teacher CulpabilityMedia: The Cheating "Crisis" Teacher Culpabilityby Alexander RussoLike others I'm a big fan of education writer Dana Goldstein (and love the line in her latest piece about the current mood of "brutal optimism" about testing). But the piece in Slate - about how "a growing spate of evidence from around the country suggests that the most egregious practices in Atlanta... are part of a national, and indeed a historic trend... bolstered ...
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The Washington Teacher: No Mentor Teacher For You !

2011-Jul-24
The Washington Teacher: No Mentor Teacher For You !No Mentor Teacher For You !by Candi PetersonWritten by Candi Peterson, WTU General VPSo it seems there has been another round of DC teachers being excessed by the District of Columbia Public Schools. Inside sources report that ten teachers were excessed on July 16, 2011 from the DCPS Mentor Teacher program (formerly known as the Helping Teachers program) . This leaves approximately fifteen DCPS teachers to mentor first and second year teachers ...
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New York Department of Education Employees Celebrating the Closing of Schools and the Co-Location of 15 Charter Schools | Seattle Education

2011-Jul-24
New York Department of Education Employees Celebrating the Closing of Schools and the Co-Location of 15 Charter Schools | Seattle EducationNew York Department of Education Employees Celebrating the Closing of Schools and the Co-Location of 15 Charter Schoolsby seattleducation2011New York City DOE General Counsel Michael Best celebrating with staff.This story, which initially broke on Gotham Schools and New York City School Parents, is going under the category of “Atrocities” in the right hand column of this website.Below is the invitation ...
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Save Our Schools March NEWS

2011-Jul-24
Save Our Schools March NEWSSunday, Jul. 24, 2011ArchivesSave Our Schools March NEWSPublished by Coopmike48 – 32 news spotters todayNext update in about 10 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONPOLITICSART ENTERTAINMENTSTORIESWAR CONFLICTLEISURE#SOSMARCH#EDREFORMComplex Thinking is not Tested and Won't be Taught - Living in Dialogueblogs.edweek.org - Marion Brady offers us some words to chew over this morning:Kids can't be taught to think better using tests that can't measure how well they think.The logic should be obvious. What gets tested get... AnthonyCodyA march to 'Save Our ...
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Does new California law force rehiring of teachers? It's unclear, districts say - Sacramento Bee

2011-Jul-24
Does new California law force rehiring of teachers? It's unclear, districts say - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento BeeDoes new California law force rehiring of teachers? It's unclear, districts sayShare By Diana Lambertdlambert@sacbee.comPublished: Sunday, Jul. 24, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1BState legislation passed last month to block public school districts from reducing their teaching staffs in the coming school year hasn't resulted in a rush among local districts to rehire all the instructors ...
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Diary of a Social Art-tivist Mommy: Tips from a teacher: How to tell if a school is good for your child?

2011-Jul-24
Diary of a Social Art-tivist Mommy: Tips from a teacher: How to tell if a school is good for your child?Tips from a teacher: How to tell if a school is good for your child?by ART-tivist Mommy We all make decisions about which schools to send our kids to based on various reasons. This decision has deep ramifications for the whole family and it can be very stressful getting to a decision. I strongly believe that most parents pick schools ...
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Eat what you catch. « Fred Klonsky's blog

2011-Jul-23
Eat what you catch. « Fred Klonsky's blogEat what you catch.by Fred KlonskyWe woke up at 5:45AM this morning to do a sunrise float down the Snake River that runs through the valley that lies at the foot of the Grand Tetons in western Wyoming.Heavy Winter snows and an early melt brought high waters and flooding to several northern mountain states this Spring. What would normally be a two hour leisurely ride down the Snake River was a sprint. Not ...
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#SOSMarch Please Mr. President (Listen To Me) | Educationrumination

2011-Jul-23
Please Mr. President (Listen To Me) | EducationruminationPlease Mr. President (Listen To Me)by Greygowerhttp://youtu.be/J5RGBad28iE