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Saturday, September 10, 2011

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Layoffs shift TFA teachers to charters | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

2011-Sep-9
Notes from the news, Sept. 9 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:Notes from the news, Sept. 9by Erika Owens on Sep 09 2011 Posted in Notes from the newsCOMMENTS (0)PRINTEMAILLayoffs shift TFA teachers to chartersThe Notebook blogOnly a dozen first-year TFA teachers in Philly were hired in District schools, the rest were hired by charter and alternative schools.Mayor Nutter Says It’s Time To Move On From Ackerman CBS PhillyResponding to calls for transparency about the private donations made to Ackerman's buyout, ...
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Last word on 'Class Warfare' | The Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne, IN

2011-Sep-9
Last word on 'Class Warfare' | The Journal Gazette | Fort Wayne, IN:Last word on 'Class Warfare'Karen Francisco | The Journal GazetteDiane Ravitch delivers what should be the last word on Steven Brill's new book, "Class Warfare." In a review for The New York Review of Books, Ravitch cuts to the core of Brill's wrongheaded assumptions about U.S. schools – primarily, that all problems are the fault of teachers and unions:"Brill is completely ignorant of a vast body of research ...
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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » US House to vote on charter school bill today

2011-Sep-8
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » US House to vote on charter school bill today:US House to vote on charter school bill todayby adminPlease call your congressman today and ask him/her to vote NO on HR 2218 (see press release below). This bill is called the Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools bill, but we believe that it only serves to empower charter school operators and not parents or students. Look at the list of endorsers if ...
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Remembering Vito Perrone - Bridging Differences - Education Week

2011-Sep-8
Remembering Vito Perrone - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Remembering Vito Perroneby Deborah MeierDear Diane,Vito Perrone (1933-2011) would disapprove of my writing just about him. At times like this he'd be reminding us to organize. And he'd remind us teachers that the kids need you so being as good a teacher as you can be is part of what it means to organize. Day in. Day out.But it's hard not to spend "wasted" time wishing he were 100 percent with us. ...
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NYC Educator: Walcott Offers Valuable Lip Service to Civility

2011-Sep-8
NYC Educator: Walcott Offers Valuable Lip Service to Civility:Walcott Offers Valuable Lip Service to Civilityby NYC EducatorNYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, according to an incredibly superficial account in today's Times, is looking for better relationships with teachers, and better communication with the public. He's therefore reaching out in a calm fashion without frothing at the mouth. Judging by the article, this represents a paradigm change.Actually, Walcott espouses precisely the same policies Klein did, a fact unnoticed in this article. These ...
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Democurmudgeon: New Walking Curriculum in Elementary School brings Prison Camp Discipline to Fond Du Lac.

2011-Sep-8
Democurmudgeon: New Walking Curriculum in Elementary School brings Prison Camp Discipline to Fond Du Lac.:New Walking Curriculum in Elementary School brings Prison Camp Discipline to Fond Du Lac.by DemocurmudgeonIt’s hard to know why or how something so outlandish as the "walking regimen" could have happened in the U.S.. At a time when school boards and principals have taken away teacher control with their dreaded new “handbooks,” is it just a coincidence that the North Korean marching torture has suddenly become ...
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Big Education Ape: 9-7-11 PM Say it like it is: Our own worst enemies EDition

2011-Sep-7
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters todayNext update in about 12 hoursSee all articlesHEADLINESEDUCATIONSOCIETYPOLITICSSTORIESHEALTHCRIME#EDU#EDTOUR11Our own worst enemies. « Fred Klonsky's blogpreaprez.wordpress.com - I don’t know the teachers at the three schools who voted to waive their Collective Bargaining Agreement rights and take the Mayor’s offer for 90 extra minutes a day and what is essentially 2% less ... fklonskyThe Persistence of Political Misperceptionsspringerlink.com - Keywords Misperceptions - Misinformation - Ignorance - Knowledge - Correction ...
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Union, Jenks school districts file lawsuit on vouchers | Tulsa World

2011-Sep-7
Union, Jenks school districts file lawsuit on vouchers | Tulsa World:Union, Jenks school districts file lawsuit on vouchersBy KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer Published: 9/7/2011 2:27 AM Last Modified: 9/7/2011 7:50 AMUnion and Jenks school districts have filed a lawsuit in state court to challenge the constitutionality of a law that allows the use of public funds to send special-needs students to private schools. In a petition filed in Tulsa County District Court Friday, the lawsuit names as defendants the ...
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It's Generational Warfare, Now Deal With It :: Frederick M. Hess

2011-Sep-7
It's Generational Warfare, Now Deal With It :: Frederick M. Hess:It's Generational Warfare, Now Deal With Itby Frederick M. Hess • Sep 7, 2011 at 8:13 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareFolks, generational warfare is here. As Congress's "super committee" begins its deliberations with an eye towards its November deadline, and as the debate for 2012 heats up, it's time for those in the education space to pick a side. You're either with the kids or with those ...
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The pendulum swings, and choices await | Taking Note

2011-Sep-7
The pendulum swings, and choices await | Taking Note:The pendulum swings, and choices awaitby John MerrowAs always, remember that John’s book The Influence of Teachers is for sale at Amazon.Time was, this country had about 130,000 school districts; today we have somewhere around 14,000. The pendulum has swung toward centralization.No question that the pendulum swings. Not all that long ago about the only beers you could buy were Budweiser, Miller and Coors, but today you can choose from among thousands ...
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Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech

2011-Sep-6
Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speech:Congressman Kimble's Historic Path Forward Speechby Representative KimbleAt this year's Heritage Valley Corn Dog Festival, Congressman Jack Kimble outlined his path forward for this country before Picture This took the stage. While Picture This is America's best Huey Lewis and the News Tribute Band, it was truly Jack Kimble who connected with the audience on that night.I have built my Presidential campaign around moving American into the 21st Century, while retaining the strength
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City Beat: Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get married

2011-Sep-6
City Beat: Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get married:Mayor Johnson, Michelle Rhee get marriedMayor Kevin Johnson and his fiancée, education reformer Michelle Rhee, were married over the weekend.The couple was married on Saturday at Blackberry Farm, a luxury hotel in the Great Smoky Mountains outside of Knoxville, Tenn. About 40 relatives and close friends attended."We had a small ceremony with an intimate group of family and friends and are thrilled to be starting our lives together," the mayor said in an ...
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Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? | People & Places | Smithsonian Magazine

2011-Sep-6
Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? | People Places | Smithsonian Magazine:Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?The country's achievements in education have other nations doing their homeworkBy LynNell HancockPhotographs by Stuart ConwaySmithsonian magazine, September 2011, SubscribeMore from Smithsonian.comDo Kids Have Too Much Homework?Madam MontessoriMelvin Konner on the Evolution of ChildhoodComing to TermsIt was the end of term at Kirkkojarvi Comprehensive School in Espoo, a sprawling suburb west of Helsinki, when Kari Louhivuori, a veteran teacher and the school’s principal, decided to try ...
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Arne the Bus Driver Back To School Tour | ED.gov Blog

2011-Sep-6
Back To School Tour | ED.gov Blog: Education and the EconomyInvesting in Our FutureThe “Education and the Economy” Back-to-School Bus Tour takes Secretary Arne Duncan and senior ED staff to more than 50 events throughout the Midwest. During the tour, Duncan and staff will promote the valuable work teachers, parents, and administrators do every day to change students’ lives and, ultimately, invest in our nation’s future.View Larger MapDepartment of Education’s Back-to-School Bus Tour Gets RollingPosted on September 6, 2011 by ...
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Letter to Pres. Obama - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

2011-Sep-6
Letter to Pres. Obama - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):State Schools Chief Tom TorlaksonUrges President Obamato Protect Education Jobs and Invest in SchoolsSACRAMENTO—As President Barack Obama prepares to address a joint session of Congress on job creation and economic growth, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is urging him to protect education jobs and help rebuild California schools."I'm reaching out to the President because his address presents an opportunity to advocate for desperately needed new jobs that would ...
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A Note on the Politics of Charter School Co-Location - Dana Goldstein

2011-Sep-6
A Note on the Politics of Charter School Co-Location - Dana Goldstein:A Note on the Politics of Charter School Co-Locationby Dana GoldsteinI'm back from my Alaska jaunt refreshed and renewed, but can't help making one last point about Steven Brill'sClass Warfare, this fall's big ed reform book, which I reviewed in The Nation. A hallmark of Brill's education journalism for the past two years has been that he visits charter schools, never traditional public schools, when he wants to demonstrate ...
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Is Anybody Up for Defending the Common Core Math Standards? :: Frederick M. Hess

2011-Sep-6
Is Anybody Up for Defending the Common Core Math Standards? :: Frederick M. Hess:Is Anybody Up for Defending the Common Core Math Standards?by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 6, 2011 at 9:17 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareI've been executive editor of Education Next for more than a decade. In that role, one of the things I've done is coordinate our "forums" on various topics. Over the years, we've done forty-odd forums, and have usually gotten our first ...
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NYC Public School Parents: Happy Labor Day? Not for school aides, or our kids

2011-Sep-5
NYC Public School Parents: Happy Labor Day? Not for school aides, or our kids:Happy Labor Day? Not for school aides, or our kidsby Leonie HaimsonHappy Labor Day and welcome back to a new school year. I hope you had a good summer and rest. Unfortunately, the DOE has not been honoring those who work in our schools. Instead, they are planning to lay-off nearly 800 school aides and other school-based personnel; people who help our kids every day.The day before ...
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A.J. DUFFY, closeted reformer all those years? Or do his views simply reflect those of whoever signs his paycheck?

2011-Sep-5
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: A.J. DUFFY, EDUCATION REFORMER? Could Duffy have been a closeted reformer all those years? Or do his views simply reflect those of whoever signs his paycheck?:A.J. DUFFY, EDUCATION REFORMER? Could Duffy have been a closeted reformer all those years? Or do his views simply reflect those of whoever signs his paycheck?LA TIMES EDITORIAL | HTTP://LAT.MS/NJD7OAWas A.J. Duffy, who recently was termed out as president of United Teachers Los Angeles, a closeted ...
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Tests and Testing | Seattle Education

2011-Sep-5
Tests and Testing | Seattle Education:Tests and Testingby seattleducation2011An excerpt from the Los Angeles Times article Cheating on tests found at two Los Angeles schools:Locally, at six charter schools operated by Crescendo, principals were ordered last year to require teachers to review the state tests in advance and then use that material to prepare students. L.A. Unified recently closed those schools in the aftermath of the scandal.Such episodes underscore the pressures and pitfalls of testing systems that, nationwide, increasingly affect ...
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Blue Jersey:: Celebrate Labor Day: Resist!

2011-Sep-5
Blue Jersey:: Celebrate Labor Day: Resist!:Celebrate Labor Day: Resist!by Hetty RosensteinFist in the air. Promoted by RosiWoe's me. Woe's us! Today, less than 10% of the American workforce is Organized, Obama failed to fight for the Employee Free Choice Act, the National Labor Relations Board is about to again be down to 2 members which will lead to gridlock, in Wisconsin and Ohio we lost public sector collective bargaining rights in spite of help and support from the Democratic Party, ...
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JFK Labor Day Speech-Sept 5th,1960 And Doonesbury Cartoon

2011-Sep-5
Maybe There Is A Dog: JFK Labor Day Speech-Sept 5th,1960 And Doonesbury Cartoon: when America faces challenges and perils greater than ever before, I say to all Americans who want to build a better America - "Give us the job for we have the tools."JFK Labor Day Speech-Sept 5th,1960 And Doonesbury CartoonI have come here today, on this day that belongs to all the people, to state my case and my cause to you * * * the American people. ...
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Schools Matter: Mathews Turns on Accountability? (Sort of) pt. 1

2011-Sep-5
Schools Matter: Mathews Turns on Accountability? (Sort of) pt. 1:Mathews Turns on Accountability? (Sort of) pt. 1by P. L. ThomasWaPo's Jay Mathews appears to have turned against accountability, "We may have accountability wrong," but I'm not sure if this is a sign of some hope or yet more evidence how many people simply don't get it. . .Ultimately, we must recognize that the national standards movement (and the inherent increase in standardized testing) are distractions, wastes of time, and redundancies. ...