Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts #ows #edreform

Modern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Modern School: Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers):Let Them Eat Exams! (Tests, Not Toys For Toddlers)by Michael DunnHuck/Konopacki Labor CartoonsNew York and New Jersey are on an insane mission to give mandatory school-readiness tests to children as young as 4 years old. Why? To get some of Obama’s Race to the Top money. The tests would assess children's language, math, science and literacy skills, and their emotional and physical development, Lisa Fleisher reported in the Wall Street ... more »

How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike? « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike? « Fred Klonsky:How big was the crowd at the Oakland general strike?by Fred KlonskyFor as long as I have been going to demonstrations there have been debates about how big the crowd was. The rule of thumb is to take the number that the organizers claim and the number reported by the press and the government and split the difference.But the Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur makes a good case for ... more »

Michelle Rhee in The City of Nothing to Lose | Political News and Opinion from a Multicultural Point of View

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Michelle Rhee in The City of Nothing to Lose | Political News and Opinion from a Multicultural Point of View:Michelle Rhee in The City of Nothing to LoseSome fairly odd musings in Philadelphia these days as former District of Columbia Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is spending quite a bit of time in Ill-town these days. Whispers sound off about Rhee, the controversial and fiery school head who led the D.C. public school system during Mayor Adrian Fenty’s (D-D.C.) tumultuous term, ... more »

CT News Junkie | OP-ED | Diane Ravitch on School Reform Gone Awry

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CT News Junkie | OP-ED | Diane Ravitch on School Reform Gone Awry:OP-ED | Diane Ravitch on School Reform Gone Awryby Dianne Kaplan DeVries | Nov 7, 2011 10:54pm(0) Comments | Log in to Post a Comment Posted to: Education, OpinionDIANNE KAPLAN DEVRIES“Singing to the choir because the choir needs support,” that’s what Diane Ravitch was doing in Hartford last Wednesday when she spoke to members of the Hartford Federation of Teachers. It was my good fortune to be among ... more »

For all you Seattleites who wait until the last minute to mail in your ballot… | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

For all you Seattleites who wait until the last minute to mail in your ballot… | Seattle Education:For all you Seattleites who wait until the last minute to mail in your ballot…by seattleducation2011On this blog, Sue and I have many times written about the school board incumbents and the votes that they have made, how they acted in-sync with our Broad-trained superintendent, how they mindlessly stamped all of her policies and how incumbents Carr, Martin-Morris and Sundquist are backed financially ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Occupy Movement: Reframing the school reform debate #ows

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Occupy Movement: Reframing the school reform debate:Occupy Movement: Reframing the school reform debateTaking it to the DOEThe Occupy Movement in NY has refocused the whole school reform narrative and has transformed power relationships. Where only a few months ago Mayor Bloomberg and his hand-picked administrators were able to exercise control over "public" meetings, silencing opposition from teachers, parents and community members, and dominating the mainstream media, the new movement has changed things.Yesterday, Occupy the DOE forces ... more »

Modern School: The Pre-K Achievement Gap

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Modern School: The Pre-K Achievement Gap:The Pre-K Achievement Gapby Michael DunnGood Education just reviewed a recent survey presented at the annual conference for theNational Association for the Education of Young Children in which two-thirds of kindergarten teachers say the majority of their students start school without knowing basic preschool concepts like the alphabet.According to the survey, only 6% of kindergarten teachers said that their students were well prepared academically at the beginning of the year. Many students did not know ... more »

Shanker Blog » The False Conflict Between Unionism and Professionalism?

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Shanker Blog » The False Conflict Between Unionism and Professionalism?:The False Conflict Between Unionism and Professionalismby Matthew Di CarloSome people have the unfortunate idea that unionism is somehow antithetical to or incompatible with being a professional. This notion is particularly salient within education circles, where phrases like “treat teachers like professionals” are often used as implicit arguments against policies associated with unions, such as salary schedules and tenure (examples here, here, here and here).Let’s take a quick look at this ... more »

Tweed Protesters Denounce 'Privatization' of Schools – SchoolBook #ows

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Tweed Protesters Denounce 'Privatization' of Schools – SchoolBook:Tweed Protesters Denounce ‘Privatization’ of Schoolsby Chelsia Rose MarciusThey may not have been a big crowd, but they were spirited. A group calling itself Occupy the DOE — an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street — gathered on the steps Tweed Hall on Monday evening with a litany of complaints against the Department of Education.Police officers ushered the crowd of more than 150 parents, students, teachers, aides and educators up the stairs and toward ... more »

Hooray for the Long Island Principals! - Bridging Differences - Education Week

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Hooray for the Long Island Principals! - Bridging Differences - Education Week:Hooray for the Long Island Principals!by Diane RavitchDear Deborah,Sometimes it seems we are living in the worst of times for American education, given the daily news of budget cuts, attacks on teachers, and attacks on the very idea of public education. When good news comes along, we should shout it from the rooftops. So here's good news that I want to share and celebrate.Last week, more than 400 principals ... more »

The Washington Teacher: A Call To Action: Save DC's Schools!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

The Washington Teacher: A Call To Action: Save DC's Schools!:A Call To Action: Save DC's Schools!By Candi PetersonIn the midst of upcoming contract negotiations, there are big plans ahead to close our traditional public schools. Never in our history has there been a greater need for teachers and school personnel to have an effective union. Our very future as educators and the future of our students will be determined by how vigorously we, alongside parents and community members are willing ... more »

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 9: How much it too much, and what’s not enough?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 9: How much it too much, and what’s not enough?:Week 9: How much it too much, and what’s not enough?One of the big adjustments in leaving a prep position with periods for a self-contained class is the change in the time I have to work with kids. I had gotten used to discrete 45-minute segments, but now have the whole day with the same class teaching multiple subjects, etc.I still don’t feel ... more »

That’s 21 of Your Validators Ate Up At The Same Time | The Jose Vilson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

That’s 21 of Your Validators Ate Up At The Same Time | The Jose Vilson:That’s 21 of Your Validators Ate Up At The Same Timeby JoseRakim“I‘m not a regular competitor, first rhyme editorMelody arranger, poet, etceteraExtra events, the grand finale like bonusI am the man they call the microphonistWith wisdom which means wise words bein spokenToo many at one time watch the mic start smokin’I came to express the rap I manifestStand in my way and I’ll veto, in other ... more »

Make or Break Moment for Public Education in California | California Progress Report

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Make or Break Moment for Public Education in California | California Progress Report:Make or Break Moment for Public Education in CaliforniaPosted on 07 November 2011Printer-friendly versionSend to friendBy Pablo RodriguezCommunities for a New CaliforniaOn Friday, November 4th, I proudly joined a growing movement of students, teachers, parents, and workers and sent the open letter below to the fifty corporate elite who serve on the boards of California's public colleges and universities. We are the 99%, and through our taxes we ... more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: Teachers Make Too Much Money, Right?

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An Urban Teacher's Education: Teachers Make Too Much Money, Right?:Teachers Make Too Much Money, Right?by James BoutinA week ago, researchers from the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute (both free-market think tanks in DC) released a report claiming that American public school teachers, as a whole, are significantly overpaid.Jason Richwine of Heritage and Andrew Biggs of AEI base the claim on their perceived market value of the average teacher, who, they say, tends to be at a cognitive disadvantage ... more »