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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform


School Tech Connect: The Week in Books

School Tech Connect: The Week in Books:The Week in Booksby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)This week's haul from the Rogers Park branch library. My tech thought for the week is this: if your kids aren't reading a lot of books, on their e-readers or tablets or whatever, it doesn't matter what else you're doing: something has gone horribly awry.Here are my micro-reviews from last week. Each Litte Bird That Sings -- couldn't finish it; the narrator's voice annoyed me too much and, well, ... more »

OCCUPY EDUCATION - - Ive seen locked doors open due to my education ...

OCCUPY EDUCATION - - Ive seen locked doors open due to my education ...:- Ive seen locked doors open due to my education - I want to...OCCUPY EDUCATION - 5 minutes ago- Ive seen locked doors open due to my education - I want to see money equally distributed to ALL schools, no matter that location of the institution or the race of the student body. - innovatively injecting education into the minds of the youth will cripple “the cycle” ... more »

What Is to Be Done about the Oligarchy? | Firedoglake

What Is to Be Done about the Oligarchy? | Firedoglake:What Is to Be Done about the Oligarchy?by masaccioWe can’t afford this miserable oligarchy any more; so what should we do? There are two basic approaches. One is to cut down on the material inequality between the oligarchs and the rest of us. Another is to hem in the behaviors of Oligarchs so that their ability to damage the rest of us is significantly reduced. We can try both at the ... more »

Privatization of School Food Service: Unhealthy for Kids and Little Cost Savings « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Privatization of School Food Service: Unhealthy for Kids and Little Cost Savings « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:Privatization of School Food Service: Unhealthy for Kids and Little Cost Savingsby millerlfHow the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s LunchHeather Ainsworth for The New York TimesBy LUCY KOMISAR Published: December 3, 2011 NYTimesAn increasingly cozy alliance between companies that manufacture processed foods and companies that serve the meals is making students — a captive market — fat and sick while pulling in ... more »

Coaching Veteran Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Coaching Veteran Teachers | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:Coaching Veteran Teachersby larrycubanIt is rare to get a direct observation of instructional coaches working with experienced teachers. Atul Gawande, the veteran surgeon who took on a coach–see previous post–watched Jim Knight and his coaches at work in a Virginia middle school. Here is Gawande’s account.We met early one May morning at Leslie H. Walton Middle School, in Albemarle County, Virginia. In 2009, the Albemarle County public schools created ... more »

I am a Cultural Tourist. Are you the Tour Guides? « Cooperative Catalyst

I am a Cultural Tourist. Are you the Tour Guides? « Cooperative Catalyst:I am a Cultural Tourist. Are you the Tour Guides?by Brent SnavelyI am sitting at my computer attempting to articulate profound thoughts and the TV show my wife is watching intrudes.The show is about Kevin Costner’s making of the film Dances with Wolves. Those interviewed claim “authenticity” (as defined by those telling the story) was an underlying concern of all who were involved in the film, investors and ... more »

4LAKids : DEAL GIVES LAUSD TEACHERS, PARENTS MORE SAY IN SOME SCHOOLS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DEAL GIVES LAUSD TEACHERS, PARENTS MORE SAY IN SOME SCHOOLS:DEAL GIVES LAUSD TEACHERS, PARENTS MORE SAY IN SOME SCHOOLSBY CITY NEWS SERVICE/EGP PUBLICATIONS | HTTP://BIT.LY/VWDWQXDec 1, 2011 :: The Los Angeles Unified School District announced a tentative labor agreement with the union representing the district’s teachers Tuesday – a pact aimed at giving more authority to teachers, principals and parents to determine policies and set the direction of individual schools.“Teachers and ... more »

ALEC and Bill Gates, the Mask Comes Off | AMPS

ALEC and Bill Gates, the Mask Comes Off | AMPS:ALEC and Bill Gates, the Mask Comes Offby Thomas J. MertzThe Cramps, “What’s Behind the Mask” (click to listen or download)This morning a friend tweeted me a grant listing from the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Gates is giving ALEC $375,000[T]o educate and engage its membership on more efficient state budget approaches to drive greater student outcomes, as well as educate them on beneficial ... more »

Why Rick Scott’s Call for More STEM Degrees is Half Right | Scathing Purple Musings

Why Rick Scott’s Call for More STEM Degrees is Half Right | Scathing Purple Musings:Why Rick Scott’s Call for More STEM Degrees is Half Rightby Bob SikesI thought that Rick Scott was on solid ground when he called for an increased emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs. Scott was correct to point out that there are some empty degrees being pushed on college campuses which do not prepare students for employment. Athough he was misguided in ... more »

Chicago to join Gates Foundation charter compact | catalyst-chicago.org #edreform #ows

Chicago to join Gates Foundation charter compact | catalyst-chicago.org:Chicago to join Gates Foundation charter compactBy: Sarah Karp / December 02, 2011Tags: charter schools finance and budgetsThough they are still in negotiations over the details, Chicago Public Schools officials are set to sign on to a national intiaitive that encourages stronger cooperation between charter schools and traditional schools, as well as providing equitable district funding for charters.Nine cities have already signed such agreements, called District Charter Collaboration Compacts, which are being ... more »

EXEC SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") +

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") + STATEMENT OF JOINT INTEREST + THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT:EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ("The Tentative Agreement") + STATEMENT OF JOINT INTEREST + THE ENTIRE AGREEMENTSUMMARY BY UTLA | HTTP://BIT.LY/U6VAUS(Dec. 2, 2011)SCHOOL STABILIZATION1. For the next three years, including PSC 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 schools, only in-District applicants ... more »

The Parent Trigger fails in California « Parents Across America

The Parent Trigger fails in California « Parents Across America:The Parent Trigger fails in Californiaby CarolineSFBy Caroline Grannan, San FranciscoParents Across America founding memberThe Parent Trigger is a school reform idea that was hatched here in California, has won glowing press and is still being discussed around the nation as a school reform panacea.The Parent Trigger supposedly allows 51% of the parents at a school to petition for “transformation” at the school, in one of four ways: turn the school ... more »

School Tech Connect: Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonight

School Tech Connect: Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonight:Jackson Potter on Chicago Tonightby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Jackson Potter did a very nice job here a few nights ago.Watch December 1, 2011 - Turnaround Schools on PBS. See more from CHICAGO TONIGHT.George Schmidt gives the history here. It should come as no surprise to anyone when Common Core "data" are

Schools Matter: Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reform

Schools Matter: Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reform:Michelle Newsum: Reclaiming Reformby skrashenReclaiming ReformBy Michelle NewsumPublished in the Advocate, December, 2011, p. 13advocate@coosdems.orgOur schools have been labeled as failing by people who have never stepped foot in them.The favorite weapon of these 'reformers' is test scores.So let's take a closer look at the data:Based on the PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study)* American kids in schools with less than 10% poverty far outscore all

Engaging Parents In School… - A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011

Engaging Parents In School… - A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011:A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011from Engaging Parents In School... by Larry FerlazzoSince I have published so many “The Best…” lists, I thought it might be helpful to readers if I posted a few year-end collections.Here is A Collection Of “The Best…” Lists On Parent Engagement — 2011:The Best Ideas On How Parents Ca

Occupy Empire | Dissident Voice #ows

Occupy Empire | Dissident Voice:Occupy Empireby William BlumWhen the Vietnam War became history, and the protest signs and the bullhorns were put away, so too was the serious side of most protestors’ alienation and hostility toward the government. They returned, with minimal resistance, to the restless pursuit of success, and the belief that the choice facing the world was either “capitalist democracy” or “communist dictatorship.” The war had been an aberration, was the implicit verdict, a blemish on an otherwise ... more »

School Lunches and the Food Industry - NYTimes.com

School Lunches and the Food Industry - NYTimes.com:How the Food Industry Eats Your Kid’s LunchHeather Ainsworth for The New York TimesStudents at Gates Chili Middle School last month in Rochester. Forty percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.By LUCY KOMISARPublished: December 3, 2011RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINE-MAILPRINTSINGLE PAGEREPRINTSSHAREAn increasingly cozy alliance between companies that manufacture processed foods and companies that serve the meals is making students — a captive market — fat and sick while pulling in hundreds of millions of ... more »