Will SPS Bus Drivers Strike?
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I just happened to go to the Seattle Schools' webpage and here was the top
story:
*One of Seattle Public Schools (SPS) contracted school bus providers, ...
On Tyranny: Lessons for Educators 4
-
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Take
responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the
reality of tomorro...
On Tyranny: Lessons for Educators 4
-
Reflections on the short yet deep book of Timothy Snyder. Take
responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the
reality of tomorro...
The High Cost of Partisan Discource in Education.
-
“Moments in time when the world is changing bring out the best and the
worst in people.” ― Tan Twan Eng Forgive me if I am a little groggy
today. We are ...
Noem’s choice of watch
-
When Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem visited El Salvador’s most
notorious mega-prison on Wednesday, she sported an eye-catching piece on
he...
ID: Bulletin from West Ada
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West Ada School District--the one that wants to squelch the notion that
all students are welcome-- continues to draw plenty of attention and move a
whol...
Directing Our Own Evolution Through Play
-
Ethologists are zoologists who study the behavior of animals in their
natural habitat. They study orcas in the ocean, not Sea World. They
study cheetahs...
Buy a Laptop for Every U.S. Student?
-
From time to time, I riffle through my writings looking for those that
bring back memories of once fierce battles among educators and taxpayers.
Buying lap...
Food Safety Inspections Reminder
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Reminds school nutrition program operators of food safety inspection and
reporting requirements for school year 2024–25.
Curmudgucation: AI Can't Imagine Future Humanity
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Curmudgucation: AI Can't Imagine Future Humanity
It's a minor throwaway article, but it is a fine example of how people who
aren't paying close attention ...
March’s Parent Engagement Resources
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What does our research say about grades, attendance, test scores, & “on
track” metrics for @chipubschools.bsky.social students? How can parents use
this in...
Coming to Life: Woodchippers and Community Builders
-
Maybe it’s 35 years of working in a classroom, but here’s what I think:
it’s too bad that there aren’t more teachers in Congress. Teachers
generally know h...
Dismantling Public Education: No Laughing Matter!
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Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s
gone… ~Joni Mitchell Many educators and parents found it painful watching
Donald...
Standing with Federal Workers? Or backing Trump?
-
The ABC group shows a dangerous side. “Leaving politics at the door”
apparently means not taking on Trump when he denies rights to workers.
Focusing on “Br...
Questioning the Mississippi Miracle Again
-
By Thomas Ultican 3/21/2025 The national assessment of education progress
(NAEP) is a biennial effort of the Department of Education. At the end of
Februar...
Tarbiyah School Is STILL Stealing Federal Funds
-
I had hoped the feds would have shut them down by now, but nope. In fact,
Dr. Amna Latif, the leader of the Tarbiyah School is finding new and
creative way...
Three Pillars for Decimating Public Education
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What do we do when our public schools are under attack? A couple of weeks
ago, the new Secretary of Education Linda McMahon leveled significant ...
Read ...
The Dark Works of Evil
-
We are watching the dark works of evil creep into the soul of our nation.
We need to resist and bring bright light to our neighbors. Now is not the
time to...
Building the Resistance
-
Our fight for democracy is not about left or right, or who you voted for -
it's about who gets to live with dignity. Right now, greedy oligarchs think
our ...
SHAME -Not only but especially Schumer
-
Enough Democratic Senators just blew it. Totally.
Let me explain why I think that.
I am very much aware that this “cave” will cost support, possibly eve...
What’s YOUR ‘Side Hustle’?
-
While the term “Side Hustle” has kind of a sneaky quality, it’s actually an
honorable term, basically a second source of income. Here in the USA,
about 39...
Are we all on the same team?
-
Copied from Quora; I didn’t write any of this… As an American I ask my
fellow Americans, why can’t you realize at the end of the day we are all on
the same...
Possible Conflict of Interest for Paul Egan?
-
The ABC Caucus is running on transparency, which is refreshing. However, it
appears ABC is only being transparent when it suits itself. "Meet the new
bos...
Who is the new CEO of Teach For America?
-
From 1990 until 2013, the CEO of TFA was the founder, Wendy Kopp. Under her
leadership the program grew from a small organization that struggled to
make pa...
Site Index - Updated December 31, 2024
-
When I was teaching,
I got tired of hearing how bad American educators were.
*My Promise *
WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING IN 2011, I said I planned to speak ...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
-
Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
-
This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
-
As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
-
The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
-
In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
-
I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
-
THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
-
Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
-
I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
-
[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
-
Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
-
I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
-
The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
-
I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
-
Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Keeping Progressive Schools Alive
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Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy New Year and a special thanks to those
who respond to past blogs about choice, et al. I always mean to respond to
each c...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
-
Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
-
Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
-
It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my
head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and
after read...
Reduced time for testing? Not so fast.
-
NYSED and Commish Elia continue to say that the NYS Assessments are of
reasonable length, I completely disagree.
Here is what NYSED states are average expe...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
-
The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
-
It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
-
Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
-
Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
-
In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
-
In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
-
An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
-
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
-
Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
-
States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
-
In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
-
I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
-
By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
-
Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
-
I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
-
Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
-
*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
Written by Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President
DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson issued “You’re fired letters" this past week to 206 DC teachers. Before DC teachers knew of their own fate, the mainstream media had received a lengthy DCPS press packet on Friday, July 15 from the Office of the Chancellor (OOC) lauding teacher terminations and celebrating highly effective teachers eligible for merit pay.Bill Turque, staff writer for the Washington Post reported on the details of the DCPS firings as early as July 15. Turquewrote: “Of the 206 fired, D.C. officials said, 65 were rated ineffective this year and 141 were judged minimally effective for the second consecutive year, triggering dismissal.” An additional twenty-one teachers who were effective and/or highly effective were also terminated byDCPS because they could not find a permanent placement.
Friday's teacher firings are a continuation of Michelle Rhee's educational plan to terminate a significant share
Below is a post from a teacher, "No Confidence," from another thread but I read it and said bingo! (Emphasis mine.)
I think that the first change that could make some difference would be for teacher & administrators to understand the limits of their abilities to assess. At least the teacher could say, Sally is learning differently than many other kids I see and we don't know why. Johnny is refusing to do writing assignments and we don't know why.
Next I think that PD should include training about learning & developmental differences, with case studies, to
You’ve got to be wondering what a teacher like me is doing marching against the “reform” trends. For those of you unfamiliar with my background, I graduated with a degree in Computer Science from Syracuse University. A year later, after 6-8 months of unemployment and a stint as a data entry person at an educational database firm, I went into the NYC Teaching Fellows program, an offshoot of Michelle Rhee’s New Teacher Project. On the surface, I’m a perfect candidate to follow the corporatist thinking about education, and should be easily molded into the dominant thinking from elites who ostensibly believe they’re going into education for the common good. All it takes is the right amount of fear, the right amount of frustration, the right amount of ignorance, and the right amount of failure to tip people into the hands of those who wish to rotate our profession backwards.
Fortunately for me, I lucked out. And if you’re reading this, I’m thinking the same goes for you.
You see, I teach at a school that, somewhere along the line, decided to value veteran leadership and collaboration. They fostered a culture of discussion and unity that stems from decades of hardship from a neighborhood and administration standpoint. As leaders changed and gangs ran the block, teachers fortified the
OUR BROKEN ESCALATORBy NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF. Op-Ed Columnist in the NY Times | http://nyti.ms/nm6gio July 17 , 2011 - YAMHILL, Ore. -- THE United States supports schools in Afghanistan because we know that education is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to build a ...
FLORIDA CHARTER SCHOOLS’ MANY F’s GIVE AMMUNITION TO CRITICS: Charters were seven times more likely than regular public schools to receive F's on state's report cardBy Dave Weber, Orlando Sentinel | http://thesent.nl/qgYvwF 4:26 PM EDT, July 16, 2011 - Charter schools, which account for only a fraction of the state's public schools, received half of all the F's when the state handed out its annual letter grades two ...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Schools Matter: What school is all aboutWhat school is all aboutby skrashenSent to the Los Angeles Times, July 17, 2011In addition to influencing the medical literature (LA Times, July 16), J.K. Ro...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Yong Zhao » BlogDitch Testing: Lessons from the Cheating Scandal in Atlanta (Part 1)[14 Jul 2011 | 5 Comments | 2,146]Ditch Testing: Lessons from the Cheating Scandal in Atlanta (Part 1)Last week a...
huffingtonpost.com - Carlsbad, CA -- Tonight at the "All Things Digital" conference sponsored by the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch -- Chairman of News Corp, new WSJ owner, and longtime torchbearer for conservativ...
lacrossetribune.com - There has been much chatter — on both the local and national level — about charter schools. There is also a lot of misinformation out there, too. Unlike their public counterparts, privately run cha...
michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - This NYT editorial "Hold the line on school reform," harks back to the days when they were calling for the invasion of Iraq to get rid of those "weapons of mass destruction." In other words, the T...
nytimes.com - A cheating scandal in which scores of teachers and principals in Atlanta’s public schools falsified student test results has thrown the system into chaos and made its name synonymous with fraud. Th...
nytimes.com - MILLBURN, N.J. — Matthew Stewart believes there is a place for charter schools. Just not in his schoolyard. Mr. Stewart, a stay-at-home father of three boys, moved to this wealthy towns...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Is thinking differently the new “wrong”? - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog postIs thinking differently the new “wrong”?Walter’s blog archive: http://surfaquarium.com/blog.htmMi...
blogtalkradio.com - History will be made this Tuesday night, July 19, at 9 PM EDT. Join us as we welcome Matthew's mom, Karen Sprowal as she takes us through the Kafkaesque hell she went through as she took on Harlem ...
washingtonpost.com - What, after all these years, did we learn from “Harry Potter”? That miracles can happen, at least to: *A single mother named J.K. Rowling who was living on public assistance and didn’t give up on h...
businessinsider.com - Rupert and James Murdoch will not be appearing before British Parliament to face questioning over the phone-hacking allegations rocking News Corps empire. Rebekah Brooks will. Earlier this week it ...
reuters.com - By Joseph Ax and Noeleen Walder NEW YORK | Fri Jul 15, 2011 6:12pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Joel Klein stepped down from running New York City's schools last year to head the education divisio...
abcnews.go.com - Rupert Murdoch's protégé Rebekah Brooks, who previously ran his British tabloids was arrested today in London in connection with the phone hacking scandal.Brooks' arrest comes as she "voluntarily a...
nypost.com - The government gravy train just keeps rolling for the contractor at the center of the massive CityTime payroll scandal. Virginia-based Science Applications International Corp. won two more federal ...
nytimes.com - LONDON — As a textbook example of how not to manage the relationship between private industry and the academy, Deutsche Bank’s agreement with two leading German universities to sponsor their joint ...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALSAbramson Science and Technology Charter School *"Records show glaring faults at school with ties to Turkish charter network.”* Times-Picayune (LA) 7/15/2011 Inci Akpinar, the...
zhaolearning.com - A Bold Education Experiment: What We Should Learn From China World’s longest high-speed rail networks, fastest trains, fastest computer, second largest economy, and #1 standing in international tes...
blog.oregonlive.com - When Bill Travis called friend Cornelia Welch one evening in 1978, her slurred speech was a clear sign something was wrong. She never drank alcohol, Travis knew. So he called her only son, Claxton ...
womensenews.org - As Nina transitions into Nick, he discovers the space between being a man and a woman. In this excerpt from his book, "Nina Here Nor There," he describes a similar journey undertaken by his friend ...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Van Jones on What We Can Learn From the Tea PartyVan Jones on What We Can Learn From the Tea Partyby Paul BFriday 8 July 2011by: Amy Dean, Truthout | InterviewVan J...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: CONSERVATIVES BEGIN EFFORT TO REPEAL CALIFORNIA’S GAY HISTORY LAWCONSERVATIVES BEGIN EFFORT TO REPEAL CALIFORNIA’S GAY HISTORY LAW BY ON TOP MAGAZINE ST...
dissenter.firedoglake.com - There will be much more to report on this on Monday, but here is some news on the prisoner hunger strike at Pelican Bay. The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity (PHSS) coalition reports:This afternoo...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Van Jones on What We Can Learn From the Tea PartyVan Jones on What We Can Learn From the Tea Partyby Paul BFriday 8 July 2011by: Amy Dean, Truthout | InterviewVan J...
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Do Americans understand the debt crisis? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington PostDo Americans understand the debt crisis?By Valerie StraussHow well do Americans understand the complexities of the n...
schooltechconnect.com - Whether you're going to the SOS March or not, there's something very smart and productive you can do this week to help save our schools, and that is to contact your member of congress with a specif...