Wednesday, August 3, 2011

On Ridiculous Assertions By [Some] White Liberals | The Jose Vilson

On Ridiculous Assertions By [Some] White Liberals

Oh well-meaning “liberals,” you sound ridiculous even when you don’t realize it. I’d be more offended if I didn’t hear some of the nonsense from Black people, too. Whenever you say things like,

What we need is more vocational schools and alternative schools so that our lower functioning kids can at least have a chance at being productive members of society.”

it usually means no-good very-bad racist things you’re probably not even aware of. If we’re being idealistic, then 10-20% of every type of kid might find themselves in these schools that help them become professionals in a

TOO MUCH INFORMATION « Teachers Fight Back

TOO MUCH INFORMATION

by alkleen

The Chicago Tribune Newspaper, otherwise known as “Teacher Bashing Central”, has long been advocating that the Chicago public schools should go to great lengths to hire only the best and the brightest to teach in the schools. They continually lament the fact that so many “incompetent” teachers are allowed to remain in the school system.

In today’s “Chicago Schools Notebook” section of the newspaper, a reporter was writing an article on discipline in the school system. In the article the reporter mentioned that a study showed the district spent $51.4 million on school-based security guards last year. That’s way TOO MUCH INFORMATION ! How in the world is the

Candi's Blog: Why I Must Continue To Fight For Teachers

Why I Must Continue To Fight For Teachers

by Candi Peterson

Written by Candi Peterson

As the General Vice President of the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) , I’ve seen my fair share of teacher terminations and adverse actions that have resulted in suspensions of teachers and school personnel. Many of the teacher terminations in the past three years stem from Rhee’s educational plan, which sought to get rid of a significant share of the DC teacher workforce. I’ve seen situations in which teachers were terminated without adequate investigations being conducted by DC Public Schools. Imagine being fired without being able to give your side of the story or have mitigating circumstances considered or pertinent witnesses interviewed. I’ve

Lessons from History for Educators (Guest Post by April Jaure of the Bartleby Project) « Cooperative Catalyst

GUEST POSTS, LEADERSHIP AND ACTIVISM, PHILOSOPHICAL MEANDERINGS

Lessons from History for Educators (Guest Post by April Jaure of the Bartleby Project)

POSTED BY COOPCATALYST ⋅ AUGUST 3, 2011 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

I like learning about history. I think it’s just fascinating. I also like to imagine. And these days my imagination keeps taking me to two different eras in history: one, quite some time ago, and the other, to the era of my grandparents.

The first period in history that my mind keeps pondering begins in 1066, in England. Yes, to the Battle of Hastings. It was this battle in which the French Normans defeated the English, and the Normans began to rule England. The Norman aristocracy replaced the English aristocracy and French became the language of the elite. For 300 years, English, as a language, completely disappeared from the written record. All business and legal contracts were in Latin or French. The royalty, nobility, lawyers, professors, merchants, and students spoke French and read and wrote Latin. Anyone who had any sort of power knew these two languages. But guess what? We are still speaking English today! (Obviously). And in fact, English is now Globish, a language spoken by more than a billion people throughout the

Big Education Ape - PostRank Today's 10

Welcome back to school! | theteachingwhore Welcome back to school! | theteachingwhore Welcome back to school! by theteachingwhore *Lawrencedale MI (TWP Press)* Teachers at Lawrencedale Public Schools were welcomed back to school with a celebration of all things legal, political, marsupial, and ...

Public Policy Blogger: Save Our Schools March. Now what? #sosmarch Public Policy Blogger: Save Our Schools March. Now what? Save Our Schools March. Now what? by Anne Geiger Following last week's Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action, now what? We need a big tent of supporters and advocates. To start- ...

Matt Damon « Teachers Fight Back Matt Damon « Teachers Fight Back Matt Damon by alkleen I received many e.mails and notices on Facebook from my teacher friends who were elated at the video showing Matt Damon defending teachers during an interview with a reporter. I haven’t seen this ...

Comcast Begins Program To Offer Inexpensive Internet Access & Computers To Low-Income Families Larry Ferlazzo Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - Comcast Begins Program To Offer Inexpensive Internet Access & Computers To Low-Income Families Comcast Begins Program To Offer Inexpensive Internet Access & Computers To Low-Income Families by Larry Ferlazzo ...

Jersey Jazzman: Testing For $$$ Jersey Jazzman: Testing For $$$ Testing For $$$ by Duke Why are we so testing crazed these days? My colleague, Dr. David Boers, one of the higher education champions of at-risk kids, and I were dejectedly discussing the meteoric rise of the high-stakes ...

Breaking News! Report on High-Stakes Cheating by Educators Released! NARENnews Breaking News! Report on High-Stakes Cheating by Educators Released!Month Long NAREN Survey and Study Produces Eye-Opener *Anthony Dallmann-Jones* August 1, 2011 — NAREN Central Office has released a startling and revealing report after ...

Jersey Jazzman: This Is How We Treat "Professionals"? Jersey Jazzman: This Is How We Treat "Professionals"? This Is How We Treat "Professionals"? by Duke *In Massachusetts, a health care advocacy organization plans to mount a drive for a 2012 ballot law that would force public hospitals to prioritize ...

Tab for new tests $25.9 million | EdNewsColorado Tab for new tests $25.9 million | EdNewsColorado Tab for new tests $25.9 million by Todd Engdahl Rolling out a full replacement for the CSAP tests in 2014 could cost up to $25.9 million, the State Board of Education was told today. [image: Colorado ...

Save Our Schools March « Failing Schools #sosmarch Save Our Schools March « Failing Schools Save Our Schools March AUGUST 3, 2011 by mariasallee From the Smithsonian American History Museum. I was going to call this piece a recap, but that really isn’t an accurate description. I participated in the ...

LDF, ACLU, NAACP Oppose AG’s Request to Rehear Proposal 2 Case | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog LDF, ACLU, NAACP Oppose AG’s Request to Rehear Proposal 2 Case | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog LDF, ACLU, NAACP Oppose AG’s Request to Rehear Proposal 2 CasePosted By The Editors | July 29th, 2011 | Category: Education | No Comments » ...

More on billionaire boy’s club making a profit from educators « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

More on billionaire boy’s club making a profit from educators

by Dr. Ed Fuller

Previously, I wrote about how the Gates Foundation has invested millions of dollars to push for the Common Core Standards and how they are now working with other entities to make a profit from the entire idea of Common Core Standards. Well, Gates is at it again, now partnering with Joel Klein and Wireless Generation. Klein is the former Chancellor of the New York City schools and poster boy for current reformers (Michelle Rhee being the poster-girl). Evidence suggests that NYC saw no gains in achievement during Klein’s tenure, but he and others still claim success.

Well, now he is off working for Wireless Generation owned by none other than Rupert Murdoch (FOX News, British phone hacking scandal, etc). And, lo and behold, Wireless Generation has received funding from Gates to

Opinion: Commission to police teachers has failed utterly in its duty - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Commission to police teachers has failed utterly in its duty

By Larry Sand

Special to the Mercury News

Posted: 08/02/2011 08:00:00 PM PDT

A scandal has erupted at California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which exists to evaluate teachers and protect children from those who should not be in the classroom.

Its mission is to "ensure integrity and high quality in the preparation, conduct and professional growth of the educators who serve California's public schools." The commission includes teachers, school board members and the state superintendent of public instruction. But a recent explosive report has revealed that instead of being a champion of children, the commission is a callous, self-serving club that ignores its mandated duties.

The first sign that something was amiss came in 2009 when commission lawyer

Can Garrison Keillor Help Us Find Middle Ground on NCLB? | Scathing Purple Musings

Can Garrison Keillor Help Us Find Middle Ground on NCLB?

by Bob Sikes

I oppose NCLB’s reliance on standardized testing as the barometer to measure what is successful and what’s not. But I enjoyed reading what the editors of the Montgomery Advertiser are thinking and it may signal where the middle ground might be on NCLB.

They assert that NCLB has been successful because of clear measurable improvements in their particular area, but point out that AYP calculations are where NCLB has to be changed. The Advertiser’s editors use a famous aside used by radio show host Garrison Keillor to explain:

The strength of NCLB is its emphasis on all students. Prior to NCLB, schools could claim success

Remainders: What happened after Reason’s cameras cut off | GothamSchools

Remainders: What happened after Reason’s cameras cut off

by Philissa Cramer

Geoff Decker captured the full exchange between Matt Damon and the Reason reporter. (GS YouTube)
NewsCorp’s Wireless Generation is building software for the Gates Foundation. (Impatient Optimists)
A profile of Patrick Sullivan, the PEP member who speaks out against mayoral policies. (Capital NY)
This year, NBC is involving unions in putting together its “Education Nation” coverage. (Russo)

Bloomberg declares tenure is not needed in public schools

by Philissa Cramer

Less than two years after pledging that he did not want to end tenure, Mayor Bloomberg struck a different chord today.

“Do I think it’s needed at the public school level? No,” he said today.

The statement came days after Bloomberg’s most recent escalation in rhetoric against tenure protections. During his weekly radio address last week, he said tenure is a vestige of the McCarthy Era of the 1950s, when teachers were persecuted for their political views.

But until today he had not said outright that he opposed tenure’s existence for public school teachers. In fact, in

Modern School: Save the Earth—Eat a Conservative White Guy

Detroit Slashes Teachers’ Wages 10% Detroit’s new emergency financial manager, Roy Roberts, is imposing a 10% wage cut on all 10,000 employees of Detroit Public Schools (DPS), according to Labor Notes. On top of this, he is making them pay 20% of their own health care (up from 10% last ...

Save the Earth—Eat a Conservative White Guy A new study indicates that Conservative White Males (CWMs) are far more likely to deny climate change than the rest of us. Here are some of the findings from on analysis of Gallup surveys from 2000 to 2010: - *Only 14% of the general public ...

New alliance between Murdoch and Gates to “differentiate” learning « Parents Across America

New alliance between Murdoch and Gates to “differentiate” learning

by leoniehaimson

Today, Vicki Phillips of the the Gates Foundation announced the creation of an an “amazing” new software program that will be like a “huge app store – just for teachers – with the Netflix and Facebook capabilities we love the most.”

“There are few times in life when we are fortunate enough to be part of something amazing. I believe this is one of those times, and I am especially excited because the “something amazing” is being led by states…..”

Sure, really this was led by states, and not by the Gates Foundation? Which ones they don’t mention. Mmm…we’ve heard that one before.

“As part of our contribution, the foundation took an important first step a few weeks ago and selected a vendor to build the open software that will allow states to access a shared, performance-driven marketplace of free and premium tools and

NYC Educator: Private Funding For Public Testing

Private Funding For Public Testing

by reality-based educator

Earlier this year, the New York State Regents canceled the January 2012 Regents exams.

You see, there was no money in the state piggy bank for the January Regents exams.

Not after the Regents needed to implement all those other state tests as part of the Race to the Top program that requires students be tested in all subjects at every grade level and teachers be evaluated using these scores.

Not after the austerity budget Tea Party Democrat Andrew Cuomo had

Big Education Ape: 8-3-11 PM Debt deal sucks: A killer for education EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

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Debt deal sucks: A killer for education

michaelklonsky.blogspot.com - A start of something big? (M. Klonsky pic) Save our schools The Obama/Boehner debt-ceiling deal is disaster capitalism at its worst. Republicans, with help from the White House, and using ...

mikeklonsky

The new tests will survive, even if school doesn't

schoolsmatter.info - Dolores Umbridge, Assistant Secretary of Education, US Department of Education, reassured educators and parents today that the huge budget cuts mandated by the new budget agreement will not harm ou...

DianeRavitch

The anti-chancellor: Scott Stringer's education-board appointee objects to Dennis Walcott, again and again

capitalnewyork.com - 10:28 am Aug. 3, 2011 | During a hearing in June, as the city’s Panel for Educational Policy prepared to move on a plan to “co-locate” 22 charter schools in public-school buildings, most of the aud...

leoniehaimson

BESE revokes charter of N. O. school operator | WBRZ News 2 Louisiana : Baton Rouge, LA

wbrz.com - BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's education board has revoked the license for the operator of a New Orleans charter school, only the fourth time a charter has lost its contract with the state. The Board of...

DianeRavitch

The Annotated Frank Rich - Aaron Sorkin Imagines a Conversation Between Rupert Murdoch and Joel Klein -

nymag.com - Int. Rupert Murdoch’s office; day. Rupert Murdoch sits behind his desk as Joel Klein knocks on the door and steps in. Klein: Mr. Murdoch? Murdoch: Well, if it isn’t Lady Macbeth. Klein: Is that wha...

DianeRavitch

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Unholy alliance between Murdoch, Klein and Bill Gates? "Pretty cool" huh?

nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com - Today, Vicki Phillips of the the Gates Foundation announced the creation of an an “amazing” new software program that will be like a “huge app store – just for teachers – with the Netflix and Face...

leoniehaimson

Probe underway after staff blows whistle on illicit credit recovery

gothamschools.org - A Philip Randolph High School is under investigation for credit accumulation fraud. A high school that posted suspicious swings in graduation rates in recent years is under investigation for giving...

leoniehaimson

Overreacting to cheating on school tests

latimes.com - Students don't generally like tests, and a certain number of them cheat. Yet it's a rare educator who would advocate eliminating tests or not including them in a student's grade. Why, then, does ea...

leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

City Ending Overnight Aid for Homeless

chicagonewscoop.org - Mayor Rahm Emanuelâ€™s administration will shut down its overnight emergency services shift for the homeless and lay off 24 employees in the cityâ€™s Department of Family and Support Services. The ...

mikeklonsky

Court rules for San Diego State in suit by Christian groups

latimesblogs.latimes.com - A federal appeals court has upheld San Diego State's nondiscrimination policy for student groups, ruling in favor of the university in a lawsuit brought by two Christian organizations. The groups, ...

coopmike48

The Last Word - Jason Bourne loves teachers

thelastword.msnbc.msn.com - YouTube/Gotham SchoolsMatt Damon speaks before the Save Our Schools March in Washington this past Saturday, July 30.Because the debt ceiling debate almost created a black hole that would have destr...

leoniehaimson

PoliticsSee all

Dems furious, see deal as GOP win

thehill.com - House Democrats on Monday expressed outrage at the White House for how it handled the debt-ceiling negotiations, claiming the administration caved to the GOP and left them in the dark.The irate law...

mikeklonsky

Debt Bill Is Signed, Ending a Fractious Battle

nytimes.com - WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Tuesday to raise the government’s debt ceiling and cut trillions of dollars from its spending, concluding a long and fractious partisan battle just hours before the go...

fklonsky

Tea Party’s War on America

nytimes.com - You know what they say: Never negotiate with terrorists. It only encourages them. These last few months, much of the country has watched in horror as the Tea Party Republicans have wage...

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StoriesSee all

Update: Only 92% of Newt Gingrich's Twitter Followers Are Fake

tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com - John Cook | GawkerYesterday, we published an item based on a former Newt Gingrich staffer's claim that Gingrich assembled his 1.3 million Twitter followers--a number that he's taken to bragging abo...

fklonsky

NYC Public School Parents: Unholy alliance between Murdoch, Klein and Bill Gates? "Pretty cool" huh?

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - NYC Public School Parents: Unholy alliance between Murdoch, Klein and Bill Gates? "Pretty cool" huh?Unholy alliance between Murdoch, Klein and Bill Gates? "Pretty cool" huh?by Leonie HaimsonToday, ...

coopmike48

Teacher Appreciation Day 2011

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Staples.com® | Teacher Appreciation Day 2011Join us for a day of celebration to say thanks for all you do.Don't miss these great perks at your local event.FREE thank you gift bag*Great coupon savin...

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Art & EntertainmentSee all

I’ve got a major Matt Damon jones. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - I’m a 63 year-old straight teacher who thinks Matt Damon is hot. Me and Anderson Cooper can both swoon together. If you haven’t seen the video of Damon talking to some local dumb-ass reporter and a...

fklonsky

The Annotated Frank Rich - The Real Transgressions of the Murdoch Empire -

nymag.com - Illustration by Eddie Guy When I was offered a job as a film critic for the New York Post in 1975, it had just been labeled “a terrible newspaper” by Nora Ephron in her media column for Esquire. ...

DianeRavitch

Rick Scott gets pink slips at doughnut shop

teamsternation.blogspot.com - OK, this is much better than the Fox News video clip we posted earlier today. It shows Florida activists handing Gov. Rick Scott pink slips as he staffs the counter at a Florida doughnut shop this ...

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BusinessSee all

Central Falls Bankruptcy Driven by Pensions Casts Shadow Over Rhode Island

bloomberg.com - Central Falls, Rhode Island, whose motto is “a city with a bright future,” cast a shadow across the rest of the state yesterday by entering bankruptcy. Rhode Island’s poorest city sought court prot...

mikeklonsky

Insight: Microsoft use of low

reuters.com - By Lynnley Browning FAIRFIELD, Connecticut | Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:14pm EDT FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (Reuters) - If you want to know why tax from surging corporate profits isn't making much of a dent in...

DianeRavitch

Stock Market Continuing to Drop - Business

theatlanticwire.com - The stock market slide after yesterday's debt deal compromise was signed by President Obama is continuing this morning: "Stocks turn sharply lower, led by a sell-off of energy companies. Dow off by...

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Overreacting to cheating on school tests

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#murdochSee all

News Corporation

newscorp.com - 24 May 2011 - Maurice, thank you for that gracious introduction. Thank you as well for the invitation to speak today. We are living through a time when many of our leading economies are not perform...

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Media1

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Lessons from History for Educators (Guest Post by April Jaure of the Bartleby Project)

Opinion: Commission to police teachers has failed utterly in its duty

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