Open Letter to a New Principal (Heather Wolpert-Gawron) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Open Letter to a New Principal (Heather Wolpert-Gawron) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Open Letter to a New Principal (Heather Wolpert-Gawron)

by larrycuban

Heather Wolpert-Gawron is a middle school teacher in San Gabriel (CA). I read her “open letter” to an incoming principal. After writing about Joe Clark, Harry, and Edna in the previous post, I thought that a teacher’s perspective on what she expects of a new principal might underscore the multiple demands–the DNA of the job– that principals in the U.S. face. Some questions to consider: which of the roles that principals must play does Wolpert-Gawron urge the newcomer to perform? Are these expectations similar for principals in other nations?

Dear Sir:

You are the latest in a list of accomplished and energetic principals we have had over the course of this decade. As you know, we’ve had 5 principals in 9 years. The nomadic ebb and flow of our administration has taken its toll

Last Stand for Children First: Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associate

Last Stand for Children First: Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associate:

Meet Tim Graye--Our Newest Transformation Academy Associate

by Last Stand for Children

It was 2008 and I was vaulting through the air in the middle of my back flip at the Nationals. I realized at that very moment how fortunate I was to be part of a dynasty. At Hawaii Pacific, we didn't just win cheerleading championships, we revolutionized cheerleading at the college level.

I just joined another team that I believe will revolutionize education. That team is Last Stand for Children First and they've already been doing some great work. I know, because I spent two years as a teaching fellow where I taught high school chemistry and was head cheerleading coach in the Chicago Public Schools.

I look at my role with LS4C as still being a cheerleader. No matter what we

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago teachers respond to bashing by the mayor and the media

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago teachers respond to bashing by the mayor and the media:

Chicago teachers respond to bashing by the mayor and the media

Teach-In at the Thompson Center (M.Klonsky pic)

It's sad, yet understandable that some Chicago teachers feel the need to prove to the public that they work hard. If any of our local politicians tried teaching in a Chicago school for a week, they might restrain themselves from the rabid teacher bashing that dominates campaign rhetoric these days.

With that said, I have to give credit to

Daily Kos: Excellent Teaching begins with Excellent Preparation

Daily Kos: Excellent Teaching begins with Excellent Preparation:

Excellent Teaching begins with Excellent Preparation

byRandi Weingarten

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Like any good teacher, I try to spend the waning days of summer sorting through my desk, taking inventory of the past year and preparing for the next.

A few weeks ago, I was sifting through the mountain of papers, studies and newspaper clippings that had accumulated there, when I came across a booklet titled “Building a Profession: Strengthening Teacher Preparation and Induction.”

The booklet, published by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) more than a decade ago, summarizes a report from an AFT task force appointed to look at teacher preparation and how to improve it. Thumbing through it now, I was struck by how timely our task force’s observations and recommendations still are.

This is both good and bad. It’s good that many of the suggestions of our task force, which

HANDCUFFS IN FIRST GRADE ! « Teachers Fight Back

HANDCUFFS IN FIRST GRADE ! « Teachers Fight Back:

HANDCUFFS IN FIRST GRADE !

by alkleen

The Chicago Public Schools are now being sued because allegedly one of their security men handcuffed a few first graders and took them out of their classroom. The students were put in a room and isolated from the rest of the class because they were being disruptive.

I wish the media would stop writing about such stories. We are supposed to be trying to attract the best and brightest new teachers to the Chicago schools. Who in their right mind wants to teach in a system where FIRST GRADERS are out of control ?

The media also needs to understand to use the proper educational linguistics when reporting such stories. Handcuffs is a term that the media needs to avoid. In a school setting, handcuffs are probably best referred to

For The New Teacher: How To Handle Race In The Classroom | The Jose Vilson

For The New Teacher: How To Handle Race In The Classroom | The Jose Vilson:

For The New Teacher: How To Handle Race In The Classroom

by JOSE on SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Other People's Children by Lisa Delpit

Today, I had the pleasure of addressing staff members for the Nativity New York Schools orientation at Regis High School today. Anyone who knows me knows I went Xavier, so there’s a certain tension going into “enemy” territory. Nonetheless, I found the energy of the crowd refreshing, and I also knew how much I needed to reciprocate. Blame it on having the after-lunch slot for my presentation.

In any case, I left a list of books I thought the audience should read (if they haven’t) that would help them get better as educators:

• Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit
• The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Modern School: AJ Duffy Union Scab

Modern School: AJ Duffy Union Scab:

Crying Wolf: Another Unnecessary Lockdown In Oakland

by Michael Dunn

Oakland Unified School District has now locked down three schools within the first two days of the school year. In at least one of the cases, officials admitted that the children’s safety was never in jeopardy, which begs the question: Why were children’s personal freedom, comfort and learning undermined by being confined to their classroom for hours?

In the latest incident, children at Oakland's Horace Mann Elementary School were locked in their classrooms for most of Tuesday, while police searched for suspects in a string of early-morning home-invasion robberies, the Bay Citizen reported today. OUSD spokesman Troy Flint said that Oakland schools experience lockdowns two to four times per week on average and largely as a precaution. “That figure doesn’t really represent an imminent threat to the 

AJ Duffy Union Scab

by Michael Dunn

The Workers on the S. P. line to strike sent out a call;
But Casey Jones, the engineer, he wouldn't strike at all;
His boiler it was leaking, and its drivers on the bum,
And his engine and its bearings, they were all out of plumb.

Casey Jones kept his junk pile running;
Casey Jones was working double time;
Casey Jones got a wooden medal,
For being good and faithful on the S.P. line.

The workers said to Casey: "Won't you help us win

Opposed Rectal Administration Bill Clears Senate; SB 161 Now Heads to Governor « State of Emergency

Opposed Rectal Administration Bill Clears Senate; SB 161 Now Heads to Governor « State of Emergency:

Opposed Rectal Administration Bill Clears Senate; SB 161 Now Heads to Governor

by Leonard Feldman

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) 1 September 2011 — The state Senate has passed on a 35-4 vote a CTA-opposed measure that would lead to educators, educational support professionals, and classified employees “volunteering” to rectally insert a form of valium into students who are experiencing seizures on school grounds or buses.

SB 161 (by Sen. Bob Huff) is expected to head to Gov. Jerry Brown, whose must decide whether to veto the bill that is opposed by teachers, nurses, school nurses, and parents.

The unofficial tally of 35-4 shows a number of Senate Democrats joining the Republican minority in approving the

Should there be a Constitutional Right to Unlimited Property Taxation? « School Finance 101

Should there be a Constitutional Right to Unlimited Property Taxation? « School Finance 101:

Should there be a Constitutional Right to Unlimited Property Taxation?

by schoolfinance101

A Reply to Dunn and Derthick in Education Next

Anyone who has read my previous work knows I’m not generally a fan of tax and expenditure limits. A significant body of empirical research does show that strict tax and expenditure limits can cause significant damage to state school finance systems over the long haul. For example, Author David Figlio in a study of Oregon’s Measure 5 (National Tax Journal Vol 51 no. 1 (March 1998) pp. 55-70) finds that: Oregon student-teacher ratios have increased significantly as a result of the state’s tax limitation. David Figlio and Kim Rueben in the Journal of Public Economics (April 2001, Pages 49-71) find: Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics we find that tax limits systematically reduce the average quality of education majors, as well as new public school teachers in states that have passed these limits. In a non-peer reviewed, but high quality working paper,

NO School Staff Layoffs Protest | September 7, 2011 @ 4:00pm | 52 Chambers Street « New York City Parents Union

NO School Staff Layoffs Protest | September 7, 2011 @ 4:00pm | 52 Chambers Street « New York City Parents Union:

NO School Staff Layoffs Protest | September 7, 2011 @ 4:00pm | 52 Chambers Street

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS & COMMUNITIES PROTEST

Join parents, teachers, community activists, elected officials and union leaders to protest and oppose the egregious layoffs of school staff workers.

WHERE: NYC Department of Education, 52 Chambers Street

WHEN: Wednesday, September 7, 2011

TIME: 4:00 PM

Will Sketchy Voucher Results Bring Back the “Choice” Mantra Again in Florida? | Scathing Purple Musings

Will Sketchy Voucher Results Bring Back the “Choice” Mantra Again in Florida? | Scathing Purple Musings:

Will Sketchy Voucher Results Bring Back the “Choice” Mantra Again in Florida?

by Bob Sikes

From the Associated Press:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A new report shows little change in scores on national standardized tests for students in Florida’s low-income voucher program.

They attend private schools at taxpayer expense.

The report on the Tax Credit Scholarship Program was released Wednesday. It was prepared for the state Department of Education by Northwestern University economist David Figlio.

The national percentile ranking for program participants in 2009-10 dropped 1.2 points in reading

GoingPublic | A Great Public Education is Priceless

GoingPublic | A Great Public Education is Priceless:

Welcome to Going Public

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education, Teachers

Welcome to Going Public, a site for those who believe, as we do, that public education is the heart of our democracy.

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Hey, Arne Duncan…

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education, Politics

For the past week we’ve been the luckiest grandparents in the world. Our granddaughters have been visiting. All four, under the age of 6, reminded us why being a grandparent is the greatest gift in the world. They’re all bright, of course. (They’re ours after all!) Thalia and Ella, who just graduated from kindergarten, are [...]

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Diane Ravitch: Education has become search and destroy mission

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education, Teachers, Uncategorized

A longtime critic of education fads, Ravitch says that at first she didn’t realize that No Child Left Behind was just another of those fads.

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Education Reformer Caught in a Rare Moment of Anti-Union Honesty

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education

… who’s the ‘reformer’ and what does he think he’s ‘reforming?’ Read: The Daily Kos: Education Reformer Caught in a rare moment of anti-union honesty

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Tea Party Admits it wants to shut down Public Education

Posted on July 30, 2011 by admin in Education, Politics, Teachers

… How many more ways do we need to hear this rhetoric before we stand up to those planning nothing short of annihilation. If we don’t take them seriously, who will? Click here to read: Truthout: Tea Party Admits it wants to shut down Public Schools

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When Good People Do Bad Things: Follow the Money…

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education

Click to read: Washington Post: Why I stopped helping ‘Stand for Children’

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The Language of Reform

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “It means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” My friend Michael asked me what the word ‘reformer’ means. I stumbled and [...]

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Success Charter Network has been just that for Eva Moskowitz, but not for public schools

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Nancy Letts in Education

Click to read: Daily News: Success Charter Network has been just that for Eva Moskowitz, but not for public schools

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