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Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Drawbacks of a Technophobic Education - Dana Goldstein

The Drawbacks of a Technophobic Education - Dana Goldstein:

The Drawbacks of a Technophobic Education

The Times reports from a Waldorf model private school in Silicon Valley, where the elementary school offspring of Google and Apple engineers are prevented from using cell phones, computers, and iPads, and instead encouraged to knit, bake, and write by hand.

I'm generally skeptical of technophilic education reform, since I believe curriculum and quality teaching are far more important than whizz-bang gadgetry. But I don't think technophobic classrooms would work nearly as well for a less priveleged student population. Consider this statement from Alan Eagle, a Waldorf parent and Google executive who brags that his fifth-grade daughter doesn't know how to perform a Google search.

“It’s supereasy. It’s like learning to use toothpaste,” Mr. Eagle said. “At Google and all these places, we make technology as brain-dead easy to use as possible. There’s no reason why kids can’t figure it out

Awake the State November 1st, 2011 Florida – Find or organize a rally today. « Continuing Change

Awake the State November 1st, 2011 Florida – Find or organize a rally today. « Continuing Change:

Awake the State November 1st, 2011 Florida – Find or organize a rally today.

Inspiring Quotes – STEM and Aristotle … Its all relevant.

Aristotle 384 BC, 322 BC wrote:
“Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.”

Yo, Aristotle, haven’t you heard of STEM? This is

"Where Do We Go From Here?" | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

"Where Do We Go From Here?" | OccupyWallSt.org:

"Where Do We Go From Here?"

Posted Oct. 23, 2011, 9:32 p.m. EST by

On the one month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, Ed David went to Liberty Plaza to find out where the movement will go next.

Director ED DAVID
Producer DANA SALVATORE
Cinematography ED DAVID & ANDREW MCMULLEN
Editors LILY HENDERSON & ED DAVID
Assistant Producer JILLIAN MASON

Music: "I Drive" by Cliff Martinez

ED - kittyguerrilla.com
ANDREW - andrewmcmullen.com
LILY - thinplacepictures.com

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Nurses arrested in Chicago- Call Mayor Rahm Emanuel #ows

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Nurses arrested in Chicago- Call Mayor Rahm Emanuel:

Nurses arrested in Chicago- Call Mayor Rahm Emanuel


National Nurses United
Nurses Arrested for Providing First Aid at Occupy Chicago
CALL MAYOR Rahm Emanuel
Chicago police also tore down the first aid station, and arrested scores of others who had peacefully assembled to support the station. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been one of the most aggressive mayors in the nation in response to the Occupy Wall Street movement with mass arrests on at least two occasions. Read the press release.
TAKE ACTION!
CONTACT Mayor Emanuel’s office
Demand they drop all charges against the nurses and other protesters,
and stop harassing and arresting people who are peacefully exercising their free speech rights!
PROTEST MONDAY 10:00 a.m.
Join nurses for a picket outside the mayor’s office at City Hall 121 North LaSalle Monday, 10:00 a.m.

SIGN UP FOR RNRN
Volunteer RNs are needed as we set up nurses' first aid stations throughout the nation.
Occupy Chicago: Last tent standing
NNU first aid station in Chicago just before the arrests Saturday night.
“Even in wartime, combatants respect the work of nurses and other first responders. Yet Mayor Emanuel and Chicago seem to care as little about that tradition as they do in protecting the constitutional rights of free speech and assembly,” said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro. “These RNs are exercising their community health nursing duty toward an at-risk population. These arrests are only strengthening our resolve and will not deter nurses from continuing this mission, setting up the station again, and continuing to support the protests.”
NNU also has first aid stations now established at Occupy protests in New York’s Zuccotti Park, site of the first Occupy Wall Street protests, as well as Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Detroit. Others will be opening up in the coming days.
Thanks for your continued support,
Jean Ross, Karen Higgins, and Deborah Burger
Registered Nurses and NNU Co-Presidents
National Nurses United
RN Response Network

8630 Fenton Street, Suite 1100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.NationalNursesUnited.org
www.RNResponseNetwork.org

School Tech Connect: Damned Luddites!

School Tech Connect: Damned Luddites!:

Damned Luddites!

I suppose I should chime in on the Waldorf piece in the Times, so here goes.

In case you didn't read it, Waldorf schools eschew a lot of technology. Good for them. My feeling is that you can do anything well, and you can do anything poorly. I've known people who've taught in Waldorf schools. As in all of education, they've had the whole range of opinions about their schools, but the general feeling is that they do what they do well.

I live near a Waldorf school, and therefore I'm a huge expert. My only observations are these:

1. Waldorf parents shop at Urban Outfitters and Banana Republic. It's upscale granola, running a range from

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top PM Posts


Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top PM Posts


Official Google Reader Blog: Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-up

Official Google Reader Blog: Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-up:Upcoming changes to Reader: a new look, new Google+ features, and some clean-upPosted by Alan Green, Software EngineerIn the next week, we’ll be making some highly requested changes to Google Reader. First, we’re going to introduce a brand new design (like many of Google’s other products) that we hope you love. Second, we’re going to bring Reader and Google+ closer together, so you can ... more »

Watching math videos for credit « JD2718

Watching math videos for credit « JD2718:Watching math videos for creditby jd2718A question. For my freshmen algebra classes.I love the Vi Hart videos. I like that Vi looks like the VI at the bottom of some clocks, or like the VI in VI Lenin. But mostly I like how fast she talks and how much she makes fun of math class while talking about nothing but math (and interesting tangent) and how cleverly she drops in cultural references and bad ... more »

The American Nightmare: Student Debt Will Be A Long-Term Drag On The Economy - Forbes

The American Nightmare: Student Debt Will Be A Long-Term Drag On The Economy - Forbes:The American Nightmare: Student Debt Will Be A Long-Term Drag On The EconomyWith the Occupy Wall Street protests entering their fifth week and growing, one issue that’s frequently brought up is the crushing student debt burdensthat many face. In an era of high unemployment and stagnant wages, student loan defaults have reached their highest level in more than a decade. Outstanding student loan debt is projected ... more »

Declining numbers of blacks seen in math, science - Boston.com

Declining numbers of blacks seen in math, science - Boston.com:Declining numbers of blacks seen in math, scienceBy Jesse WashingtonAP National Writer / October 23, 2011E-mail|Print|Comments (0)Text size – +With black unemployment reaching historic levels, banks laying off tens of thousands and law school graduates waiting tables, why aren't more African-Americans looking toward science, technology, engineering and math -- the still-hiring careers known as STEM?Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!ShareThisThe answer turns out to be a complex equation of self-doubt, ... more »

A Teacher’s Voice « My Island View

A Teacher’s Voice « My Island View:An Educator’s Voiceby tomwhitbyYesterday, I participated in a wonderful public discussion on Education. The best part about this discussion was that it was with predominantly real educators, people who actually teach, volunteering their time and expertise on the subject of education. They discussed real issues of education and the real impediments to reform from a real educator’s point of view. There were representatives of: teachers, administrators, IT people, school board members, and parents. Dell ... more »

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Murdoch's horrifying vision of public education

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Murdoch's horrifying vision of public education:Murdoch's horrifying vision of public educationby Mike KlonskyRupert Murdoch (r) shakes hands with former New York City schools chief and now News Corp. employee Joel Klein during Murdoch’s keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesJulianne Hing writes for Colorlines:Banish the image of a classic American classroom from your mind—chalkboard, desks and all. The future of education has arrived, and next-era classrooms look like, well, ... more »

When charter schools get too picky - Class Struggle - The Washington Post

When charter schools get too picky - Class Struggle - The Washington Post:When charter schools get too pickyBy Jay MathewsThe Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, Calif., is a public charter school. It must hold a random lottery when it has more applicants than vacancies. It is not supposed to be selective.Yet somehow its average SAT score has risen to the top tenth of one percent among all public schools nationally. Less than ten percent of its students are low-income, ... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources To Help Students Learn About Occupy Wall Street #ows

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources To Help Students Learn About Occupy Wall Street:The Best Resources To Help Students Learn About Occupy Wall Streetby Larry FerlazzoIt seems to me that Occupy Wall Street has grown so much over the past few weeks that it’s pretty difficult to not discuss it in the classroom. I thought readers might find a list of related resources useful.Two previously posted “The Best..” lists might also be helpful:The Best Sites For ... more »

The Vindication Of P.S. 84 Part I | Gary Rubinstein's TFA Blog

The Vindication Of P.S. 84 Part I | Gary Rubinstein's TFA Blog:The Vindication Of P.S. 84 Part Iby Gary RubinsteinI was inspired to get to the bottom of the New York City school progress report grades after reading this story from the New York Times Schoolbook website about P.S. 84 which was one of the thirty F rated schools this year despite seeming to be a very good school.To understand and analyze the accuracy of the 26 calculations that go ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM PostsSOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of EthicsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 minutes agoSOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of Ethics:Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of Ethicsby noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)Oh poor little Eva Moskowitz. I feel so sorry for her. I am sure right now she is pouting, whining, wondering why no one, except her emasculated husband Eric Grannis loves or cares for ... more »

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of Ethics

SOUTH BRONX SCHOOL: Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of Ethics:Eva Moskowitz Whines About Others Lack Of Ethicsby noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)Oh poor little Eva Moskowitz. I feel so sorry for her. I am sure right now she is pouting, whining, wondering why no one, except her emasculated husband Eric Grannis loves or cares for her.Anna Phillips, since she is now in the employ of the New York Times and actually doing reporting and not aggregating, reported this past Wednesday, October ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite PostsSave Seattle Schools Community Blog: Times Picks Up on Pledge Stance at JSISBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-20 minutes agoSave Seattle Schools Community Blog: Times Picks Up on Pledge Stance at JSIS:Times Picks Up on Pledge Stance at JSISby Melissa Westbrook(Update: It is with great sorrow that I pass on the news of the sudden death of Senator Scott White who was found dead in a hotel room while attending ... more »

Making Clear What Works: The Best Talk on the Finland Phenomenon Yet and What It Means For US « Cooperative Catalyst

Making Clear What Works: The Best Talk on the Finland Phenomenon Yet and What It Means For US « Cooperative Catalyst:

Making Clear What Works: The Best Talk on the Finland Phenomenon Yet and What It Means For US

Education is a big conversation. The narrative is filled with buzz words: teacher accountability, AYP, NCLB, high-stakes tests, charter schools, and on and on. Sometimes it gets so heady and academic that I believe that no one truly understands what is being said anymore. The conversation has moved so far away from the basic interaction of adults and children trying to do their best together, that to me it is often meaningless.

Thankfully, every once in awhile (and far more often here on the Co-op) people come along and make sense of

Beware The Calculator | The Jose Vilson

Beware The Calculator | The Jose Vilson:

Beware The Calculator

As a math coach, people always want to catch my ear about the use of a calculator. I ought to put my voice into the argument since … well, that’s what I do here. The two sides to the argument go as follows:

1) Students should use calculators because the machine can already do it for them.
2) Students shouldn’t use the calculators because computers (big and small) make

Oregon City School District walks away from $2.54 million grant for performance pay | OregonLive.com

Oregon City School District walks away from $2.54 million grant for performance pay | OregonLive.com:


Oregon City School District walks away from $2.54 million grant for performance pay

Published: Sunday, October 23, 2011, 4:00 PM

The Oregon City School District has decided to reject a $2.54 million federal grant meant to reward top educators, partly because of philosophical concerns over performance-based pay.

When the district won the money last September through a group application with six other districts and the non-profit Chalkboard Project, Oregon City's union and administration at first insisted they could devise a way to tap the federal government's "Teacher Incentive Fund" without offering merit-based pay incentives.

A year later, after failing to agree on a plan for individual bonuses, the 8,100-student district has decided to abandon the program.

Performance-based compensation models in education, especially those using student test scores, are the subject of vigorous debate across the country.

Opponents say studies offer little evidence that performance-based pay improves student

Big Education Ape: 10-23-11 PM PAGE 2 #ows #EDreform

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

Education

The Vindication Of P.S. 84 Part I

garyrubinstein.teachforus.org - I was inspired to get to the bottom of the New York City school progress report grades after reading this story from the New York Times Schoolbook website about P.S. 84 which was one of the thirty ...

leoniehaimson

Responding to the PARCC and Common Core (Modified)

anurbanteacherseducation.com - Last spring, when I was teaching at a small school in the Bronx, I caused an unnecessary ruckus by posting my thoughts about a presentation my staff received on the looming impacts of PARCC and Com...

DianeRavitch

School Tech Connect: I Heart Karen Lewis

schooltechconnect.com - I just do. Here she was at Occupy Chicago.Longer clip at the CTU site. Hyperbole? No. We're living in a gilded age of fraud. Fraud is the business model. Anyway, can you imagine the recent leadersh...

tbfurman

Teacher evaluation systems blown away

substancenews.net - Jim Horn - October 23, 2011Everybody connected to Washington's corporate legislative process badly needs some good PR. With approval numbers for Congress in or near single digits, and with both hig...

DianeRavitch

Book Reading Statistics in the USA

dailysalty.blogspot.com - This was shocking to me, I would have never thought so at all, but I have no reason to disbelieve these statistics (You will have to register to see the document - page 15 which quotes these docume...

K12NN

Video

nypost.com - Nearly 80 percent of students entering CUNY community colleges have to take basic remediation classes, and most languish there -- never earning a college degree, a new report reveals.A staggering 7...

DianeRavitch

When charter schools get too picky - Class Struggle

washingtonpost.com - The Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, Calif., is a public charter school. It must hold a random lottery when it has more applicants than vacancies. It is not supposed to be selective. Yet so...

mikeklonsky

Schools rolling out new fundraisers: food truck nights

latimes.com - Echo Lau drove to Whitney High School on a recent Monday evening to pick up her kids. She left with dinner. The student parking lot at the Cerritos campus is transformed every week into a congested...

K12NN

Paul wants to phase out federal student loans

abclocal.go.com - WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential contender Ron Paul said Sunday he wants to end federal student loans, calling it a failed program that has put students $1 trillion in debt when there are no...

K12NN

Daniel Pink On Grades, Autonomy & Inquiry

larryferlazzo.edublogs.org - Oct 23 2011 Larry FerlazzoDaniel Pink was recently interviewed on a local Washington, D.C. television show along with a local university official. You watch it all here, but I thought the few minut...

coopmike48

The Usual Whitney Tilson Fail

southbronxschool.com - So here I am at my son's travel league baseball game this morning, when at 11:36 AM I check my email and lo and behold I see in my inbox one of Whitney Tilson's meglomanical, hyper, fictionalized, ...

coopmike48

Envisioning University of Future, in Person or Online

nytimes.com - MADRID — Will the university of the future be bigger — or smaller? Are college campuses still cradles of revolt — or merely marginal spectators to the Arab Spring? Should students expect to be trai...

coopmike48

Obama to return to Denver to push his jobs legislation

denverpost.com - President Barack Obama honors the recipients of the 2010 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the ...

coopmike48

TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST?

4lakidsnews.blogspot.com - By Jeff Mangum – Pomerando News | http://bit.ly/o13er5 Poway is a city of 50,000 located north of the city of San Diego and south of the city of Escondido in San Diego County. “I recently...

coopmike48

The Sunday Education Weekly Reader: 10.23.11

missourieducationwatchdog.com - Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 10.23.11. Stories this week highlight what the educational waivers for NCLB reauthorization mean (it's more federal control, not state determined s...

coopmike48

CA School Finance 101 Wrap-Up

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - CA School Finance 101 Wrap-Up:CA School Finance 101 Wrap-Upby cynthiaAsk any parent casting an uneasy eye on state budget cuts and the ballooning class sizes, shrinking programs, and dwindling reso...

coopmike48

N.J. college students celebrate zombie apocalypse

nj.com - MORRIS COUNTY — Hundreds of students ran around Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson universities with foam dart guns and balled-up socks last week. But there was no need to panic.The students were just fi...

coopmike48

Podcast: The “brutal work” of turnarounds | EdNewsColorado

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Podcast: The “brutal work” of turnarounds | EdNewsColorado:Podcast: The “brutal work” of turnaroundsWritten by EdNews staff on Oct 23rd, 2011. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.orgNational education blo...

coopmike48

Transforming Seattle Public Schools

cliffmass.blogspot.com - Every week there seems to be a new headline revealing a new scandal, a new mistake, a new problem or a new school official forced to leave at Seattle Public Schools. Student performance lags, part...

coopmike48

School levies no guarantee of quality | Cincinnati.com

news.cincinnati.com - This is the first of a three-part series examining who pays what in school taxes in Southwest Ohio. Today: local districts' tax rates.Where you live may determine how much you pay for public school...

coopmike48

Schools Matter: Teachers Want Corporate America Assessed

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Schools Matter: Teachers Want Corporate America Assessed:Teachers Want Corporate America Assessedby Judy RabinIt has been a week since last Saturday when I stood in Times Square penned in behind ba...

coopmike48

How does speech therapy help Parkinson’s patients?

edusped.com - National Parkinson Foundation – Michael S. Okun, MDChristiana Care Staff Celebrate Great Place to Work WeekImage by Christiana Care This year’s Great Place to Work Week festivities, celebrated May ...

coopmike48

Una Carta Abierta: #Edcamp Santiago Tiene Auspiciador!

edcampsantiago.wordpress.com - Estimados Tamara y Thomas! Gusto en saludarles, Te escribo para presentarte EVENTBIS, empresa Española que ha iniciado operaciones en Chile, la cual cuenta con un completo sistema de soluciones tec...

coopmike48

Why NOT School Performance Scores?

geauxteacher.com - This blog by Gary Rubinstein at "TEACHFORUS" is a great example and explanation of the "inaccurate statistically meaningless scoring process" in New York City (that's where our unqualified candidat...

coopmike48

MATHFEST!!

saveseattleschools.blogspot.com - For the 6th year in a row, Explorations in Math is bringing MathFest to Seattle!What: MathFest – A city-wide celebration of elementary students and mathematics When: November 3, 2011 5:00 p.m. – ...

coopmike48

A Teacher’s Voice « My Island View

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - A Teacher’s Voice « My Island View:An Educator’s Voiceby tomwhitbyYesterday, I participated in a wonderful public discussion on Education. The best part about this discussion was that it was with p...

coopmike48

Glorie Russell

napavalleyregister.com - Glorie Russell passed away Oct. 16, 2011 in Fairfield. She was born Feb. 6, 1915, in southern Oregon, where she received her early schooling. In 1932, she came to California to attend San Jose Stat...

coopmike48

Senate Panel Approves Bill That Rewrites Education Law

nytimes.com - Legislation rewriting the No Child Left Behind education law finally gained traction this week, and the Senate Democrat whose committee passed the bill said on Friday that progress became possible ...

coopmike48