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Monday, November 28, 2011

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


Striking for the future of the profession! - The Educator's PLN #ows

Striking for the future of the profession! - The Educator's PLN:Striking for the future of the profession!Posted by andy mellor on November 28, 2011 at 6:30pmView BlogOn Wednesday there will be many an educational professional wrestling with their conscience. Do I strike to make the only protest I have against the cuts to my pension and the financial well being of my family or do I go in and make sure that my kids at school get the best that ... more »

Florida School Board Association Supports FCAT Changes; Stakes Out Position Against Bush’s Foundation and Chamber of Commerce | Scathing Purple Musings

Florida School Board Association Supports FCAT Changes; Stakes Out Position Against Bush’s Foundation and Chamber of Commerce | Scathing Purple Musings:Florida School Board Association Supports FCAT Changes; Stakes Out Position Against Bush’s Foundation and Chamber of Commerceby Bob SikesReports Leslie Postal in the Orlando Sentinel:The Florida School Boards Association has joined the fray over the proposed new system for scoring FCAT exams.The association president, Lee Swift, sent a letter to the State Board of Education last week urging it to ... more »

Why I Signed: Principals' Objections to the New Evaluation System – SchoolBook

Why I Signed: Principals' Objections to the New Evaluation System – SchoolBook:Why I Signed: Principals' Objections to the New Evaluation SystemFACEBOOKTWITTERNov. 28, 2011, 4:30 p.m.By SCHOOLBOOKPrincipals who object to the new state system to evaluate teachers and principals based on student testing have begun circulating a petition against it. In his On Education column in The New York Times Monday, Michael Winerip reported that more than 650 principals from around the state — 18 from New York City schools — ... more »

Michigan’s Mackinac Center. What is a think tank? And what is just a bunch of cranky old union haters with Koch brothers’ money? « Fred Klonsky

Michigan’s Mackinac Center. What is a think tank? And what is just a bunch of cranky old union haters with Koch brothers’ money? « Fred Klonsky:Michigan’s Mackinac Center. What is a think tank? And what is just a bunch of cranky old union haters with Koch brothers’ money?by Fred KlonskyI don’t have a problem with a bunch of people who have friends with deep pockets calling themselves a think tank and hustling a paycheck out of it..As for myself. I ... more »

All Education Matters: Hypervocal: Education Archives Back to all stories Washington Post - “Forgive Us Our Student Loan Debt?” No Thanks! #OWS

All Education Matters: Hypervocal: Education Archives Back to all stories Washington Post - “Forgive Us Our Student Loan Debt?” No Thanks!:Hypervocal: Education Archives Back to all stories Washington Post - “Forgive Us Our Student Loan Debt?” No Thanks!by Cryn JohannsenFolks, when you read malicious, misinformation about anything, please keep your vision clear. Think for yourself about the claims that are made, and ask yourself why people so blatantly attacks others. Those who like to defame others have reasons for doing ... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: U P D A T E: Response to TEACHERS WHO JUST DON’T CARE

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: U P D A T E: Response to TEACHERS WHO JUST DON’T CARE:U P D A T E: Response to TEACHERS WHO JUST DON’T CAREMIKE DREEBIN - RETIRED FORMER UTLA ELEMENTARY VICE PRESIDENT (2002-2005) WROTE TO KARIN KLINE, COPYING 4LAKIDSRe: Sunday, November 20, 2011: TEACHERS WHO JUST DON’T CARE by Karin Klein of the LA Times Editorial Board in the Opinion LA blog | http://bit.ly/urFmAx on 4LAKidsNews: http://bit.ly/tPotExSun, Nov 27, 2011 ... more »

School Tech Connect: Lost in Translation

School Tech Connect: Lost in Translation:Lost in Translationby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I have this famous old fakey-German neologism-thingy posted in my computer help desk area, where we fix broken machines:ACHTUNG!ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FĂśR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.IST NICHT FĂśR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HĂ„NDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLIC... more »

On charter schools and “choice” « Parents Across America #OWS #EDreform

On charter schools and “choice” « Parents Across America:On charter schools and “choice”by adminNov 28, 2011 No Comments ›› adminWhy we got involvedby adminFounding members of PAA share why they got involved.Why Do We Need PAA?by adminPAA Founding Members on why we need a national organization to put the parent voice back into public education.

Democurmudgeon: Teacher mill “Teach for America,” Failing!!

Democurmudgeon: Teacher mill “Teach for America,” Failing!!:Teacher mill “Teach for America,” Failing!!by DemocurmudgeonIs anyone who knows anything about education surprised at this news?Teach for America was the be-all, end-all answer to replacing “all the bad teachers that can’t be fired” in our public schools. It’s a private non-profit. It received early financing from Ross Perot, and worked out a partnership with Wachovia Corporation. Then came the taxpayer grants. That resulted in building teaching “institutes” across the country. And it’s failing.With ... more »

INEFFICIENT USE OF A TEACHER’S TIME « Teachers Fight Back

INEFFICIENT USE OF A TEACHER’S TIME « Teachers Fight Back:INEFFICIENT USE OF A TEACHER’S TIMEby alkleenI would like to see education reformers insist that school districts make efficient use of a teacher’s time. There are way too many times that teachers are doing jobs that are nothing more than glorified babysitting.Teachers often have what is known as “bus duty”. They supervise students on the school grounds as they arrive at school and when they leave school. The “bus duty” can ... more »

Three Years of Lefty Parent | Lefty Parent

Three Years of Lefty Parent | Lefty Parent:Three Years of Lefty Parentby Cooper ZaleI’m three years into my writing under the banner of “Lefty Parent”. It has been the key outward expression of my effort to move beyond the mid-life crisis of my early fifties. In that time period I have written about 325 pieces, had over 120,000 views of those pieces on my ownwww.leftyparent.com blog, and thousands of additional views and comments on the Daily KOS version of my ... more »

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

Looking for a few good mentors | Ideas and ThoughtsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-6 minutes agoLooking for a few good mentors | Ideas and Thoughts:Looking for a few good mentorsby Dean ShareskiFrom January to April I'll be teaching a course called ECMP 455. It's an advanced course on using technology in education. Whatever that means. Actually what it means is I want my students to dig deep into what teaching and learning looks like in 2012 as great ... more »

Kansas HS Student Won't Apologize to Governor for Tweet | MyFDL

Kansas HS Student Won't Apologize to Governor for Tweet | MyFDL:Kansas HS Student Won’t Apologize to Governor for Tweetby Teddy PartridgeHigh school tweeter Emma SullivanHigh school tweeter Emma Sullivan, citing free speech and Gandhi, will defy her high school principal and not apologize to Governor Sam Brownback for the supposedly hurtful things she twittered to her (then-60) Twitter followers, implying she spoke back harshly to the governor, called him out publicly for his views, and suggested he blows — a ... more »

First Amendment hijacked by moneyed interests #ows

First Amendment hijacked by moneyed interests:First Amendment hijacked by moneyed interestsRobert ReichSunday, November 27, 2011PrintE-mailShareComments (65)Font | Size: 405Thomas K. Fowler / APA UC Davis police officer uses pepper spray on protesters during an Occupy rally Nov. 18. View Larger ImageMORE BUSINESSGrossman rallies Washington past Seattle 23-17 11.27.11Early Walt Disney drawing up for auction in Reno 11.27.11UN conference to deal with carbon reductions 11.27.11A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum: It was ... more »

On school reform, concensus grows around three principles | NJ.com

On school reform, concensus grows around three principles | NJ.com:On school reform, concensus grows around three principlesPublished: Sunday, November 27, 2011, 12:04 PM By Star-Ledger Guest Columnist By Mike Lilley and Tim MeltonFrom President Obama to Gov. Chris Christie to the New Jersey Education Association to Michelle Rhee, a national consensus is emerging that significant changes must come to public education.It would have been unthinkable as recently as a year ago, but today the issue isn’t whether the political will ... more »

10 Gifts a Teacher Can Give Their Students! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

10 Gifts a Teacher Can Give Their Students! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

10 Gifts a Teacher Can Give Their Students!

Grumpy Educators: Grumpy Educators Award Nominations

Grumpy Educators: Grumpy Educators Award Nominations:

Grumpy Educators Award Nominations

"Knowledge is power."




Blogs written by parents and community members on the subject of education reform is increasing and explaining education reform initiatives that main stream media ignores. It is still difficult for non-educators to access information explained well; but there are some solid resources available now. Since January, after careful review and selection, I visit several to learn and stay current.


Inspired by Edublog Awards, Grumpy Educators created its own awards and announces winners for the education-related blogs that contributed the following:
  • Brought parent, community member, and student perspectives out of the shadows
  • Brought factual information to the public that would not be found otherwise
  • Encouraged avenues for critical and constructive dialogue on educational change


The Golden Grumpy Educator Award
Huge thanks to Education Matters for the most referrals of all time that led

Rich People Behaving Badly: Waiting For Our Marie Antoinette Moment - Yahoo! News #ows

Rich People Behaving Badly: Waiting For Our Marie Antoinette Moment - Yahoo! News:

Rich People Behaving Badly: Waiting For Our Marie Antoinette Moment


There is in info meme gaining increasing clarity, and it has three threads: rich people behaving badly, oblivious to their context; poor people getting angry and more vocal about it by the day; and media egging them on.

Looking at the motivations, we can tease out what each group is doing.

Rich people want to keep their money and continue to enjoy it, but they are aware, to varying degrees, that too much flaunting will get them in trouble. They fight redistributive schemes, but the less contextually aware among them still do silly things like buy up oceanfront property and build a castle that blocks the view that everyone else had been enjoying up until then.

Poor people, well, it’s hard not to see why they’re angry and growing angrier. They’ve been good Joes, paid their taxes, put in their time, and their gruel is getting thinner with each passing day

Schools Matter: New York Principals Standing on Principle, Revolt

Schools Matter: New York Principals Standing on Principle, Revolt:

New York Principals Standing on Principle, Revolt

"It’s education by humiliation,” Mr. Kaplan said. “I’ve never seen teachers and principals so degraded.”

NYC principals are standing up for teachers and to the state DOE and for the first time in history are finally revolting - a revolt that needs to take place and go viral all across the country. The lack of respect and degradation has finally reached a tipping point. It's about time.

Michael Winerip in the NYT reports How Principals are Protesting the Role of Testing in Evaluations:

Through the years there have been many bitter teacher strikes and too many student protests to

Big Education Ape: 11-28-11 PM Jefferson charter school budget has $87,500 per student EDition #OCCUPYLA #CORPREFORM #ows

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

Peabody lecture on educational change in Finland | News

news.vanderbilt.edu - by Jennifer Wetzel | Posted on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 — 2:03 PMPasi Sahlberg, director general of CIMO, an organization for international mobility and cooperation under the Finnish Ministry of Educ...

DianeRavitch

Jefferson charter school budget has $87,500 per student

nola.com - As Jefferson Parish public school officials consider opening more charter schools, they are questioning whether the system's first charter is doing enough to help at-risk students. Jefferson Commun...

DianeRavitch

APPR Paper - New York Principals

newyorkprincipals.org - In May 2010, the New York State Legislature—in an effort to secure federal Race to the Top funds—approved an amendment to Educational Law 3012-c regarding the Annual Professional Performance Review...

DianeRavitch

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fklonsky Daily Kos: The Truth Comes Out: The Mackinac Center lies about lobbying efforts. dailykos.com/story/2011/11/… via@dailykos16 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Agitated Education Aggregator Daily is out! bit.ly/iaC4l3 ▸ Top stories today via @leoniehaimson8 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 U.S. Education Secretary Duncan and Assistant Secretary Posny to Hold Roundtable Discussion at Wilde Lake High Schoo goo.gl/Y1IjO38 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

Principals Protest Role of Testing

nytimes.com - Rockville Centre, N.Y. Through the years there have been many bitter teacher strikes and too many student protests to count. But a principals’ revolt? “Principals don’t revolt,”...

mikeklonsky

DOE officials promise swift changes for Queens high school

gothamschools.org - Department of Education officials have promised to resolve scheduling problems this week at Queens Metropolitan High School — and to keep a closer eye on the school in the future. Officials from th...

leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

Wall of Separation

au.org - Students in the Brownsville, Texas, Independent School District have been told by school officials that they should tuck religious symbols, such as rosaries and crosses, inside their clothing.An “u...

K12NN

PoliticsSee all

Steve Lopez: Will tonight mark the end for Occupy L.A.?

latimesblogs.latimes.com - Will police make their move on Occupy L.A. tonight? They won't say, so it's cat and mouse out there, and more than a little surreal at what to this point has been one of the friendliest, most well-...

coopmike48

2.6M expected to strike on 11.30.11 in the UK

teamsternation.blogspot.com - Our brothers and sisters in the TUC are planning a ginormous strike on Wednesday to protest the Tory government's plan to slash their pensions. Led by National Nurses United, Americans will hold n...

coopmike48

WorldSee all

Occupy LA campers brace for midnight eviction deadline

reuters.com - By Mary Slosson LOS ANGELES | Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:39am EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters who have camped outside Los Angeles City Hall for weeks braced on Sunday fo...

mikeklonsky

Occupy L.A.: Religious leaders meet with Villaraigosa, Beck

latimesblogs.latimes.com - Interfaith leaders who have recently become involved in the Occupy movement held a meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck on Monday morning as city official...

coopmike48

StoriesSee all

Gryphon: New and Selected Stories

barbarasbookstore.com - DescriptionEver since the publication of The Harmony of the World in 1984, Charles Baxter has slowly gained a reputation as one of America’s finest short-story writers. Each subsequent collection—T...

tbfurman

Of Spinning & Weaving...

sahilachangebringer.blogspot.com - Words that speak what I feel in my heart from Sarah Alexander, via my Facebook friend Meryl Steinberg: "We are being called to raise our consciousness, to each take our place at the table around ...

coopmike48

EnvironmentSee all

Are we the teachable species? | The Loom

blogs.discovermagazine.com - We know that our species is unique, but it can be surprisingly hard to pinpoint what exactly makes us so. The fact that we have DNA is not much of a mark of distinction. Several million other speci...

DianeRavitch

SFPUC Refuses Public Hearing on Hetch Hetchy Restoration

californiaprogressreport.com - Printer-friendly versionSend to friendBy Dan Aiello In a letter to Restore Hetch Hetchy’s executive director, Mike Marshall, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has rejected a req...

coopmike48

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release November 28, 2011 1. We, the leaders of the United States and the European Union, met today at the White House to affirm our clo...

coopmike48

#occupylaSee all

#corpreformSee all

Video

nypost.com - Opponents of Success Academy Cobble Hill recently created perhaps the most apropos hashtag in the brief history of Twitter: “#nosuccess.”Some might find it rather odd that, in a city suffering from...

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