Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 1-28 #edreform #ows

Why California Students Do Not Know Chicano History - Institute for Democracy and Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 30 minutes ago

Why California Students Do Not Know Chicano History - Institute for Democracy and Education:Why California Students Do Not Know Chicano HistoryWhy California students do not understand Chicano/Latino history. 1987- 2011. By Duane CampbellTextbooks for California schools are selected by the State Board of Education based upon recommendations of their Curriculum Committees and the state frameworks and standards. It is urgent that the History-Social Science Framework be revised to provide an accurate history of the contributions of Mexicans, Mexican Americans, Latinos ... more »

#EDreform - In the Ghetto

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 30 minutes ago

As the snow fliesOn a cold and gray Chicago mornin'A poor little baby child is bornIn the ghettoAnd his mama criesCause if there's one thing that she don't needIt's another hungry mouth to feedIn the ghettoPeople, don't you understandThe child needs a helping handOr he'll grow to be an angry young man some dayTake a look at you and me,Are we too blind to see,Do we simply turn our headsAnd look the other wayWell the world turnsAnd a hungry little ... more »

Saturday coffee + Old school « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 30 minutes ago

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky:Saturday coffee.by Fred KlonskyA slight dusting of snow fell overnight.This morning it is sunny, windy and crisp.Matthew and Harley are running a half marathon along the Lakefront.I think that’s crazy for a whole bunch of reasons. But Matthew and Harley love running and are in great shape. Beating the unions with the unions’ help. ALEC calls teachers Nazis.by Fred KlonskyALEC calls teacher unions Nazis.Anthony Cody in EdWeek:As state after state rewrites their education laws in line ... more »

Orlando Sentinel: Parent Trigger Bills Are Half-Cocked Ideas | Scathing Purple Musings

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Orlando Sentinel: Parent Trigger Bills Are Half-Cocked Ideas | Scathing Purple Musings:Orlando Sentinel: Parent Trigger Bills Are Half-Cocked Ideasby Bob SikesFlorida’s corporate financed parent trigger advocates staged a touchy-feely presser last week between the committee hearings which railroaded the bill onward. While the editors of the Orlando Sentinel stays away from directly criticizing the proponents HB 1191 and SB 1718, they effectively go after the wisdom of parent trigger that opponents habe been trying to let Floridians know about.It’s understandable ... more »

Who's Developing Whom? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

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Who's Developing Whom? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:Who's Developing Whom?by Nancy FlanaganWhy don't schools routinely tap their best teachers to organize and deliver custom-tailored professional development to their peers?Interesting question.It seems like a no-brainer, actually. It's standard operating procedure for most professions--the master litigator advising and modeling for researchers just out of law school, the CPA counseling junior partners about weathering tax season--or bright newbies offering training on technical tools veteran haven't yet utili...more »

Virginia may stop requiring some 3rd grade SOLs - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Virginia may stop requiring some 3rd grade SOLs - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Virginia may stop requiring some 3rd grade SOLsBy Valerie StraussThe Virginia Senate has approved a bill that would require that third graders take the Standards of Learning exams only in math and English, meaning they would no longer have to to take history and science SOLs.Is that a good idea or a bad one?The bill, SB 185, would scale back the standardized testing regime for ...more »

A List Serv Conversation | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

A List Serv Conversation | Seattle Education:A List Serv Conversationby seattleducation2011I am very fortunate to be a part of several list servs with people participating from all walks of life, with different viewpoints and much to offer.This week someone posted to the our Parents Across America statewide list serv that we all appreciated. I asked John if I could share what he wrote on this blog and he gave his consent.John Cummings is a parent, a teacher and a member ... more »

From the Corporate Press: Privatization Promoter Pia Lopez: Can we find common ground on schools? - Sacramento Bee

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Pia Lopez: Can we find common ground on schools? - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee:Pia Lopez: Can we find common ground on schools?plopez@sacbee.comPUBLISHED SATURDAY, JAN. 28, 2012As a historian who takes the long view, Diane Ravitch, author of "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," is rightly skeptical of "easy solutions" to the problems of American education. In her visit to The Bee's offices on Jan. 20, she showed she has little tolerance for ... more »

An Educational Technology Bill of Rights Targets Censorship in Schools - Education - GOOD

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An Educational Technology Bill of Rights Targets Censorship in Schools - Education - GOOD:An Educational Technology Bill of Rights Targets Censorship in Schoolsby Liz DwyerWidespread public outrage over SOPA rallied Americans against the threat of internet censorship. But though the bill may be dead, there's plenty of censorship happening every day in our nation's public schools. Schools ban students from accessing websites from National Geographic to YouTube and Wikipedia, and all too often choose to confiscate smartphones and tablets instead ... more »

Transitional kindergarten, California confusion - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Transitional kindergarten, California confusion - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:Transitional kindergarten, California confusionBy Katy MurphyFriday, January 27th, 2012 at 4:16 pm in elementary schools, families.A transitional kindergarten class at Oakland’s Greenleaf Elementary. — Laura A. Oda/ Bay Area News GroupThe parents of 4-year-olds with fall birthdays — not yet in the public school system — have already come face to face with the topsy-turvy ways of Sacramento.Take the parents of kids born in November 2007. ... more »

Daily Kos: If this is Saturday . . .

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Daily Kos: If this is Saturday . . .:If this is Saturday . . .by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)it must be time for my normal Saturday morning reflection on teaching, life and everything else.I don't know which bothers me more, that the recent Republican debates have not discussed education, or the policies of the Obama administration that I see as destructive.I am reminded of something a former National Teacher of the Year wrote. Anthony Mullen once got frustrated being in a room ...more »

Proposed HB 543 to Rate Parents « Tangerine, Florida

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Proposed HB 543 to Rate Parents « Tangerine, Florida:Proposed HB 543 to Rate Parentsby 5redherringsHB 543 doesn’t sound bad at first blush:“Parent Involvement” HB 543 by Rep. Stargel (R-Lakeland) passed the House K-20 Competitiveness Committee by a vote of 10 to 3. Three Democrats (Chestnut, Clark-Reed, Fullwood) voted NO. Voting YES were nine Republicans (Bileca, Burgin, Coley, Corcoran, Davis, Fresen, Grant, Perry, and Trujillo) and one Democrat (Reed).This bill would require that school districts inform parents of its expectations regarding ... more »

Rye Principal Retires to Fight Standardized Tests | The Daily Rye

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Rye Principal Retires to Fight Standardized Tests | The Daily Rye:Rye Principal Retires to Fight Standardized Testsby Luke Lavoie (email) 01/26/12EmailOsborn School Principal Clarita Zeppie announced she will be retiring at the end of 2011-12 school year to fight the "unhealthy" and "wrong" direction of the State's education program for grade-school students.Photo Credit: Luke LavoieRYE, N.Y. - Osborn School Principal Clarita Zeppie announced in a letter to schools Superintendent Ed Shine and the Osborn School staff that she would be ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 1-27 #edreform #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Blue Jersey:: Liars For Yahweh! How The Tikun Olam Charter School Got A $600,000 Federal GrantBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-46 minutes agoBlue Jersey:: Liars For Yahweh! How The Tikun Olam Charter School Got A $600,000 Federal Grant:Liars For Yahweh! How The Tikun Olam Charter School Got A $600,000 Federal Grantby Chris RoddaAn infuriating and amazing story. Superb reporting by Chris Rodda, Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), and author of Liars For Jesus: The ... more »

Modern School: Andre Agassi Profiteering Off Charter School Mania

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Modern School: Andre Agassi Profiteering Off Charter School Mania:Andre Agassi Profiteering Off Charter School Maniaby Michael DunnTennis star Andre Agassi has partnered his Andre Agassi Ventures L.L.C. with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, a private equity real estate company based in Los Angeles, to help charter schools purchase facilities. The joint venture, known as the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, recently clinched their first deal, securing housing for the KIPP Philadelphia Elementary Academy, according to Philly.com. Agassi’s new fund is backed ... more »

Mother Crusader: Much Ado About Nothing…. If You Consider the Corporate Takeover of Public Education Nothing, Then I Guess You're Right Ms. Waters!

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Mother Crusader: Much Ado About Nothing…. If You Consider the Corporate Takeover of Public Education Nothing, Then I Guess You're Right Ms. Waters!:Much Ado About Nothing…. If You Consider the Corporate Takeover of Public Education Nothing, Then I Guess You're Right Ms. Waters!by darciecimaBelow is my comment on the opinion piece posted today on NJ Spotlight by Ms. Laura Waters, President of the Lawrence Township School Board. I have emailed John Mooney numerous times to ask why he continues to ... more »

Feed-up, Feedback, Feed Forward: Making Formative Assessment Come Alive « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

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Feed-up, Feedback, Feed Forward: Making Formative Assessment Come Alive « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Feed-up, Feedback, Feed Forward: Making Formative Assessment Come Aliveby Klea ScharbergA comprehensive formative assessment (FA) system should fit seamlessly within the daily flow of the classroom. But in many places, FA requirements signal an end to instruction so that students can be tested. In a recent webinar, Nancy Frey discussed an ongoing approach to FA that enhances the give-and-take relationship between teachers and ... more »

Unschooling in the Art of War | Lefty Parent

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Unschooling in the Art of War | Lefty Parent:Unschooling in the Art of Warby Cooper ZaleThis is quite a long piece (over 7000 words) weaving a narrative thread through my young life that I think illustrates a key principle of unschooling. That principle is that the natural desire and capability of a young human being to learn and the opportunity to take a “deep dive” into the subject of interest results in a profound degree of broad learning and development ... more »

Diane Ravitch Addresses Sacramento, and Undresses Education Reform « InterACT

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Diane Ravitch Addresses Sacramento, and Undresses Education Reform « InterACT:Diane Ravitch Addresses Sacramento, and Undresses Education Reformby David B. CohenWhile my main purpose in traveling to Sacramento last week was for an event I helped plan and present, the added benefit was seeing some excellent speeches at the Sacramento Convention Center that evening. The main draw was Diane Ravitch, who delivered a vigorous call to action for the audience of a few thousand like-minded educators and allies. I was positioned ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Miss Laura Frets About Charters

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 20 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Miss Laura Frets About Charters:Miss Laura Frets About Chartersby DukeWell, fiddle-de-dee! Miss Laura Waters is so very upset by the nasty tone of those who object to having charter schools shoved down their throats; I'm afraid she's going to get the vapors!Perhaps the biggest rap against charters is that the local community must pay for them -- at least for tuition and transportation -- a fact that's trotted out at seemingly every opportunity by their opponents.In the fabric ... more »