Monday, January 30, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts 1-30 #edreform #ows


Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose Vilson

Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass] | The Jose Vilson:Kick In The Door, Wavin’ The 44 [On Writing To Kick Ass]by JoseBiggieOne of the questions people ask me is how I do this. Whatever this is. I’m reminded of this every semester or so when a random professor asks students to read my blog for their course or pick a teacher blog that best exemplifies their core beliefs. While privileged to have people read ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 1-29 #edreform #ows

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-32 minutes ago“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky:“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice.by Fred KlonskyNew York music teacher Eric Shieh:If you ask me what needs to happen, ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Brilliant Mike Daisey

School Tech Connect: The Brilliant Mike Daisey:The Brilliant Mike Daiseyby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Riveting, funny, horrifying story-telling here. I may just go to New York to see it live. Anyway, in my mind, I'm pretty sure that I had a similar fantasy going on in my head about how all these gadgets were being built by robots, I'm embarrassed to admit. Listen to the whole thing--- I couldn't stop.This all has to be dealt with by educators. We really can't be advocating ... more »

January’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

January’s Best Tweets | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:January’s Best Tweetsby Larry FerlazzoEvery month I make a short list highlighting my choices of the best resources I shared through (and learned from) Twitter, but didn’t necessarily include them in posts here on my blog. Now and then, in order to make it a bit easier for me, I may try to break it up into mid-month and end-of-month lists (and sometimes I’m a bit late).I’ve already shared in earlier ... more »

Sabrina Stevens Shupe: Why the #EdSOTU Matters

Sabrina Stevens Shupe: Why the #EdSOTU Matters:Sabrina Stevens ShupeTeacher-turned-activist; WriterGET UPDATES FROM SABRINA STEVENS SHUPE Like12Why the #EdSOTU MattersPosted: 01/29/2012 6:25 pmOr, A Tale of Two Speeches)Over at Teacher in a Strange Land, Nancy Flanagan asked, ""Who speaks for public education?"I'd answer that a lot of people do (for better, and for worse) but we don't all get the same kind of microphone, or the same airtime.After watching the State of the Union address Tuesday night, I found myself thinking ... more »

Oakland Bail Fund | OccupyWallSt.org #ows #edreform

Oakland Bail Fund | OccupyWallSt.org:Oakland Bail FundPosted 5 hours ago on Jan. 29, 2012, 12:16 p.m. EST by OccupyWallStOCCUPY OAKLAND NEEDS BAIL FUNDS! (click here to donate) Police Chief Howard Jordan has been quoted in AP saying there were almost 400 people arrested yesterday. There are many people who were arrested that need urgent medical attention, people who have been injured by the police or do not have their medication with them that they need to treat prior conditions. We ... more »

A Look Back at the League of Education Voters | Seattle Education

A Look Back at the League of Education Voters | Seattle Education:A Look Back at the League of Education Votersby seattleducation2011I’ve been following issues in education since 2009 when my daughter entered the Seattle Public School system and therefore don’t have any previous history with the League of Education Voters (LEV) before that time. I can only tell you what I have observed in the last few years.LEV is an education advocacy group. They do not have members and rely ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 1-29 Early Evening Posts #ows #edreform

Sunday links. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-34 minutes agoSunday links. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyMoney Talks Too Much, Josh MacPhee, Just Seeds.Just when we thought our kids were safe, “Fast Eddie” Vrydolyak is back. The convicted felon and former Machine alderman has sold polluted industrial land in his old ward to CPS to build a new school. Any student or teacher would face health risks. The deal smells in more ways than one.Haven’t they heard? ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Getting Desperate over at LEV

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Getting Desperate over at LEV:Getting Desperate over at LEVby Melissa WestbrookEvery week, LEV's leader, Chris Korsmo does a column at their webpage. She tries pretty hard to be funny but it usually falls somewhat flat. (If you are not a naturally funny writer, efforts to be funny just don't work.) This is part of what she had to say this week on charter legislation:I don’t know about you, but if one more person tells me that ... more »

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky

“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice. « Fred Klonsky:“Shut up and teach.” A music teacher on the limits and possibilities of our union and teachers’ voice.by Fred KlonskyNew York music teacher Eric Shieh:If you ask me what needs to happen, I have a few suggestions. First, unions need to widen their discourse beyond bread-and-butter issues like compensation and work environment. Teachers must be able to engage seriously and ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: One More Piece to the PTA Fundraising Discussion

Seattle Schools Community Forum: One More Piece to the PTA Fundraising Discussion:One More Piece to the PTA Fundraising Discussionby Melissa WestbrookBrian Rosenthal had one more small article on this subject and it, again, is about McGilvra.In 2000, SPS and McGilvra had a contract to allow McGilvra a way to hold the line on their class sizes. To whit:The oddity started in 2000, when parents at the small and then-low-performing school in Madison Park negotiated a unique contract: The PTA would ... more »

Mother Crusader: Students Take On Cerf. And Win.

Mother Crusader: Students Take On Cerf. And Win.:Students Take On Cerf. And Win.by darciecimaToday Jersey Jazzman pointed out that while ed reformers use students to bolster their weak arguments or show numbers at their protests, many of the kids don't seem to know what school they supposedly want to see closed down or why they are protesting. In contrast, check out these intrepid high school reporters in Cherry Hill and Highland Park. They are all over this charter thing, and ... more »

An L.A. teacher reviews her review Teaching: Obstacles in the classroom - latimes.com

Teaching: Obstacles in the classroom - latimes.com:An L.A. teacher reviews her reviewEvaluations don't take into account the real world of today's Los Angeles Unified School District classrooms.Comments19Share59Members of the Cleveland High School forensic team are seen enjoying a humorous monologue by one of their fellow students. (Los Angeles Times)By Coleen BondyJanuary 29, 2012For the first time this year, LAUSD has prepared reports for teachers that rate their effectiveness. When I received an email saying I could now view my own ... more »

Daily Kos: On certain momentous occasions

Daily Kos: On certain momentous occasions:On certain momentous occasionsby rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)we can acknowledge them without giving full specifics.Some prefer their exact age not be disclosed, even when it is a birthday divisible by 5.I will defer to Leave on the Current on that detail.But I will not let the day go by without acknowledging the occasion.We have been together for more than 3 decades, married for more than 2. We have been together for more than half of my life, ... more »

How Reform Lost Seth Lavin | District 299: The Inside Scoop on CPS

How Reform Lost Seth Lavin | District 299: The Inside Scoop on CPS:How Reform Lost Seth Lavinby Alexander RussoThere were no kids in class on Friday, for better or worse. During the week ahead, there are more hearings about school closings and turnarounds. Then report cards get sent home and it's February. Most of you who comment here are angrily (or, it seems, gleefully) opposed to most everything Emanuel and Brizard are trying to do. (It's much the same at ... more »

Petition to Repeal the Arizona Government Ruling Outlawing Teaching ethnic/racial StuCoalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:The Actual Arizona Ruling Banning Ethnic Studies in the state's public schoolsThis the complete ruling: TUSD’s Mexican American Studies classes violated state law, a state administrative law judge ruled Tuesday, ruling that 10 percent of the district’s funding be withheld.In issuing his decision, Judge Lewis D. Kowal found that the Tucson program promoted “social or political activism against the white people.” Specifically it included at least one class that 1) promoted “racial resentment” ... more »

Blue Jersey:: Star Ledger misses the mark on Urban Hope Act

Blue Jersey:: Star Ledger misses the mark on Urban Hope Act:Star Ledger misses the mark on Urban Hope Actby Marie CorfieldI'm disappointed to see the Star Ledger Editorial Board miss another opportunity to set the record straight on education 'reform'. I've written previously about their lack of fact-checking, as has Blue Jersey staff writer, Jersey Jazzman. Yes, editorials are opinions, but they are not the same as water cooler arguments. In order to have validity, the facts supporting the case ... more »

Bill in Colorado legislature puts state-testing call in parents' hands without penalizing schools - The Denver Post

Bill in Colorado legislature puts state-testing call in parents' hands without penalizing schools - The Denver Post:Bill in Colorado legislature puts state-testing call in parents' hands without penalizing schoolsPOSTED: 01/29/2012 01:00:00 AM MSTBy Yesenia RoblesThe Denver PostA bill introduced in the state legislature this session aims to give parents the freedom to decide whether their children should take standardized state tests, without it hurting their schools.The bill's sponsor, Rep. Judy Solano, D-Brighton, is not getting her hopes up too high ... more »

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is sponsoring “Good for Wall Street—Bad for Students,” a panel discussion and national webcast on the dangers of for-profit colleges | Dailycensored.com

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is sponsoring “Good for Wall Street—Bad for Students,” a panel discussion and national webcast on the dangers of for-profit colleges | Dailycensored.com:Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is sponsoring “Good for Wall Street—Bad for Students,” a panel discussion and national webcast on the dangers of for-profit collegesfrom Dailycensored.com by Danny Weil For-profit colleges–such as The Art Institutes, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College, and South University–generate millions in profits for Wall Street. Meanwhile students ge... more »

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyMoney Talks Too Much, Josh MacPhee, Just Seeds.Just when we thought our kids were safe, “Fast Eddie” Vrydolyak is back. The convicted felon and former Machine alderman has sold polluted industrial land in his old ward to CPS to build a new school. Any student or teacher would face health risks. The deal smells in more ways than one.Haven’t they heard? You don’t throw money at schools. An article in this morning’s NY ... more »