Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Afternoon Posts 2-1 #soschat #edreform

When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on us

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 2 minutes ago

When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on us:When it comes to the free-speech rights of teachers, the joke’s still on usby SamThe good news is that Republican lawmakers in Arizona are now retreating from their recent proposal to require teachers to limit their speech to words that comply with FCC regulations on what can be said on TV or radio — a half-baked idea rightly characterized by one critic as the “most hilariously unconstitutional ... more »

Teachers statewide will wear black in protest of legislation Gov. keeps pushing for educational reform - wtvr

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Gov. keeps pushing for educational reform - wtvr:Gov. keeps pushing for educational reformTeachers statewide will wear black in protest of legislationComments0Share0TopicsRegional AuthorityGovernmentExecutive BranchSee more topics »Lorenzo Halladded by Alix Bryan/Online Producer11:26 p.m. EST, February 16, 2012RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) --—Kathy Boultt and thousands of other teachers across the state on Friday will take part in a silent protest opposing lawmakers who want to do away with tenure-like contracts for teachers.“What the governor is proposing lends no stability whatsoever to te... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterday

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NYC Public School Parents: Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterday:Carol Burris, principal, on the new NY State teacher evaluation plan announced yesterdayby Leonie HaimsonCarol is the courageous Long Island principal who co-authored the letter, signed onto by one third of all NY State principals, protesting the NYS teacher evaluation system. Her follow-up article for the Washington Post Answer Sheet was called, “Forging ahead with a nutty teacher evaluation plan.”Below is the email she ...more »

Schools Matter: Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmings

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Schools Matter: Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmings:Cuomo and Mulgrew Get New York in LIne with Other Lemmingsby Jim HornLast night the king of hackneyed superlatives, Arne Duncan, was on Jon Stewart's show demonstrating once again that there is an Orwellian platitude for every serious question, a punishing lie inside every gilded compliment, a cynical calculation for every saccharine formula.And in the wee hours of this morning, New York teachers joined the death march of ... more »

Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poison :: Frederick M. Hess

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Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poison :: Frederick M. Hess:Don't Like Value-Added? Cool. So Pick Your Poisonby Frederick M. Hess • Feb 17, 2012 at 8:03 amCross-posted from Education Week Print Send RSS ShareAs regular readers know, much of my writing on value-added dings would-be reformers for getting waaaay ahead of themselves. They're busy trying to build whole systems around tools that are crude, limited, and relevant for only a portion of what teachers and schools do. That's ... more »

Opportunism and cowardice. « Fred Klonsky

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Opportunism and cowardice. « Fred Klonsky:Opportunism and cowardice.by Fred KlonskyThis morning my comrades in the schools of New York are writing rants about the foul deal that was worked out between their unions and the governor on teacher evaluation.The deal is a hoax, of course.Just like Illinois’ Senate Bill 7 is a hoax.Like all top-down reform plans. These scams will do nothing to address or fix the real or imagined ills claimed by their sponsors.Their sponsors know that. It is ... more »

The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backward | Truth in American Education

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The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backward | Truth in American Education:The Common Core Math Standards–A Step Backwardby Shane Vander HartEducation Next interviewed Ze’ev Wurman and W. Stephen Wilson about the Common Core Math Standards which 40 states have signed on to. They ask are they a step forward or backward? They are pretty clear that it is a step backward. Some money quotes…Wurman in answering whether the CCSS for Math is higher than most state standards said:They may be ... more »

Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” | Thoughts on Public Education

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Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” | Thoughts on Public Education:Beware Common Core and “dubious causality” - by Kathryn Baronby Kathryn BaronThe horse race of international rankings in education is based on misconceptions that can lead countries such as the United States to consider sweeping reforms that probably won’t improve academic achievement, according to a new report. The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education released yesterday by the Brookings Institution makes a case against Common [...]Senators: Don’t jam us ... more »

Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouse | The Jose Vilson

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Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouse | The Jose Vilson:Lost Article: How Snoop Dogg Can Help You Out Of The Edu-Dogghouseby JoseSnoop Doggy Dogg SmokingA few months ago, I wrote this article in response to some of the comments I read about my EdWeek / Jay-Z article. It was approved, but due to the backlash I received, they took it down. Never mind. I decided to publish it here. Also, look for some of ... more »

Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest Cuts - Rosemont, CA Patch

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Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest Cuts - Rosemont, CA Patch:Protesters Flood SCUSD Meeting to Contest CutsBudget cuts and potential school closures are contested.By Cody KitauraEmail the author6:45 pm Email Print Comment PHOTOS (5) Upload Photos and VideosThursday's Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting hadn't even started yet, and it was already clear what the mood of the evening would be.Hundreds of protestors circled the district's headquarters in Sacramento prior to the meeting to protest proposed cuts to extra-curricular ... more »

Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write) | Outside the Cave

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Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write) | Outside the Cave:Peer Review (and some words I never thought I’d write)by Stephen LazarEric Nadelstern is right (I really can’t believe I just admitted that publicly):However, you can’t empower kids until you’ve empowered their teachers to exercise leadership in classrooms, and extend their leadership to matters of curriculum, instruction and assessment.The entire column is worth reading, and is the best concise argument for instituting peer review that I’ve seen. ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-16 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from RheeBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-19 minutes agoRheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee:A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rheeby adminWritten by Joshua Bujes. Read the entire post here.“Here’s what I took away from the lecture that might be useful going forward:…5. Her overt message is framed in such a way that it is impossible not to applaud (unless one looks under the covers): who would deny that education ... more »

Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody Gutierrez | Sacramento Bee #soschat

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Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody Gutierrez - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:Sacramento City Unified school board meeting: Tweets from Melody GutierrezSharePublished: Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 - 5:06 pmMelody Gutierrez is at the Sacramento City Unified school board meeting, where trustees will vote on whether to close A.M. Winn, Freeport and C.P. Huntington elementary schools.Melody GutierrezMELODYGUTIERREZMelodyGutierrez Sacramento City Unified board members will vote tonight on whether to close three elementary sc... more »

Schools Matter: Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schools #soschat

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 hours ago

Schools Matter: Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schools:Microsoft Among Corporate Whales Paying for Right-Wing Anti-Science in Schoolsby Jim HornThe NYTimes has a story today about confidential documents obtained from the ultra right wing Heartland Institute, which has a new program to bring propaganda to schools to counter the climate science that children are learning that might, just might, help save human civilization and most other species from extinction.Below is the listing of the $10,000+ club, all ... more »

Modern School: The Sky is Not Falling After All: US Schools Rank High Internationally

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Modern School: The Sky is Not Falling After All: US Schools Rank High Internationally:Virginia House Approves Abolition of Teacher Tenureby Michael DunnBound and Gagged (Image from Flickr by Kouk)The Virginia House of Delegates voted to end tenure-related job protections for public school teachers on Monday, the Washington Post reported, a measure that was pushed by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in order to “improve” public education. The Senate, however, rejected the measure on Tuesday. The Senate could still vote on the ... more »

Support PURE! » CTU vision for a quality education for all children

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » CTU vision for a quality education for all children:CTU vision for a quality education for all childrenby adminThis morning the Chicago Teachers’ Union presented a comprehensive set of research-based proposals to strengthen the Chicago Public Schools, called “The Schools Chicago’s Students Deserve.”I was pleased to be asked to say a few words on behalf of PURE. This is what I said:I’m very glad to be here. First of all, as a ... more »

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

RheeFirst! » A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rhee:A parent’s excellent analysis: Learning from Rheeby adminWritten by Joshua Bujes. Read the entire post here.“Here’s what I took away from the lecture that might be useful going forward:…5. Her overt message is framed in such a way that it is impossible not to applaud (unless one looks under the covers): who would deny that education is important? who would deny that children need good teachers? who would deny that we live ... more »

Ensuring Critical Thinking in Project-Based Learning « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

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Ensuring Critical Thinking in Project-Based Learning « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Ensuring Critical Thinking in Project-Based Learningby ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted by Andrew Miller, is a national faculty member for the Buck Institute for Education as well as for ASCD. He is also a regular blogger for Edutopia. Connect with Miller on Twitter @betamiller.Project-based learning (PBL) can create engaging learning for all students, but that depth of learning requires careful, specific design. Part of this engagement ... more »

As Cuomo declares victory on a teacher-testing agreement, Ravitch says it's a 'dark day' | Capital New York

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

As Cuomo declares victory on a teacher-testing agreement, Ravitch says it's a 'dark day' | Capital New York: As Cuomo declares victory on a teacher-testing agreement, Ravitch says it's a 'dark day' | Capital New YorkAndrew Cuomo. saebaryo via flickrRELATED STORIESA teacher-evaluation issue heads to Albany to kick off Cuomo's Year 2Former 'Times' editor: Campaign finance reform means TV reformThe BookCourt bestseller list, annotatedSavino: Cuomo 'needs' to raise some money for the state through taxesBY AZI PAYBARAH3:25 pm Feb. 16, ... more »

School Tech Connect: The Tribune is So Stupid... It Hurts The Brain!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 19 hours ago

School Tech Connect: The Tribune is So Stupid... It Hurts The Brain!:The Tribune is So Stupid... It Hurts The Brain!The Tribune editorial page is so idiotic. I won't link to it. Julie Woestehoff has been stepping on some very sensitive toes indeed to merit her own editorial.By the way, the straw man here that the Trib has created is the idea the critic's of Noble's discipline tax are opposed to school discipline.What sanctimonious a*sholes they are!Nobody is opposed to orderly ... more