Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-19 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

‘You are so smart…why did you become a teacher?’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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

‘You are so smart…why did you become a teacher?’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:‘You are so smart…why did you become a teacher?’by Valerie StraussThis was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is one of the co-authors of the principals’ letter against evaluating teachers by student test scores, which has ... more »

Schools Matter: Rethinking Teacher Quality and Metrics-mania

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

Schools Matter: Rethinking Teacher Quality and Metrics-mania:Rethinking Teacher Quality and Metrics-maniaby P. L. ThomasOnce President Barack Obama referred to the claim that teacher quality translates directly into increasing lifetime earnings of students, that assertion and connected study are destined to remain in the public domain in the same way that claims about three quality teachers in a row has persisted. These claims share something other than being quickly and broadly embraced, however; they are also misleading, incomplete, and harmful to ... more »

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky

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

Sunday links. « Fred Klonsky:Sunday links.by Fred KlonskyThe Piccolo Occupation celebrates a victory last night when the CPS agreed to actually talk to parents and teachers at the school before closing it down. Photo: Katie Osgood.The tactic of occupation chalked up another victory last night as community members triumphantly walked out of Brian Piccolo school in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park neighborhood. The school was occupied Friday night after CPS and Mayor Emanuel refused to meet with parents opposed to handing ...more »

QWERTY - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators

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

QWERTY - Arlington, VA, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post - A Professional Networking Community for Educators:QWERTYIn Jim Collins’ latest work, Great by Choice, he offers the following shift in innovation strategy: fire bullets first…then cannon balls. A warfare metaphor? Yes. But what does it mean? Traditionally, military strategy has been to soften up an opponent’s defenses by lobbing in artillery first, before sending in men armed with weapons. Makes sense. Create a strategic advantage before committing lives. So how ... more »

Civics and Civility : Thoughts on Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee in Oakland (Community Voices) | Oakland Local

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Civics and Civility : Thoughts on Michelle Rhee in Oakland (Community Voices) | Oakland Local:Civics and Civility : Thoughts on Michelle Rhee in Oakland (Community Voices)C.j. Hirschfeld Sat, 18 Feb at 8:38amMichelle Rhee, www.studentsfirst.org/pages/about-michelle-rheeTwo recent incidents have made me worry about the decline of public discourse in Oakland and about how organized labor is contributing to that decline.It troubles me to write this because I respect the important role labor unions have played in American history, and I support the ... more »

Santorum Criticizes Education System and Obama - NYTimes.com

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Santorum Criticizes Education System and Obama - NYTimes.com:Santorum Questions Education System; Criticizes ObamaMichael McElroy for The New York TimesRick Santorum said the idea of governments operating public schools was “anachronistic.”By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.Published: February 18, 2012RECOMMENDTWITTERLINKEDINCOMMENTS(450)E-MAILPRINTREPRINTSSHARECOLUMBUS, Ohio — With his candidacy surging, Rick Santorum on Saturday questioned the legitimacy of state-run public education systems and suggested that President Obama’s agenda sprang from a “phony theology.”MultimediaInteractive Featu... more »

Daily Kos: Dear Mr. President,

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Daily Kos: Dear Mr. President,:Dear Mr. President,by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)I am a teacher. You know, one of those about whom you and your Secretary of Education say are so important to our young people. If only I - and thousands, perhaps millions of other teachers - could believe those words. There are things your administration has done that we respect, at least most of us. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act meant large numbers of teachers and other public employees did ... more »

TV and movies give exposure to autism disorders - NorthJersey.com

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TV and movies give exposure to autism disorders - NorthJersey.com:TV and movies give exposure to autism disordersSATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2012 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19, 2012, 9:43 AMBY VIRGINIA ROHANSTAFF WRITERTHE RECORDPRINT | E-MAILMax Braverman, 10, is obsessed with bugs and cannot handle any change in plans.Linda (Sandra Bullock) comforts her son, Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), who has Asperger's syndrome, in 'Extremely Loud Incredibly Close.''Parenthood's' Max Braverman (Max Burkholder) also has Asperger's.Jake Bohm, 11, does not speak or make eye ... more »

A Southwest Florida Newspaper Leads in Establishing a Local Education Alliance | Scathing Purple Musings

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A Southwest Florida Newspaper Leads in Establishing a Local Education Alliance | Scathing Purple Musings:A Southwest Florida Newspaper Leads in Establishing a Local Education Allianceby Bob SikesNo Jeb Bush. No Gerard Robinson. Not even Rick Scott, who makes his home in the area. The Fort Meyers News-Press clearly saw the need to separate a local initiative from the current crop of Tallahassee lawmakers in creating The Alliance of Education Leaders. In this morning’s op-ed they subtly explain why:Indeed, there are ... more »

Can’t Wait to Have Students Read This | Outside the Cave

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Can’t Wait to Have Students Read This | Outside the Cave:Can’t Wait to Have Students Read Thisby Stephen LazarThere’s an interesting op-ed in Thursday’s New York Times, “Why China’s Political Model Is Superior.” The author Eric X. Li, makes some claims in it that are beyond radical from an American perspective:In the history of human governance, spanning thousands of years, there have been two major experiments in democracy. The first was Athens, which lasted a century and a half; the ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-18 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

LAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegations - latimes.comBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-52 minutes agoLAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegations - latimes.com:LAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegationsIn the wake of teachers being charged with lewd acts with students, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. John Deasy has sought to reassure teachers and staff in a video address.In his four-minute address, which was sent to the employees districtwide, Deasy said the investigation into the ... more »

School Tech Connect: Occupy #twill #soschat #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Occupy #twill:Occupy #twillby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)I've been in the suburbs all day, at the fabulously managed Students in Technology Conference at Stephenson High School in Lincolnshire. Let me just say two things: first, I work with some of the brightest, most articulate and involved students that I've known in lo these past 27 years. They blow me away. Second, my feet are on strike. They're apparently not going to let me stand up again until I agree to ... more »

Modern School: The Best Curriculum Money Can Buy—The Real Climategate Coming to a School Near You

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Modern School: The Best Curriculum Money Can Buy—The Real Climategate Coming to a School Near You:The Best Curriculum Money Can Buy—The Real Climategate Coming to a School Near Youby Michael DunnWhen internal documents from British scientists were leaked to the press, inaugurating “Climategate,” the Heartland Institute was one of the myriad right-wing climate-denial conspiracy organizations that cherry-picked quotes from the scientists and demanded punitive action against them. The scientists have since been cleared of any wrongdoing and their research has ... more »

Linda Darling-Hammond critiques Branstad school plan #soschat

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Trapit:Professor, author critiques Branstad school planStoryDiscussionBy ANDREW WIND, andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com | Posted: Saturday, February 18, 2012 11:00 am | (0) CommentsFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeStanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond. (courtesy photo)WATERLOO, Iowa --- A Stanford University professor and author of a book on inequities in the U.S. educational system gave mixed reviews Thursday to Gov. Branstad's school reform proposals.Linda Darling-Hammond held a two-hour video conference with more than 45 Cedar Valley residents presented by the Un... more »

NYPD Spied On Muslim Student Groups Outside of New York « Student Activism

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NYPD Spied On Muslim Student Groups Outside of New York « Student Activism:NYPD Spied On Muslim Student Groups Outside of New Yorkby Angus JohnstonIn September of last year the Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department had, in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency, spied on more than half a dozen of the city’s campus Muslim student groups. Today it reported that the NYPD’s surveillance went much further.In a story published this afternoon, the AP described how the ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: It's Only Fair!

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Jersey Jazzman: It's Only Fair!:It's Only Fair!by DukeSo they're going to publish the Value-Added Model (VAM) ratings of New York City teachers in the local papers, just like Los Angeles (yeah, that worked out great). These ratings are based on student test scores, run through a statistical model like this:I think all the editors who make the decision to publish the ratings should have to explain this formula to their readers, don't you?If they can't, I have another suggestion: publish ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "It takes a process to fail a child" -- Piccolo 7th grader

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "It takes a process to fail a child" -- Piccolo 7th grader:"It takes a process to fail a child" -- Piccolo 7th graderby Mike KlonskyA. Klonsky photo"We need our school. If they've got the funding, give us the money and we'll do what we've got to do for Brian Piccolo." -- Parent Nedra Martin.Piccolo is just one of ten CPS schools slated for turnaround, six of which would be run by AUSL. Parents question CPS's claims ... more »

LAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegations - latimes.com

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

LAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegations - latimes.com:LAUSD Supt. John Deasy addresses Miramonte sex-abuse allegationsIn the wake of teachers being charged with lewd acts with students, Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. John Deasy has sought to reassure teachers and staff in a video address.In his four-minute address, which was sent to the employees districtwide, Deasy said the investigation into the allegations at Miramonte Elementary School, where two teachers were removed and face criminal charges, has been completed.He ... more »

Arne Duncan on the Jon Stewart Daily Show – Reading through the Rhetoric – Why won’t he hear us? « Continuing Change

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Arne Duncan on the Jon Stewart Daily Show – Reading through the Rhetoric – Why won’t he hear us? « Continuing Change:Arne Duncan on the Jon Stewart Daily Show – Reading through the Rhetoric – Why won’t he hear us?by gatorbonbcArne Duncan on the Jon Stewart Daily Show – Reading through the Rhetoric – Why won’t he hear us?thu-february-16-2012-arne-duncanHe says:“I think our biggest challenge, Jon, is that we have become too complacent. We’re 16th in the world today in college ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 2-18 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

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

Jersey Jazzman: Hackuva Job, Cerfie!Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 hour agoJersey Jazzman: Hackuva Job, Cerfie!:Hackuva Job, Cerfie!by DukeTom Moran is once again is in a huff; he can't understand why anyone would have a problem with the bestest education commissioner ever!Chris Cerf has been steering education policy in New Jersey for more than a year now, and no one disputes that he has brought talent and devotion to the work.But you can’t call him commissioner because the boys ... more »