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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

UPDATE: Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 3-28 AM Posts #soschat #edreform


Stay In Your Lane [A Math Teacher's Lament] | The Jose Vilson

Stay In Your Lane [A Math Teacher's Lament] | The Jose Vilson: Stay In Your Lane [A Math Teacher's Lament]byJoseWhy do people stigmatize math teachers?It’s bad enough we teach people that they’re either math people or they’re not (patent lie, I promise you). Now, we’re even limiting math teachers to the fields in which they can excel. They stereotype (!) math teachers as having hobbies like playing piano (fractions!) and read xkcd (might be true), but God forbid they actually ... more »

Grumpy Educators: South Carolina: Parent Opposition and Resistance on Ed Reform Initiatives

Grumpy Educators: South Carolina: Parent Opposition and Resistance on Ed Reform Initiatives: South Carolina: Parent Opposition and Resistance on Ed Reform InitiativesbySandraMarch 27, 2012Contact Person: Sarah JohnsonPhone: (803) 920-4058, (843) 819-8933Email: CVedu20@gmail.comLocal Parent/Teacher Advocacy Group Welcomes US Secretary of Education to TownCharleston, SC – Charleston Area Community Voice for Education, an affiliate of Parents Across America, extends a welcome to US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, who will be participating in a local round-table discussion on educa... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-27 #soschat #EDReform

Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday. « Fred KlonskyBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-2 minutes agoRockford teachers strike set for Thursday. « Fred Klonsky: Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday.byFred KlonskyMembers of the Rockford Education Association wait for the start of a closed-door meeting about contract negotiations Monday, March 26, 2012, at the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford.No negotiating sessions are planned between now and Thursday.Members of the Rockford Education Association have had the legal authority to strike ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Why Weren't Charter Teachers Teaching Today?

Jersey Jazzman: Why Weren't Charter Teachers Teaching Today?: Why Weren't Charter Teachers Teaching Today?byDukeI'm sure you will be as shocked as I was to find out that hundreds of teachers were not in school today; instead,they were in Atlantic City!ATLANTIC CITY -- Administrators and teachers packed Bally's for a 2-day education conference. The event is titled "Navigating Toward Quality Education". Which is the main focus on developing and sharing teaching techniques to help strengthen charter schools throughout the state.New Jersey ... more »

Trabajadoras: A Union Voice for Working Women - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

Trabajadoras: A Union Voice for Working Women - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard: Trabajadoras: A Union Voice for Working WomenbyLilyTrabajadoras: A Union Voice for Working WomenMar 27th, 2012byLily.Trabajadoras is the Spanish word for Working Women. Today was an important day for Latina Working Women. Not necessarily a happy day. But an important day.Because an organization that fights for them,The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, released a first-of-its-kind report on the working world of Latinas in our country and the ... more »

Closed Schools Ten Years Later: Who Goes There Now? | Edwize

Closed Schools Ten Years Later: Who Goes There Now? | Edwize: Closed Schools Ten Years Later: Who Goes There Now?byJackie BennettIn case you have not been paying attention, the mayor is vowing to dismantle about 30 school communities for reasons that pretty much no one can figure out. In fact, things have reached such alevel of absurdity in New Yorkthat there are very few New Yorkers who actually believe that the campaign against our schools has anything to do with ... more »

Parents decry cuts to ELL services to Council | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Parents decry cuts to ELL services to Council | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Parents decry cuts to ELL services to CouncilbyDale MezzacappaAlthough one in eight students in Philadelphia public schools now come from homes in which English is the second language, services for them are being dismantled through the District's budget cuts, activists told City Council.Schools serving these students lack materials, are largely staffed by inexperienced teachers in overcrowded classrooms, do not have enough counselors, and have cut back crucial ... more »

Engaging Parents In School… - St. Paul Mayor Wants To Support Parent Engagement

Engaging Parents In School… - St. Paul Mayor Wants To Support Parent Engagement: St. Paul Mayor Wants To Support Parent EngagementMarch 27th, 2012 byLarry FerlazzoThe Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota has just called for spending $300,000 on expanding parent engagement efforts. Here’s a video clip of his comments. I don’t know the specifics, and the devil is always in the details, but it sure sounds good:Posted inpublic policy|No Comments »

Geaux Teacher!: Check This Out!

Geaux Teacher!: Check This Out!: CAN WE TALK ABOUT EDUCATION?VisitFollow The Bill Louisiana!to join a live conversation on the home page, while you watch a live video ofthe current legislative proceedings in another window.Check This Out!

Free Webinar: Common Core Assessment Shifts — Whole Child Education

Free Webinar: Common Core Assessment Shifts — Whole Child Education: Free Webinar: Common Core Assessment ShiftsbyKlea ScharbergDiscover the kinds of formative and summative classroom assessments that best coordinate with the new generation of testing consortia for the common core. JoinASCD author Susan Brookhartin a discussion of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments and discover how to create classroom assessments that form a balanced system that supports student learning ... more »

#Parents United for Responsible Education: Crank up the pressure!

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » PSAT for 3-17-12: Crank up the pressure!: PSAT for 3-17-12: Crank up the pressure!byadminPerhaps in response to Illinois having been named thethird most corrupt state in the nation, and maybe also just having watched former governor Blagojevich head off to prison for 14 years, our state legislators have begun acting uncannily as though they are listening to us instead of the power elite.First we heard about Sen. Delgadosponsoring an amendmentto ban ... more »

ASCD Inservice: Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with Actions

ASCD Inservice: Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with Actions: Gaps Close When Whole Child Beliefs Are Matched with ActionsWade Boykinof Howard University andPedro Nogueraof New York University presented a research-packed and passionate session titled, "Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap" at ASCD's Annual Conference on Saturday morning.They wasted no time laying out their main issue:Achievement gaps are not sufficiently addressed in our work with schools.Their Goals:Challenge expectations:We have ... more »

RheeFirst! » A poster child for ed reform’s moral disconnect

RheeFirst! » A poster child for ed reform’s moral disconnect: A poster child for ed reform’s moral disconnectbyadmin Written by Joanne Barkan for Dissent Magazine. Read theentire article here.“The disconnect between what ed reformers claim to be doing for low-income children and what they actually bring about boggles the mind.The poster child for this moral disconnect is former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor and ed reform celebrity Michelle Rhee. Rhee resigned her D.C. post in October 2010 after her boss, Mayor ... more »

Several charter leaders blast Great Schools Compact | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Several charter leaders blast Great Schools Compact | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Several charter leaders blast Great Schools CompactbyDale MezzacappaTestifying before the City Council Education Committee Tuesday, several charter school operators blasted the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact. The compact is working to help District and charter schools work together more productively andcreate more high-quality educational seats.Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, called for an end to theRenaissance SchoolsInitiative, a program that has conve...more »

Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday. « Fred Klonsky

Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday. « Fred Klonsky: Rockford teachers strike set for Thursday.byFred KlonskyMembers of the Rockford Education Association wait for the start of a closed-door meeting about contract negotiations Monday, March 26, 2012, at the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford.No negotiating sessions are planned between now and Thursday.Members of the Rockford Education Association have had the legal authority to strike since last week. Their old contract expired last July. The REA members have been working all ... more »

Mike Klonsky...: At CReATE Press Conference, March 26, 2012

Mike Klonsky...: At CReATE Press Conference, March 26, 2012: At CReATE Press Conference, March 26, 2012byMike KlonskyPopoutMike Klonsky, DePaul University, CReATEfromTim FurmanonVimeo.

A Few Additional CT Charter Figures « School Finance 101

A Few Additional CT Charter Figures « School Finance 101: A Few Additional CT Charter Figuresbyschoolfinance101I was admittedly in a bit of a rush the other day to pull together some figures on CT charter schools based largely on data I had previously compiled, some of which only included Achievement First charter schools. Here, I include all charter schools in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, and address only the % Free Lunch numbers using the most recent available data from ... more »

Educating South Carolina: PLThomasEdD: Zais lacks experience, expertise

Educating South Carolina: PLThomasEdD: Zais lacks experience, expertise: PLThomasEdD: Zais lacks experience, expertiseBlogger PLThomasEdD, who posts at DailyKos,published another great commentary there yesterday, this one taking Superintendent Mick Zais to task for his claims in an opinion-editorial in The State.I hope readers will share PLThomasEdD's commentary far and wide among educators, because he's precisely the sort of education leader that's missing from government: Experienced, expert and circumspect.South Carolina's Superintendent of Education Mick Zais makes several claim... more »

The Washington State PTA Convention: Be There | Seattle Education

The Washington State PTA Convention: Be There | Seattle Education: The Washington State PTA Convention: Be Therebyseattleducation2011The WSPTA Convention will be held on May 4-6 and everyone who can needs to attend. There will be several issues on the table that will be voted on including the charter school resolution that has drawn fire from all quarters. This resolution, if passed at the convention, would become a cornerstone of the WSPTA platform for the next 2 years.You might not even ... more »

TN bill would limit number of foreign workers at charter schools | wbir.com

TN bill would limit number of foreign workers at charter schools | wbir.com: TN bill would limit number of foreign workers at charter schools By Chas Sisk, The TennesseanA conservative group that has warned of the growing influence of Islam is promoting a bill that would limit how many legal immigrants charter schools can hire, drawing opposition from charter school and immigrant groups.The Tennessee Eagle Forum, an organization that has criticized U.S. immigration policy and last year pushed for passage ... more »

Largest charter network in U.S.: Schools tied to Turkey - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Largest charter network in U.S.: Schools tied to Turkey - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Largest charter network in U.S.: Schools tied to TurkeybyValerie StraussThiswas written by Sharon Higgins, an independent researcher andbloggerbased in California. She is also a founding member ofParents Across America.By Sharon HigginsThe largest charter school network in the United States is operated by people in and associated with the Gulen Movement (GM), a secretive and controversial Turkish religious sect. With 135 schools enrolling more ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: At yesterday's press conference

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: At yesterday's press conference: At yesterday's press conferencebyMike KlonskyIsabel Nuñez from Concordia Univ. at press conferenceI went to yesterday's press conference to stand with other academics in support of(CReATE). The research group presented its"Open Letter of Concern Regarding Chicago’s Implementation of Legislation for the Evaluation of Teachers and Principals"to the mayor yesterday.Academics from 15 universities, including many that run teacher education programs, warned in the letter that relying heavily on student test scores to evaluate... more »

State leaders should embrace what Title I permits: arts funding | Thoughts on Public Education

State leaders should embrace what Title I permits: arts funding | Thoughts on Public Education: State leaders should embrace what Title I permits: arts funding - by Joe LandonbyJoe LandonThe status quo is “stalemate.” The intention of the federal Title I program is to improve the academic achievement of children in schools with the highest percentages of children low-income families. That improvement is measured by improvement in English language arts (ELA) and math. According to the guidance provided by the ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-26 #soschat #EDReform

OCCUPY EDUCATION - Education is not for sale from Taiwan to Quebec .. #ows.Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-33 minutes agoOCCUPY EDUCATION - Education is not for sale from Taiwan to Quebec ...: Education is not for sale from Taiwan to Quebec One World One...Education is not for sale from Taiwan to QuebecOne World One StruggleCourt upholds limits on religious messages in schoolsBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-33 minutes agoCourt upholds limits on religious messages in schools: Court ... more »