Saturday, March 31, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 3-31 AM Posts #soschat #edreform


Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-30 #soschat #EDReform

Ellen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week TeacherBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-45 minutes agoEllen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Anthony CodyAnthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads ... more »

Moms Rising - All Week Long! #parents

Thanks to ACA, More Cancer Patients Have HopeBernadette SeguraatMomsRising Blog-7 minutes ago“I’m sorry ma’am, the hospitals only have to provide care to you in emergency circumstances. They don’t have to provide you with anything else.” It’s been two years since the ACA became law. Since then, we’ve heard grumbles from the left, the right and everywhere in between. Last year I wrote about how I wished [...]Pink slime is on the run!Monifa BandeleatMomsRising Blog-6 hours agoYou did it! Thousands of ... more »

Modern School: Boston Teachers Reject Uncompensated Longer School Day

Modern School: Boston Teachers Reject Uncompensated Longer School Day: Boston Teachers Reject Uncompensated Longer School DaybyMichael DunnThe Boston Teachers Union (BTU) and the Boston school district have reached an impasse after 21 months of bargaining, theBoston Heraldreported this week. The next step is mediation. Should that fail to bring the two sides to an agreement over the teachers’ contract, the union could call for a strike.Superintendent Carol Johnson blamed the impasse on the failure of the two sides to find ... more »

(CREATE) Core Reforms Engaging Arts to Educate - Initiatives & Programs (CA Dept of Education)

(CREATE) Core Reforms Engaging Arts to Educate - Initiatives Programs (CA Dept of Education): (CREATE) Core Reforms Engaging Arts to EducateStatewide coalition of agencies and organizational partners on an education reform movement that views arts education as an essential part of the solution to the problems facing California schools.State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has partnered with a broad-based statewide coalition of agencies and organizational partners on an education reform movement,CREATE (Core Reforms Engaging Arts to Educate) CA,that views ... more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: A Teacher's Role

An Urban Teacher's Education: A Teacher's Role: A Teacher's RolebyJames BoutinAn individual's education is made up of much more than just the time they spend in school. Indeed, class time makes up only a very small portion of any person's education. The understanding one gains of the world and how to interact with it is shaped (in small or large part) by nearly every experience s/he has. The classroom is merely one of the places where society is deliberate about ... more »

“Liberty and Justice for Some?” she asked. « Cooperative Catalyst

“Liberty and Justice for Some?” she asked. « Cooperative Catalyst: “Liberty and Justice for Some?” she asked.byeducatedtodeathOriginally posted ateducatedtodeath.comA 7th grader asked me: “Why do we have to say the Pledge of Allegiance everyday?”“Why do you ask?” I said.“I don’t know what it means really. I don’t think anybody does. And, the part I kind of understand doesn’t really seem true for everyone.”“Which part is that?”“You know ‘Liberty and Justice for all’, it should be ‘Liberty and Justice for most’, ... more »

Game-Based Learning and a Whole Child Approach — Whole Child Education

Game-Based Learning and a Whole Child Approach — Whole Child Education: Game-Based Learning and a Whole Child ApproachbyASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted by Andrew Miller, a national faculty member for theBuck Institute for Educationas well as forASCD. He is also aregular blogger for Edutopia. Connect with Miller on Twitter@betamiller.Game-based learning (GBL) is a current trend in education reform and, as it becomes more widely implemented, we must make sure we are not simply focusing on the tools. Using games for ... more »

Support PURE! » Congressman Davis: Noble discipline policy a “striking, systemic problem”

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Congressman Davis: Noble discipline policy a “striking, systemic problem”: Congressman Davis: Noble discipline policy a “striking, systemic problem”byadminStudents protest Noble's "secret sauce" discipline policyComing on the heels of State Senator William Delgado’s bill calling for an end to charter school discipline fees isthis opinion pieceby Congressman Danny Davis in today’s Catalyst.Last summer I met with Congressman Davis’s education aide, Jill Hunter-Williams, as part of Parents Across America’s Lobby Day, the day ... more »

NEA - Letter to Senator Harkin Supporting his Middle Class Bill

NEA - Letter to Senator Harkin Supporting his Middle Class Bill: Letter to Senator Harkin Supporting his Middle Class BillMarch 29, 2012Dear Senator Harkin:On behalf of the more than three million members of the National Education Association, we would like to offer our support for your proposals to help strengthen the middle class. We thank you for your leadership in introducing this legislation and in particular for your focus on investments in education.Today’s middle class is struggling and many previously ... more »

Weekly Update: Opting out Texas style, the World Peace Game and who IS going to fix the plumbing? | Seattle Education

Weekly Update: Opting out Texas style, the World Peace Game and who IS going to fix the plumbing? | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: Opting out Texas style, the World Peace Game and who IS going to fix the plumbing?byseattleducation2011First up, the parents are taking back their schools in Chicago.One of the steps in corporate ed reform is mayoral control of the school board through appointments rather than elections. This way, the moneyed few who influence the mayor can then also ... more »

A Bright Future for Family and Community Engagement? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

A Bright Future for Family and Community Engagement? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: A Bright Future for Family and Community Engagement?byobrienaOn awebinaryesterday hosted by the National Education Association’s (NEA)Priority Schools Campaign, Anne Henderson* offered a hopeful vision for the future of family and community engagement in public education. She predicted that the time is coming where schools really understand that engaging families and communities is a core strategy for school improvement. It will no longer be ... more »

Ellen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Ellen Holmes: NEA's Priority Schools Focus on Teacher Expertise, Parent and Community Involvement - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Anthony CodyAnthony Cody spent 24 years working in Oakland schools, 18 of them as a science teacher at a high needs middle school. He is National Board certified, and now leads workshops with teachers focused on Project Based Learning. With education at a crossroads, he invites you to join him in a dialogue on education reform and teaching for ... more »

One City Council debate in the books | Davis Enterprise

One City Council debate in the books | Davis Enterprise: “I think in terms of the city budget, there needs to be a comprehensive top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, whereveryou want to start, line-by-line look at the city’s budget and prioritization of where we want to spend our dollars, our precious sales tax dollars, that fund city programs,” Frerichs said. One City Council debate in the booksFive candidates for three seats on the Davis City Council were on the hot seat Thursday evening ... more »

CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?” « Fred Klonsky

CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?” « Fred Klonsky: CPS forces new evaluation procedures on teachers. CTU asks, “What’s the rush? Where’s the money coming from?”byFred KlonskyIt all goes back to PERA.The Performance Evaluation Reform Act, passed by the Illinois General Assembly two years ago.One of the requirements of PERA was that the CPS and the CTU were given a very narrow window to bargain a new evaluation plan ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In D.C. with an eye on Chicago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: In D.C. with an eye on Chicago: In D.C. with an eye on ChicagobyMike KlonskyI'm in D.C. for theOccupy the DOEevents. I don't speakuntil Mondayso I'm taking in the other presentations and will be reporting on some of them as time allows.Occupiers should find strength and solidarity vibes floating in from Spain where there's a general strike and wherenearly a millionprotesters are demanding an end to austerity and budget cuts from Madrid to the Basque country.Meanwhile ... more »

CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffs - The Willits News

CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffs - The Willits News: CTA attorney sends 'cease and desist' letter to school district on teacher layoffsByJennifer Poole/TWN Willits NewsPosted: 03/30/2012 07:05:44 AM PDTThe California Teachers Association's legal director has sent a "cease and desist" letter to the Willits school district regarding what CTA calls "unlawfully imposed" five-day layoffs for all teachers. The letter asks the district to rescind all the layoff notices.Willits Teachers Association president Brian ... more »

50 students at Douglass Academy high school suspended after protesting lack of teachers | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachers | Detroit Free Press | freep.com: "Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachers"Dozens of Douglass Academy high schoolers suspended after protesting lack of teachersSeniors from Frederick Douglass Academy gather on 14th Street in Detroit on Thursday, March 29, 2012, after staging a walkout to protest administrative problems. / Andre J. Jackson/ Detroit Free PressByChastity Pratt DawseyDetroit Free Press Education WriterFILED UNDERLocal NewsCity Of ... more »

WALMART WAGES WAR! - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News

“Collective Bargaining Makes Boosting Student Performance Impossible” - Jonathan Kantrowitz - Connecticut News: “Collective Bargaining Makes Boosting Student Performance Impossible”March 30, 2012 at 9:36 am byJonathan Kantrowitzby Jon Pelto fromWait, WhatConnCAN, the Connecticut charter school lobby group, has anew flyer(see link below) claiming that collective bargaining and unions “will not only make it impossible to enact reforms necessary to boost student performance, but it will likely prevent the most promising local and national leaders from choosing to run a [Commissioner’s]... more »

Shanker Blog » Pay Equity In Higher Education

Shanker Blog » Pay Equity In Higher Education: Pay Equity In Higher EducationbyEsther QuinteroBlatant forms of discrimination against women in academia have diminished since the Equal Pay Act and Title IX became law in 1964 and 1972, respectively. Yet gender differences in salary, tenure status, and leadership roles still persist among men and women in higher education. In particular, wage differences among male and female professors have not been fully explained, even when productivity, teaching experience, institutional size and prestige, ... more »

More lasts. « Fred Klonsky

More lasts. « Fred Klonsky: More lasts.byFred KlonskyI’m having my morning coffee far from my Logan Square home on the last Friday of my last Spring break.Brooklyn.I checked the Internet for how things are going with my brothers and sisters in Rockford who walked out yesterday after trying to bargain for a year with their board of education.It looks like they are still out today. I read that a couple of Tea Baggers tried to crash the picket line yesterday, ... more »

Lawmakers, regulators focus on private student loans | California Watch

Lawmakers, regulators focus on private student loans | California Watch: "Founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting"Concerns hover over illegal school fee legislationCorey G. Johnsonpixdeluxe/istockphoto.comA new bill that seeks to crack down on illegal school fees is moving through the state Legislature, but it faces a lukewarm reception from lawmakers and some education groups.With a 6-3 vote last week,AB 1575 [PDF]made it out of the Assembly Education Committee and is now being reviewed by the Appropriations Committee.But influential groups, like ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal Constitution

Missouri Education Watchdog: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal Constitution: Four Missouri School Districts Indicate Suspicious Test Scores According to Atlanta Journal ConstitutionbystlgretchenThe Atlanta-Journal Constitution has written anin-depth investigationabout the Atlanta public school cheating scandal by the superintendent, principals, and teachers. The scandal stems from cheating of educators as job accountability is now determined from student scores. The AJC also uncovered some questionable testing results from ot... more »

Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of Education | Scathing Purple Musings

Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of Education | Scathing Purple Musings: Duval Challenge Unmasks Politization of Florida Board of EducationbyBob SikesIn an astonishing move last month, the Florida Board of Educationignored the recommendationof its own Charter School Board and overruled Duval’s denial of a Florida Virtual Charter. Yesterday, Duval moved to appeal the state ruling. Writes Teresa Stepzinski in theFlorida Times-Union:The Duval County School Board will challenge the state Board of Education’s decision approving an online-only charter school’s ...more »

An Urban Teacher's Education: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the Top

An Urban Teacher's Education: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the Top: On Coercion, the Healthcare Law, and Race to the TopbyJames BoutinListening to thethird day of oral argumentsbefore the Supreme Court over the Obama healthcare law today, I was struck by the discussion around whether the law constituted coercion.The law suggests the federal government would be within its right to deny medicaid funds long received to states who refuse to accept new funds to cover more of ... more »