Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts 3-14 #edreform #soschat

NYC Educator: No Fair Hearing for You!

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NYC Educator: No Fair Hearing for You!: No Fair Hearing for You!byNYC EducatorLeo Caseyhas a new columncriticizing the NY Principals who oppose the upcoming evaluation system. He makes some good points.1. Unfettered power of principals can be a disaster, particularly with Bloomberg-indoctrinated Leadership Academy grads. Anyone who doubts that can follow the saga of Peter Lamphere, who appears to have received U ratings for the crime of leading his chapter. Peter had to go to court to have one rating ... more »

Assembly passes ALEC’s special education voucher plan that would divert millions to private schools | Defend Wisconsin

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Assembly passes ALEC’s special education voucher plan that would divert millions to private schools | Defend Wisconsin: Assembly passes ALEC’s special education voucher plan that would divert millions to private schoolsbyItayPrivate school vouchers would be made available to special education students under a bill that has passed the state Assembly on a 55-39 vote Tuesday. It must also pass the Senate this week or it will die for the year.Assembly bill 110would create a statewideSpecial Needs Scholarship Program, which would ... more »

Women are mad as hell in Wisconsin. The war on women is here. |

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Women are mad as hell in Wisconsin. The war on women is here. |: Women are mad as hell in Wisconsin. The war on women is here.bybluecheddarI don’t know if you’ve noticed something different with women in America lately. They seem to be more alarmed and more angry. Part of it is the much-publicized backlash against Rush Limbaugh for his attack against Sara Fluke. * Part of it is a growing alarm over a series of invasive laws against women ... more »

Why Are Many of Our Children’s Teachers Still Students Themselves? | California Progress Report

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Why Are Many of Our Children’s Teachers Still Students Themselves? | California Progress Report: Why Are Many of Our Children’s Teachers Still Students Themselves?bymeganBy Maribel HerediaPlaintiff in Lawsuit Against the Department of EducationFour years ago, my son Joey — who was in first grade at the time — came home from school and said, “Mommy, my teacher wasn’t there today. She went to college.”I figured he had to be mistaken; surely, his teacher had completed college and her professional training. ... more »

The Oakland school district might be finished downsizing - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

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The Oakland school district might be finished downsizing - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: The Oakland school district might be finished downsizingTuesday, March 13th, 2012 at 3:55 pm infamilieskindergartenOUSD central officeschool closuresstudentsNo Commentsphoto by Jane Tyska/Bay Area News GroupI meant to postthis storysooner: OUSD’s school closure process — which was supposed to last for two to three years and shrink the district by 20-30 schools — will likely stop after the first round, when the ... more »

Public Education Can’t Take More Cuts, Pink Slips - California Teachers Association

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Public Education Can’t Take More Cuts, Pink Slips - California Teachers Association: Public Education Can’t Take More Cuts, Pink SlipsContact: Mike Myslinski, CTA; 408-921-5769 (cell); mmyslinski@cta.orgUNION CITY – Bay Area public schools are at a darkening crossroads after years of devastating cuts and pink slips and can’t survive without adequate funding, while the governor’s proposed budget could make matters worse, local Education Coalition members warned today at a news conference in one decimated school district in Alameda County.California schools and ... more »

Weighted formula’s heavy load | Thoughts on Public Education

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Weighted formula’s heavy load | Thoughts on Public Education: A win for Transitional Kindergarten - by Kathryn BaronbyKathryn BaronGov. Brown’s latest proposal to eliminate Transitional Kindergarten hit a wall yesterday in the state Assembly. By a 3-to-1 vote along party lines, the budget subcommittee on education finance rejected the governor’s plan. “Eliminating the TK mandate would be a huge step backward for the state and early education,” said subcommittee chair Susan Bonilla, a Contra [...]Weighted formula’s heavy load - by ... more »

Public Good — Or Commodity? | Taking Note

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Public Good — Or Commodity? | Taking Note: Public Good — Or Commodity?byJohn MerrowA quote from Claude Steele -- the new Dean of Education at Stanford -- combine with other discussions John Merrow had in the past week to form an integral question about American education.If you are reading this during daylight hours in March, chances are that millions of our children are now engaged in what’s called ‘test prep.’ Just yesterday someone showed me the March calendar for a ... more »

Dilemmas in Researching Technology in Schools (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

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Dilemmas in Researching Technology in Schools (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Dilemmas in Researching Technology in Schools (Part 2)bylarrycubanIf you are a technology advocate, that is, someone who believes in his or her heart-of-hearts that new devices, new procedures, and new ways of using these devices will deliver better forms of teaching and learning, past and contemporary research findings are, to put it in a word–disappointing. How come?For those champions of high-tech use in ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: War On Women = War On Teachers, Part II

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Jersey Jazzman: War On Women = War On Teachers, Part II: War On Women = War On Teachers, Part IIbyDukeI seem to have struck a nerve with my last post on how theWar On Women runs parallel with the War On Teachers. Let's go a little deeper.My premise is straightforward: because conservatives feel comfortable in fighting against the empowerment of women, they will naturally gravitate toward "reforms" in education that disempower teachers. After all,three-fourths of the teacher workforce are female, ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-13 #soschat #EDReform

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Seattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For America « Union WatchBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-4 minutes agoSeattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For America « Union Watch: Seattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For AmericaBY LARRY SAND, ON MARCH 13TH, 2012Teachers unions, known for fighting to keep pedophiles in the classroom, try to get rid of good teachers in Seattle.Last week, I wrote about the particularly egregious case ofa teacher in Rochester, NYwho sent sexually ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Jose Vilson joins SOS leadership team

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Jose Vilson joins SOS leadership team: Jose Vilson joins SOS leadership teambyMike KlonskyJose Vilson (left) and Pedro Noguera at SOS RallyCongratulations toJose Vilsonon his appointment to the National Steering Committee of Save Our Schools. Jose was a speaker at our national march and rally in D.C. last July. As we build for the next SOS Platform Convention in D.C., August 3-5, Jose will be a great addition to the organization's leadership team. Jose is a teacher/writer/activist ... more »

The Organization That Dare Not Speak Its Name* | Edwize

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The Organization That Dare Not Speak Its Name* | Edwize: The Organization That Dare Not Speak Its Name*byLeo CaseyClick image for a larger version.On Sunday, my wife came home from church with a leaflet and a strange story.Someone who was a tad bit reluctant to provide her name had passed out a leaflet and attempted to recruit members of her congregation to an organization of parents fighting for better schools, PTA Now. But it didn’t really seem like the PTAs ... more »

Modern School: Teacher Morale Lowest in 20 Years

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Modern School: Teacher Morale Lowest in 20 Years: Teacher Morale Lowest in 20 YearsbyMichael DunnIn a recent survey of the nation’s teachers, more than half expressed reservations about their jobs, according to theNew York Times, the highest level of dissatisfaction since 1989. Nearly one-third said they were likely to leave teaching within the next five years (three years ago only 25% expected to leave teaching within five years). Many expressed concerns about job security, increased class sizes, cuts to programs ... more »

School Tech Connect: Nurturing The Sense of Inquiry

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School Tech Connect: Nurturing The Sense of Inquiry: Nurturing The Sense of Inquirybynoreply@blogger.com (Tim)This is hugely encouragingand humane and totally John Deweyish. This is the sort of thing that Michelle Rhee's corporate backers don't want coming down the pike. It's the sort of thing Jonah Edelman would like for his own children but that would be extremely inconvenient for the buying-of-legislation effort he's organized.As you may or may not know, the term "multiple measures" in Duncanville has come to mean ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: No Shame at the NJDOE

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Jersey Jazzman: No Shame at the NJDOE: No Shame at the NJDOEbyDukeAfter all of the debunking that's taken place over the last several months, I cannot believe thatACTING NJDOE Commissioner Cerfwould say this:Acting Education commissioner Chris Cerf says, “According to data over the past several years,charter schools on average across the state are outperforming other district options for students in high-need communities.However, we must also be honest that just as some district schools are failing students, some charter schools in ... more »

In the News: Parent engagement up across U.S. | catalyst-chicago.org

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In the News: Parent engagement up across U.S. | catalyst-chicago.org: In the News: Parent engagement up across U.S.Share on windycitizenShare on facebookShare on emailBy:Cassandra West/ March 13, 2012Tags:parent engagementteacher evaluationteacher performanceWhile teacher satisfaction has declined to its lowest point in more than two decades, parent engagement is climbing to new heights across America, anew surveyreports.Also: Two-thirds of students (64 percent) report that they talk about what happens at school with their parents every day, up 14 percent from 1988, the ... more »

'Occupy Education' Debates the Gates Foundation (and Wins) | Common Dreams

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'Occupy Education' Debates the Gates Foundation (and Wins) | Common Dreams: Published on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 byCommon Dreams'Occupy Education' Debates the Gates Foundation (and Wins)byJesse Hagopian“Gates Foundation you will fail / Education is not for sale!”The chants of some 150 teachers, students, parents and Occupy Seattle activists reverberated off the windows of the global headquarters of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation – a leading promoter of a corporate brand of education reform—announcing we were ready for our scheduled debate ... more »

Give Students the Opportunity to Take the Lead — Whole Child Education

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Give Students the Opportunity to Take the Lead — Whole Child Education: Give Students the Opportunity to Take the LeadbyASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted byPaula Mirk, MEd. Mirk has worked at whole child partner theInstitute for Global Ethics(IGE) since 1996 and currently oversees the IGE education department's many initiatives, including theEthical Literacyexpanding community of schools.We call itEthical Fitness®: an approach and process to help young people and adults internalize ethical values and frameworks for critical thinking about ethics. Like physical ... more »

John Thompson: New York Reformers Show Their True Colors - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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John Thompson: New York Reformers Show Their True Colors - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: John Thompson: New York Reformers Show Their True ColorsbyAnthony CodyGuest post by John Thompson.If nothing else, the controversy over publicizing New York City teachers' value-added scores has revealed the essence of test-driven school "reform." The contemporary data-driven accountability experiment was begun by idealists, who sincerely sought a "civil rights movement of the 21st century," but who were clueless about the realities of urban ... more »

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Tribune: “Off with their heads!” Fire school board for saying no to charter school

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Tribune: “Off with their heads!” Fire school board for saying no to charter school: Tribune: School board should be “fired” for saying no to charter schoolbyadminToday’s Chicago Tribune editorial boardfronts an attackon corporate reform’s next target: elected school boards.Yep. The privatizers have decided that democratically-elected school boards just get in the way of “real reform” like privatization, expanding charter schools, and replacing experienced teachers with deer-in-the-headlights Teach for America kids.PAA co-foun... more »

What do Eva Longoria, Emilio Estefan and Wilmer Valderrama have in common with Lily? - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

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What do Eva Longoria, Emilio Estefan and Wilmer Valderrama have in common with Lily? - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard: What do Eva Longoria, Emilio Estefan and Wilmer Valderrama have in common with Lily?byLilysBlackboardOur very own Lily Eskelsen was honored today by theLatino Leaders Networkwith their Eagle Leadership Award. She was recognized for her “outstanding contributions to the Latino community” and her dedication as an educator.Juan Sepúlveda, former director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, ... more »

PURE: More nasty stuff from Stand for Children in Chicago #soschat

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Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » More nasty stuff from Stand for Children in Chicago: More nasty stuff from Stand for Children in ChicagobyadminChicago Public Schools and Stand for Children staffers sharing a car? How cozy… (read about it below).I didn’t name him, but the same Stand for Children creepI wrote about last monthhas been skulking around other Chicagoparent group meetings, and some believe he and SFC should be exposed for the tactics they are using. I ... more »