Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 3-31 #soschat #EDReform

This Week's Answers from Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: ‘A statement of our just grievances’Valerie StraussatThe Answer Sheet-5 minutes agoThis speech was delivered at a recent Save Texas Schools rally in Austin by John Kuhn, superintendent of the Perrin-Whitt Consolidated Independent School District. There is something of a revolt against standardized testing occurring in Texas, which I wrote about here. It is in that climate that Kuhn gave this speech, which was ... more »

American Skin (41 Shots) #trayvonmartin

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

AMERICAN SKIN (41 SHOTS)Studio version41 shots, and we'll take that ride'Cross this bloody river to the other side41 shots, cut through the nightYou're kneeling over his body in the vestibulePraying for his lifeWell, is it a gun, is it a knifeIs it a wallet, this is your lifeIt ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)No secret my friendYou can get killed just for living in your American skin(41 shots)(41 shots)(41 shots)(41 shots)41 shots, Lena gets her son ready for schoolShe ... more »

Saturday coffee. No caffeine. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Saturday coffee. No caffeine. « Fred Klonsky: Saturday coffee. No caffeine.byFred KlonskyThe doctor says that being 63 is a risk factor.He should have seen me at 23. There were many more risk factors in those days.The reason this issue came up was that last night I was in the ER at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn.I don’t usually visit the ER when I come visit the family. But the last few nights I was having heart palpitations. I called ... more »

Department of Education Responds with More Information about Turnarounds - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Department of Education Responds with More Information about Turnarounds - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Department of Education Responds with More Information about TurnaroundsbyAnthony CodyFollow me onTwitter at @AnthonyCodyOn Tuesday, I posted a blog titled "Spinning the Numbers on Turnarounds: School Improvement Grant Controversy Brews." In it I questioned the very limited information Secretary Duncan had released the previous week, when he claimed positive results for the program. I even went so far as to question what the ... more »

Podcast: Rep. Rob Bishop on A-PLUS Act and Education Reform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Podcast: Rep. Rob Bishop on A-PLUS Act and Education Reform: Scribecast: Rep. Rob Bishop Outlines an Alternative to No Child Left BehindRob BlueyMarch 31, 2012 at 8:43 am(0)More than half of states haveasked the U.S. Department of Education for a waiverfrom No Child Left Behind. Ten years after President George W. Bush signed the law, the Obama administration appears willing to grant waivers, so long as statesadopt a new set of requirementsfavored by the current occupant in the White House.Chief ... more »

Divisive Michelle Rhee is to education what Lindsay Lohan is to the acting profession.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 hour ago

Register gobbles up education 'red herrings' | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com: Register gobbles up education 'red herrings'10:40 PM, Mar. 30, 2012|CommentsFILED UNDEROpinionWhen Register editorial writer Linda Fandel (now governor’s education aide) went to Finland to study education, she found out that teachers there get a bachelor’s degree in their content specialty, then a master’s degree in teaching — all before entering the classroom and all on the state’s dime. Based on that, plus a half-dozen other sound policies, ... more »

National Education Standards – A Confidence Game? - Rock The Schoolhouse's blog - Boston.com

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National Education Standards – A Confidence Game? - Rock The Schoolhouse's blog - Boston.com: National Education Standards – A Confidence Game?Print|Comments (0)Posted by Jim StergiosMarch 30, 2012 04:35 PM231ShareThis64E-mailPublished on April 1, 1857,The Confidence-Man: His Masqueradewas Herman Melville’s last novel and one in which he coined a new term for American hucksters. Melville’s satirical tale has some relevance for better understanding the drive for national education standards, testing, and curricula, as well as the major players behind this movement.Here’s theWikipedia... more »

Journal Tribune: York County's Only Daily Newspaper > News > Obama: Education, innovation are key

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Journal Tribune: York County's Only Daily Newspaper News Obama: Education, innovation are key: Obama: Education, innovation are keyPresident Barack Obama delivers a campaign speech at the Southern Maine Community College campus in South Portland on Friday. JEFF LAGASSE/ Journal TribuneSupporters gather at SMCC for President’s campaign speechBy JEFF LAGASSEStaff WriterPublished:Saturday, March 31, 2012 6:00 AM EDTSOUTH PORTLAND — Throngs of New Englanders descended upon the Southern Maine Community College campus in South Portland on Friday to witness a campaign stump ...more »

Firing teachers based on bad (VAM) versus wrong (SGP) measures of effectiveness: Legal note « School Finance 101

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Firing teachers based on bad (VAM) versus wrong (SGP) measures of effectiveness: Legal note « School Finance 101: Firing teachers based on bad (VAM) versus wrong (SGP) measures of effectiveness: Legal notebyschoolfinance101In the near futuremy article with Preston Green and Joseph Oluwole on legal concerns regarding the use of Value-added modelingfor making high stakes decisions will come out in the BYU Education and Law Journal. In that article, we expand on various argumentsI first laid out in this blog postabout ... more »

Robert D. Skeels for Schoolboard #soschat

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 12 hours ago

Robert D. Skeels for Schoolboard: Problem posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor — Paulo FreireThe LAUSD Campaign for the 99%Robert D. Skeels, a Social Justice Schoolboard CandidateMy name is Robert D. Skeels. Over the course of many years as an activist and a social justice writer, I've witnesses many grave injustices perpetrated by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on our community. Sadly, a primary reason for this is that a majority of ... more »

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 hours ago

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 hours ago

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

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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)

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

(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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

“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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

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”

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

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

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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

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 22 hours ago

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 »