Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 4-25 AM Posts #soschat #edreform

The plan: Travesty or opportunity? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 9 minutes ago

The plan: Travesty or opportunity? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: The plan: Travesty or opportunity?byDale Mezzacappaon Apr 24 2012 Posted inLatest newsCOMMENTS (2)PRINTEMAILIt is a new day, a bold experiment, an opportunity for innovation.Or, it is a travesty, the end of public education as we know it, a cynical right-wing ploy.Not to mention a new twist on the decision a decade ago, for whichthe District has little to show, to turn over schools to education management organizations.Sixty-four closed school buildings. ... more 

Remarks by the President to College Reporters | The White House

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Remarks by the President to College Reporters | The White House: Remarks by the President to College ReportersbyThe White House4:05 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Hey, everybody. Thanks for being on the call. And first of all, let me apologize if the connection sounds fuzzy. As was just mentioned, I’m joining you guys on Air Force One. I’m just leaving North Carolina; I was at UNC-Chapel Hill. Now I’m on my way to the University of Colorado at Boulder. And tomorrow ... more »

Teacher evaluations — and surveys of students and colleagues - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Teacher evaluations — and surveys of students and colleagues - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Teacher evaluations — and surveys of students and colleaguesBy Katy MurphyTuesday, April 24th, 2012 at 8:49 am inteachers.Dave Orphal, a teacher at Skyline High School in Oakland, is writing a series of blog posts for The Education Report about revamping teacher evaluations — including a pilot program that two middle schools are using this year. Orphal serves as a veteran ... more »

Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A Year

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A Year: Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A YearbyJoy Resmovits As President Barack Obama makes his way across the country to slam animpending increase infederal student loan-interest rates, a group of congressional Democrats is announcing plans to introduce a legislative fix.Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Education ...more »

Jack Hassard: Creationism Creeps Into Louisiana and Tennessee Science Classrooms - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 5 hours ago

Jack Hassard: Creationism Creeps Into Louisiana and Tennessee Science Classrooms - 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 change and deep ... more »

WI Teacher: Students aren’t being fed due to Budget Cuts | Defend Wisconsin

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WI Teacher: Students aren’t being fed due to Budget Cuts | Defend Wisconsin: WI Teacher: Students aren’t being fed due to Budget CutsbyItayPopoutVideobyWIVoicesTV.Meg Farrington (29-year veteran teacher from Somerset, WI) explains how some students are struggling with hunger in school and how teachers have “stepped up to the plate” to bridge the gap and fill the need in the community. Farrington said “because of Governor Walker’s cuts” at the state level, consequences in policy choices are playing themselves out in ... more »

Schools Matter: National Resolution on High Stakes Testing #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT

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Schools Matter: National Resolution on High Stakes Testing: National Resolution on High Stakes TestingbyJudy RabinThis Resolution calls on federal and state policymakers to reduce standardized test mandates and, instead, base school accountability on multiple forms of measurement.To end the abuse and misuse of high stakes testingSign on to this Resolution:WHEREAS,our nation's future well-being relies on a high-quality public education system that prepares all students for college, careers, citizenship and lifelong learning, and strengthens the nation's social and economic well-being... more »

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: MUD BARON PLANTS WHAT HE PREACHES

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4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: MUD BARON PLANTS WHAT HE PREACHES: MUD BARON PLANTS WHAT HE PREACHESBY MARY MACVEAN, LOS ANGELES TIMES …BUT FROM THE KANSAS CITY STAR!|HTTP://BIT.LY/JMBHVETue, Apr. 24, 2012 07:05 AM -- LOS ANGELES :: It's not easy to keep pace with the youth gardening evangelist Mud Baron - in the real world or the virtual one.To keep up, you need to relentlessly advocate for schoolyard gardens full of food and flowers. You need ... more »

All Things Education: Housing Policy & Educational Opportunity: Some Notes

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All Things Education: Housing Policy Educational Opportunity: Some Notes: Housing Policy Educational Opportunity: Some NotesbyRachel LevyToday I had the pleasure of being a panelist in Richmond atHOME's (Housing Opportunities Made Equal)Blogger Luncheon on Housing Opportunity. Besides being treated to a tasty lunch ( free parking!) I got to listen to and partake in interesting conversations about Richmond Metro Area housing, public and mass transportation, families, parenting, entrepreneurship, politics, democratic process and institutions, social media, real estate, communities, an...more »

Florida’s Education Commissioner Scoffs at Widespread Opposition to Testing | Scathing Purple Musings

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Florida’s Education Commissioner Scoffs at Widespread Opposition to Testing | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s Education Commissioner Scoffs at Widespread Opposition to TestingbyBob Sikes With the number of parents organizing opposition to high-stakes testing mushrooming across the nation, Florida’s education commissionershrugged:“I don’t pretend anxiety doesn’t exist. … I don’t make a value judgment on whether we have too many tests, because the question I have is, compared to what? But what I will say is that there are through rule things ... more »

Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT

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Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to Conscience « InterACT: Bruce Springsteen’s Appeal to ConsciencebyDavid B. CohenBruce Springsteen (image by GabboT, used by permission, via Flickr)Tonight, I’ll be among the thousands of fans attending the Bruce Springsteen show at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. As often happens before I go to a concert, I’ve been listening to the latest release, familiarizing myself with the new stuff and getting psyched up to sing along and enjoy the show.Springsteen’s new album,Wrecking Ball, opens with ... more »

RheeFirst! » When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

RheeFirst! » When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”: When Pineapplegate meets Erasuregate why, call it a “DC miracle!”byadminDated but highly relevant to the text fixation of corporate reformers like RheeWritten by Laura Clawson for the DailyKos. Read theentire article here.“Data from 2009 and 2010 show that scores dropped at most schools the year after they were flagged for excessive erasures, raising questions about whether heightened security curbed abuses,” and results were flat in 2011, after Rhee ...more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cuts in Salem-Keier District by Husk

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Cuts in Salem-Keier District by Husk: Cuts in Salem-Keier District by HuskbyMelissa WestbrookNews from the Statesman-Journal in mid-April in Oregon (via one of our readers). I would link to the story but you can't unless you pay.Here's the lead storyline:All library and media jobs at Salem-Keizer elementary and middle schools would be cut under a proposal by Superintendent Sandy Husk. The 48 library and media instructors were notified Thursday of the plan, part of the district's ... more »

Old superintendents. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 8 hours ago

Old superintendents. « Fred Klonsky: Old superintendents.byFred KlonskyI got a call yesterday from Dr. Fred.About ten years ago and for about ten years before that he was our district’s superintendent.In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a great fan of administrators.But every once in a while one comes along that makes me think twice.Dr. Fred called to apologize for missing my retirement party (write me for details about time and place). He retired and is living out west now. He ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management fees

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NYC Public School Parents: Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management fees: Letter to SUNY board about Success Academy's proposed increase in management feesbyLeonie HaimsonEva Moskowitz credit: NY PostUPDATE: Just heard that today, the SUNY committee tabled the proposed hike in fees.April 24, 2012Dear Chairman McCall, SUNY board of trustees and members of the SUNY charter committee:I hope you have seen Juan Gonzalez’ article in today’s Daily News; “Public kept in dark about sweet deals for ... more »

EDUCATING OUR WAY TO AN ECONOMY BUILT TO LAST: Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike | The White House

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EDUCATING OUR WAY TO AN ECONOMY BUILT TO LAST: Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike | The White House: Educating Our Way to an Economy Built to Last:Stopping the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike986,494 Hispanic students would be affected In his State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an economy built to last—an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.The President has worked tirelessly ... more »

Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayers « Bill Ayers

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Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayers « Bill Ayers: Why we Oppose Nato by Bernardine Dohrn/Bill Ayersbybillayers The day after the 9/11 attacks the Bush administration took dozens of extreme, transformative actions, including invoking Article 5, the right to collective self-defense, of NATO’s founding charter—a first in NATO’s 50-year history.This marked the fateful expansion of NATO’s mission into new geographical regions (such as Afghanistan) and novel functions, such as the initiation and rationalization of the use of pre-emptive ... more »

Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America

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Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from America: My article in Solutions magazine: Reforming Chinese Education: What China Is Trying to Learn from AmericabyYongZhaoThe Solutions magazine (print version volume 2, issue 2, page 38-43) published my article about China’s education reform in April. Below is the abstract. The entire article is online at:Reforming Chinese Education.When Shanghai, China, was awarded the number one spot for educational achievement ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this week

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NYC Public School Parents: More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this week: More errors on the Pearson's NYS math exams this weekbyLeonie HaimsonGiven reports today of more errors in this week's 4thgrade and 8thgrade NYS math exams (see below), added tothe absurd passage and questions on the 8thgrade ELA exam, now known as Pineapplegate, we say three strikes and you’re out. Pearson should be made to forfeit their $32 million contract. If our children make errors on these ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?

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Missouri Education Watchdog: The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?: The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?byAnngieThere's an old saying about the inmates running the asylum that comes to mind with this story from a science educator in Florida who looked into the science portion of Florida's standardized assessment. Robert Krampf was developing some science test prep questions for 5th graders preparing to take that state's ... more »

Schools for the corporate era - Colorlines.com - Salon.com

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Schools for the corporate era - Colorlines.com - Salon.com: Schools for the corporate eraGov. Jindal has reshaped Louisiana's public education system based on ALEC's blueprintsBYJULIANNE HING,COLORLINES.COM9 more Gov. Bobby Jindal(Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster)This piece originally appeared onColorlines.com.Gov. Bobby Jindal has remade the Louisiana public schools system with impressive speed over the past legislative session. Last week, he signed into law a suite of landmark reform bills that will likely change the direction of public education in Louisiana forever. But not all ... more »

Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » Mass Localism for Improving America’s Education

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Yong Zhao » Blog Archive » Mass Localism for Improving America’s Education: Mass Localism for Improving America’s EducationbyYongZhaoA version of this post is published inKappa Delta Pi Record, 48(1), p. 17-22in Feb. 2012.To build a better education system, America must build on what we have—differentiation, uniqueness, and diversity.It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without ... more »

LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3) - Perdaily.com

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LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3) - Perdaily.com: LAUSD: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EDUCATION (VIDEO #3)byLeonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)The failure to follow LAUSD's own bulletins, the LAUSD/UTLA Collective Bargaining, and state and federal are only part of the reason that LAUSD remains such an unmitigated failure when it comes to educating predominantly minority students that make up the ... more »

Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the Year - LA Daily News

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Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the Year - LA Daily News: Obama honors Burbank educator as National Teacher of the YearByBarbara Jones, Staff WriterPosted: 04/24/2012 07:52:43 AM PDTUpdated: 04/24/2012 08:15:45 AM PDTPresident Barack Obama congratulates the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, Rebecca Mieliwocki, who teaches at Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday, April 24, 2012, during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Charles Dharapak)CLICK PHOTO ... more »

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH: How stupid items get onto standardized tests « Diane Ravitch's blog

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How stupid items get onto standardized tests « Diane Ravitch's blog: How stupid items get onto standardized tests Many people have wondered how the New York State Education Department permitted the nonsensical story about the pineapple and the hare to get onto the state test.This is not the first time a really bad reading passage got onto the test and it won’t be the last.State Commissioner John King was quick to issue a defensive statement saying that people were reading ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pineapple Rebellion in full swing

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Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Pineapple Rebellion in full swing: Pineapple Rebellion in full swingbyMike Klonsky Sometimes it happens that way. A single insipid test question has sparked a rebellion and shone a light, not only on current standardized testing practices, but on the whole testing industry and its leading profiteer,Pearson Publishing.TheN.Y. Times reports:Anti-testing activists have taken up the cudgel, saying that the passage and the multiple-choice questions associated with it perfectly illustrate the absurdity of standardized testing. And by Friday ... more »

NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education Reform - Wait, What?

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NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education Reform - Wait, What?: NEWS FLASH: Malloy Hits New Low As He Misleads Minority Community on Education ReformOne story in today’sHartford Courantis about Governor Malloy’s visit last night to the Faith Congregational Church where he explained that if the 81 state representatives and 27 or 28 senators from the poorest (and most minority) districts voted for his version of the “Education Reform” bill – it would pass. ... more »

A Sociological Eye on Education | Aaron’s fable

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A Sociological Eye on Education | Aaron’s fable: Aaron’s fablePineapple (courtesy of Alvesgaspar)(The fable below will make more sense if you know the following: Last week, New York eighth-graders taking the state’s English Language Arts assessment were subjected to six exam questions based on abizarre and incomprehensible passage featuring a talking pineapple. State Education Commissioner John King Jr.defended the passage, but said that these questions wouldn’t count. Also last week,New York Timescolumnist David Brooks wrote acolumn calling for value-added assessment ... more »

COMMUNITY KILLER? Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings planned | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

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Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings planned | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Radical District reorganization, 64 school closings plannedbyDale Mezzacappaon Apr 24 2012 Posted inLatest newsCOMMENTS (3)PRINTEMAILTags:District budget INN feedThomas Knudsen Penny Nixon leadership school closingDistrict staff and consultants are recommending asweeping overhaulof how public schools in Philadelphia operate, planning to close 64 schools over the next five years and divvy up those that remain among “achievement networks” led by teams of educators or nonprofit institutio... more »

Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform? - Wait, What?

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

Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform? - Wait, What?: Now wait, who is that grassroots group Students for Education Reform?byjonpeltoporcupine backs into a cactus -Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformersporcupine backs into a cactusOn April 19, 2012, 60 college students held a rally at the State Capitol demanding that the Legislature pass Governor Malloy “Education Reform” bill.Students For Education Reform’s Connecticut director claimed that students were coming from a dozen different Connecticut campuses and that the ... more »