BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS
Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky
Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky: Pension Call Tuesday. by Fred Klonsky With just a few days left in the regular General Assembly session, today is the day we are expecting to see a pension bill emerge. You can watch the House Pension Committee live here thanks to Tim Furman. Other news: Former IEA President Bob Haisman is on his way down to Springfield with the 33,000 plus signatures gathered on his on-line petition to the one-term Governor Quinn. 33,000 is the number of votes that Pat Quinn won election by last time. He will be challenged in the next Democratic primary and he... more »
Shanker Blog » We Should Only Hold Schools Accountable For Outcomes They Can Control
Shanker Blog » We Should Only Hold Schools Accountable For Outcomes They Can Control: We Should Only Hold Schools Accountable For Outcomes They Can Control by Matthew Di Carlo Let’s say we were trying to evaluate a teacher’s performance for this academic year, and part of that evaluation would use students’ test scores (if you object to using test scores this way, put that aside for a moment). We checked the data and reached two conclusions. First, we found that her students made fantastic progress this year. Second, we also saw that the students’ scores were still quite a bit lo... more »
The in box. Making constitutional what is unconstitutional. « Fred Klonsky
The in box. Making constitutional what is unconstitutional. « Fred Klonsky: The in box. Making constitutional what is unconstitutional. by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *At the core of the most recent pension reform proposal is a Draconian choice between retaining current COLA benefits in TRS and remaining in the health insurance program (TRIP). Its authors say that since TRIP is not a constitutionally guaranteed benefit, it can be ended by legislation. But the proposals do not end TRIP. The insurance program continues. The only thing changed is who gets the benefits.* *For many years all I... more »
Geaux Teacher!: YET ANOTHER INVASION BY U.S.Ed.gov
Geaux Teacher!: YET ANOTHER INVASION BY U.S.Ed.gov: YET ANOTHER INVASION BY U.S.Ed.gov by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) Another right-on post by conservative think-tank guy Rick Hess. I hope he appreciates my occasional re-posts. I've included my comment at the end. *RTT for Districts: Taking the Hubris Meter to 11 * *RTT for Districts: Four Things I Don't Love* By Rick Hess on May 29, 2012 7:57 AM Last week, I kvetched about the problems with RTT-District. I'll just say a bit more today. There are four things that particularly struck me about this $400 mill... more »
Are Charter Schools Public Schools? - Bridging Differences - Education Week
Are Charter Schools Public Schools? - Bridging Differences - Education Week: Are Charter Schools Public Schools? by Diane Ravitch [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Dear Deborah, I noted in my blog last week that the visionaries of the charter school idea—Raymond Budde of the University of Massachusetts and Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers—never intended that charter schools would compete with public schools. Budde saw charters as a way to reorganize public school districts and to provide more freedom for teachers. He envisioned teams of tea... more »
Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee says education reform is being polarized by me - The Gavin Newsom Show // Current TV
Michelle Rhee says education reform is being polarized into extremes - The Gavin Newsom Show // Current TV: Michelle Rhee says education reform is being polarized into extremes May 24, 2012 9Comments Play more videos after this? NOYES FROM THE SHOW—Former D.C. public schools chancellor and StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee explores the main issues she sees in education reform, and where teachers unions do and don’t agree with her. The Gavin Newsom Show airs Fridays at 11p ET / 8p PT. Join the conversation on Facebook or Google+ and share feedback with “The Gavin Newsom Show” at@Gav... more »
Diane Ravitch is calling on all parents to get involved | Seattle Education
Diane Ravitch is calling on all parents to get involved | Seattle Education: Diane Ravitch is calling on all parents to get involved by seattleducation2011 [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] *The following is a call to action that was posted on Diane Ravitch’s Blog.* *I like being called “fearless”.* In an earlier post, I described how a parent organization called out Scantron, the testing company, for inserting a blatantly propagandistic item into its standardized tests. The reading passage was about the alleged superiority of charters as education reform and na... more »
Michelle Obama on her garden, her future and her role in 2012 campaign – USATODAY.com
Michelle Obama on her garden, her future and her role in 2012 campaign – USATODAY.com: Michelle Obama on her garden, her future and the campaign By Susan Page, USA TODAY Updated 1h 6m ago - Comments - - - - - - Reprints & Permissions WASHINGTON – Michelle Obama is eager to show off the flourishing White Housevegetable garden, but she's also keeping an eye out for her two daughters to get home from school. - [image: Michelle Obama and a schoolgirl work in the White House garden.] By Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images Michelle Obama and ... more »
Geaux Teacher!: ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY!
Geaux Teacher!: ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY!: ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY! by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) *I am re-posting another article that describes the attack on public education and its undermining of our democratic way of life. This one comes from South Carolina. As more and more of these stories reach the mainstream media, the public will realize that what qualified educators have been saying for a number of years is really true. * You will find the post and the comments by readers that follow at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/28-8 Published on Monday, May...more »
Figuring out your district’s weighted funding | Thoughts on Public Education
Figuring out your district’s weighted funding | Thoughts on Public Education: Figuring out your district’s weighted funding Share It takes calculating; yardstick is 47% increase by 2018-19 Posted on 5/29/12 • Categorized as Equity issues, Revenue and taxes, Student spending By *John Fensterwald - Educated Guess* The state Department of Finance has released the district allocations under Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised plan for weighted student funding that shaves off the peaks, fills in the valleys and includes other changes that make allotments flatter, arguably fairer and potentially ... more »
Daily Kos: JFK would have been 95 today
Daily Kos: JFK would have been 95 today: JFK would have been 95 today by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken) We tend to forget how young Kennedy was when he was elected, and still how young he was when he died. He remains the youngest man ever elected president. He died at the earliest age of any man to serve as President. He was the first President born after 1900 - his immediate predecessor, Dwight David Eisenhower, had been born in 1890, graduating from West Point 2 years before Kennedy was born. The last three presidents have been younger than I am. As young as Clinton was when swor... more »
Who Will Vouchers Benefit in Louisiana? « Diane Ravitch's blog
Who Will Vouchers Benefit in Louisiana? « Diane Ravitch's blog: Who Will Vouchers Benefit in Louisiana? by dianerav As Mitt Romney continues his advocacy for vouchers, he should follow developments in Louisiana. As I mentioned in a previous post, the New Living Word School has offered to nearly quadruple its student enrollment, from 122 to 437, even though it lacks the facilities or teachers for the new students. Millions of public dollars will flow to this small church school, where students spend most of their class time watching DVDs. A reader alerted me that another little sc... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Romney throws a right. Obama ducks.
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Romney throws a right. Obama ducks.: Romney throws a right. Obama ducks. by Mike Klonsky I must admit, I was glad when *Mitt Romney* fired the first education salvo across the Democrats' bow last Wednesday at the Latino Coalition annual economic summit in Washington. My fear was that both parties were going to avoid mentioning the E-word right up through November. I thought, now that Romney has come out openly and purposefully, in a white paper, with his party's anti-public school line, including support for vouchers, larger class size and a direct, ... more »
Arnie Duncan Drops By… - Wait, What?
Arnie Duncan Drops By… - Wait, What?: Arnie Duncan Drops By… by jonpelto Today, U.S. Secretary Arnie Duncan and Governor Dan Malloy will be holding a press conference about “education reform” and the Connecticut legislation that increases the number of standardized tests, seeks to improve test scores and begins the process of tying test scores to teacher evaluations so that administrators can determine which teachers to keep and which to let go. Word on the street is that Duncan will be announcing that Connecticut has or will get the Now Child Left Behind “waiver” that actually ... more »
Geniuses: born or made? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Geniuses: born or made? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Geniuses: born or made? by Valerie Strauss Jack Andraka is a 15-year-old kid from Maryland who just won the world’s largest and most important high school science fair by devising a new way to detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages. And then there’s Lori Anne Madison, the 6-year-old Virginia girl who is the youngest student ever to qualify for the National Spelling Bee — but she’s more than just a great speller. The prodigy, who lives in Prince William County, was reading at the age of 2. Read full article >> ... more »
Social Media: Help or Hindrance to Education Reform? « My Island View
Social Media: Help or Hindrance to Education Reform? « My Island View: Social Media: Help or Hindrance to Education Reform? by tomwhitby I recently had a lengthy discussion, ironically on Twitter, with a very tech-savvy educator friend about his concerns that big ideas in education might be getting drowned out as a result of the continuing discussions about Social Media and connectedness for educators. I hope I am categorizing that correctly. My friend felt that Social Media is a powerful medium that can be used to learn, but too much attention is given to it at the expense of o... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: What's REALLY Happening in Schools? Common Core Control Coming Soon to Your Public School...or Home School...or Private School.
Missouri Education Watchdog: What's REALLY Happening in Schools? Common Core Control Coming Soon to Your Public School...or Home School...or Private School.: What's REALLY Happening in Schools? Common Core Control Coming Soon to Your Public School...or Home School...or Private School. by stlgretchen I'm a mother of four children. Thanks again for the nice compliment. I appreciate it. Another pathetic tid-bit is that after 35 parents went to a School Commission meeting,with complaints such as "I have a degree in finance and I can't understand how to help my third grader with her... more »
Los Angeles school police citations draw federal scrutiny | California Watch
Los Angeles school police citations draw federal scrutiny | California Watch: Los Angeles school police citations draw federal scrutiny by Susan Ferriss Anonymous Vanessa Romo/KPCC.org Students protest in Los Angeles against school police tickets issued heavily at middle schools, low-income schools. Alexander Johnson arrived at Barack Obama Global Preparatory Academy to pick up his 12-year-old after school on May 19, 2011. When his son, A.J. didn’t appear, Johnson went inside the Los Angeles middle school. What he found was devastating. A.J. and a friend had gotten into a physical ... more »
No Charter School. Yes, Public Waldorf School | California Progress Report
No Charter School. Yes, Public Waldorf School | California Progress Report: No Charter School. Yes, Public Waldorf School by jeffson [image: Robert-Ovetz@UN.gif]*By Robert Ovetz, Ph.D.* Across the state public schools are threatened with a “death by a thousand cuts” of budget cuts, rising class sizes, standardized tests, and teacher lay-offs that set our children up for failure. Waiting in the wings is the charter school industrial complex seeking to turn our public schools into the next profit making industry. Schools and even entire districts are being shut down and re-opened as p... more »
NJ Spotlight | 'Facebook' Fund Releases Wish List for Newark Public Schools and Charters
NJ Spotlight | 'Facebook' Fund Releases Wish List for Newark Public Schools and Charters: 'Facebook' Fund Releases Wish List for Newark Public Schools and Charters If all goes according to plan, Newark charter schools stand to gain $15 million from fund created by Mark Zuckerberg print | email | share By John Mooney, May 29, 2012 in Education |1 Comment The Foundation for Newark’s Future, the fund created from Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to Newark public schools, will soon commit approximately $15 million to the city’s charter schools -- nearly doubling its overall outlay s... more »
WHY LAUSD REALLY FIRED PATRICIA MCALLISTER (VIDEO) - Perdaily.com
LAUSD, John Deasy, Ramon Cortines, Monica Garcia, Richard Vladovic - Perdaily.com: WHY LAUSD REALLY FIRED PATRICIA MCALLISTER (VIDEO) by Leonard Isenberg [image: Patricia McAllister.jpg] *(Mensaje se repite en Español) (For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post) *Probably one of the clearest examples of managing the news to discredit somebody was seen several months ago in the case of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) substitute teacher Patricia McAllister. While I found her message of how zionist Jews, who supposedly run the Federal Re... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Hawthorne Community Does the Hard Work
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Hawthorne Community Does the Hard Work: Hawthorne Community Does the Hard Work by Melissa Westbrook I visited Hawthorne earlier this year when they opened their Family Support room. The Times has a story about the energy surging through this school from both parents and staff. This is how a community retakes and rebuilds its neighborhood school. The story I was told was that a couple of neighborhood parents, when their kids were preschools, thought, "why wouldn't I go to my neighborhood school?" when neighbors tried to warn them off. Undeterred... more »
Geaux Teacher!: WAS NEW ORLEANS THE MODEL?
Geaux Teacher!: WAS NEW ORLEANS THE MODEL?: WAS NEW ORLEANS THE MODEL? by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT) http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/05/25-7#.T8AB5Gujvds.twitter *I had to post this story by Liza Featherstone because it is so inclusive and relevant to the destruction being done to the Louisiana public education system. Our previous Recovery School District Supt. Paul Vallas was Superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools prior to his arrival in New Orleans. His work there was the basis for the problems that school system is having now. * *US Public S... more »
Let’s Agree on This: Bring The Troops Home | The Jose Vilson
Let’s Agree on This: Bring The Troops Home | The Jose Vilson: Let’s Agree on This: Bring The Troops Home by Jose This post won’t serve as an anti-war post. I haven’t changed my pro-peace stance on any level, and firmly believe that our presence in so many foreign countries has less to do with actually promoting peace and more to do with increasing wealth for a handful of powerful individuals. My radicalism doesn’t mean I somehow hate America or want to jump to Cuba; it just means I conscientiously object to sending more and more of our young men and women to countries under ambiguo... more »
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-27-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-26-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-24-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-23-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-21-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 5-23-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-23-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap UPDATE 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-22-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 5-21-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2