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

LAO: District oversight works | Thoughts on Public Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

LAO: District oversight works | Thoughts on Public Education: LAO: District oversight works - by John Fensterwald - Educated GuessbyJohn Fensterwald - Educated GuessDespite occasional interference by the Legislature, the system of fiscal oversight over districts by county offices of education has worked, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has concluded. “Given the substantial fiscal challenges that school districts have faced over the last two decades, the state’s fiscal oversight system has been effective in ensuring that school districts remain fiscally [...]Local ... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?: What's going on down on Rahm's plantation?byMike KlonskyDonoso's toastIs anybody buying the story thanNoemi Donoso"resigned" from her $195,000 post as the mayor's hand-picked chief education officer, after less than a year, in order to"pursue national projects.."? Is that the new version of "spending more time with my family"? She is the third top CPS officer to bail in less than three months.And what timing -- right in the middle ... more »

Yes You - May Day! | OccupyWallSt.org

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

Yes You - May Day! | OccupyWallSt.org: May 1st General StrikeShut Down the 1% and Fight BackNo Work – No School – No Housework – No ShoppingTake The StreetsClick Here for NYC ScheduleandOther CitiesYes You - May Day!byOccupyWallStPopoutfrom the Internet:"May what now!" Francesca (and figurines made in China) will teach you all about the history of May Day and give you some advice on what to do to celebrate workers around the worldGeneral Strike Banner Drop in Union SquarebyOccupyWallStPopoutviaStrikeEverywhere!:A banner ... more »

It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach. « Fred Klonsky: It may be May Day, but I’ve got kids to teach.byFred Klonsky Millions of workers will take to the streets today.Shops and factories will be closed.I could have used a personal day. I think I have one left.The contract requires that I use a personal day only for business that I could not take care of during the normal working day.I think May Day qualifies.But I’ve ... more »

AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations | Get Schooled

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations | Get Schooled: AJC cheating series: National Blue Ribbon Schools that may be red-faced at these revelations1:56 pmApril 28, 2012,byMaureen DowneyThe AJC has published the second installment in its major series on test score disparities nationwide. Today’s stories look at the improbable score patterns in some of the nation’s most highly decorated schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools.AJC reporters included a winning school that even merited a ... more »

The Innovative Educator: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

The Innovative Educator: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!: Read this opt out of testing letter from parent - Get ready to be inspired!Editor's note: This amazing opt out letter was shared in The Texas Opt Out of State Tests group (there's one for every state). I'm sharing it here because it so eloquently and passionately identifies so many of the ills of standardized testing from a parent who has her ... more »

Jersey Jazzman: The Last Straw

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

Jersey Jazzman: The Last Straw: The Last StrawbyDukeAll of you teachers reading me right now, get this straight, for once and for all:They do not respect you!Albany, NY (April 30, 2012)Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today established the New NY Education Reform Commission, bringing together nationally-recognized education, community, and business leaders to recommend reforms to the state's education system in order to improve performance in the classroom so that all of New York's students are fully prepared for their futures.The Commission ... more »

TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes. « Fred Klonsky: TRS Board meets and insists on the constitutionality of any pension changes.byFred KlonskyAs I reported, the Board of Trustees of the Teacher Retirement System met yesterday in Springfield.A number of people spoke during the public comment section of the meeting. Most expressed concern with the recent “new reality” comments of Executive Director Richard Ingram.The Board is composed of four active trustees, two annuitant trustees and ... more »

The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 32 minutes ago

The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized tests - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: The ‘Blitz:’ What’s foisted on kids after standardized testsbyValerie StraussThis piecewas written by a member of theTeaching Georgia Writing Collective, a group of educators, parents, and concerned citizens who engage in public writing and public teaching about education in Georgia. Members write anonymously because many fear there would be consequences to them or their children if their views were publicly known.Read full article ... more »

Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaboration | Davis Enterprise

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaboration | Davis Enterprise: Lucas Frerichs: courage, commitment and collaborationbyTom Sakash *Editor’s note:Each of the five candidates for Davis City Council were asked to pick a place in Davis important to them as thesetting of their interviews for this series of profiles, which will publish alphabetically this week.For Lucas Frerichs, it’s the Davis Farmers Market.Nothing feels more like Davis to Frerichs than a Saturday morning spent with wife Stacie — and the third member of ... more »

NEA - Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A"

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

NEA - Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A": Survey finds parent-teacher relationships strong--Teachers given grade of "A"The National Education Association and Parenting magazine partner for ground-breaking reportWASHINGTON - April 30, 2012 -Parentingmagazine and the National Education Association today announced the results of a groundbreaking joint survey* of 1,000 public school parents and educators that explored the roadblocks to effective parent-teacher communication. When parents were asked to “grade” their relationship with their child... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Jersey Jazzman: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?: Can You Get a Tomato Pie in LA?byDuke It looks like ACTING NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has decided to relocate control of New Jersey's schools fromTrenton to Los Angeles:Broad Residency fellows such as Bing Howell and Rochelle Sinclair are chosen, trained, paid and placed by the Broad Foundation’s decade-old educational transformation initiative.Broad has placed them with the New Jersey Department of Education, which has three high-levelleaders, including acting Commissioner ... more »

Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform Commission « New York City Parents Union

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform Commission « New York City Parents Union: Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s (fake) NYS Ed Reform CommissionbyadminApril 30, 2012Contact:Mona Davids, NYC Parents Union,(917) 340-8987New York City Parents Union Statement on Governor Cuomo’s newly formed New York State Education Reform CommissionGovernor Cuomo announced the formation of his New New York Education Reform Commission. We are appalled that Governor Cuomo has now formed a so-called “education commission” that fails to include even one parent, parent ... more »

The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do | Musings on Life and Love

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do | Musings on Life and Love: The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can DoByDennis Hong, September 13, 2010 6:30 am119KShareImage by doug88888 via FlickrThis piece was inspired by a heated discussion I had with a man who believes that teachers have an easy job. Please feel free to share it with others if you agree with the message.I used to be a molecular biologist. I spent my days culturing viruses. Sometimes, my ... more »

Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 10 hours ago

Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard. « Fred Klonsky: Social media outrage brings down anti-union Kenneth Cole billboard.Fred KlonskyatFred Klonsky-17 minutes agoThe billboard, featuring a woman exposing a lot of cleavage combined with an attack on teacher unions may have baffled some. But it pissed off enough people that Kenneth Cole, the sponsor of the sign, is taking it down. The outrage on blogs, Twitter and Facebook proved too much for the shoe monger. This weekend [...]The ... more »

The Obama Record in Education | Secretary Duncan's Remarks to the Mom Congress

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

The Obama Record in Education | U.S. Department of Education: The Obama Record in EducationSecretary Duncan's Remarks to the Mom CongressAPRIL 30, 2012Contact:Press Office, (202) 401-1576,press@ed.govThank you, Mark.Good morning and welcome to Washington, delegates.This is the third Mom Congress, and I've been honored to be at all three of them. I'm even more honored to have partners like you working across America to support education.With the support of parents and community leaders like you, educators all across our country are ... more »

CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and Tomatoes - Wait, What?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and Tomatoes - Wait, What?: CMT Scores and Teacher Evaluations – But Wait – That’s Like Comparing Apples and TomatoesbyjonpeltoGovernor Malloy, Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor and the rest of the “education reformers” continue to claim that Connecticut needs a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teacher evaluations in which teachers are, at least in part, rewarded, promoted or let go based on how well their students do in Connecticut’s standardized ... more »

What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”? « Diane Ravitch's blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”? « Diane Ravitch's blog: What’s Good About “Constructive Turbulence”?bydianeravI blog weekly for Education Week. I think it is a wonderful publication and a great newspaper of record for education.On my blog, I have been free to write whatever I want. No one has ever told me that I can’t say what I think. I respect Education Week for that editorial independence. I mention this because a friend wrote today to ask me if I started ...more »

Kenneth Cole gets schooled - Salon.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Kenneth Cole gets schooled - Salon.com: Kenneth Cole gets schooledUpdated: The fashion mogul has backed off his assault on schoolteachers after a public outcryBYDAVID SIROTA[UPDATE BELOW]It was always bound to go there, but few likely expected it would be so blatant. I’m talking about the ongoing campaign against organized labor; for decades deeply rooted in American political culture, the crusade has been periodically amplified in popular culture as well, from 1954′s “On the Waterfront” all the way to the Sopranos’ ... more »

Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Response to transformation plan: 'End to public education'The Occupy Philly Labor Work Group, of which Iam a member, drafted the followingstatementon theproposed transformation plan for the School District of Philadelphia.The Knudsen Plan – The End of the Promise of Public Education“Grow up and deal with it.” Mayor Michael Nutter’s response to critics of the School Transformation Plan.The fate of public education in Philadelphia just got darker if ... more »

RheeFirst! » ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MO

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

RheeFirst! » ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MO: ALEC member, MO Rep. Dieckhaus, recruited Rhee to launch her anti-teacher crusade in MObyadminOriginally posted on the IEA Region 28 blog. Read theentire post here.“Scott Dieckhaus, a republican from Washington and House Chairman of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee spoke to StudentsFirst leaders about coming to Missouri in the fall of 2012. Dieckhaus is quoted in the article:“StudentsFirst has a very pragmatic and ... more »

What Do Your Students Need? — Whole Child Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

What Do Your Students Need? — Whole Child Education: What Do Your Students Need?byKlea Scharberg Students as learners are also students as people, with hopes, fears, and needs. That's why it's so important to build adult-student relationships that support and encourage each student's academic and personal growth. Thefrequency and perceived worth of interaction(PDF) with faculty, staff, and other students is one of the strongest predictors not only of student persistence but also of student learning.The winner of the2012 Vision in ...more »

Schools Matter: Join the National Boycott Against Pearson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

Schools Matter: Join the National Boycott Against Pearson: Join the National Boycott Against PearsonbyJim HornShare widely. FromUnited Opt Out:Pearson, ALEC, and the Brave New (Corporate) World: Stand Up to Pearson Now!Supporters of Public Education,The curtain has been pulled aside recently from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), exposing the seedy underbelly of our democracy. Organizations like ALEC circumvent the democratic process in favor of corporations. Financial resources are used to influence public officials and provide model legislation meant to easily ... more »

LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene Diedrich - Perdaily.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 15 hours ago

LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene Diedrich - Perdaily.com: LAUSD'S DEASY- ABOVE THE LAW? by Rene DiedrichbyLeonard Isenberg(Mensaje se repite en Español)(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)It is already clear from Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Superintendent John Deasy that he considers the law a mere formality that he can dispense with at will. In continuing to act in complete derogation of teachers' contractual and civil rights, Deasy has ... more »