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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Big Education Ape - Morning Wink 6-30 AM Posts #soschat #edreform



BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK  AM POSTS


Jersey Jazzman: Do They REALLY Care About Parents?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 6 minutes ago
Jersey Jazzman: Do They REALLY Care About Parents?: Do They REALLY Care About Parents? by Duke Regular readers will recall that Chris Christie's favorite local superintendent these days is a young fellow by the name of Steve Engravalle, INTERIM Superintendent in Fort Lee. The fresh-faced Engravalle was happy to accept the accolades of the governor; in exchange, he trashed the teachers union on national TV. Engravalle has been further rewarded with a position on a state school aid task force, despite his relative lack of experience in these matters. Keep all that in mind as we c... more »

This Week's Education Research Report 6-30-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 minutes ago
Education Research Report: Education Research Report: This Week's Education Research Report Teacher Satisfaction Linked to Supportive Work Environments Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 22 hours ago In recent years, much attention has been paid to developing meaningful teacher evaluation systems as a strategy to improve public education, and rightly so. But while states and districts implement better ways to identify their strongest educators, too many are giving short shrift to the culture and work environments in schools, particularly in high-poverty and low-... more »

Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts : NPR

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 24 minutes ago
Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts : NPR: Student Loan Deal Pales Against Other Education Cuts by CLAUDIO SANCHEZ [image: College students surrounded President Obama earlier this month when he called on Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling. Congress agreed on a deal to prevent the hike on Friday.] It came down to the wire, but finally, Republicans and Democrats have agreed on a deal that keeps the interest rate on government-backed student loans from doubling. It will save the average borrower about $1,000 a year, but the compromise is likel... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 26 minutes ago
Missouri Education Watchdog: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior?: Are You Smarter Than A Chinese High School Senior? by Anngie "In the U.S., where No Child Left Behind has made standardized testing a core article of faith in assessing student readiness, you have more and more parents worried about the lack of rigor in our curricula, and fearing the rise of China and other nations that excel in international math-science competitions." WSJ 6-26-2012 On the other side of the world what is China doing? Their high school seniors must take the Gaokao, a grueling three d... more »

WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires | The White House

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 31 minutes ago
WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires | The White House: WEEKLY ADDRESS: An All-Hands-On-Deck Approach to Fighting the Colorado Wildfires In this week’s address, President Obama spoke to the American people from Colorado, where he had just finished touring areas impacted by the devastating Waldo Canyon fire, meeting with first responders as well as families affected by the fires. The President thanked the brave firefighters and countless volunteers who are providing food, water, and shelter to those in need, and made clear that his admin... more »

Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 34 minutes ago
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: Top Content this Week Rank1[image: How We Teach Trumps What We Teach.]How We Teach Trumps What We Teach. Added by Thomas Whitby on May 11, 2012 2[image: Toxic Grading Practices]Toxic Grading Practices Added by Thomas Whitby on June 15, 2012 3[image: BYOD in the 21st Century]BYOD in the 21st Century Added by Marc-AndrĂ© Lalande on June 6, 2012 4[image: Just joined the site]Just joined the site Added by Jodi Pflaumer on June 27, 2012 5[image: Finland's Education Success]Finland's Education Success Added by Thomas Whitby on April 26, 2012 6[image... more »

Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years | California Progress Report

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 42 minutes ago
Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years | California Progress Report: Walmart at 50: Still Greedy After All These Years Posted on 30 June 2012 [image: Printer-friendly version]Printer-friendly version[image: Send by email]Send by email *By Bobbi Murray* The Frying Pan Walmart soon turns 50. What better time for a makeover, a little freshening up –a rebranding, perhaps? Maybe a new look to go along with a move from the ‘burbs to the Big City. The Big W is hoping a fresh face will help as it moves to crack an urban market worth as much as $100 billion. Walmart has overbuil... more »

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 43 minutes ago
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] Parent Involvement & Middle School Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 12 hours ago I’ve gotten a chance to read more carefully a report on parent involvement and middle school that I’ve previously posted about. You can read the study here, though I suspect you won’t learn anything new from it. It suggests that schools should focus on building relationships with parents through programs like home visits. Sounds ... more »

Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. - Wait, What?

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 48 minutes ago
Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. - Wait, What?: Two Must Read Commentary Pieces Education Reform in Connecticut. by jonpelto Sarah Darer Littman and Wendy Lecker have written two incredible news/commentary pieces that are essential reading for those who want to understand what Malloy, Pryor, Vallas and Adamowski are doing to Connecticut’s public education system…. I urge you to take the time to read them… *Once You Get Past the Tweets, School ‘Turnaround’ Shortcomings Abound* * http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/once_you_get_past_the_... more »

Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon | OregonLive.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 49 minutes ago
Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon | OregonLive.com: Ron Wyden says school food in Oregon comes from 'almost anywhere but Oregon': PolitiFact Oregon by Charles Pope, The Oregonian [image: Farmers market in Pioneer Courthouse Square]View full sizeArkasha Stevenson/The Oregonian/2010No, thank you California; we'll take our own strawberries for school lunches. Never mind, Minnesota and Michigan; we have excellent cheese in Oregon. When the Senate was debating the farm bill recently, Sen. Ron Wydenhighlighted the haphazard ... more »

Radical Scholarship: My NEW book on poverty released and on sale

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 51 minutes ago
Radical Scholarship: My NEW book on poverty released and on sale: *Ignoring Poverty in the U.S. The Corporate Takeover of Public Education* *By: P. L. Thomas, Furman University. * * * * Buy Online: http://infoagepub.com/products/Ignoring-Poverty-in-the-US * Paperback 978-1-61735-783-1 Web Price: $39.09 * Hardcover 978-1-61735-784-8 Web Price: $73.09 * eBookISBN: 978-1-61735-785-5 Ignoring Poverty in the U.S.: The Corporate Takeover of Public Education examines the divide between a commitment to public education and our cultural myths and more powerful commitment to consume... more »

Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling « MomsRising Blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 55 minutes ago
Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling « MomsRising Blog: Congress Votes To Stop Student Loan Interest Rates From Doubling by Aaron Smith You spoke up, and Congress listened. A strong bipartisan majority in Congress just passed a bill that prevents student loan interest rates from doubling for more than 7.4 million low- and middle-income students and their families on July 1. Without action, the increased interest rate for undergraduates receiving subsidized Stafford loans would have resulted in an extra $1,000 in debt for every year of school. Read mo... more »

Schools Matter: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 56 minutes ago
Schools Matter: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn: "ONLY" 59.1% Poor at School in Brooklyn by Judy Rabin From the *New York Times* June 27, 2012 At One Brooklyn School, a Lesson in the Danger of SuccessBy Louise Sloan If you believe the research, statistics and experts, it appears that my son’s elementary school, Public School 9 in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood, has been doing everything right. Middle-class, college-educated people are increasingly sending their children there because of its academic excellence, its emphasis on individualized instruction, its comm... more »

Testing. One. Two. Three. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago
Testing. One. Two. Three. « Fred Klonsky: Testing. One. Two. Three. by Fred Klonsky If you’re going to argue stuff around here, you have to be a little honest about what you say. And the organizers of the Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA, a group called United Opt Out National, have not met even that minimum requirement. On the eve of leaving for the National Education Association’s national meeting, I received their unsolicited call. As a thirty year member of the NEA and a life-time union member, I was not pleased with their threats. The NEA’s eventual eradication as a... more »

Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 10 hours ago
Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Not Another "Why I Left the Classroom" Story by Nancy Flanagan There's no shortage of blogs on why teachers are leaving the classroom. They're leaving because they're sick of the test-driven instruction and learning. They're leaving because everyone underestimates the complexity and the workload of classroom teaching. They're leaving because they've been on the job for 15 years and still don't make enough to pay the bills. They're fearful of speaking up against practices they know ar... more »

The Reformers’ “Fight Club” « Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
The Reformers’ “Fight Club” « Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] The Reformers’ “Fight Club” by dianerav Back when I was on the right side of the political fence, I was on the editorial board at *Education Next*. It is supported by the Hoover Institution and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, both conservative think tanks with which I was affiliated. The journal, which is based at Harvard and edited mainly by Paul Peterson, was created to counter what was seen as the liberal bias of the mainstream education media. *Education Next* is a well-e... more »

How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? « School Finance 101

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? « School Finance 101: How much does Federal Title I Funding Affect Fairness in State School Finance Systems? by schoolfinance101 About this much! These funding *profiles* are based on the methodology used in our reports on school funding fairness. The reports can be found here: http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ and the technical appendix can be found here: http://schoolfundingfairness.org/ This graph is based on an updated model which includes data from 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 (these are lin... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Walking You Thru 1240 - Part 1

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Walking You Thru 1240 - Part 1: Walking You Thru 1240 - Part 1 by Melissa Westbrook I am preparing an annotated analysis of 1240 so that anyone and everyone can see exactly what it says (and does not say which is the case in many places). First, do NOT bother to write a comment "*Melissa, there is no perfect bill or initiative"* because I'm sorry - this is an aggressive and vague charter school initiative and there is every reason to be suspicious of it. (Again, like many things that Charlie and I disagree with, if this initiative had been well-... more »

Report: Make Improving Teacher Working Conditions a Priority - Teaching Now - Education Week Teacher

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Report: Make Improving Teacher Working Conditions a Priority - Teaching Now - Education Week Teacher: [image: Teaching Now] Report: Make Improving Teacher Working Conditions a Priority By Liana Heitin on June 28, 2012 4:18 PM To boost teacher retention and student achievement at high-poverty schools, states and districts must first look to improve working conditions for teachers, concludes a new report by The Education Trust, a Washington-based nonprofit group. The report profiles five school districts that have focused efforts on bettering teacher support and development—specific... more »

A Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA | United Opt Out National

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
A Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA | United Opt Out National: A Challenge to Dennis Van Roekel and the NEA by admin We, the administrators of United Opt Out National, in order to preserve a free and equitable system of public education in the United States, do solemnly issue an invitation to the leadership, members and ultimately Dennis Van Roekel to take *direct and concerted action* in the fight to terminate immediately the patterns of negotiation and capitulation leading to policies destructive of public education, of children’s lives, both of which are representative... more »

New York Teacher | Edwize

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
New York Teacher | Edwize: New York Teacher by W.J. Levay [image: New York Teacher, June 28, 2012] Highlights from the June 28 issue of *New York Teacher*: Hands off our evaluations! In a victory for teacher privacy across the state, the state Legislature on June 21 passed legislation that restricts the public release of teacher evaluations, showing teachers the professional respect that the city did not. Seeds of learning Across the city, children are learning about the mysteries that are unlocked when a tiny seed is planted in the spring and grows into the food they eat at harvest... more »

William Hite tapped to run Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
William Hite tapped to run Philly schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: [image: William R. Hite, Jr.] WILLIAM R. HITE, JR. The Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2005 Superintendent Prince George‘s County Public Schools, Md. *“School leaders must provide the support and resources to enable all students to excel academically. Quality education is the key to future opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Urban superintendents must have the capacity to encourage change and hold teachers and administrators responsible for closing ethnic and income achievement gaps.”*... more »

Texas 2012 GOP Platform "Mistakenly" Promotes Shallow Thinking | K-12 News Network

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Texas 2012 GOP Platform "Mistakenly" Promotes Shallow Thinking | K-12 News Network: Texas 2012 GOP Platform “Mistakenly” Promotes Shallow Thinking by admin From EdWeek, a “mistake” that only confirms the worst biases against Texas, known by many for their highly politicized State Board of Education’s battles over textbook content. The 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform, adopted June 9 at the state convention in Forth Worth, seems to take a stand against, well, the teaching of critical thinking skills. Read it for yourself: We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills... more »

Texas 2012 GOP Platform "Mistakenly" Promotes Shallow Thinking | K-12 News Network

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Texas 2012 GOP Platform "Mistakenly" Promotes Shallow Thinking | K-12 News Network: Texas 2012 GOP Platform “Mistakenly” Promotes Shallow Thinking by admin From EdWeek, a “mistake” that only confirms the worst biases against Texas, known by many for their highly politicized State Board of Education’s battles over textbook content. The 2012 Texas Republican Party Platform, adopted June 9 at the state convention in Forth Worth, seems to take a stand against, well, the teaching of critical thinking skills. Read it for yourself: We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills... more »

SMART STUDENTS DON’T NECESSARILY MAKE GOOD TEACHERS « Teachers Fight Back

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
SMART STUDENTS DON’T NECESSARILY MAKE GOOD TEACHERS « Teachers Fight Back: SMART STUDENTS DON’T NECESSARILY MAKE GOOD TEACHERS by alkleen A Golden Chalk award goes out to Susan Furman who wrote in to the Tribune about their editorial on higher standards for education majors in college. Here is her reply. “Let’s see: The only good teachers are the “smart” teachers, right (Teacher prep; For the sake of Illinois students, don’t dilute state standards for tomorrow’s educators,” Editorial, June 21)? I graduated high school in three years, having taken mostly honors classes. I received... more »

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrong

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Jersey Jazzman: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrong: Rhee Gets Drill & Kill Wrong by Duke I wrote earlier this week about the drubbing Michelle Rhee got on the BBC from the British teachers union leader, Mary Bousted. One of the difficulties in debating Rhee is that when she opens her mouth and the spin comes flying out, it's hard to know what to debunk first; I mean, there's just so much of it, so where do you start? But here's one claim she made that Bousted never got to rebut I'd like to put to rest right now: *(3.24) The research is very clear that teachers who teach to the test act... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "Thank God Obama didn't listen to me!" --Rahm

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "Thank God Obama didn't listen to me!" --Rahm: "Thank God Obama didn't listen to me!" --Rahm by Mike Klonsky While kids in Chicago continue to die at two-to-three times the rate of troops in Afghanistan, the mayor and his corporate patrons are worried that the nearly 40% rise in killings this year is grabbing headlines and that the body count may be bad for business. * We need the mayor, who is the city's best spokesperson, to be public in an aggressive way. He should be prepared to call convention groups and reassure them of everything that is goin... more »

Daily Kos: "They ask only opportunity": Hellen Keller and Those Who Will Not See

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
Daily Kos: "They ask only opportunity": Hellen Keller and Those Who Will Not See: "They ask only opportunity": Hellen Keller and Those Who Will Not See byplthomasEdDFollow Share7 PERMALINK1 COMMENT Hellen Keller could not attend the 1906 meeting of Association for Promoting the Interests of the Blind. In a letter, Keller implored Mark Twain to speak on her behalf: "But, superfluous as all other appeals must seem after you and Mr. Choate have spoken, nevertheless, as I am a woman, I cannot be silent, and I ask you to read this letter, knowing that it will be lifted to eloquence by... more »

NYC Educator: UFT Wins!

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
NYC Educator: UFT Wins!: UFT Wins! by NYC Educator UFT has won the arbitration against closing 24 schools. Teachers will be able to return to their jobs if they haven't found jobs elsewhere. Teachers who have found jobs elsewhere can take them if they wish. Finally, someone is standing up to the living lunacy that is Tweed. Last week I met a young woman who'd found a teaching job at one of the "turnaround" schools. Her mom works in my school. I congratulated her, as she was in a discipline in which finding a job was pretty tough. Then she asked me if there was anything she needed ... more »

American cities growing faster than suburbs: That's good for our schools and our kids.

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
American cities growing faster than suburbs: That's good for our schools and our kids.: Why the Rise of the U.S. City Is Good for Our Kids By Dana Goldstein | Posted Friday, June 29, 2012, at 12:54 PM ET 38 [image: 105122892] Cities now have a big opportunity to create better, more integrated schools. Photo by Joe Corrigan/Getty Images for Bing Will Oremus asks whether it is “a good thing” that, for the first time since the 1920s, American cities are now growing faster than suburbs. When it comes to educational equity, the answer is yes. The white flight of the mid-20th century was m... more »

In the News: The resegregation of Chicago-area schools | catalyst-chicago.org

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
In the News: The resegregation of Chicago-area schools | catalyst-chicago.org: In the News: The resegregation of Chicago-area schools - Share on windycitizenShare on facebookShare on email *By: *Cassandra West / June 29, 2012 *Tags: *segregation An analysis by WBEZ shows a jump in the last 20 years in the number of highly segregated black and Latino schools, while white students in suburban Chicago are more likely to attend a school that is racially diverse. WBEZ goes deeper into segregation in Chicago-area schools as part of its "Race Out Loud" series. Here's a map plot... more »

HOW TO GET YOUR TEACHER FIRED- DEDICATED TO LAUSD'S SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY - Perdaily.com

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 14 hours ago
HOW TO GET YOUR TEACHER FIRED- DEDICATED TO LAUSD'S SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY - Perdaily.com: HOW TO GET YOUR TEACHER FIRED- DEDICATED TO LAUSD'S SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY by Leonard Isenberg [image: False Witness.jpg] As both George Santayana and Sir Winston Churchill said, "Those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it." WhileAlex Padilla's Senate Bill 1530, which would have allowed a further erosion of teachers already ignored due process rights, was defeated in committee in Sacramento to the chagrin of Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Superinte... more »

Torlakson Reacts to State Budget - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
Torlakson Reacts to State Budget - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education): State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Issues Statement on Cuts to Education Budget SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement today on the final state budget: "Preparing California's young people for the future—all the way from early childhood through high school—will be more difficult under our state's continuing budget problems. As Superintendent, I can sympathize with the difficult decisions faced by the Governor and the Legislature—but, as an educator, I am... more »

I stole this story from Ben Joravsky. « Fred Klonsky

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 15 hours ago
I stole this story from Ben Joravsky. « Fred Klonsky: I stole this story from Ben Joravsky. by Fred Klonsky From Ben Joravsky, The Third City blog: *On Wednesday I get to go on Chicago Newsroom, a cable access talk show also known as The Ken Davis Show.* *Actually, I believe I’m the only one who calls it the Ken Davis Show, which I do because Ken Davis hosts it.* *Hence, my logic.* *The Ken Davis Show’s the best TV talk show in Chicago — way better than anything you’ll see on a certain publicly funded station we’ll call WTTW.* *That’s because Ken’s really smart and he’s not afraid t... more »

Big Education Ape Nite Cap 6-21-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
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