Big Education Ape 2nd Banana
Recap of Last Week's Best Post
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU by Mike Klonsky Obama, Emanuel & AxelrodWell, mercy me! Look who's behind those ads blasting the CTU. Why, it's ASGK Public Strategies and AKPD, David Axelrod's old firms. An embarrassed Axelrod is claiming that he no longer has any connection to the firms since he sold them in 2009, when he became Obama's Senior White House Advisor. But he's still very much connected (the A stands for Axelrod)... more »
The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst
The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst: The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) by dloitz In my work with the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP), I and my peers waged a dramatic struggle against the State of Maryland, Baltimore City, and the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). The state of Maryland was (and still is) systematically underfunding the BCPSS. I discuss this in detail in the Case for the National Student Bill of Rights . Baltimore City and BCPSS believed that the solution to the school funding iss... more »
The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 |
The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 |: The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 Posted on January 7, 2011 | 14 Comments This is new to us: The Negro Motorist Green Book is the subject of today’s “Little-Known Black History Fact.” The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel ... more »
School Tech Connect: Much Ado...
School Tech Connect: Much Ado...: Much Ado... ...Over nothing. Compare and contrast. We are governed by dishonest people with battalions of public relations staffers. And we don't get to vote for or against a single one of them. All of this knife-fighting over these ridiculous test scores, it's exactly what the Koch brothers want us to be distracted by. In *Night, *Elie Wiesel recalls a Parisian woman throwing coins to starving children and watching them struggle practically to death over them. He asks her to stop, remembering a similar scene from his own time on the Nazi transpo... more »
Utah Public Forum on the Common Core | Truth in American Education
Utah Public Forum on the Common Core | Truth in American Education: Utah Public Forum on the Common Core by chascherrie Public Forum on Common Core (July 10, 2012) in Utah This video features the following four presentors: Emmett McGroarty from the American Principles Project Dr. Bill Evers from the Hoover Institute at Stanford Jamie Gass, Director of the Pioneer Institute Kent Talbot, Former counsel to the DoEd under G.W. Bush Popout
California Preschools SHINE Forums - Healthy Eating & Nutrition Education (CA Dept of Education)
California Preschools SHINE Forums - Healthy Eating & Nutrition Education (CA Dept of Education): California Preschools SHINE Forums ------------------------------ Welcome to California Preschools Shaping Healthy Impressions through Nutrition and Exercise (SHINE) Forums. Four forums will be offered statewide. Each forum will demonstrate how to integrate nutrition education, edible gardens, and physical activity into child care center classrooms and day care homes. Participants will learn ways to create learning environments that maximize opportunities for children to develop hea... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?)
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?): It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?) by Melissa Westbrook A heartfelt guest post from The Washington Post's Answer Sheet written by Brock Cohen about the REAL issue that holds back schools in closing the achievement gap. *This was written by Brock Cohen, a teacher and student advocate in the Los Angeles Unified School District who contends that we can no longer afford to trivialize the critical role that poverty plays in a child’s learning... more »
Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst
Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst: Still waiting… by caseykcaronna Still Waiting… I am still waiting for that large, sweeping legislation in the house, senate, and presidency in regards to progressive education. It is ironic that I will post something on Facebook in regards to education and get “likes” both from my most conservative and liberal friends. Education is something that internally, I believe many of us understand. We get it emotionally and we are able to connect to that part of learning, that relationship part of learning. However, we are so fearful to take ... more »
James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates
James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates: James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates by Joy Resmovits James Holmes, who is accused of shooting 71 people, killing 12, in a crowded theater at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie Friday, was a smart, quiet first-year student in a highly competitive graduate program, former classmates said. "He was a loner," said a classmate of Holmes' in the neuroscience program at the University of Colorado Denver Aschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, who requested a... more »
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] Teachers To Visit Homes Of 7,000 Students — In One Day! Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 20 hours ago The homes of all 7,000 students in Henderson County, Kentucky will be visited by the District’s 1,000 teachers (I assume that number also includes other staff) in one day. It sounds pretty impressive, and you can read more about it in this article. Appointments won’t be made in advance, and, ordinarily, I d... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf?
Jersey Jazzman: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf?: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf? by Duke Oh, my: The same week that Ward E City Councilman (and future mayoral contender) Steven Fulop had to explain more than $18,000 in campaign donations from a law firm with ties to Spectra Energy, an e-mail was leaked from the 2013 mayoral candidate's personal gmail account in which he* invites an inner circle of school board members to what appears to be a secret meeting.* *Sent under the subject heading "Cerf meeting,*" the May 2, 2011 e-mail from Fulop reads: "... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters: Meeting to Talk Charters by Melissa Westbrook [image: Home] As you recall, CRPE's Robin Lake had invited us all (well, most of us) to come for a discussion over coffee today. I attended part of the discussion as did a couple of SPS parents, two administrators from other districts and a colleague of Ms. Lake's. I can't tell you what the discussion was about because I was asked not to. I can tell you that it seems apparent that not everyone knows this initiative as well as you might think. And, it certainly help me s... more »
Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make Alexander Russo All Visceral? #SOSCHAT
*Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make * *Alexander Russo All Visceral?* * * *I Think:* * * *What do YOU Think?:*
Education Department Launches New Website and Social Media Tools to Help Students Navigate Financial Aid Process | U.S. Department of Education
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] So there was a bit of a kerfuffle between Diane Ravitch, the noted educator and Chris Cerf, New Jersey's Education Commissioner, over what he said about Albert Shanker, who is thought to be the father of the charter school movement. Now, I outlined Mr. Shanker's role in charter schools in my multi-part series on charters, saying that he approved of lab classrooms within schools... more »
Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”" by larrycuban Two comments from readers got me thinking about the guest post by Joel Rose that I just published The first is from Joe Nutt, former teacher and consultant in the UK: *There is a very real and very serious error underneath what so often passes for the enthusiasm of the reformers. It’s evident in this piece where the author refers to the “factory-model ... more »
Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize
Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize: Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth by Christina Collins In general, charter advocates have become somewhat more responsible about acknowledging the impact of demographic differences in charter and district school enrollments on charters’ academic performance. The recent release of the New York City Charter School Center’s “State of the Sector” report is one example, and we had hoped that the existence of its database (which offers straightforward comparisons between enrollments at each New York City charter school compared to... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action by Mike Klonsky [image: SOS Save Our Schools] *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org for immediate release *SAVE OUR SCHOOLS ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PANEL LEADERS* *FOR AUGUST 3 -5 WASHINGTON, DC PEOPLES EDUCATION CONVENTION* Organizers of the upcoming Save Our Schools (SOS) “Peoples Education Convention” today unveiled the list of featured speakers for their *August 3 – 5, 2012 *event at *the Marriott Wardman Park* hotel in * Washington,... more »
Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ By Valerie Strauss I thought I’d heard enough about the Texas Republican Party’s platform that rejects the teaching of critical thinking skills until I heard Stephen Colbert’s take on it. I wrote about this recently here, quoting from the platform: *Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outco... more »
Bill Gates Says…. « Diane Ravitch's blog
Bill Gates Says…. « Diane Ravitch's blog: Bill Gates Says…. by dianerav Are you ready? Bill Gates says that game-based learning is the future of education. He has a dream. A dream of children sitting around and playing games on their computers or their iPads or their Whatevers. They will be wearing galvanic skin response monitor bracelets, or they will have a little chip in their heads to measure their level of excitement, and they will be excited all the time. Every classroom–if there are classrooms–will buzz with their excitement. Little and big squeals of sheer joy as
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving by Melissa Westbrook From Youth Changing the World (via the Mayor's office): Want to make a difference? Take action? Solve a tough community problem? YSA can help! Each year, YSA supports youth-led service with over $1 million in YSA Grants. Deadlines for many of our programs for the 12-13 school and program year are fast approaching! YSA Grants with application deadlines this month include: *YSA Grants & Awards for K-12 Schools* - State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement... more »
Education Research Report: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind
Education Research Report: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind by Jonathan Kantrowitz A new report released today by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado shows that students at K12 Inc., the nation’s largest virtual school company, are falling further behind in reading and math scores than students in brick-and-mortar schools. These virtual schools students are also less likely to remain at their schools for the full year, and the schools have low graduation rates. “Our i... more »
Modern School: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU
Modern School: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU by Michael Dunn The California State University (CSU) trustees decided to offer three of its presidents nearly $85,000 in raises on Tuesday, despite its ongoing budget shortfalls that have led to layoffs, slashing of course offerings, wage freezes and double digit tuition hikes (including a 12% tuition increase last year). The university faces another midyear tuition increase, pay cuts for teachers and hundreds more layoffs if the November tax measure fails. The trustees have ju... more »
How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos
How America Pays 2012: How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos [image: Report: How America Pays for College 2012] Sallie Mae's "How America Pays for College 2012" (PDF, 1.3MB) study, conducted by Ipsos, finds that: - 83% of college students and parents strongly agreed that higher education is an investment in the future, college is needed now more than ever (70%), and the path to earning more money (69%). - Drawing from savings, income and loans, students paid 30% of the total bill, up from 24% four years ago, while parents covered ... more »
Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” | Dissident Voice
Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former Failed DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” | Dissident Voice: Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former Failed DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” by Dave Lindorff Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, DC’s public schools, has made a career for herself by inflating her resume, dodging responsibility, and trashing teachers. Now, two years after leaving her DC post under a cloud after the mayor who appointed her, Adrian Fenty, was defeated in a re-election bid ... more »
Is School Funding Fair? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights
Is School Funding Fair? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Is School Funding Fair? by obriena Not in most states, according to a national report carddedicated to answering that question. Back in 2010, the first edition of a national report card on school funding and fairness was released. Considering “fair” school funding to be “a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty,” it concluded that most... more »
FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” | Scathing Purple Musings
FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” | Scathing Purple Musings: FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” by Bob Sikes On a day when the big education policy news was a big speech by Jeb Bush, the *Orlando Sentinel* published a Q & A with FairTest director Bob Schaeffer. Editorial page editor Darryl Owens conducted the interview via email. Q: The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) recently approved a resolution opposing the current use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Surprised? A: This grass-roots “revolt” reflects widespread concern that publi... more
Seattle Schools Community Forum: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law
Seattle Schools Community Forum: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law by Melissa Westbrook Over at UW's Center for Reinventing Public Education, they wrote a one pager about "lessons for Washington State" on getting high-quality charter schools. I have to laugh as I wonder if they even read I-1240. Highlights: *• Strong authorizing is key to quality o Districts cannot be only authorizer, but authorizers need to build competency* *o Weak or negligent authorizing leads to many low-performing schools* *- Promote authoriz... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made by Melissa Westbrook *If you read nothing else about the takeover of our public schools by people who want to control the system (and some who want to make a buck), please read this article from The Nation Institute. * It is probably one of the best written and in-depth articles around. Highlights: - *If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and privatization has a laboratory, it is Flor... more »
Private vs Public Greed: two different standards « Deborah Meier on Education
Private vs Public Greed: two different standards « Deborah Meier on Education: Private vs Public Greed: two different standards by debmeier Greedy for hearing “the other side” I read the NY Times Business section daily, e.g. Saturday July 14th has a story on rate-rigging, Barclays (too big to indict), JP Morgan pay givebacks, and the ethics of advice when “genetic counselors work for test companies”. I also browse through the weekly Bloomberg Business Week, e.g. cover on May 13th, screams “Lies, Lies Lies” while the inside stories reveal the non-secrets of capitalism including “... more »
Special education in California needs more flexibility | EdSource Today
Special education in California needs more flexibility | EdSource Today: Special education in California needs more flexibility ** July 16th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By Miriam Kurtzig Freedman Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services [image: Miriam Kurtzig Freedman] Miriam Kurtzig Freedman “Flexibility” is education’s new buzzword. Check out all those No Child Left Behind Act waivers, providing flexibility to states, while we await Congress’s NCLB reauthorization. Twenty-six states already have those waivers. More are expected. In app... more »
Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund
Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund: Selling Schools Out Under the banner of high-tech progress, corporate lobbyists have rammed through legislation privatizing K-12 education across the country. If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and privatization has a laboratory, it is Florida. It was one of the first states to undertake a program of "virtual schools" — charters operated online, with teachers instructing students over the Internet — as well as one of the first to use vouchers to channel taxpayer... more »
Louisiana Turnaround: Year One - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Louisiana Turnaround: Year One - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Louisiana Turnaround: Year One by Nancy Flanagan If you're a regular reader of *Teacher in a Strange Land*, you know I've been closely following a turnaround school in Louisiana this year. I had the rich experience of doing professional development work with the staff--at the very beginning, when a potent stew of wariness and possibility filled the room, and a midpoint workshop where trust had taken root and teachers were sharing their beliefs about good teaching, even if it wasn't the party line... more »
Growing Up in the South, 3 « Diane Ravitch's blog
Growing Up in the South, 3 « Diane Ravitch's blog: Growing Up in the South, 3 by dianerav I posted two other reminiscences of growing up in the South in the years before the Brown decision was implemented. I reiterate that I am not suggesting that there is less segregation today than there was in the 1950s; there may be even more. But so much was qualitatively different, and I find it valuable to recall what the qualitative differences were. There were no black mayors or Congressmen, no blacks on television or in the films. All public (and private) facilities in the South were se... more »
Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. « Fred Klonsky
Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. « Fred Klonsky: Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. by Fred Klonsky This morning’s New York Times answers the question, “Where in the world is Penny Pritzker?” Penny headed up President Obama’s fund-raising operation in the 2008 campaign. But in appears that this time around she has pulled back or has been pushed aside because she is simply too much of an embarrassment to the Obama campaign. For nearly three years the family-run Hyatt Hotel chain has been ... more »
Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates | Seattle Education
Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update: News you might have missed.* With Initiative 1240, the charter school initiative backed by Bill Gates who has provided $1M to the cause, looking like it will be appearing on the ballot this fall, more folks are starting to talk about charter schools in our state. Fortunately the wor... more »
An Urban Teacher's Education: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012
An Urban Teacher's Education: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012 by James Boutin *The following was cross posted at* @ the chalk face. Last year, Save Our Schools hosted a phenomenal conference in Washington DC. I wrote about my experiences there here, here, and here. Like-minded people from across the country coalesced around their distrust of policies that make no sense when you see them through the eyes of those they're supposed to serve: students. Privatization, school-choice, Teach for America, the dismantlin... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU: Axelrod's old firm behind 'Infrastructure Trust', Citibank, and attacks on CTU by Mike Klonsky Obama, Emanuel & AxelrodWell, mercy me! Look who's behind those ads blasting the CTU. Why, it's ASGK Public Strategies and AKPD, David Axelrod's old firms. An embarrassed Axelrod is claiming that he no longer has any connection to the firms since he sold them in 2009, when he became Obama's Senior White House Advisor. But he's still very much connected (the A stands for Axelrod)... more »
The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst
The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) « Cooperative Catalyst: The Depth of a Simple Solution (Guest Post by Bryant Muldrew) by dloitz In my work with the Baltimore Algebra Project (BAP), I and my peers waged a dramatic struggle against the State of Maryland, Baltimore City, and the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). The state of Maryland was (and still is) systematically underfunding the BCPSS. I discuss this in detail in the Case for the National Student Bill of Rights . Baltimore City and BCPSS believed that the solution to the school funding iss... more »
The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 |
The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 |: The Negro Motorist “Green Book” 1949 Posted on January 7, 2011 | 14 Comments This is new to us: The Negro Motorist Green Book is the subject of today’s “Little-Known Black History Fact.” The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel ... more »
School Tech Connect: Much Ado...
School Tech Connect: Much Ado...: Much Ado... ...Over nothing. Compare and contrast. We are governed by dishonest people with battalions of public relations staffers. And we don't get to vote for or against a single one of them. All of this knife-fighting over these ridiculous test scores, it's exactly what the Koch brothers want us to be distracted by. In *Night, *Elie Wiesel recalls a Parisian woman throwing coins to starving children and watching them struggle practically to death over them. He asks her to stop, remembering a similar scene from his own time on the Nazi transpo... more »
Utah Public Forum on the Common Core | Truth in American Education
Utah Public Forum on the Common Core | Truth in American Education: Utah Public Forum on the Common Core by chascherrie Public Forum on Common Core (July 10, 2012) in Utah This video features the following four presentors: Emmett McGroarty from the American Principles Project Dr. Bill Evers from the Hoover Institute at Stanford Jamie Gass, Director of the Pioneer Institute Kent Talbot, Former counsel to the DoEd under G.W. Bush Popout
California Preschools SHINE Forums - Healthy Eating & Nutrition Education (CA Dept of Education)
California Preschools SHINE Forums - Healthy Eating & Nutrition Education (CA Dept of Education): California Preschools SHINE Forums ------------------------------ Welcome to California Preschools Shaping Healthy Impressions through Nutrition and Exercise (SHINE) Forums. Four forums will be offered statewide. Each forum will demonstrate how to integrate nutrition education, edible gardens, and physical activity into child care center classrooms and day care homes. Participants will learn ways to create learning environments that maximize opportunities for children to develop hea... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?)
Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?): It's Not Teachers - It's Poverty (and when will that get the attention?) by Melissa Westbrook A heartfelt guest post from The Washington Post's Answer Sheet written by Brock Cohen about the REAL issue that holds back schools in closing the achievement gap. *This was written by Brock Cohen, a teacher and student advocate in the Los Angeles Unified School District who contends that we can no longer afford to trivialize the critical role that poverty plays in a child’s learning... more »
Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst
Still waiting… « Cooperative Catalyst: Still waiting… by caseykcaronna Still Waiting… I am still waiting for that large, sweeping legislation in the house, senate, and presidency in regards to progressive education. It is ironic that I will post something on Facebook in regards to education and get “likes” both from my most conservative and liberal friends. Education is something that internally, I believe many of us understand. We get it emotionally and we are able to connect to that part of learning, that relationship part of learning. However, we are so fearful to take ... more »
James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates
James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates: James Holmes, Aurora Shooter, Described As 'Smart Kid,' Quiet Loner By Classmates by Joy Resmovits James Holmes, who is accused of shooting 71 people, killing 12, in a crowded theater at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie Friday, was a smart, quiet first-year student in a highly competitive graduate program, former classmates said. "He was a loner," said a classmate of Holmes' in the neuroscience program at the University of Colorado Denver Aschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, who requested a... more »
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL
Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: [image: Helping Students Motivate Themselves: Practical Answers To Classroom Problems.] Teachers To Visit Homes Of 7,000 Students — In One Day! Larry Ferlazzo at Engaging Parents In School... - 20 hours ago The homes of all 7,000 students in Henderson County, Kentucky will be visited by the District’s 1,000 teachers (I assume that number also includes other staff) in one day. It sounds pretty impressive, and you can read more about it in this article. Appointments won’t be made in advance, and, ordinarily, I d... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf?
Jersey Jazzman: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf?: Secret Meetings With ACTING Commissioner Cerf? by Duke Oh, my: The same week that Ward E City Councilman (and future mayoral contender) Steven Fulop had to explain more than $18,000 in campaign donations from a law firm with ties to Spectra Energy, an e-mail was leaked from the 2013 mayoral candidate's personal gmail account in which he* invites an inner circle of school board members to what appears to be a secret meeting.* *Sent under the subject heading "Cerf meeting,*" the May 2, 2011 e-mail from Fulop reads: "... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Meeting to Talk Charters: Meeting to Talk Charters by Melissa Westbrook [image: Home] As you recall, CRPE's Robin Lake had invited us all (well, most of us) to come for a discussion over coffee today. I attended part of the discussion as did a couple of SPS parents, two administrators from other districts and a colleague of Ms. Lake's. I can't tell you what the discussion was about because I was asked not to. I can tell you that it seems apparent that not everyone knows this initiative as well as you might think. And, it certainly help me s... more »
Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make Alexander Russo All Visceral? #SOSCHAT
*Debate: Why Does Alfie Kohn Make * *Alexander Russo All Visceral?* * * *I Think:* * * *What do YOU Think?:*
Education Department Launches New Website and Social Media Tools to Help Students Navigate Financial Aid Process | U.S. Department of Education
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be: Here's What the Charter Initiative Should Be by Melissa Westbrook [image: Charter Schools - Dividing Communities since 1991] So there was a bit of a kerfuffle between Diane Ravitch, the noted educator and Chris Cerf, New Jersey's Education Commissioner, over what he said about Albert Shanker, who is thought to be the father of the charter school movement. Now, I outlined Mr. Shanker's role in charter schools in my multi-part series on charters, saying that he approved of lab classrooms within schools... more »
Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”” | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Reflections on “How To Break Free from Our 19th Century Factory-Model Education”" by larrycuban Two comments from readers got me thinking about the guest post by Joel Rose that I just published The first is from Joe Nutt, former teacher and consultant in the UK: *There is a very real and very serious error underneath what so often passes for the enthusiasm of the reformers. It’s evident in this piece where the author refers to the “factory-model ... more »
Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize
Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth | Edwize: Democracy Prep and the “Same Kids” Myth by Christina Collins In general, charter advocates have become somewhat more responsible about acknowledging the impact of demographic differences in charter and district school enrollments on charters’ academic performance. The recent release of the New York City Charter School Center’s “State of the Sector” report is one example, and we had hoped that the existence of its database (which offers straightforward comparisons between enrollments at each New York City charter school compared to... more »
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action: SOS Press Release: A Call to Action by Mike Klonsky [image: SOS Save Our Schools] *Save Our Schools: A National Call to Action* www.saveourschoolsmarch.org for immediate release *SAVE OUR SCHOOLS ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, PANEL LEADERS* *FOR AUGUST 3 -5 WASHINGTON, DC PEOPLES EDUCATION CONVENTION* Organizers of the upcoming Save Our Schools (SOS) “Peoples Education Convention” today unveiled the list of featured speakers for their *August 3 – 5, 2012 *event at *the Marriott Wardman Park* hotel in * Washington,... more »
Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: Colbert skewers Texas GOP on ‘critical thinking’ By Valerie Strauss I thought I’d heard enough about the Texas Republican Party’s platform that rejects the teaching of critical thinking skills until I heard Stephen Colbert’s take on it. I wrote about this recently here, quoting from the platform: *Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outco... more »
Bill Gates Says…. « Diane Ravitch's blog
Bill Gates Says…. « Diane Ravitch's blog: Bill Gates Says…. by dianerav Are you ready? Bill Gates says that game-based learning is the future of education. He has a dream. A dream of children sitting around and playing games on their computers or their iPads or their Whatevers. They will be wearing galvanic skin response monitor bracelets, or they will have a little chip in their heads to measure their level of excitement, and they will be excited all the time. Every classroom–if there are classrooms–will buzz with their excitement. Little and big squeals of sheer joy as
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving: Grants for Youth Problem-Solving by Melissa Westbrook From Youth Changing the World (via the Mayor's office): Want to make a difference? Take action? Solve a tough community problem? YSA can help! Each year, YSA supports youth-led service with over $1 million in YSA Grants. Deadlines for many of our programs for the 12-13 school and program year are fast approaching! YSA Grants with application deadlines this month include: *YSA Grants & Awards for K-12 Schools* - State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement... more »
Education Research Report: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind
Education Research Report: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind: Students Attending K12 Inc. Cyber Schools Fall Behind by Jonathan Kantrowitz A new report released today by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) at the University of Colorado shows that students at K12 Inc., the nation’s largest virtual school company, are falling further behind in reading and math scores than students in brick-and-mortar schools. These virtual schools students are also less likely to remain at their schools for the full year, and the schools have low graduation rates. “Our i... more »
Modern School: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU
Modern School: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU: Welfare By The Elite, For the Elite at CSU by Michael Dunn The California State University (CSU) trustees decided to offer three of its presidents nearly $85,000 in raises on Tuesday, despite its ongoing budget shortfalls that have led to layoffs, slashing of course offerings, wage freezes and double digit tuition hikes (including a 12% tuition increase last year). The university faces another midyear tuition increase, pay cuts for teachers and hundreds more layoffs if the November tax measure fails. The trustees have ju... more »
How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos
How America Pays 2012: How America Pays for College 2012: A national study by Sallie Mae and Ipsos [image: Report: How America Pays for College 2012] Sallie Mae's "How America Pays for College 2012" (PDF, 1.3MB) study, conducted by Ipsos, finds that: - 83% of college students and parents strongly agreed that higher education is an investment in the future, college is needed now more than ever (70%), and the path to earning more money (69%). - Drawing from savings, income and loans, students paid 30% of the total bill, up from 24% four years ago, while parents covered ... more »
Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” | Dissident Voice
Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former Failed DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” | Dissident Voice: Hidden Anti-Teacher Agenda: Former Failed DC Schools Chancellor Rhee Still Scamming and Posing as Education “Reformer” by Dave Lindorff Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington, DC’s public schools, has made a career for herself by inflating her resume, dodging responsibility, and trashing teachers. Now, two years after leaving her DC post under a cloud after the mayor who appointed her, Adrian Fenty, was defeated in a re-election bid ... more »
Is School Funding Fair? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights
Is School Funding Fair? | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights: Is School Funding Fair? by obriena Not in most states, according to a national report carddedicated to answering that question. Back in 2010, the first edition of a national report card on school funding and fairness was released. Considering “fair” school funding to be “a state finance system that ensures equal educational opportunity by providing a sufficient level of funding distributed to districts within the state to account for additional needs generated by student poverty,” it concluded that most... more »
FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” | Scathing Purple Musings
FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” | Scathing Purple Musings: FairTest: Testing Overkill Earns Florida an “F” by Bob Sikes On a day when the big education policy news was a big speech by Jeb Bush, the *Orlando Sentinel* published a Q & A with FairTest director Bob Schaeffer. Editorial page editor Darryl Owens conducted the interview via email. Q: The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) recently approved a resolution opposing the current use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Surprised? A: This grass-roots “revolt” reflects widespread concern that publi... more
Seattle Schools Community Forum: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law
Seattle Schools Community Forum: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law: UW's CRPE Dumbfounds with Lessons on Charter Law by Melissa Westbrook Over at UW's Center for Reinventing Public Education, they wrote a one pager about "lessons for Washington State" on getting high-quality charter schools. I have to laugh as I wonder if they even read I-1240. Highlights: *• Strong authorizing is key to quality o Districts cannot be only authorizer, but authorizers need to build competency* *o Weak or negligent authorizing leads to many low-performing schools* *- Promote authoriz... more »
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made: Privatizing Public Education - There is Money to be Made by Melissa Westbrook *If you read nothing else about the takeover of our public schools by people who want to control the system (and some who want to make a buck), please read this article from The Nation Institute. * It is probably one of the best written and in-depth articles around. Highlights: - *If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and privatization has a laboratory, it is Flor... more »
Private vs Public Greed: two different standards « Deborah Meier on Education
Private vs Public Greed: two different standards « Deborah Meier on Education: Private vs Public Greed: two different standards by debmeier Greedy for hearing “the other side” I read the NY Times Business section daily, e.g. Saturday July 14th has a story on rate-rigging, Barclays (too big to indict), JP Morgan pay givebacks, and the ethics of advice when “genetic counselors work for test companies”. I also browse through the weekly Bloomberg Business Week, e.g. cover on May 13th, screams “Lies, Lies Lies” while the inside stories reveal the non-secrets of capitalism including “... more »
Special education in California needs more flexibility | EdSource Today
Special education in California needs more flexibility | EdSource Today: Special education in California needs more flexibility ** July 16th, 2012 | Add a Comment | By Miriam Kurtzig Freedman Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailShare on google_plusone More Sharing Services [image: Miriam Kurtzig Freedman] Miriam Kurtzig Freedman “Flexibility” is education’s new buzzword. Check out all those No Child Left Behind Act waivers, providing flexibility to states, while we await Congress’s NCLB reauthorization. Twenty-six states already have those waivers. More are expected. In app... more »
Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund
Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund: Selling Schools Out Under the banner of high-tech progress, corporate lobbyists have rammed through legislation privatizing K-12 education across the country. If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and privatization has a laboratory, it is Florida. It was one of the first states to undertake a program of "virtual schools" — charters operated online, with teachers instructing students over the Internet — as well as one of the first to use vouchers to channel taxpayer... more »
Louisiana Turnaround: Year One - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Louisiana Turnaround: Year One - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Louisiana Turnaround: Year One by Nancy Flanagan If you're a regular reader of *Teacher in a Strange Land*, you know I've been closely following a turnaround school in Louisiana this year. I had the rich experience of doing professional development work with the staff--at the very beginning, when a potent stew of wariness and possibility filled the room, and a midpoint workshop where trust had taken root and teachers were sharing their beliefs about good teaching, even if it wasn't the party line... more »
Growing Up in the South, 3 « Diane Ravitch's blog
Growing Up in the South, 3 « Diane Ravitch's blog: Growing Up in the South, 3 by dianerav I posted two other reminiscences of growing up in the South in the years before the Brown decision was implemented. I reiterate that I am not suggesting that there is less segregation today than there was in the 1950s; there may be even more. But so much was qualitatively different, and I find it valuable to recall what the qualitative differences were. There were no black mayors or Congressmen, no blacks on television or in the films. All public (and private) facilities in the South were se... more »
Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. « Fred Klonsky
Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. « Fred Klonsky: Where is Penny Pritzker? Too much of an embarrassment for Obama but not for Rahm. by Fred Klonsky This morning’s New York Times answers the question, “Where in the world is Penny Pritzker?” Penny headed up President Obama’s fund-raising operation in the 2008 campaign. But in appears that this time around she has pulled back or has been pushed aside because she is simply too much of an embarrassment to the Obama campaign. For nearly three years the family-run Hyatt Hotel chain has been ... more »
Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates | Seattle Education
Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates | Seattle Education: Weekly Update: The KIPP charter school hustle, eight year olds grading their teachers in Georgia and more on Bill Gates by seattleducation2011 *The Weekly Update: News you might have missed.* With Initiative 1240, the charter school initiative backed by Bill Gates who has provided $1M to the cause, looking like it will be appearing on the ballot this fall, more folks are starting to talk about charter schools in our state. Fortunately the wor... more »
An Urban Teacher's Education: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012
An Urban Teacher's Education: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012: Gearing Up for Save Our School Convention DC 2012 by James Boutin *The following was cross posted at* @ the chalk face. Last year, Save Our Schools hosted a phenomenal conference in Washington DC. I wrote about my experiences there here, here, and here. Like-minded people from across the country coalesced around their distrust of policies that make no sense when you see them through the eyes of those they're supposed to serve: students. Privatization, school-choice, Teach for America, the dismantlin... more »
Missouri Education Watchdog: Sunday Education Reform Comic Strip that Isn't Funny...and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 07.15.12..
Missouri Education Watchdog: Sunday Education Reform Comic Strip that Isn't Funny...and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 07.15.12..: Sunday Education Reform Comic Strip that Isn't Funny...and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 07.15.12.. by stlgretchen Featuring a Sunday comic that isn't funny or "for the kids". Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 07.15.2012. We are highlighting a cartoon from archcomix.com highlighting education reform issues. I picked it up from GF Brandenberg's blog: * * *Instead of attempting to reproduce the entire cartoon here, let me give yo... more »
Corporate Takeover of Public Education From Sea to Shining Sea!
Florida GOP Pols Still Default to “Choice” Rhetoric As Justification for Education Policy | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida GOP Pols Still Default to “Choice” Rhetoric As Justification for Education Policy by Bob Sikes *Orlando Sentinel * writer, Aaron Deslatte takes the next step in capturing the real story of the state’ education battles. Deslatte’s poignant column, “*Campaign Could Turn On Whether GOP is Starving Schools – or Remaking Them”* effectively* *encapsulates the policy, politics and the rhetoric. TALLAHASSEE – Has Florida’s political leadership defended public educa... more »
Stand Together for our Children
Stand Together for our Children:
Quote of the Week:
“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead
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Organizations across Chicago share our mission
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