BIG EDUCATION APE - MORNING WINK AM POSTS
This Week's Answer Sheet 8-4-1212 - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post
The Answer Sheet - School Survival Guide for parents (and everyone else). - The Washington Post: [image: Answer Sheet] More education jargon and what it really means Valerie Strauss at The Answer Sheet - 22 hours ago Here are 10 education terms with definitions that tell you what they really mean to people who use them in our national education conversation. Yesterday I published the first installment of education jargon, written by Joanne Yatvin, a veteran public school educator, author and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is now teaching part-t... more »
This Week's Education Research Report 8-4-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Education Research Report: This Week's Education Research Report Students: strong hearts and lungs = better grades Jonathan Kantrowitz at Education Research Report - 20 hours ago *Physically fit boys and girls scored higher on reading and math, research reveals* Having a healthy heart and lungs may be one of the most important factors for middle school students to make good grades in math and reading, according to findings presented at the American Psychological Association's 120th Annual Convention. "Cardiorespiratory fitness was the only factor that we consistently found to have... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Campbell Brown's World Explodes
Jersey Jazzman: Campbell Brown's World Explodes: Campbell Brown's World Explodes by Duke Remember when professional blind squirrel Campbell Brown blamed sexual perversion on unions? By resisting almost any change aimed at improving our public schools, teachers unions have become a ripe target for reformers across the ideological spectrum. Even Hollywood, famously sympathetic to organized labor, has turned on unions with the documentary "Waiting for 'Superman'" (2010) and a feature film, "Won't Back Down," to be released later this year. But perhaps *most damaging to the unions' ... more »
Top Content this Week - 8-4-12 The Educator's PLN
Top Content this Week - The Educator's PLN: 1[image: What does inclusion look like in your school for the student, the special educator and gen ed teacher?]What does inclusion look like in your school for the student, the special educator and gen ed teacher? Posted by Marcy J. Perry on July 19, 2012 2[image: Engage Me!]Engage Me! Added by Thomas Whitby on August 12, 2011 3[image: #140edu - Alan Weinkrantz talks with #140edu speakers Eric Sheninger and Tom Whitby]#140edu - Alan Weinkrantz talks with #140edu speakers Eric Sheninger and Tom Whitby Added by Thomas Whitby on July 31, 2... more »
BCG report on Philadelphia schools draws mixed reaction - Philly.com
BCG report on Philadelphia schools draws mixed reaction - Philly.com: BCG report on Philadelphia schools draws mixed reaction August 03, 2012|By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer On the day that the Boston Consulting Group's exhaustive analysis of and recommendations for the troubled Philadelphia School District was made public, reaction was swift, decisive, and divided. "Where do I begin? This is not a love story," teachers union president Jerry Jordan said Thursday. "I think the report shows that BCG has provided some valuable assistance," said Mark Gleason, executive direct... more »
L.A. Community High School Closing: USC Students Launch Indiegogo Campaign To Keep It Open
L.A. Community High School Closing: USC Students Launch Indiegogo Campaign To Keep It Open: L.A. Community High School Closing: USC Students Launch Indiegogo Campaign To Keep It Open **Posted: 08/03/2012 3:31 pm Updated: 08/03/2012 3:31 pm [image: Share on Google+]
Florida’s School Grading System is the Emperor With No Clothes | Scathing Purple Musings
Florida’s School Grading System is the Emperor With No Clothes | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s School Grading System is the Emperor With No Clothes by Bob Sikes My Facebook friend and teaching colleague Catherine Martinez tactfully helps me out with editing my blog on occasion. She’s taken up her own pen this morning in a letter to the editor of the *Palm Beach Post*: Let me get this straight: same students, same tests, same scores, different grades (“Recalculation restores school district’s ‘A’ status”). The Palm Beach County School District went from a B to an A without any... more »
Schools Matter: What can we do about the common core?
Schools Matter: What can we do about the common core?: What can we do about the common core? by skrashen Here is the big question: We are forced to teach under the standards. What should we do? We have the responsibility to do our best for our current students, and this takes all our time. Also, many teachers are afraid they will be fired if they ignore the standards in class, and if they speak out against the standards movement. My response; There are two ways we can try to help students survive under the common core, and I am in favor of doing both of them: IMPROVE the curricu... more »
H.R.6230: Grow Your Own Teacher Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress
H.R.6230: Grow Your Own Teacher Act - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress: Bill Introduced: H.R.6230 Grow Your Own Teacher Act To amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Federal "Grow Your Own Teacher" program, and for other purposes. H.R.6230 - Grow Your Own Teacher Act To amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Federal "Grow Your Own Teacher" program, and for other purposes. view all titles (2) - Overview - Actions & Votes - News (0) & Blogs (0) - Comments (0) Bill's Views - Today:... more »
School Tech Connect: Save Our Schools
School Tech Connect: Save Our Schools: Save Our Schools by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman) Here's to a successful People's Education Conference in Our Nation's Capital this weekend. I wanted to attend this event but my body sent me a one-word memo: rest. This SOS group represents in my mind the last bastion of educators willing to speak truth to power. Saying things that are unpopular to say but that are true, calling out lies and distortion, proposing reality-based plans to move forward in our public school systems--- that's what*solution-driven* means to me. Tip o' the hat to... more »
Teachers Don't Suck !: An Interesting Article Referenced on FB
Teachers Don't Suck !: An Interesting Article Referenced on FB: An Interesting Article Referenced on FB by Walt S. *I wonder if the "assignee" will be related* *to politically connected parties?** * *I wonder if Booker, Joe D, Cerf or our Governor fit anywhere into this picture?? * *Just asking !** * *Op-Ed: A Call for Fairness in School Options* *All our children deserve quality schools, and quality education within them * * print | email | share* *By Junius Williams, Esq., August 1, 2012 in Opinion |4 Comments* *In law school, we were taught to evaluate contracts, including leases,... more »
Urban Ed: My Kid; the Born Teacher
Urban Ed: My Kid; the Born Teacher: [image: Urban Ed] My Kid; the Born Teacher *I just wanted to share this completely true story. * So I'm sitting in the theater with my four year old 15 minutes before the movie -Ice Age 4- is about to start I'm eating popcorn, drinking soda and watching my daughter look around the theater. Suddenly, and almost out of nowhere, she proclaims a new rule. "Dad. No more popcorn until the movie starts, ok?" Huh? I didn't want to hear to that. There was nothing else to do until the movie started and the popcorn was all nice and warm and buttery. Bes... more »
Food for thought: This summer, Oakland libraries are serving free lunches to children, five days a week - ContraCostaTimes.com
Food for thought: This summer, Oakland libraries are serving free lunches to children, five days a week - ContraCostaTimes.com: Food for thought: This summer, Oakland libraries are serving free lunches to children, five days a week By Katy Murphy Oakland Tribune Posted: 08/03/2012 12:05:53 PM PDT Updated: 08/03/2012 02:05:44 PM PDT [image: Oakland Public Libraries free lunch program] 1 of 14 Oakland Public Libraries free lunch program Erika Ozuna, right, and her brother Hector, 1, receive a free lunch from volunteers Adrienne Carter, her mom Diane Carter, both of Oakland, and C... more »
Oakland school closure savings estimate is missing something - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools
Oakland school closure savings estimate is missing something - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools: Oakland school closure savings estimate is missing somethingFriday, August 3rd, 2012 at 10:39 am in 1 Comment *photo by Jane Tyska/Oakland Tribune* In June and again in July, I asked the Oakland school district for a breakdown of the net savings from the five elementary school closures, taking into account the conversion of one of those schools — Lazear Elementary — into an independently run charter school. Unlike the other two charter conversions, Lazear bec... more »
An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012 Day 1
An Urban Teacher's Education: SOS Conference 2012 Day 1: SOS Conference 2012 Day 1 by James Boutin I am back this year for the Save Our School Conference at the Marriott Wardman hotel in Washington, DC. I found last year's conference very inspiring, and wrote about it here, here, and here. The format was a little different this year. Starting on a Friday afternoon, and jumping straight into sessions, I first attended a session about confronting the issue of race with students in the classroom. There, having been presented with a number of scenarios in which race might come up in ... more »
Whole Child Network Schools Embark on a New Adventure — Whole Child Education
Home Page — Whole Child Education: [image: The Whole Child Approach] *THE WHOLE CHILD APPROACH* Each child, in each school, in each of our communities deserves to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. That's what a whole child approach to learning, teaching, and community engagement really is. LEARN MORE » THE WHOLE CHILD *BLOG*[image: Whole Child Blog RSS Feed] [image: ASCD Whole Child Bloggers]Whole Child Network Schools Embark on a New Adventure July 24, 2012 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers The 10 schools from across the continental United States and Guam chosen to... more »
Breaking News: Utah State Board of Education Votes to Pull Out of SBAC | Truth in American Education
Breaking News: Utah State Board of Education Votes to Pull Out of SBAC | Truth in American Education: Breaking News: Utah State Board of Education Votes to Pull Out of SBAC Posted on August 3, 2012 by Shane Vander Hart The Utah State Board of Education’s meeting today had common core testing on the agenda. Sources tell me that the Board has voted to pull out of their testing consortium – the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). SBAC had received Race to the Top funding in order to provide assessments based on the Common Core State Standards. Their governance document... more »
Back to School: Learn to Say Thank You in Ten Languages #30DaysofGOOD - GOOD Projects - GOOD
Back to School: Learn to Say Thank You in Ten Languages #30DaysofGOOD - GOOD Projects - GOOD: Back to School: Learn to Say Thank You in Ten Languages #30DaysofGOOD [image: Read more] *Things are easier said than done, or so the old adage goes, and we couldn't agree more. That's why we do 30 Days of GOOD(#30DaysofGOOD), a monthly attempt to live better. This month we're going "Back to School" and committing to learn something new every day.* All of my friends have at some point mentioned wanting to learn another language. They usually have the same excuses as I do for not pursuing... more »
Schools Matter: Christie Bows to the Billionaires: Public Schools to Go the Highest Bidder
Schools Matter: Christie Bows to the Billionaires: Public Schools to Go the Highest Bidder: Christie Bows to the Billionaires: Public Schools to Go the Highest Bidder by Jim Horn Through filing of a FOIA request, the Education Law Center in Newark has obtained the Broad Plan for privatizing schools in New Jersey where least resistance will be offered--poor schools. The plan is being passed around by Cerf's henchmen in the Ed Department, as they try to stay ahead of legislation that could put restrictions on this planned economic bonanza for Wall Street aspirants who are not sm... more »
HechingerEd Blog | Round-up of leading thinkers on parent-trigger laws
HechingerEd Blog | Round-up of leading thinkers on parent-trigger laws: Round-up of leading thinkers on parent-trigger laws Parents in Adelanto, Calif., scored a victory for advocates of the “parent-trigger” law last week. The law allows public-school parents who gather signatures from a majority of their peers to transform a school into a charter. They can also opt to remove a consistently failing school’s staff or close the school entirely. (To read more about the development, see these stories from the *Los Angeles Times *and Colorlines.) A judge deemed that organizers in Adelant... more »
What’s the big deal about Blogging? « My Island View
What’s the big deal about Blogging? « My Island View: What’s the big deal about Blogging? by tomwhitby A short time ago I attended a meeting where members of a college English department were doing a presentation to the faculty about their writing program. As I listened to about a 30-minute presentation of the types of writing required by this program, it became obvious to me that two words in this presentation of a college writing program were never uttered. They were two words that as an educator I come in contact with almost every day. Two words that have changed the way info... more »
Daily Kos: Whose Justice?: The Other and the Middle-Class Cocoon
Daily Kos: Whose Justice?: The Other and the Middle-Class Cocoon: Whose Justice?: The Other and the Middle-Class Cocoonby plthomasEdDFollow On August 2, 2012, I wore my James Baldwin t-shirt to celebrate his birthday. The back of this black shirt is emblazoned with Baldwin's face in gold print and this saying: "The law is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer." -- James Baldwin. The Nation. July 11, 1966. This small act on my part to recognize a brilliant and marginalized radical intersected with two other coincidences of my life—comple... more »
All Education Matters: Mark Kantrowitz Argues That Six-Figure Debt Is Uncommon
All Education Matters: Mark Kantrowitz Argues That Six-Figure Debt Is Uncommon: Mark Kantrowitz Argues That Six-Figure Debt Is Uncommon by Cryn Johannsen Mark Kantrowitz claims that six-figure debt is a rarity, and says that journalists are sensationalizing the problem. While it might be true, based upon his findings, that there is not a huge percentage of people with that sort of student loan debt, the fact remains that we are in a full-blown crisis. Journalists and activists are not the only ones who acknowledge the crisis. Higher education policy analysts, politicians, and ot... more »
Florida’s For-Profit Charter Schools and Pro-Voucher Groups Have Merged | Scathing Purple Musings
Florida’s For-Profit Charter Schools and Pro-Voucher Groups Have Merged | Scathing Purple Musings: Florida’s For-Profit Charter Schools and Pro-Voucher Groups Have Merged by Bob Sikes [image: Shark animated clip art from www.walkaboutcrafts.com] Coming off last weekends story by Mary Ellen Klas which showed how the RPOF allocates campaign cash to the chosen ones, is an* Orlando Sentinel *story by Aaron Deslatte detailing how pro-voucher school privatization groups are taking donations from for-profit charter school operators to bankroll state candidates. TALLAHASSEE – The Florid... more »
Schools Matter: Why e-learning industry is enthusiastic about the standards. & other comments
Schools Matter: Why e-learning industry is enthusiastic about the standards. & other comments: Why e-learning industry is enthusiastic about the standards. & other comments by skrashen Standards lead to more creativity? Standards are popular with educators? Why e-learning industry is enthusiastic about the standards. Comments on a NY Times article: Common Core Standards Boon to E-Learning Industry, by Hiten Samtani. Published in the NY Times, available at http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/08/03/common-core-standards-boon-to-e-learning-industry/ Here are my comments, which I at... more »
USSA’s Student Power Turn « Student Activism
USSA’s Student Power Turn « Student Activism: USSA’s Student Power Turn by Angus Johnston Every year the United States Student Association’s National Student Congress delegates must approve the Association’s campaigns for the year — establishing priorities for what the group will work on between then and the next Congress. Voter work and federal higher ed policy are locked in as perennials by USSA’s governing documents, but everything else is up for grabs. This year seven of thirteen proposed campaigns made it through the delegates’ first round of vetting, but in the second round ... more »
Arne Duncan: Will the Secretary of Education Stay or Go If Obama Is Reelected? - Yahoo! News
Arne Duncan: Will the Secretary of Education Stay or Go If Obama Is Reelected? - Yahoo! News: Arne Duncan: Will the Secretary of Education Stay or Go If Obama Is Reelected?Takepart.com – Wed, Aug 1, 2012 - - - - - Email - Print Education secretaries are seldom household names. Arne Duncan, the current secretary, is no different. While the man on the street in Peoria may not know Duncan, plenty of opinions exist about the man, known as a policy pragmatist, in the education world. Some critics want Obama to ditch Duncan if he is re-elected in November. Others ... more »
Campbell Brown and Michelle Rhee: Another Odd Couple « Diane Ravitch's blog
Campbell Brown and Michelle Rhee: Another Odd Couple « Diane Ravitch's blog: Campbell Brown and Michelle Rhee: Another Odd Couple by dianerav Leonie Haimson is a leading parent activist in New York City and a co-founder of Parents Across America, which keeps tabs on the depredations of the corporate reformers. Here is Leonie’s take on* l’affaire Campbell Brown.* One would think that Michelle Rhee and her organization StudentsFirst would be wary of getting too deep in the weeds with the issue of sexual misconduct. Yet they seem to want to exploit it to the full in a fact-free fashi... more »
Common Core: A Bonanza for E-Corps « Diane Ravitch's blog
Common Core: A Bonanza for E-Corps « Diane Ravitch's blog: Common Core: A Bonanza for E-Corps by dianerav A story in the New York Times says that the e-corporations are salivating over the Common Core State Standards. They foresee the opening up of a multi-billion industry, with more tests, more online resources, more stuff to sell to schools complying with the Common Core. The standards are indeed a boon for the edu-biz entrepreneurs. It turns out that Joanne Weiss, chief of staff to Secretary Arne Duncan, was right when she predicted that the standards would open up vast new mar... more »
Coming to you Live from Washington, D.C…the Bullying Prevention Summit
Home | StopBullying.gov: [image: Summit Livestream Video] Coming to you Live from Washington, D.C…the Bullying Prevention Summit! by Guest Blogger Cross Next week, leaders of non-profit and corporate organizations engaged in anti-bullying work will join researchers, parents and students to participate in the third Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit on August 6th and 7th in Washington, D.C. The Summit is hosted by the Department of Education and will bring these groups and individuals together to discuss the successes and challenges of addressing bullying, and what nee... more »
More education jargon and what it really means - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
More education jargon and what it really means - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: More education jargon and what it really means By Valerie Strauss Here are 10 education terms with definitions that tell you what they really mean to people who use them in our national education conversation. Yesterday I published the first installment of education jargon, written by Joanne Yatvin, a veteran public school educator, author and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is now teaching part-time at Portland State University. Here’s more jargon: **School... more »
California Legislature to Honor Sikh Americans - Letters (CA Dept of Education)
California Legislature to Honor Sikh Americans - Letters (CA Dept of Education): August 3, 2012 Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators: *CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE RECOMMENDS HONORING SIKH AMERICANS* * * * * This letter is to notify you of recent action by the Legislature calling attention to the important contributions made by Sikh Americans to the history of California. The Legislature has declared November 2012 to be California Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. I encourage local educational agencies to observe California Sikh American... more »
Chicago Trib’s sneaky push for Hollywood version of parent empowerment Parents United for Responsible Education
Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Chicago Trib’s sneaky push for Hollywood version of parent empowerment: Chicago Trib’s sneaky push for Hollywood version of parent empowerment wisting the truth. Today’s Chicago Tribune editorial loudly quotes an Adelanto, California parent saying “We can’t back down,” in the fight to pull a “parent trigger” to close their school and bring in a charter operator to run it. The movement in question has been embroiled in a legal fight, where a judge recently ruled that the parent trigger petitions should stand. Amazingly, th... more »
Chicago and the convention - Substance News
Chicago and the convention - Substance News: AFT REPORTS: Chicago played major role in convention in 2012 George N. Schmidt - August 01, 2012 Although every seat inside the convention hall had an "Obama-Biden 2012" sign for the delegates and visitors and every delegate could have gone home with two "Obama Biden 2012" tee shirts as one souvenir of the 2012 AFT convention, a large number of delegates were less than enthusiastic for the Obama-Biden ticket. Only the Chicago delegation actively (but silently) protested, wearing Chicago Teachers Union red shirts and holding up "Stop Race... more »
Jersey Jazzman: Unions Need To Claim Their Victories!
Jersey Jazzman: Unions Need To Claim Their Victories!: Unions Need To Claim Their Victories! More like this, please: Gov. Chris Christie has yet to sign the hard-fought teacher tenure reform bill that sits on his desk, but the state's largest teachers union says he's already claiming all the credit for historic change. "*He's taking full credit for it when in fact this bill doesn't reflect what he wanted to do,*" said Steve Wollmer, spokesman for the New Jersey Teachers Association. "He wanted to basically eliminate all due process laws for teachers. What's the old saying? When ... more »
Why Stability Matters to My Students « Diane Ravitch's blog
Why Stability Matters to My Students « Diane Ravitch's blog: This Teacher Did Not Remain Silent by dianerav Thanks to a reader who sent this story in his comment about an earlier post. When students falsely accused a teacher in Portland, Oregon, of inappropriately touching them, the teacher decided not to remain silent. That was in 2000. He sued the students and their families. He won a $70,000 judgment and apologies. Of course, his reputation was dragged through the mud. And his life appeared to be ruined. But he didn’t take it. He didn’t keep his mouth shut. He fought back and won.... more »
Heaping Insults on America’s Teachers | Dissident Voice
Heaping Insults on America’s Teachers | Dissident Voice: Heaping Insults on America’s Teachers by David Macaray When Joe Torre left as manager of the New York Yankees following the 2007 season, it was not without rancor. According to reports, Torre felt that, after years of faithful and productive service, he had been grossly disrespected by Yankee management. Torre turned down a one-year $5 million salary offer, which, while a large chunk of change in the real world, was a hefty $2.5 million less than he’d made the previous season. But it wasn’t simply the cut in pay that rankle... more »
The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” « Fred Klonsky
The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” « Fred Klonsky: The in box. “One retired teacher even stood up saying that he will not stop interrupting until he heard truthful information coming from the panel.” by Fred Klonsky *Fred,* *I was also at last night’s meeting in Lemont. And, yes, Sig makes some accurate observations. However, I think that the teachers at the meeting, largely dominated the forum and were successful at controlling the tone despite the IPI’s agenda to com... more »
FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, August 3, 2012
FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team: *Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve * Education Headlines *Friday, August 3, 2012* West Contra Costa school district finalizes terms of parcel tax, bond measuresThe West Contra Costa school district Wednesday settled on the terms of parcel tax and bond measures that will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. The proposed parcel tax will be a five-year extension of a tax passed in 2008 providing $9.6 million annually for five years beginning July 1, 2014. Clayton Valley Charter High School launches transition program for incoming freshm...more »
Sleeping With the Enemy - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher
Sleeping With the Enemy - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher: Sleeping With the Enemy by Nancy Flanagan Like most political-junkie Americans, I sometimes wonder how James Carville and Mary Matalin stay marriedand--presumably--live together harmoniously. Carville says the secret is surrender, capitulation and retreat. His wife replies that this is a typical liberal response--she credits "faith, family and good wine" for their happily functional home. This actually might be the bifurcated model of school reform today: The reformy crowd has faith that their policies ... more »
Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-28-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-21-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-14-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 7-7-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post
Big Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-30-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-23-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-16-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-9-12 Recap of Last Week's Best PostBig Education Ape 2nd Banana 6-2-12 Recap of Last Week's Best Post
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-3-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-2-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2Big Education Ape Nite Cap 8-1-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
Big Education Ape Nite Cap 7-31-12 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2
